Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Travel Blog of the Gaps
Hello, again, Blogonauts!
So on Saturday morning, February 8, I flew north from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Thailand. (Surprisingly, flying around southeast Asia can be relatively cheap. This flight, purchased 2 days before take-off, cost less than $50.00.)
Chiang Mai's basic lay out is strikingly similar to Mandalay's: A square moat surrounds the ancient, equally square old city. The ancient metropolis here, however, remains a vibrant district of temples, businesses, homes, and traffic. And Chiang Mai's streets are decidedly cleaner and more modern than Mandalay's.
On the way into town from the airport, my cabby informed me that I had the good fortune of arriving in Chiang Mai on the day of their annual flower festival parade. The parade would begin at 4 PM. It was just about noon, so I had a few hours to check into my hotel and explore the city. The place abounds with ancient temples, as well as active ones.
As part of the festival warm-up, the main square contained a performance stage for local dancers. One young troupe was comprised of about a dozen girls ... and one boy.
Their choreography was largely geared toward unison female steps and hand gestures, and the lad stayed in perfect sync with his stagemates. The most distinguishing characteristic was that, instead of a pink skirt, he wore pink trousers. I wonder how much courage he needed to participate so openly.
But then the grand parade's arrival interrupted all the stage performances.
The parade theme is very similar to the Rose Bowl Parade on New Year's Day. Flowers and plant material were almost exclusively used to color the parade's floats. Interspersed were marching bands and local musical/drumming groups, and representatives of ethnic/cultural subgroups (hill tribes) from around the region.
Chiang Mai's size is similar to Springfield, MA, and so I expected the parade to last an hour or two. Instead, four-and-a-half hours later it was still going strong! The crowds began to thin after a couple of hours (dinner time for most), so I felt some sympathy for those bringing up the rear end.
My hotel was near both the parade route and the night market, which is a massive collection of vendors and restauranteurs. Fireworks and Chinese lanterns (sometimes together) dotted the night sky, assumedly because of the festival.
For most of the food vendors, there is a central cashier where you purchase tickets that you use to pay for your meal. That way the cooks never have to worry about making change or handling cash. I got a tasty green chicken curry at one of these stalls.
The next day I ventured via tuktuk to the Chiang Mai Zoo. There, the guests are allowed, nay, ENCOURAGED to feed the animals. See the photos for some examples. The zoo actually became a nice place for walking through the woods, as well as seeing animals.
One last destination remained for this journey, so the next day I took an (extremely) early flight to Hong Kong. But more on that coming up.
Blog to you later!
So on Saturday morning, February 8, I flew north from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Thailand. (Surprisingly, flying around southeast Asia can be relatively cheap. This flight, purchased 2 days before take-off, cost less than $50.00.)
Chiang Mai's basic lay out is strikingly similar to Mandalay's: A square moat surrounds the ancient, equally square old city. The ancient metropolis here, however, remains a vibrant district of temples, businesses, homes, and traffic. And Chiang Mai's streets are decidedly cleaner and more modern than Mandalay's.
On the way into town from the airport, my cabby informed me that I had the good fortune of arriving in Chiang Mai on the day of their annual flower festival parade. The parade would begin at 4 PM. It was just about noon, so I had a few hours to check into my hotel and explore the city. The place abounds with ancient temples, as well as active ones.
As part of the festival warm-up, the main square contained a performance stage for local dancers. One young troupe was comprised of about a dozen girls ... and one boy.
Their choreography was largely geared toward unison female steps and hand gestures, and the lad stayed in perfect sync with his stagemates. The most distinguishing characteristic was that, instead of a pink skirt, he wore pink trousers. I wonder how much courage he needed to participate so openly.
But then the grand parade's arrival interrupted all the stage performances.
The parade theme is very similar to the Rose Bowl Parade on New Year's Day. Flowers and plant material were almost exclusively used to color the parade's floats. Interspersed were marching bands and local musical/drumming groups, and representatives of ethnic/cultural subgroups (hill tribes) from around the region.
Chiang Mai's size is similar to Springfield, MA, and so I expected the parade to last an hour or two. Instead, four-and-a-half hours later it was still going strong! The crowds began to thin after a couple of hours (dinner time for most), so I felt some sympathy for those bringing up the rear end.
My hotel was near both the parade route and the night market, which is a massive collection of vendors and restauranteurs. Fireworks and Chinese lanterns (sometimes together) dotted the night sky, assumedly because of the festival.
For most of the food vendors, there is a central cashier where you purchase tickets that you use to pay for your meal. That way the cooks never have to worry about making change or handling cash. I got a tasty green chicken curry at one of these stalls.
The next day I ventured via tuktuk to the Chiang Mai Zoo. There, the guests are allowed, nay, ENCOURAGED to feed the animals. See the photos for some examples. The zoo actually became a nice place for walking through the woods, as well as seeing animals.
One last destination remained for this journey, so the next day I took an (extremely) early flight to Hong Kong. But more on that coming up.
Blog to you later!
- comments