In the spirit of ongoing aesthetic overload, one night we grabbed a tuk-tuk and followed what appeared to be new, extra-bright constellations to their origin: the bank of the Ping river. There we found what seemed to be the lion's share of Chiang Mai's teen population shooting off incredibly loud fireworks. More sedate people were launching paper lanterns. We, of course, couldn't resist that.
These ingenious contraptions are made of bamboo, tissue paper, and a coil of something (?) that burns. As the lantern fills with hot air from the fire, it rises. During the Loi Krathon festival, the first week of November, thousands of these lanterns are launched all over the city. We had to leave for Laos before the festival began, but fortunately people had started early, so we got to help brighten the night sky.
We're scheming on a way to introduce these to Dolores Park back home, which, along with the Magic Curry Cart and the Creme Brulee cart, would truly make ours the raddest neighborhood in America.
(Some video footage borrowed from the intertent)
That is amazing and beautiful. It must have been quite an experience to see all those lights rising up in the night sky. Reminds me of that Japanese ritual of putting the candles on boats in the ocean.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing there's a reason we don't have these lanterns in the US. Uh, safety...
It is entrancing. I was disappointed that we were missing this festival in Thailand, so it was a great treat to get a preview. Also, the super-big, people-sized ones can come with fireworks, so as they rise, they stream big white sparks from below. You feel like you're 5 years old watching them.
ReplyDeleteOh, and yeah, maybe there are some fire issues there.
ReplyDelete