I didn't change or shower upon return to the hostel. Which was just as well given what followed. At about 1800, the owner popped his head into the dorm and asked how come I wasn't going with the rest of the group in a songthaew to the Yi Peng site. I hadn't heard about the excursion. I had only asked the owner the day before how to get there. It seemed that he had taken the initiative and organised (hired) transport for the hostellers. So I popped on my sneakers and grabbed my daypack and we were off.
Tardiness is sometimes rewarded. I got to sit in the air-conditioned cabin with the driver, who spoke good English, while the others had the benches in the back. We took a back road to enter the campus of Maejo University, an agricultural college. The driver had to call his friend on the mobile several times to find the exact way; he confessed that it was his first time taking that route. There was a lot of traffic with the same destination so it took about an hour to get there.
The site was a canal bank. It was absolutely chockers with people. As expected of any huge gathering like this in Thailand, hawkers were out in force. Besides the lantern sellers, there were stalls selling snacks and LED trinkets.
We had until 2100 to return to the songthaew. I didn't want to get lost so asked a couple of German boys if I could stick with them, figuring them to be more reliable than the other hostellers.
The bank of the canal was crowded, grassy, uneven and slippery in parts. There was the ever present hazard of slipping into the canal and indeed later I saw a woman slip in, and get hauled out by rescuers.
Most of my shots did not come out well. The main problem was the dim light leading to long exposures and camera shake. It was a situation where an expensive kickass camera and monster lens would have been handy. Still, I've been there and that's what counts.
One of the more successful shots.
Lighting the doughnut.
And it's ready to fly.
One of the show-off lanterns with a sparkler attached.
The Germans decided that they wanted to participate so they bought a pair of lanterns each from a vendor. There was a sports field or similar open area where there would be a mass launching of lanterns.
We jostled our way along with the rest of the crowd towards the field. Progress was agonisingly slow. As we approached, we could hear the announcer say over the PA: Please wait until the signal to release the lanterns together so that we can get a beautiful photo.
This was as close as we got when the release happened. I suspect it would have been impossible to get into the field anyway; we would have had to start many minutes or hours before.
Still, it was an unforgettable sight.
Somehow one of the Germans boys got separated. The other and I decided to return to the canal bank. Eventually we were reunited but from the expression on the lost one's face, it had been a bit traumatic.
So with the remaining 30 minutes or so, we had to launch the unused lanterns and find our way back to the car park. But we did it and the Germans got the photos and videos they wanted.
We got back to the songthaew on the dot. But others were late. It didn't matter anyway, the roads were clogged, so badly that the people walking back to cars they had parked hundreds of metres away could match the songthaew's speed.
Back in Chiang Mai, the group decided to get a late dinner at the Dada Kafe, despite some reservations. After a 20 minute walk, we discovered that it was closed. Disgruntlement all around. I couldn't help thinking: Abilene Paradox. (I've been doing a psychology course.)
So we went to another restaurant. They were about to close the kitchen but agreed to take our orders. After a while they came back and said sorry we've run out of something or other, would you like to change your order? This happened a couple of times, and finally they said, sorry we really don't have any food left. So we paid for the drinks and left.
The Germans and a British guy ended up buying microwaved snacks at a 7/11. I still had the bento bowl from earlier so I went back to the hostel to eat that.
It was such a relief to strip out of sweat drenched clothes, shower and get into bed. Unfortunately that wasn't the end of the night for revellers. Loud firecracker bangs continued into the small hours of the morning. I remembered doing such things as a kid, but I dislike sudden loud noises now. It felt at odds with the very polite Thai culture. I suppose each culture has its own way of having a fling.
The bank of the canal was crowded, grassy, uneven and slippery in parts. There was the ever present hazard of slipping into the canal and indeed later I saw a woman slip in, and get hauled out by rescuers.
Most of my shots did not come out well. The main problem was the dim light leading to long exposures and camera shake. It was a situation where an expensive kickass camera and monster lens would have been handy. Still, I've been there and that's what counts.
The Germans decided that they wanted to participate so they bought a pair of lanterns each from a vendor. There was a sports field or similar open area where there would be a mass launching of lanterns.
We jostled our way along with the rest of the crowd towards the field. Progress was agonisingly slow. As we approached, we could hear the announcer say over the PA: Please wait until the signal to release the lanterns together so that we can get a beautiful photo.
Somehow one of the Germans boys got separated. The other and I decided to return to the canal bank. Eventually we were reunited but from the expression on the lost one's face, it had been a bit traumatic.
So with the remaining 30 minutes or so, we had to launch the unused lanterns and find our way back to the car park. But we did it and the Germans got the photos and videos they wanted.
We got back to the songthaew on the dot. But others were late. It didn't matter anyway, the roads were clogged, so badly that the people walking back to cars they had parked hundreds of metres away could match the songthaew's speed.
So we went to another restaurant. They were about to close the kitchen but agreed to take our orders. After a while they came back and said sorry we've run out of something or other, would you like to change your order? This happened a couple of times, and finally they said, sorry we really don't have any food left. So we paid for the drinks and left.
The Germans and a British guy ended up buying microwaved snacks at a 7/11. I still had the bento bowl from earlier so I went back to the hostel to eat that.
It was such a relief to strip out of sweat drenched clothes, shower and get into bed. Unfortunately that wasn't the end of the night for revellers. Loud firecracker bangs continued into the small hours of the morning. I remembered doing such things as a kid, but I dislike sudden loud noises now. It felt at odds with the very polite Thai culture. I suppose each culture has its own way of having a fling.
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