One day I’ll fly away

I was in Chiang Mai from November 25 to December 1 to attend a training organized by the Asian Harm Reduction Network. This is the second training that I had attended for the year, a satisfactory number. One of the disadvantages of working independently is you’ll have to take charge of your professional development. You need to find and pay for trainings that employers usually provide to or facilitate for full-time employees. I left Phnom Penh on Sunday morning, which was the last day of the Bun Om Tuk (Water Festival). I had been totally clueless about this year’s festival, even  if I lived very close to the riverside, that I wasn’t aware of the unfortunate incident that claimed 6 lives. If I weren’t blog-hopping, I wouldn’t have read known about that story.

In spite of the delayed flight, I arrived in Chiang Mai at around 3PM. The hotel was just a block away from Chiang Mai’s famed Night Bazaar. But my first plan was to find the nearest mall, buy a replacement for my worn Nike, and watch a movie–3 things I couldn’t do in Cambodia. I tried to catch some sleep after unpacking and I woke up around 5.30PM. After a quick hot shower, I put on a shirt, walking shorts and sneakers and went out of the hotel at 6PM. Within 3 minutes I was shivering from the cold night air. I had been confident of my bodily insulation but the cold got the better of me. So I decided to go back to the hotel to put on some jeans. I also wore a light jacket, just in case.

I waited for a taxi for 10 minutes but none came, even if the hotel staff assisted me. So I decided to walk towards the Night Bazaar where I hoped to find a tuktuk, at least. But after about 15 minutes of waiting and walking, I couldn’t find a single tuktuk. I saw that many of the roads had been blocked and there was an extraordinary amount of people walking towards my opposite direction. I realized then that the receptionist at the hotel told me that it was the last day of the Loy Krathong Festival. And Chiang Mai is one of 2 places in Thailand where its celebration is famous (the other place is in Ayutthaya).

So I went with the flow and not long after I found myself on a street lit by lanterns. I saw an old house that seemed lit for the occasion. People were converging here and I followed. The entrance to the grounds were filled with stalls that sold food and drinks. The aromas of the food aroused my appetite–I realized I hadn’t eaten anything since the plane ride. The gravel pathway led me to the bank of the Ping River. A brightly lit dock made of bamboo was constructed so that people can descend the bamboo steps to send the krathong (a small raft made of banana tree trunk, decorated with folded banana leaves, flowers, incense sticks, candles, and a piece of coin) floating on the river. I noted the similarity between this and the Diwali Festival in India where Hindus send floating lanterns on the Ganges River. When I went down the steps I saw a brightly lit bridge in the distance.

Looking farther, it seemed that the stars had descended on the river and landed on its waters, the gentle currents sweeping them away. It is said that when this festival was adapted by the Buddhists, the act of floating away the candle raft became the symbol of letting go of one’s grudges, hatred, and dirty deeds, so that one can start afresh, with a clean slate, so to speak. The Thai believe that floating a krathong will bring good luck. Apart from the krathong, people were also floating things into the air.

Lanterns of varying sizes were being lit and when enough air had accumulated in the dome of the lantern, they send it floating to the air like small hot air balloons. I was getting into the spirit of things so I bought myself a medium-sized lantern (about 30 inches in height) for 50 Baht and brought it to the guy at the dock who was assisting people. He lit the small lamp on the base of the lantern and within 2 minutes my lantern was joining the other lanterns in the sky. It was a breath-taking sight–along with the fireworks that seemed like flowers made of light that bloomed then faded. To me, recalling the symbolism behind the gesture made the sight more awesome. I felt strangely unburdened. Like I could fly away like that too. This is probably why I failed to take a photo of my lantern. The lantern pictured belonged to a group of tourists.

I left the river bank and headed for the brightly lit bridge (Nawarat bridge, as I discovered later). I snaked my way into blocked roads, walking with people, catching snippets of Tagalog and Cebuano intermittently from some of the people, and soon I ended up at the foot of Nawarat Bridge. A big parade was on its way, with huge floats where cute guys and girls in traditional Thai garb sat and waved to the people. Looking at too much eye candy reminded me that I was hungry. While watching the parade, I bought 4 pieces of small folded pancakes with half a hotdog inserted–something like a skillet-cooked waffle, setting me back 5 Baht. Then for another 5 Baht I bought a bag of sweet papaya cubes. I was still hungry. 

There was a plaza close to the foot of the bridge. I saw there was also a night bazaar going on there, with a band performing on a stage nearby. The place looked like something from a Filipino fiesta set up on the grounds of the parish church. But in here the parish church is some government building, I think. Half of the stalls in this place sold food, I happily discovered. After an initial surveillance, I bought a hefty serving of noodles with vegetables (10 Baht), a piece of spicy fried chicken (5 Baht), and 4 pieces of meatballs on a stick smothered with sweet-chili sauce (5 Baht). I washed this down with a big tumbler of iced lemon tea (5 Baht) while listening to the musical performance on stage. That was one of the best one dollar (US) meal I’ve ever had, to tell the truth.

I went back to the hotel a happy man, even if my initial plan was foiled. The pleasure brought  by witnessing and taking part in Loy Krathong is more than any trip to the mall can offer. I decided to sleep with my drapes open because I wanted the sight of the lanterns slowly ascending the night sky to be the last thing I saw before I drifted off to sleep. That night I dreamed of embers and fireflies lighting up the cold night, swirling into the sky and into outer space.

–epilogue–

I was able to go to a mall (Central Airport Plaza), purchase a pair of much-needed sneakers (a Reebok this time), and watch a movie (Robert Zemeckis’ Beowulf) after the second day of the workshop. I enjoyed the mall, the sneakers, and the movie immensely, by the way. Like I said, my quaint Cambodia does not have these three things, for how long, I am not sure. The workshop went well; I learned many things. I was happy to see an old friend (Yuen Mei, pictured with moi) and made new ones as well.