Chiang Mai, Thailand
When we asked to leave the meditation center early, the Abbot accused us of leaving just so that we could see the festival in Chiang Mai. That wasn’t true at all, but we figured, hey, while we’re out…. And so at night we headed down to the Tha Pae Gate in the center of town and joined the festivities in celebration of Loi Krathong. Much like the festivals in America, this one had a parade with a bunch of really elaborate floats. Of course the only difference was that all of the floats had something to do with past Siamese kings or Buddha with the occasional beauty pagent winner thrown in for good measure. The gate area was strung with so many lanterns, it looked like the open air square had a roof. The vendors were out in full effect selling clothing and art as well as yummy foods like the traditional roti sai mai, sugar crepes with condensed milk. Read the rest of this entry »
