Chiang Mai

As we arrived in Chiang Mai for the light festival, we saw inklings of it before it started – floats on the river, inflated elephants doing sports, temples decorated and ready for the celebrations.

Katie and I went exploring through the city and found some amusing translations again.

The festival didn’t begin until the following day but we stumbled across a procession and decided to just follow it! There were monks, dancers, banners and people of all ages. People were carrying trees made of money that others added to as they passed.

We walked for about 10 minutes before reaching a spectacular temple. It was partially destroyed but still had golden Buddhas facing each direction.

We found the end of the procession. Monks were lined praying and there were girls in traditional dress. As we left the temple we saw monks in a tuk tuk, it was comical. The evening was really magical and set us up for the light festival!

I will continue this tomorrow but there’s a taster of Chiang Mai so far. The beautiful city captured my heart second time around. Stay tuned!