November 26th to 29th
Being in Chiang Mai for the 27th and 28th November was the only real set point in our travels. The Festival of Light is a must see – or so all the travel blogs have you believe, and for the real deal you should be in Northern Thailand. We had begun to get a taster in Lampang as preparations were underway there and we were getting excited. The spectacle is supposed to be like no other. THE place to experience it is in Chiang Mai (or Sukhotai, I think for the more cool among us but we have already explained we are not cool, plus there was no accomodation left). This year is a double whammy at Chiang Mai as the 2 celebrations that make up the Festival are deemed to fall on the same date – the 27th/28th of November. The date changes each year dependant on the moon and it has become stretched over days due to our insatiable need to party and maximise income (cynical I know).
Loy Krathong – is the floating of small candle-lit offerings or vessels, called krathong, along the important local waterway. In Chiang Mai this is the river Ping. It signifies the sending of your thanks to Buddha, apologies to Mae Ganga, the goddess of water, for the misuse of natural water supplies (overuseage and releasing waste into the river itself) and also the letting go of your petty jealousies and angers. The krathong are home made from bamboo and lotus containing at least a candle and incense. Some can be hugely ornate and others simple. There are also krathong for children made out of those coloured corn foam sets. Loy Krathong is celebrated throughout South East Asia under different names and possibly originated from similar Hindu celebrations in India. Purists believe it started in Sokhothai, then the ancient capital of Thailand and spread outward from there. The dates change each year but is usually in November.
Yi Peng is a tradition that is specific to northern Thailand, part of Lanna culture, and especially Chiang Mai. It dates back to the 12th century. It is again is about thanks and release of both hopes and those negative emotions that hold you back. They are released for the gods to deal with. Hopes can be granted and transgressions forgiven. The release is made physical by the letting go of Khong Loi or floating lanterns. Traditional Khong Loi are made of rice paper stretched over a bamboo frame and evidence of this deign goes back to 200BC. A candle is lit at the base of the lantern and as the hot air fills the lantern it gains flight – often helped with a bit of a push. Sky lanterns are now available everywhere, thin manufactured paper over wire, and not known for their environmental credentials. The mass release in Chiang Mai on Li Peng is half frowned upon but not disallowed. In fact allowances are made and planes do not fly into or out of Chiang Mai airport for a number of hours around the evening of the official Yi Peng. As well as floating lanterns colourful paper lanterns are hung around doorways and temples again with wishes and apologies described on them. Everywhere is a mass of colour, including the inevitable and wonderful food markets where we ate the best Khao Soi so far (see recipes later).
The release though is officially limited to one evening and supposedly only a few sites and this year release day for Yi Peng was 27th November – hence the happy collision with Loy Krathong and an anticipated explosion of floating lights both on water and in the air.
Experiencing the Festival first hand was a bit like London fireworks on New Year’s Eve. The overview is amazing but up close the crowds are just in the way. We floated a Krathong and took a photo but could not linger to enjoy as there were hundreds behind us waiting to do the same and the small temporary bamboo raft that you walked on to release your lantern did not feel entirely up to the task.
The Nawarat bridge was rammed with people, couples and families releasing sky lanterns, often with wishes written on them. Seeing them float upwards to join an ever increasing sky river of lights accompanied by the whoops of delight and cheers below was smile inducing. When a lantern refused to fly it was a concern – both for the wishes it carried but also the risk of a quick fire. It is not uncommon for trees and huts close by to fall victim to wayward lanterns.
Apart from the river and sky lanterns Loy Krathong and Yi Peng are also times for a formal procession, dance competitions and singing monks. We tried to appreciate the culture but the impressively long procession of uniformed forces, school children, bands and impossibly beautiful Thai women in formal wear was surely the slowest ever and the crowds just got worse. We missed the singing monks but managed to see some of the dance competition. The floats although ponderous glittered and reflected smiling faces. At least the beautiful women on the floats were able to sit – many others were forced to slow march the approximate 1.8km over about 4 hours by my reckoning – that is a long time on high skinny heels. Inevitably as the procession kept stopping more than moving shoes came off and phones came out!
Overall we have loved the short but intense experience of Chiang Mai despite and sometimes because of the huge colourful mix of different people and the festival. Would I need to go again – no, I think not but I would definitely want to be present somewhere quieter to maybe see the more spiritual side of the ceremonies get full attention. I am looking forward to the relative sleepiness of Chiang Rai and Chaing Khong on our way to the Thai-Laos border.
– Nikki