Originally, what made me dream of Thailand was the Lantern Festival in Chiang Mai. I already told you about celebrating Loy Krathong and Yi Peng in Sukhothai. Let’s now talk about Chiang Mai!
Spending My Evenings At The Lantern Festival
The festivities last about a week, with lanterns in the skies pretty much every night, but also various events on each night. There are many tourists, and in some places, you can only follow the crowds, not go wherever you want. It can be a bit stressful and you better have the phone numbers of the people you’re with. Otherwise, you might not see them again.
After a few lonely days, as I mentioned in my previous article, I finally made friends. Following that evening where I met two French girls and two Dutch girls, I met some more people thanks to them. Actually, we ended up being a group of about 10 people every night. It was nice to share those moments, and it was reassuring not to be alone in the middle of the crowd. We would plan a meeting point while being online at our hostels and then meet in the evening to celebrate the Lantern Festival together.
Practice Makes Perfect
Our first evening at the Lantern Festival was messy. We struggled to buy lanterns that were not too big and too expensive. Once we found them, we tried to find a good spot, not dangerous. People were lighting the lanterns everywhere.
You have to be patient and wait before you let the lantern go, so that it goes up. It helps if two people hold the paper while another one lights up the lantern. A lot of people failed and their lantern burnt immediately. They had to throw water on it or step on it to put out the flames. Some others let the lantern go up too early and it didn’t fly high. It floated low and risked to burn the hair of the other people nearby that were looking at their own lantern and not around them. Some other lanterns went up, but got stuck in trees.
The whole thing seemed a bit dangerous, because we were all very close to each other and tourist teenagers can really be stupid. Despite the fear of burning my hair, I also thought it was really fun. There was some sort of cohesion, we were doing teamwork. Sometimes, when we figured a trick, we would share it with the group next to us. I felt like we were part of something. And then, we could see all those lanterns go up and it was fantastic!
A few of our lanterns were a bit broken, with part of the paper torn. I had plasters in my wallet so we used them to fix the torn lanterns. And it worked! And the next night, we lost less lanterns, because we were getting better at launching them. Those evenings were amazing!
Getting My Very Own Krathong In The Water
At the hostel, I created my own Krathong and then held it in my hands as I rode to the city center (yes, I got luckier with taxis after the first days). I met my friends there, and one of them also had made his own Krathong. So, as the others were launching lanterns, we went to a small pier to gently place our Krathongs on the water.
Except the water was pretty far down and I couldn’t actually reach it. He had to hold my hand so that I could get down without falling in the river. Forget gently, I did my best to just put my Krathong in the water without letting the candle get wet. Same for him. Even if he was taller, the water was still too low. I held his hand too to help him, and then, we looked at our Krathongs float slowly away. Not far, but still, maybe our wishes were granted. I can’t tell you if it worked, because I can’t remember what I wished for. Maybe, that evening under the lanterns was enough and I didn’t need more at that moment.
To see more photos of Thailand, you can visit the gallery Thailand.
