The Loi Krathong Lantern festival was spectacular last nite. The full moon with the lunar eclipse and thousands of lanterns dotting the sky like stars was brilliant. Imagine a sky full of wishes and dreams - with each lantern that went up, a wish, desire, dream went up with it. Where do they go? To heaven of course where all prayers and wishes incubate till the timing is purrfect to manifest.
I watched a newly wed couple on their honeymoon
who launched their lantern (aka Khom Loi) up
- what a sweet thing to do.
These decorated boats or floats are officially dubbed Krathongs and come in all different sizes and colors handmade by the locals and sold for 25-60 baht - $1 to $2. They can be quite ornate. Mainly they are made with beautiful flowers set on some material that hopefully floats. One woman plucked whites petals one by one to make a lilly looking boat. In the middle is a candle and incense to light before you consider what you want to launch the heck out of your life as you put your boat of sins into the dirty river to be cast away forever.
I love the symbolism and I perform similar rituals on full moons yet this was particularly magical with the energy of Chiang Mai along with people from all over the world joining in on the festivities.
I was just like a kid seeing balloons for the first time as I looked up into the sky in complete awe. It brought tears to my eyes a few times. And the kids were particularly fun to witness . . .
With the lantern launch you light up this coil ring (a fuel cell) that is attached to the bottom of your lantern which is made up of rice paper. You hold it up and wait for it to heat up the lantern. Then you make a big honking wish and release it.
This comes with some side kicks, like I got burned by my lantern which really freakin stung (not sure the significance of that). So now I have a red mark reminder on my hand. As well I got burned by my little boat, hmm. Yet my boat did not sink which would have been a bad sign. There were also a few fires as lanterns got caught in trees and along electrical wires. Apparently there are a few mishaps every year and praps a couple deaths but not enough to ban it like they did to our lovely lantern nite in Vancouver. I mean magic comes with a price right . . . and I am obviously willing. And though there were big bleepin crowds, Thais are so gentle that they don't trample you down like a herd of holy cattle like they would in India.
There was, and likely still is, so many festivities wrapped around this event. There was some kind of strange beauty contest where the women/girls look like geishas and the men/boys look like some kind of spartacus era type manliboyness with material wrapped around their loins in a particular present wrapping method. It was their version of Barbie and Ken I surmise.
There was also a parade which I found rather ornate and strange. Lots of decorated women with loads of makeup wearing bright colored costumes sitting pristinely on top of wooden platforms that young virile menslashboys in their present wrapped loins carried on their youthful shoulders. The women would pose and smile preciously for us as the gamut of tourists took a gamut of photos.
Fireworks and annoying firecrackers are exploding perpetually. This makes me particularly nervous and one went off at my foot as I was walking with the parade down to the river which seems to be the protocol walk. This event starts as the sun goes down and goes well into the a.m.. I got a good set of earplugs otherwise I wud be looped for zee's.
So far the boats just sit there all lit up like a floating Xmas ornament yet I have a feeling they are meant to do something else at some point though I rarely research these things. For me it is mostly chance and circumstance which is why finding a hotel was such a chore. I just didn't know all this was going down. Mega people, fewer vacancies, hotel prices go up a few hundred baht, yet so worth the experience.
There are also these balloon like lanterns set up in certain areas to view. Like this little plethora of mock buildings - Piza, the Eiffel Tower and the Orpheum and other monumental places depicted from around the world. More pictures, always more pictures. Click click.
At one point I didn't bring my camera and thought, I can't see this without my camera. Lately I don't bother with taking pics so much yet they are great to help illustrate writing (in this case blog), so I have been packing mine about and taking pics of things that I already know and have even taken pics of in the past, yet here I go again. Hope you appreciate the pictorial version to accent my words. A thousand words for one picture cuts out on a lot of writing yet makes for a lot of picture editing, filing and compressing, sigh.
One thing I observe is how much we document things. Are we really experiencing things as we shoot pictures of what we want to see later or show others. It makes me consider taking a hiatus from my electronic gear - laptop, iphone gadget, camera etc. What kind of world are we living in when we document our experiences rather than living in the moment of now and experiencing it to the fullest. Which also makes me ponder the idea of writing about it. Anaiis Nin says, 'When you write, you live life twice'. Do I need to? Isn't once enough?
Yet on 'the other side' there is the akashic records and all events and memories throughout time are stored there. I believe we are here to gather information, learn, share. I feel this all gets stored somewhere besides our own memory bank.
As I write this, I am outside at the Black Canyon Cafe now on Rachadamnoen Road kitty korner to the landmark Thai Pai Gate sucking up all the exhaust fumes that the brick wall from the fortress of the moat boomerangs back to me. As you can see in the above pic, the locals are wearing masks over their faces even this little tot. I noticed this first in Korea as many passengers boarded the plane wearing them and more wear them here in Chiang Mai, including a local policeman and one of my tuk tuk drivers. Makes one think, yet how much good can it do. You are still breathing the air with it's pollutants.
I am going to move to Aum, the healthy veg restaurant just a door away on the wall side of the street to have a mixed fruit smoothy.
Well the year is about to end so it was such a great time for me to let go of what no longer serves me and to invite in new magical things. Though I figure my life is pretty magic for the most part. An astrologer in India told me that the year 2013 would be amazing for me - that I would be in such a great spiritual place. At the time I cried because that was 2 years away from the time of the reading and I didn't want to go through more difficulties. I was dealing with dis-ease, injury and pain around then and was ready for a big break. He didn't understand why that made me sad. It also crossed my mind that I could be dead and that is why I will be in such a great spiritual place - home, finally, and free. Yet I am not done. So here is to letting go, inviting magic in and a great 2013 . . . soon come.
This blog took me from Black Canyon Cafe for mock coffee, to Aum the healthy veg restaurant for a fruit smoothie, back to my hotel room to figure out a system to upload pix quick (done) and then to my fave restaurant Blue Diamond where I had wide noodles with veg and tofu and a cereal coffee that was divine and a gluten free brownie for desert. I am now waiting for my stomach to digest the food so I can go have a Thai massage and out into the nite again.
David, the sweet Thai guy who works nites at my hotel just came and put a lit candle on my table as I am now sitting outside and it is getting dark as the fireworks and crackers start up again on cue.
Writing this took as long as experiencing it. Hmm.
I live life twice and I am ok with that . . . for now.
I watched a newly wed couple on their honeymoon
who launched their lantern (aka Khom Loi) up
- what a sweet thing to do.
 |
| honeymooners setting sail their dreams |
 |
| with a little help from a monk |
 |
| into the cosmos |
Like a sea of jellyfish floating into the sky
I decided to launch mine with the monks near a temple. I wanted to be around their energy rather than the river area which was sardine packed, though at the river I launched my light boat. The concept with the little boat is to release your sins (providing you are interesting enough to have them), bad deeds, habits, worries - whatever you would like to or need to release and as the boat sets sail off sail your sins as well. Goodbye.
I bought my sin boat from this sweet
Thai guy just because of his smile.
 |
| Lighting the boats by the river's edge |
 |
| A pretty collection of them gathered against a wooden pier. |
 |
| The lily like boat |
 |
| swan like boats |
I love the symbolism and I perform similar rituals on full moons yet this was particularly magical with the energy of Chiang Mai along with people from all over the world joining in on the festivities.
Some of the lanterns were really large
and a whole group would set it off
I was just like a kid seeing balloons for the first time as I looked up into the sky in complete awe. It brought tears to my eyes a few times. And the kids were particularly fun to witness . . .
This little girl/boy was so excited when it went up
that s/he ran and gave mom a hug.
With the lantern launch you light up this coil ring (a fuel cell) that is attached to the bottom of your lantern which is made up of rice paper. You hold it up and wait for it to heat up the lantern. Then you make a big honking wish and release it.
 |
| a monk helping me light mine |
 |
| My lantern, my wishes . . . |
 |
| Letting go |
This comes with some side kicks, like I got burned by my lantern which really freakin stung (not sure the significance of that). So now I have a red mark reminder on my hand. As well I got burned by my little boat, hmm. Yet my boat did not sink which would have been a bad sign. There were also a few fires as lanterns got caught in trees and along electrical wires. Apparently there are a few mishaps every year and praps a couple deaths but not enough to ban it like they did to our lovely lantern nite in Vancouver. I mean magic comes with a price right . . . and I am obviously willing. And though there were big bleepin crowds, Thais are so gentle that they don't trample you down like a herd of holy cattle like they would in India.
There was, and likely still is, so many festivities wrapped around this event. There was some kind of strange beauty contest where the women/girls look like geishas and the men/boys look like some kind of spartacus era type manliboyness with material wrapped around their loins in a particular present wrapping method. It was their version of Barbie and Ken I surmise.
 |
| Pageant winners |
 |
| A princess on sticks |
There was also a parade which I found rather ornate and strange. Lots of decorated women with loads of makeup wearing bright colored costumes sitting pristinely on top of wooden platforms that young virile menslashboys in their present wrapped loins carried on their youthful shoulders. The women would pose and smile preciously for us as the gamut of tourists took a gamut of photos.
 |
| A lantern float in the parade |
Fireworks and annoying firecrackers are exploding perpetually. This makes me particularly nervous and one went off at my foot as I was walking with the parade down to the river which seems to be the protocol walk. This event starts as the sun goes down and goes well into the a.m.. I got a good set of earplugs otherwise I wud be looped for zee's.
There are also lanterns and candles lit around
homes and venues.
homes and venues.
Plus some fancy boats in the moat.
So far the boats just sit there all lit up like a floating Xmas ornament yet I have a feeling they are meant to do something else at some point though I rarely research these things. For me it is mostly chance and circumstance which is why finding a hotel was such a chore. I just didn't know all this was going down. Mega people, fewer vacancies, hotel prices go up a few hundred baht, yet so worth the experience.
There are also these balloon like lanterns set up in certain areas to view. Like this little plethora of mock buildings - Piza, the Eiffel Tower and the Orpheum and other monumental places depicted from around the world. More pictures, always more pictures. Click click.
In this pic there is a guy who is actually balancing a bottle
on his forehead and a ball on top of that - pretty impressive.
He was doing all kinds of turns and rolls and acrobatics
with balls and balancing and with this
configuration on his forehead.
configuration on his forehead.
At one point I didn't bring my camera and thought, I can't see this without my camera. Lately I don't bother with taking pics so much yet they are great to help illustrate writing (in this case blog), so I have been packing mine about and taking pics of things that I already know and have even taken pics of in the past, yet here I go again. Hope you appreciate the pictorial version to accent my words. A thousand words for one picture cuts out on a lot of writing yet makes for a lot of picture editing, filing and compressing, sigh.
One thing I observe is how much we document things. Are we really experiencing things as we shoot pictures of what we want to see later or show others. It makes me consider taking a hiatus from my electronic gear - laptop, iphone gadget, camera etc. What kind of world are we living in when we document our experiences rather than living in the moment of now and experiencing it to the fullest. Which also makes me ponder the idea of writing about it. Anaiis Nin says, 'When you write, you live life twice'. Do I need to? Isn't once enough?
Yet on 'the other side' there is the akashic records and all events and memories throughout time are stored there. I believe we are here to gather information, learn, share. I feel this all gets stored somewhere besides our own memory bank.
Here are two wickedly cute Thai toddlers . . .
they aren't toting any electrical gadgets . . .
As I write this, I am outside at the Black Canyon Cafe now on Rachadamnoen Road kitty korner to the landmark Thai Pai Gate sucking up all the exhaust fumes that the brick wall from the fortress of the moat boomerangs back to me. As you can see in the above pic, the locals are wearing masks over their faces even this little tot. I noticed this first in Korea as many passengers boarded the plane wearing them and more wear them here in Chiang Mai, including a local policeman and one of my tuk tuk drivers. Makes one think, yet how much good can it do. You are still breathing the air with it's pollutants.
I am going to move to Aum, the healthy veg restaurant just a door away on the wall side of the street to have a mixed fruit smoothy.
Well the year is about to end so it was such a great time for me to let go of what no longer serves me and to invite in new magical things. Though I figure my life is pretty magic for the most part. An astrologer in India told me that the year 2013 would be amazing for me - that I would be in such a great spiritual place. At the time I cried because that was 2 years away from the time of the reading and I didn't want to go through more difficulties. I was dealing with dis-ease, injury and pain around then and was ready for a big break. He didn't understand why that made me sad. It also crossed my mind that I could be dead and that is why I will be in such a great spiritual place - home, finally, and free. Yet I am not done. So here is to letting go, inviting magic in and a great 2013 . . . soon come.
 |
| Wishes do come true . . . Those are not star Those are dreams |
David, the sweet Thai guy who works nites at my hotel just came and put a lit candle on my table as I am now sitting outside and it is getting dark as the fireworks and crackers start up again on cue.
Writing this took as long as experiencing it. Hmm.
I live life twice and I am ok with that . . . for now.
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