Chiang Mai, November 2012

I was deeply attracted to the Yi Peng Festival held in Thailand and my attention to this event was first triggered by an image online. It was a photo of what looks like hundreds of floating lanterns rising upwards into the dark sky. It was like lighting up the sky with tiny little orange jewels. It was b e a u t i f u l and I thought to myself - THIS is what I have to experience once in my life time. 

The "Floating Lantern Festival" is not exactly new because people (Buddhists in particular) across the globe celebrates this festival. Lanterns will be released into the air during a certain period in the calendar and bring your wishes and hopes up to the Creator. This event is banned in several countries due safety because the authorities claimed that the floating lanterns will obstruct the sky-way's traffic and most dangerously, wind could carry the lighted lanterns towards other objects and set them on fire. 

So, re-phrase: beautifully dangerous.

I am an advocate of certain beliefs (I refused to visit the Karen Village despite my strong interest in it and I totally will not visit the elephant camp) but I really can't resist this one, seriously. Then again, you can hardly miss it anyways- especially if you are in Chiang Mai during that month.

I tailored my trip around this event and trust me if I say I had a hell of a time trying to figure out when will Yi Peng falls on. I can't exactly get a tentative date even from the TAT. Googling gave me some idea as to which week to go but not an exact date. It's a 'either-this-week-or-next kind of thing'. I was like, "Gosh, I will definitely miss the lantern release event!!" 

However, little did I know that Yi Peng is such a huge festival in Chiang Mai itself that the town celebrates it for almost a week (for the sake of tourism, I supposed) and we were lucky that it wasn't raining on the night we went and there were 2 sites where the majority are releasing the lanterns. One was at one of the bridges by the Ping River (I don't know which because we were cruising around and rode towards the lanterns when we saw the release. It could be either Nawarat Bridge or Nakom Ping Bridge) and the other was at Wat Pan Tao (which is next to Wat Chedi Luang). We were not bothered for the paid event which we learnt that it was catered more for the journalists and people who could pay for it (USD$100). So happened was that Wat Pan Tao has a lantern release event of its own on 28th November 2012 and for that, we rushed from the river to the temple the moment we were done with photo taking. It was a sight not to be missed and traveling with someone who knows how to ride a motorbike is an advantage really!

These are the sights at Wat Pan Tao:

Initially I wanted to reserve for our nights at Early Bird Chiang Mai but it was such a hot cakes that all rooms were fully-booked. It was right opposite 3 Sis B&B (one of our choices but due to its price, we thought better) in the old quarter. Finally we decided to stay in Seven Senses, which is located nearby the old fort. It's not like very far - only a good 5 minutes walk (or less) and you would have reached the Hua Lin corner of Chiang Mai old quarter. The location saved you from the hustle bustle of the cars hogging the narrow lanes of the old quarter:)  The problem we faced was to find a place to rent a motorbike though. Our first night was on feet and public transport (jeepney-type) while our second was planned to be on motorbike since we will be visiting Doi Suthep. 

That was a pain as well because the nearer shop which we approached is renting at 250 baht for half a day and bargaining was of no use. So, we walked off and found one who is renting at 250 baht for an entire day. This shop is located along the stretch of shops near Changpuak Gate. It was a peak season and due to that, even this second shop has rented most of its motorbikes out. We had to wait till midday before the next bike comes back. There was another rental shop on Sri Donchai Road but that was too far for our taste.   

On Day 1, we took a cab to Seven Senses (YMCA Rd.) and took a relaxing day touring the old quarter on foot. A good 2 hours for circling the entire old quarter and I was already feeling sooooooooooooooo tired. I know that is a sign of aging but anyways - that's not the point. Ehem. We walked for the entire day so, dinner was really rewarding at Whole Earth restaurant (link to menu). Take note, it serves both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes (Cheers!!!) and it tastes so much better than Cabbage & Condom at all level of culinary. This is the place if you are looking for vegetarian dishes with variety and a quiet environment for a romantic setting. 

Green curry at Whole Earth

My favourite salad at Whole Earth

These are some of the street food....erm...not very appetizing to me. I don't see visitors buying these off the dusty road. So, you get me. If our stomach are not localized, I suspect it will upset us tremendously....

The above collage was made from the collection of photo taken in Seven Senses. I highly recommended them as I really enjoyed my stay there. The food was wonderful and I really love their cook, Neng. He didn't talk much but he would come out to check on you if you have finished your food. HAHA...don't get freaked - his intentions are good because if you did not finish them, he would ask you for feedbacks so that he can improve better. Now, that is professionalism. Well, he doesn't need to ask us because I LOVE his cooking.

This guesthouse is really worth your every cents (breakfast included) and it comes with a personal touch. The owner knew that we had an early flight and due to that, wouldn't be able to take breakfast. So, she had purposely packed egg sandwiches for us and it is no normal egg sandwich (with only 1 thin layer of egg mayo like what you get in the 24-hours mart) - it is a very delicious and healthy, warm egg sandwich! Aww....my growling stomach was so thankful of both her and the chef.

What's more, she had also prepared some lanterns for us to release. Though I insisted that I shouldn't do that because who knows, these lanterns might hurt someone or set something on fire if they flew to a bad direction. Anyways, I obediently took her lanterns in the end...she was really persistent. We refused the lanterns on the first day but she took out the lanterns again on the second day saying it's for good luck and we should feel the culture.

I love my stay even more when I discovered that there's a spa house located just at the junction of the road outside Seven senses. Cheeva Spa has a good variety of choices and what is much more relaxing than a good spa in the end of your tiring walk around? I had a body massage and then a milk bath (I have ever wanted to try one ever since I've got the influence from Sizuka in Doraemon. She is a fan of milk bath and in one of the cartoon series where everyone turned small like a doll, she made herself a milk bath jacuzzi. I watched that and since then, it was etched in my brain - I am to try that! So..okay...now tried and even had my mango sticky rice in the tub...erm...haha...I guess the purpose was just to fulfill a childhood desire) 

Day 2 saw us at much more places since we have a motorbike by then. We went up to Doi Suthep and cruised around . The old quarters is an all time tourist spot but now they have brought up another side of the town to cater to the tourists. There are plenty of cafes and eateries that have popped up along Nimmanhemin Road, from Starbucks to other western restaurants. We had lunch nearby this street - there was a wat nearby and there are some vegetarian restaurants there and the noodles soup is pretty good (in the old quarters itself, we only found one veg restaurant along the road where the 3 kings statue was).  

After lunch, I went for my pedicure and we loitered until night to catch my long-awaited event by the river.

On the staircase up to Doi Suthep and a foreign tourist commented that we should pay for our photo. I am now having this dilemma, should I pay for my photo next time? I love street photography...so if I am to take so many hawkers and peddlers...how much do I need to fork out? Alright...jokes aside...I guess I should buy something from her for taking her photo.....a mental note to do it next time..

Wat Chedi Luang is my favourite of all during my trip in Thailand

Ahh..the bread ice cream we had during primary school session...here with topping

The eerie resemblance of the statue to a real monk...

Land of tuk-tuks...was riding on it on our last day - and to the airport

Bread in the shape of fish (bottom pic) and that is what I call environmental friendly. At least it is decomposes

Interesting handmade lanterns

The lanterns to be released at the river

Spot the floating lanterns?

Many families gathered to celebrate the festival

I love this cute lil' girl

We have covered much of Chiang Mai on our two nights there and so, on our Day 3, we did some final walkaround and shopping. I supposed that 3 nights' stay are more than sufficient to cover most of Chiang Mai - given that you are like us; we didn't go for the outdoor activities. I guess jungle trekking is also good to be included into the itinerary but we just wanted to have a relaxing trip of walking around and exploring the town. 

And that, marked an end to our brief Journey to Bangkok