Hey
A Plane And A Festival, We Are Back In Thailand
We left Laos one week early to make it to a festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand. About a month ago, as Benjamin and I lay in the warm ocean waters of Koh Samui under the light of a nearly full moon, we wondered whether or not we could be in Chiang Mai by November 15 for the Loy Krathong festival. It's a celebration that revolves around the full moon and so, as we looked at the waxing moon in the sky, we calculated the festival's date -- November 15 or thereabouts (when you travel, you become an expert of impracticalities back home, like identifying farm crops, understanding modern (and ancient) methods for the rearing of livestock, and the identification of natural occurrences such as rain storms, moon cycles, and locust showers).
In my way, I offered that we probably wouldn't make it unless we rushed through Laos, and I didn't want to rush (neither of us like 'rushing' these days). In his way, Benjamin was certain we could make it without 'rushing'. But on this trip, he is the navigator and I am keeper of the calendar. We have migrated towards our natural abilities in our traveler 'responsibilities'. We make a good pair, he and I, because I get lost easily and his eyes glaze over at a glimpse of the calendar. Anyhow, we did make it here in time -- in time for the first night's celebrations in fact -- and we did not rush through Laos. We simply axed off the last week in Laos from the itinerary. Normally, that would upset us, for we dearly love Laos. But our plans include a second 'go' at the country when we plan to make visa runs in January (we'll be in Thailand for 2 months and visas are only good for 30 days). One of our travel philosophies is to play things by ear, to be free from schedules and deadlines (hence the name destinationTBD). And so, in this way... in this spontaneous change of plan (we only conceived of it a few days ago), we are here in Thailand for the festival.
We left Luang Prabang by plane. Oh, what a joy I have rediscovered in air travel. I felt like a child going on her first plane trip: full of excitement and tingling anticipation. That kind of exhilaration from air travel is long forgotten for me, so 'normal' it had become... In fact, air travel came to mean torturous waits in airports and confining, uncomfortable airplane seats... a huge pain in the ass (no put intended). But after traveling for 8 months by bus, boat, and train, flying became new again. Never mind that it was a small prop plane with an airline who won't publish their safety record. It had seatbelts and barf bags... what more could I want? Benjamin was disappointed that there were no inflight magazines, but I told him the plane had 2 wings so what was he complaining about? We reached Chiang Mai in one glorious hour -- and we were even served a snack. If we'd traveled the way we originally planned, we'd have been on a series of busses and boats anywhere from 3 days to 7, depending on the route we took.
We arrived in Chiang Mai to a festive atmosphere. It's strange, really, how a coming holiday seems to seep into the pores of a city: jubilation, excitement, good spirits. At home, there's that special magic in the air around Halloween, Tanksgiving, Xmas, New Years, the Fourth of July, and Mother's Day. Okay, Okay... I threw that last one in there to gain points with my mom (Christmas is coming you know). I'm not one that goes for the stuff of the 'New Age' set, but really, there does seem to be some phenomenon where the collective energy of people can be felt in the air and impact the environs. Come to think of it, I've experienced this before... but in the negative sense -- you know the way the DMV feels when you walk in there? Well, that's a lot of people who are angry and bored shitless and you can definitley feel that vibe with only a toe in the door. Acutally, you only really need to think 'DMV' to feel it, such is the power of collective anguish.
The festival is called Loy Krathong, or Yee Peng up here in the north. It's roots are in the Hindu religion, but this festival in Thailand is to pay respects to Buddha. Offerings made of palm leaves, flowers, and incense, called Krathong, are floated in the river. Lanterns are sent into the sky and temples are decorated. Chiang Mai will be celebrating Yee Peng for the next 3 days with all kinds of events: parades, beauty contests, firework displays, water sports (including something called 'diving and exotic competition'), light and sound shows, art and culture exhibitions, and more... In fact, since we arrived at our guesthouse today, the women have been decorating the place with marigolds, orchid flowers, and lanterns... there is a party here tonight. We've been promised minimal 'Thai pop music' (maybe 5 minutes if there are lots of Thais at the party). Otherwise, there will be food, 'good' music, and dancing... I suspect some Laos dance moves might be resurrected -- but only if I can find a cactus to revolve around.
In my way, I offered that we probably wouldn't make it unless we rushed through Laos, and I didn't want to rush (neither of us like 'rushing' these days). In his way, Benjamin was certain we could make it without 'rushing'. But on this trip, he is the navigator and I am keeper of the calendar. We have migrated towards our natural abilities in our traveler 'responsibilities'. We make a good pair, he and I, because I get lost easily and his eyes glaze over at a glimpse of the calendar. Anyhow, we did make it here in time -- in time for the first night's celebrations in fact -- and we did not rush through Laos. We simply axed off the last week in Laos from the itinerary. Normally, that would upset us, for we dearly love Laos. But our plans include a second 'go' at the country when we plan to make visa runs in January (we'll be in Thailand for 2 months and visas are only good for 30 days). One of our travel philosophies is to play things by ear, to be free from schedules and deadlines (hence the name destinationTBD). And so, in this way... in this spontaneous change of plan (we only conceived of it a few days ago), we are here in Thailand for the festival.
We left Luang Prabang by plane. Oh, what a joy I have rediscovered in air travel. I felt like a child going on her first plane trip: full of excitement and tingling anticipation. That kind of exhilaration from air travel is long forgotten for me, so 'normal' it had become... In fact, air travel came to mean torturous waits in airports and confining, uncomfortable airplane seats... a huge pain in the ass (no put intended). But after traveling for 8 months by bus, boat, and train, flying became new again. Never mind that it was a small prop plane with an airline who won't publish their safety record. It had seatbelts and barf bags... what more could I want? Benjamin was disappointed that there were no inflight magazines, but I told him the plane had 2 wings so what was he complaining about? We reached Chiang Mai in one glorious hour -- and we were even served a snack. If we'd traveled the way we originally planned, we'd have been on a series of busses and boats anywhere from 3 days to 7, depending on the route we took.
We arrived in Chiang Mai to a festive atmosphere. It's strange, really, how a coming holiday seems to seep into the pores of a city: jubilation, excitement, good spirits. At home, there's that special magic in the air around Halloween, Tanksgiving, Xmas, New Years, the Fourth of July, and Mother's Day. Okay, Okay... I threw that last one in there to gain points with my mom (Christmas is coming you know). I'm not one that goes for the stuff of the 'New Age' set, but really, there does seem to be some phenomenon where the collective energy of people can be felt in the air and impact the environs. Come to think of it, I've experienced this before... but in the negative sense -- you know the way the DMV feels when you walk in there? Well, that's a lot of people who are angry and bored shitless and you can definitley feel that vibe with only a toe in the door. Acutally, you only really need to think 'DMV' to feel it, such is the power of collective anguish.
The festival is called Loy Krathong, or Yee Peng up here in the north. It's roots are in the Hindu religion, but this festival in Thailand is to pay respects to Buddha. Offerings made of palm leaves, flowers, and incense, called Krathong, are floated in the river. Lanterns are sent into the sky and temples are decorated. Chiang Mai will be celebrating Yee Peng for the next 3 days with all kinds of events: parades, beauty contests, firework displays, water sports (including something called 'diving and exotic competition'), light and sound shows, art and culture exhibitions, and more... In fact, since we arrived at our guesthouse today, the women have been decorating the place with marigolds, orchid flowers, and lanterns... there is a party here tonight. We've been promised minimal 'Thai pop music' (maybe 5 minutes if there are lots of Thais at the party). Otherwise, there will be food, 'good' music, and dancing... I suspect some Laos dance moves might be resurrected -- but only if I can find a cactus to revolve around.
posted by Cheryn at 5:12 PM
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