We arrived in Chiang Mai late and checked into the Little Bird Guest House, where we had reserved two beds in a six-person dorm. We had an uneventful evening and went to sleep. In the morning, we had breakfast at a restaurant called “The Wall” (as in Pink Floyd). This was the beginning of a streak of hearty American breakfasts: scrambled eggs, toast with butter and jam, orange juice, tea, and sometimes fruit or baked beans. I normally never eat breakfasts so big, but I suppose they really gave me the energy necessary for a day of traveling or sight-seeing. After we ate, Malone and I briefly visited a wat near our hostel. The wat was beautiful, and different from those we had seen in Bangkok. On the inside of the wat, behind several sitting Buddhas clothed in orange robes, was a beautiful landscape mural with a giant tree behind the central Buddha. When we had finished viewing the wat, we walked toward the center of the old city of Chiang Mai. Across the canal that borders the city, we came upon the parade of the Flower Festival.
The Chiang Mai Flower Festival is an annual festival in February, when the cool season is ending and flowers are in full bloom. Plant and flower vendors set up stalls around the city, but our full attention was on the parade. When we saw the first float, we rushed to take pictures of it as it passed, not knowing that the parade would continue for hours. The float was covered with white, pink, orange, and purple flowers, and on top of it, men and women dressed in elaborate Thai costume, with detailed gold crowns atop their heads, danced. Each float that passed us by seemed more magnificent than the last. This post would be much better if I knew the names of the flowers that covered each float from top to bottom. Floats had flower sculptures of elephants, rabbits (it’s the year of the rabbit), naga (the mythical serpent found on many temples), peacocks, swans, Hindu gods and Buddhas, and detailed, colorful patterns. The floral scent was subtle, but the flowers themselves were so colorful, brilliant, and lively. Beautiful Thai women, with paper parasols to shield them from the hot sun, and men dressed in traditional costume sat on top of each float. Interspersed between the floats walked groups of people in traditional dress, carrying flowers in bowls, vases, or bouquets. There were dancing groups and marching bands in costume. Our favorite marching band, dressed in gray jumpsuits with red converse high-tops, played several Beatles songs. Monks in orange robes watched the parade from balconies or chairs on the sidewalks in front of temples.
We walked in the direction from which the parade was coming, in order to see more. The streets were littered with stepped-on flowers, the sidewalks were crowded with both tourists and Thai people, and the sun was hot. We veered onto a side street and entered the fabric district, where colorful fabrics and hippie clothing hung from hangers outside store doors. We shopped a bit, went back to the main road and had lunch as the parade went by, and walked back toward the canal, where a market was set up with colorful bedspreads and pillowcases, jewelry, wooden instruments, shoes, pottery and wooden dishes, and more. After a rest at the hostel, we went back out to the Night Bazaar, where stalls lined the sidewalks. At first as we walked past the stalls, it looked like the goods being sold were original, but as we continued down the street, the same products kept popping up. We had our first experiences bargaining, always asking for a better price than what was offered and then meeting somewhere in the middle. The stalls were filled with clothes, sunglasses, shoes, bags, artwork, lanterns, toys, and other souvenirs. We didn’t buy much this night, but visited the Night Bazaar on another night in Chiang Mai. This night, we opted for massages. It was the only massage I got during my whole trip, though they only cost about $5 for an hour of massaging. I asked for a neck, shoulder, and back massage, but most of the massage was actually a head massage, and I felt like my masseuse was ripping out every single hair in my head. When she finished, she asked, “Do you want anything?” and, not realizing that the hour was up, I thought she was asking if I wanted her to focus on any specific part of my body. I said, “Sure, you can do my lower back for a bit.” She laughed at me and shook her head. It turned out she had only meant to ask if I wanted any water to drink. Embarrassing. We ended our second night in Chiang Mai with a late dinner—vegetarian Pad Thai and iced tea for me—and went back to the hostel to sleep.
