Charming Chiang Mai

 

        

    Each city in Thailand has its own personality. Chiang Mai is one of my favorites. It is a historic city in the central part of the country with scenic canals lined with ancient stone buildings. Tonight is the ancient celebration of the Northern Thailand lantern festival "Yi Peng".  This "two full moon day" corresponds with the full moon day in the second month according to the Lanna lunar calendar. It occurs on the evening of the November Full Moon. This ancient Buddhist festival is celebrated for the purpose of merit-making. Releasing the lanterns into the sky is believed to represent the end of one's misfortune. This is especially significant this year after being canceled twice during the Pandemic. The ancient stone-walled canals are filled with candles floating in the colored paper on the river. Everyone makes wishes for the new year as they light a lantern and place it in the canal. It is a magical sight to see the lanterns float by the stone walls of the old city. There are also thousands of colored lanterns floating into the night sky looking like fireflies. They were recently featured in the movie "Tangled" where Rapunzel sings about how she has a dream to see floating lanterns gleaming. It turns out that she is longing for what happens yearly in Chiang Mail.

    Over 3500 people flew into this city for the historic event that made its comeback after the pandemic. The airport was mobbed and tour buses filled the street. There was also a colorful parade of floats through the streets with people dressed in traditional royal costumes. Drums, cymbals, and flowers decked each float with people dressed in colorful traditional costumes from hundreds of years ago. It began at the ancient temple and crowds lined the stone-walled canals as they circled the ancient city. It was uplifting to see this magical event evolve under the night sky with paper lanterns filling the sky. It gave hope to all of us that we are survivors and that our dreams live on. 

    We are staying in a small hotel on a canal with stone bridges leading down cobblestone roads past ancient buildings. The center of the city is still surrounded by the original walls from the 13th century. It is home to 1.2 million people and Thailand's second-largest city. Before the pandemic, four million tourists visited this charming city yearly. Normally, it is full of backpackers, tour groups, and friendly inhabitants who make their living from tourism. Now that the pandemic has hit, the city is showing ramifications of the loss of tourism. Over the past two years, businesses have closed, but are reopening as flights slowly return. It hasn't been easy and many businesses remained shuttered after the pandemic. However, Thais are resilient and still greet tourists with a smile and 'SawadeeKha.' They are happy to see us and talk about the hardships they survived. They ask us to come again and beg us to buy merchandise in the markets. However, the hardship shows on many of their faces. 

    Last night, we enjoyed an outdoor performance of a popular heavy metal band at the market. We used to see them perform in a local club that is now closed to the pandemic. They have a new venue at an upstairs open-air music bar. It is actually a better place for them and brings in more customers who can even hear them below in the food court. The stage may be tiny, but there is a view of the night sky as they sing. Their music remains the same even though they have gained normal pandemic pounds. Haven't we all? We join their fans nightly to rock it out with 80's songs as colored paper lanterns fill the sky. Isn't this what Chiang Mai is all about? Afterward, we enjoy coconut ice out of a coconut shell at the outdoor market. We buy boiled peanuts that are still soft inside their shell. We have to finish them tonight because they get old. 

    This morning, I watched a local tour director happily load his van with backpackers for a trip to the local elephant park. He gave a big welcome smile to the group, but his face was worn and his shorts were torn. It is still the land of smiles with a tint of sadness. I respect Thai resilience and have faith that the country will survive. Even though many businesses, stores, restaurants, and hotels are closed, their fate remains with the tourists.  It gives me hope that we are survivors who all want the same things in life. You can't have too much joy or rice on a lotus leaf. May this wonderful holiday event ring in the new stage of revival for Thailand. It still remains the Land of Smiles.