and how we accidentally discovered it…

Tillman and I planned our trip around my work schedule in November.  The plan was to see Bangkok, fly up north to Chiang Mai and then spends time on the islands (you can see details of our itinerary here.) We didn’t have a huge agenda, just wanted to explore, but after booking our flights north we quickly caught on that something big was happening while we were in Chiang Mai.  Everywhere was booked up.

A fast google search told us it was Loi Krathong… never heard of it. Turns out this was a little like booking a trip to the U.S. in the summer but not being familiar with the 4th of July. Loi Krathong coincides with the northern Thai festival Yi Peng, the festival of lights.  The festival is to show respect to Buddha and consists of so many parades, tons of fireworks, floating “krathongs” lit with candles, and thousands of lanterns in the sky. 

Holding our Krathong just before launching it in the river. 

The city was buzzing with energy on the days before, but nothing could compare to the night of Loi Krathong. It was crazy. The streets were closed and packed with people. The scene was surreal: lanterns and krathongs being lit in every direction, fireworks going off in the sky and on the street, people hugging and laughing, music blasting out of every store front and parade float.  We described it as “Thailand meets burn night” as a reference for my fellow burners out there.

It was incredible. We hadn’t planned on making Loi Krathong part of our trip but it was a very happy accident that we ended up in Chiang Mai while it was happening!

Before we left and while we were in Thailand it was hard to track down info, so here are my tips for Loi Krathong:

• Skip the paid lantern release. We got asked more than once by other travelers about a “mass ascension” of lanterns that was some kind of paid event.  You do not need to pay or go out of the main city to get in on the action.  The main event is essentially a mass ascension and it takes place right in the city center.
• Stay close to the action (and book early!)  Places to stay start booking up fast during this time so make sure to book in advance.  We stayed at Rustic Guesthouse which allowed us to walk to everything. On the day of Loi Krathong, we took our motorbikes up to a near by temple but were warned not to stay too late into the afternoon because roads start closing and you can get stuck. When we got back, we parked the motorbikes and walked for the rest of the day.
• Follow the crowd.  An official launch starts at Nawarat bridge at about 6:30pm and then continues down the river. We walked from our guest house to the city center with no plan but everyone was heading in the same direction. We immediately ran into a parade on what I think is Charoen Prathet Rd. There was a beauty pageant near Tha Phae Gate, so many food stalls lining the roads, and lanterns being set afloat all along the riverside of the river Ping. We could also see plenty fireworks and firecrackers from the river. There will be TONS of people, just find a spot that looks interesting and join in!
• There’s not really a “main event”. The festival is the main event. As far as timing goes, there wasn’t really any map or schedule of structured events in the “go here and let off a lantern at 6pm” sense.  There was a constant stream of things happening, though, so we really just walked around and stopped at anything and everything that seemed interesting. It really just felt like one big party.
• Participate! Definitely light off your own lantern and Krathong. Both were being sold all along the river as well as at stands throughout the city in the days before the festival. We grabbed a lantern to light off that night but we took our time finding a krathong we really loved and it was extra special to send it down the river.

Here is our Krathong and a few pictures of the festivities: