Beyond these Chaing Mai "basics," our first night in Chiang Mai coincided with the annual Lantern Festival, Yi Peng. We were extremely lucky in the timing of our visit, as the exact date of the festival isn't announced until just a few weeks in advance.
The main event is the release of thousands of lighted lanterns into the sky while making a wish. The resulting scene is really spectacular as the lanterns light up the sky for miles. Photos don't really do it justice, but we'll at least give it a try.
We decided to join in the tradition and quickly learned that releasing a lantern is part art, part science:
The lighting...
Heating up...
Holding our breath...
Success!
In the end, we were pretty pleased with our record of 2 for 3 successful launches.
Also entertaining to observe was the crowd. Typically, while 1 or 2 people released a lantern at least 10 eagerly watched, snapped photos, and cheered them on. The excited claps and gasps with a successful release, as well as moans that accompanied a lantern crashing into a tree, only added to the festive atmosphere.
In addition to lanterns, the festival includes a parade with elaborate floats, Thai dancers, and the procession of pageant winners.
While we only caught the last night of festivities, evidence of the night - lantern carcasses on rooftops and in trees - could be spotted for the duration of our stay.
But back to the Chiang Mai basics:
1. Temples - Chiang Mai has a number of temples throughout the city, but one of the most famous and elaborate, Doi Suthep, is atop a mountain about 15 km outside the city.
Some nice views of the city on the way up the mountain:
A few highlights of the temple itself:
2. Elephants - Easily one of the most popular attractions in Chiang Mai is visiting an elephant sanctuary and serving as a mahout - or elephant caretaker - for a day. Alexis did this on her previous visit and had a rather traumatizing experience (long story short, her elephant was taken home early after continuing to disobey).
Katie convinced us to try again though, and we're glad we did. This time we visited Patara Elephant Farm where we learned about interacting with and caring for the elephants. We then gave them baths in the river and took them for a ride. While Alexis still had the worst behaved elephant (sensing a pattern?) all in all it was a great experience and a lot of fun.
The newest addition at the Farm:
Our cool Mahout outfits:
Mike getting some elephant love:
Katie getting some elephant love:
And, noticeably absent - Alexis getting some elephant love.
While Katie left considering a career change to elephant trainer, Alexis left no longer thinking elephants are evil, so wins all around!
3. Food - Keeping the trend, we took yet another cooking class. The first order of business was getting our names translated to Thai.
While the majority of the classes we've taken included a market tour, this one stood out for its organization, cleanliness, and selection. We felt like we were in Whole Foods, Thailand edition.
The produce:
The protein:
The prepared foods:
After the market tour, it was time to get to work.
Cooking:
Plating:
Eating!
And then, with full stomachs, it was time to head south and hit the beach!
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