Lanterns, Dancing In The Sky, Like Fireflies...

For the last week and a half, people in the Chiang Mai area have been geering up for Loi Kraton (the "Lantern Festival"). Every night, more and more lanterns filled the night sky and fireworks were going off from sunset to sunrise. It all culminated tonight in one huge soiree of lantern and firework lighting all across the city. We also bought round bamboo boats decorated with flowers, incense and candles and let them into the river carrying our wishes to the water gods.

When I say lanterns, I don't mean dinky little lights. These things are made out of tissue paper and measure anywhere from 0.5 to 4 meters wide and twice as tall as they are wide. They work kind of like hot air balloons, gathering enough helium from the fire at the bottom to rise up for a while and eventually, inevitably, fall. The first night we were in Chaing Mai, we saw maybe 50 or so throughout the course of the night. Tonight, at any one point, you could look in any direction and see at least 150 without moving your eyes. Accompanied by fireworks or assorted sizes, sounds, and types, the night sky was lit up with all kinds of fire, making the scene almost magical.

If I hadn't already fallen in love with Chaing Mai, this festival would have thrown me into this city's loving arms. The charm of the scene and the atmosphere of the whole night threw me into a dream world that I can still hear happening outside my window. The lanterns rose up into the sky and danced their way along with the wind and created beautiful designs in the sky. The way they danced, it was like fireflies that never stopped lighting up. Magical. Brilliant. Dreamy.

I do have to get up at 6 o'clock to head to a meditation retreat/to teach English in a Burmese refugee camp in Northern Thailand, so we'll see if the charm of the fireworks has worn off any after a night of trying to sleep with the constant booming. But considering the short time I slept last night, getting to and staying asleep tonight should not be a problem.

Charmed,
B(ee)