Festival in Pai then back to Chiang Mai

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  Chiang Mai, Thailand
Thursday, October 25, 2007

Thursday, October 25th- 6:11 pm

The street festival in Pai last last was loads of fun! I spent most of the night walking around with Anna and our new pal, Ilia (also a Russian living in Israel). My secondary mission (primary one being to have a blast!) was to take as many pictures as possible to capture the spirit of the night for those back at home and for the Francine of the future. I think I accomplished this goal well.

We visited all of the stages, spending a bit of time at each one. Each featured a different style of music and all were, in their own way, entertaining. I've come to the solid conclusion that my ear in not in tune with Thai pop music, which attracted tons of drunken Thais, both young and old. The folk stage had a good beat with excellent harmonica solos and a funky sqeezebox player. The reggae stage attracted the most amount of traveller and expats. And the renditions of Bob Marley and Sublime hits were not in the least bit spoiled by the fact that very little of the english language was known. there was also a mini stage with what looked like classes of Thai schoolchildren playing a whole band of tradional instruments.

The most exciting part of the night for me was the lighting of the lanterns. While walking the streets at one point, fireworks filled the air for about five minutes, which were great to watch. The  after that point, the sky slowly started to fill up with these floating white paper lanterns. At first, I noticed a couple. Then that couple was followed by a dozen more. And then another dozen. Until the sky was almost filled with an entire herd of glowing lanters, calmly migrating their way in an s shape into the heavens. It was a marvelous sight! I was first exposed to these Thai paper lanterns while at the Sanctuary, so I knew what they were and what this ritual is all about. Quite simply, one makes a wish when sending off a lantern and then heaven, I guess thankful for the lantern donation, will grant one's wish. In the streets of Pai, I was wide-eyed and giddy like a child on Christmas day! I had to get to the source of the lantern launching! So, the three of us ran, dodging people, dogs and vendors. We reached the large field to find literally hundreds of people and just a many lanterns in various stages of flight. After a couple of minutes of me running around smiling like a goof, gasping and taking pictures, I got the idea that the three of us just had to send off a wish of our own! We searched the grounds to find the source and found the pile of collasped lanterns, where else, but beside the big red fire truck. With the help of a friendly Thai man, we got our lantern upright and lit. The flame in the middle of the lantern will eventually heat the air inside and cause it to rise up up up. The key to a good takeoff (I knew) was patience. We all had the chance to take eachother's picture holding the lantern and to carefully formulate our wish. But that still wasn't enough time. I could tell that there were others that did not repect the key to takeoff, as many lanterns had not enough heat to rise. These just dangerously smacked flames into innocent bystander's hair or found themsleves stuck in palm trees. However, after convincing my lanternmates to keep holding for another 7 minutes, our lantern took off with lightening speed! Off goes our wish, sure to be granted due to the velocity of it's enterance into the sacred space! Haha!

That was definetly the highlight of the night for me, as you can tell from my enthusiasm. Although, is one other event worth mentioning. I ate my first bag 'o sugar cane, which I bought for 10 baht. To be truthful, I purchased it thinking that it was cut up banana. I know this should go without saying, but that sugarcane is damn sweet! I don't know how one could eat a whole bag of it as I only could munch down four peices comfortablly. (Actually, you don't actually eat sugar cane, but just chew the juice out of the peices and then spit out the fibre.)

So, it was a good night and a late one too. But I was up early this morning, preparing for my Pai departure and return to Chiang Mai. I caught a mini bus at noon and was back in Chiang Mai by four. Let the next leg of the race, er.. I mean journey begin...

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