Ringing in the New Year Thai style

The countdown began a week ago when Thapae Gate was transformed into a temporary night market offering up food for every palate, and a large variety of stalls selling everything from clothing to key chains.  Live music and cultural shows provided nightly entertainment on the large band stand that was set up in the middle of the square.  We went to the market almost every night this past week, enjoying the amazing street food – sushi, dim sum, corn on the cob, grilled fish, pad thai – there was so much to choose from, and everything was delicious and cheap.

The “Countdown to 2013”  festival culminated on New Year’s Eve where thousands of people congregated around Thapae Gate and the  immediate vicinity.  Closed to traffic, the surrounding streets sprouted even more markets on this final night of festivities.  The atmosphere was charged with happy energy as people released floating lanterns into the night sky as a way to show respect to Buddha, to release bad memories and to make a wish for the future.

These paper lanterns came in a variety of sizes and colours and could be bought from hawkers on the street for 30-50 Baht apiece.  Most were white and quite large, about a metre high and a half a metre in diameter.   At the base of the lantern, held in place by thin wire, was a disk that when lit produced a strong flame.  After a few moments, the heat from the flame created a pocket of hot air trapped within the lantern that caused it to rise and float away much like a hot air balloon.

Chris and I set our lantern afloat early in the evening and we both found the experience to be magical as we watched our lantern get swept away high in the sky joining a myriad of lanterns that already dotted the horizon like a new constellation twinkling in the black sky.   Not all lanterns were released successfully – some got caught in tree branches and turned into balls of fire that just burned out quickly, while others were released prematurely and lacking sufficient heat to rise, fell to their demise in the waters of the moat below.  But these were the exception as most were carried up and  away swiftly by a gentle breeze.

Fireworks kept going off all around us, in every direction throughout the evening.  Children shot fireworks from tubes that were sold by street hawkers, creating little pops of light and sparkles.  Others had purchased fireworks earlier and set these off in random places.  The official fireworks went off after the final countdown to midnight, a dazzling, beautiful display that lasted for about ten minutes. Just past midnight, we released another lantern with our new friend Monique who we had befriended earlier in the day.  Monique is staying at our guesthouse too and up until today we have simply exchanged courteous greetings with her each morning at breakfast.

But today was different and for some reason we had an extended chat with her.  One thing led to another, and before I knew it, she was telling me about her recent trip to India where she volunteered at a school for a month.  It turns out she runs a non-profit association, Petit Plus, and she has been searching for a new project to support through her association.  This school has captured her heart and her passion. Her enthusiasm was infectious and when I learned she didn’t have a website for her association, I suggested this was something I could perhaps help her with……and so Monique and I released our lantern wishing great things for this school in India, for her association, and for our new found friendship and collaboration.

Best wishes to all our family and friends, new and old, from Canada and around the world.  We wish you all a new year full of peace, happiness, and prosperity….with a little adventure thrown in for good measure.

 Video:  New Year’s Eve in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
 

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