And Then There Was Lilly...

My brothers girlfriend, Eve, repeatedly asked me why I decided to finally visit my brother in Thailand. To which I would reply, "to meet Lilly of course." A highlight of my trip to Thailand other than seeing my brother was getting to meet Lilly for the first time. Lilly is Eve's daughter and the adorable girl that my brother is helping to raise. She is only 15 months old but is quite developed as far as her size and getting around capabilities. Due to her size Jeremy has dubbed her Lilly "Kong."

Her biggest trick is raising her hands high above her head when you ask, "where is Lilly?" This is followed by smiling for the camera, stacking blocks and doing a really cute dance. Oh, and she can say and wave bye bye. I had a great time hanging out with Lilly during my two weeks there and hope some day she will be able to come and visit me.

Krathongs... day two of Loy Krathong

Besides the fireworks and floating lanterns (post to come) there is the making and floating of the Krathongs. I love this festival! Krathongs are made out of banana stalks, banana leaves, and flowers. With the addition of incense, candles and money if you're gonna do it the right way. These floating rafts are meant to float away and take with them all of your bad luck so that you can start anew. At the same time that you're sending off your bad luck you also pray to the river God and apologize for any pollution you may be creating.

Jeremy and I made our Krathongs at the guesthouse with help from Nuy. It's still hard for me to get used to the fact that orchids are abundant here and can be used for decorations. Almost every iced drink I've purchased here has been decorated with an orchid.

We floated our Krathongs rather fast as there were some young kids near us lighting off crazy fireworks. You can hear Jeremy saying "ahhhhhhhhhhhhh" in response. We actually ran away at the end to avoid a firework mishap.

I Survived...

I'm happy to report that I'm still alive and well... probably even improved after last nights festivities. It is known by my friends that I do not enjoy fireworks. Come the 4th of July I like to grab my backpack and hightail it to the wilderness where the only things sparkling in the night sky are stars and planets.

The sound of fireworks have been fairly consistent around here for the last two days as anyone can buy them inexpensively and there is no social code as to when or where you should demonstrate your playing with fire and gunpowder capabilities. I kid you not when I say I have awoken to the sound of firecrackers both yesterday and today around 6am. Last night was THE night for fireworks of all kinds. And to get to where the most of the fireworks were being ignited I had to hop on my brothers motorcycle and drive the crazy streets of Chiang Mai to get to the river. The closer to the river we got the crazier it got. People, food, and fireworks surrounded my every step. Not a corner existed where one could hide and be safe from the noise, smells, and hazards flying through the air. As crazy as it was I was told by several people that this was the "mellow" part of the river and that everywhere else was 100 times more insane.

The faces of my brother and his friends Matt and David were filled with delight as they purchased 12 fireworks that looked like mini bombs for about $8. In the States people often buy illegal fireworks like bottle rockets. These were a entirely different level of illegal. These were a the small version what you see in professional fireworks displays. And they were awesome! Who knew I could enjoy fireworks so much? I witnessed more fireworks last night than I probably have in the entirety of my life.

Now while I couldn't let my sense of self preservation stop me from having fun, at the same time there was a constant need of awareness. It seemed many people had no idea how their fireworks worked. This led to a lot of running and dodging as things would go awry. And not only did you have to watch out for fireworks but also lanterns that people were releasing. If you release the lanterns too soon they will not float up and instead float right towards crowds and catch on fire. And then there are those people who attach fireworks to their lanterns and release them too soon. Use your imagination. Another sound of the night was from people screaming as they watched fireworks and lanterns go wrong. Fortunately I witnessed no major incidences.

This video is unfortunately shot sideways but shows lanterns floating in the sky, Krathongs floating in the river, fireworks zooming across the river and gives a sense of what it sounded like to be there.

Loy Krathong - Day One...

November 1, 2009 is the first official day of Loy Krathong this year. The festival is centered around the full moon and is three days long. Yesterday morning was spent decorating the entrance to the guesthouse with flowers. Yesterday evening was the opening cereomy which included, fireworks, a parade, a beauty pageant, floating lanterns and a large and lively night market.

Everything here is decorated and I have a feeling it is rubbing off on me. I was not able to sit back and watch as people played with flowers... i couldn't resist jumping right in

even though I had no idea of what I was doing. The people here are so nice and layed back and welcomed my attempted help.

Later in then evening we walked to the city wall where the opening ceremonies were being held. Lighted paper lanterns hung above our heads and street food was abundant. A parade of beatiful traditional Thai culture passed down the street and we enjoyed sitting and watching as people sent paper lanterns up into the sky.

There was also a surprising fireworks show as seen in this video. The fireworks were actually being launched from about 100 feet away from us. Thank goodness they all went up into the air!