Oh My... Chiang Mai

 I wasn't going to post again this soon, but these last two days are unlike any two days we've ever experienced.  I don't even know if I have words to express the "shock and awe" that Sonja and I have felt.  I know the pictures cannot do justice.  I only hope that when I post the YouTube video you can get a sense of how wonderful these experiences have been.  So, here goes...

Friday began leisurely enough.  We had breakfast at a little restaurant owned by an older Thai couple.  We've made friends with them and enjoyed a couple of days of breakfast there as we figure out our game plan for the day.

There were evening activities already on the calendar, but the day was pretty much wide open.

We settled on traveling a bit out of town to see the making of some of the items that we'd seen at the markets and bazaars.

We hired a driver and after a final coffee from our favorite street vendor and we were off.

These drivers are very low paid.  For a 4-hour hire, our cost was 200 baht, or $5.75 usd.  So when he suggested a couple of places where he would earn a commission if we bought anything, it was not difficult to agree.  After all, we might find some things to take home.  And as it turned out, we learned quite a bit about how things were created here in Thailand.

We learned about silk.  How it is transformed from the silk worms to the final product and each step in between. 

Live silk worms!

The dyes for the cloths.

Weaving the silk into cloths.

We did spend a few bucks there.  Things are not expensive here and when you're buying directly from the manufacturer, you almost feel guilty for what you're paying.

We watched jewelry being made from its core metal into beautiful diamond rings.

The highlight of the trek was a visit to the small village of Bo Sang.  The entire village is sustained by the hand making of parasol umbrellas.  We were taken to a small, outdoor workshop where the umbrellas were brought to life.  We watched as they carved and shaved the bamboo for the framework, made the actual paper of the umbrella and a team of artists hand painting the final product.  

The workshop out back

The trees that provide the bark for the paper.

Splitting the bamboo for the framework

And we even got some personalized hand paintings on our phone covers and Sonja's wallet.

Their final products were simply remarkable.  And yes, we spent some money here too!  Wait until you see Sonja strutting down the fairway with her hand made umbrella!

It was around noon and this had already been a very good day.  But the best was yet to come.

Loy Krathong and the Yi Peng Festival

Loy Krathong Festival is one of the most important festivals in Thailand and is celebrated all over the country. Chiang Mai is one of the best places to experience this impressive festival thanks to the beautiful coincidence that two festivals (Loy Krathong and Yi Peng) fall on the same day.

The essence of Loy Krathong is in its name: "loy" means "to float" and "krathong" is a slice of the trunk of the banana plant, decorated with flowers and banana leaf. 

The highlight of the festival is undoubtedly when people gather to float their krathong into the Ping River, symbolizing letting go of negative energy and making wishes for the future.

This year, Yi Peng was Friday and the culmination of Loy Krathong was on Saturday giving us a chance to experience both.

The Yi Peng Festival

The Yi Peng festival in Chiang Mai is like a real-life version of Harry Potter's "Expecto Patronum," but with an American twist. As thousands of lanterns take to the sky, we joined in the festivities, clutching our own luminous lanterns. With a collective "Oh wow!" everyone releases their wishes into the night, watching as they float away into the unknown. The locals, dressed in their finest Thai attire, cheer them on, welcoming us into the magical world of lanterns. As the lanterns drift away into the night, we shared a beaming glance, our dreams and wishes soaring high above us, while the whispers of ancient spirits seem to say, "Expecto Wishes, Expecto Dreams. Welcome to the magic, friends."  Of course, Bill had to add his own touch and you'll see that in the YouTube video.

The still photos cannot do it justice.  Hopefully we captured some of the raw emotion that takes place during the releasing of tens of thousands of lanterns.  We stared at tthe sky, we laughed, we cried with joy in this moment we will never, ever forget.