Thai New Year or "Songkran" in Chiang Mai
by allthai
Songkran, or the Thai New Year, is still the most important of all the Thai festivals and holidays. Each year, the four-day celebration of Songkran consists of many activities, and these are briefly explained below.
April 12 is Wan Sungkharn Lohng. This is a day for house cleaning and general preparation for the New Year. In the evening it is traditional for Thais to dress up as a signal of the coming new year.
In Chiangmai, the Songkran procession is held on this day. This is a parade through Chiangmai comprised of Buddha images and attendants on floats, which are accompanied by minstrels and the town's people.
April 13 is Wan Nao. On this day people prepare cooked meals and preserved food for the Buddhist merit-making that takes place on the following day.
Activities at Wat Prasingh continue on this day and in the evening local residents go to the banks of the Mae Ping River and gather sand to be deposited in piles topped by flowers in the temples.
April 14 is Wan Payawan. On this day a grand new year begins with early morning merit-making at the temples. Preserved and cooked foods, fresh fruit, monks' robes and other offerings are made at the temples. In the home, people do the final cleaning of Buddha images using scented water. Traditionally this is the day that the pouring of water begins. It was once the practice to pour gently, but the fun-loving Thais have transposed this into a relative water free-for-all.
April 15 is Wan Parg-bpee. On this day homage is paid to ancestors, elders and other persons deserving respect because of age of position. This is called 'Rohd Nam Songkran', meaning 'The Pouring of Songkran Water', and the water is sprinkled on the elder persons while uttering wishes of good luck and a happy future.
In Chiangmai, this is the final day of the celebration and the day on which people have built up to a crescendo of water throwing. It is the day when all family and religious obligations have been completed and the people are totally dedicated to having fun.
Silver Jewellery & Silverware
by yipsufen about Silver Jewellery
Silverware is another old Chiang Mai art. Silver content is at least 92.5%. Hilltribe silver work is valued less for its silver content (which is low) than for the intricate work that goes into making it.
The design of silver jewellery is a bit not so trendy & contemporary. The factory gallery is educational, which involves processes on moulding, polishing, crafting, etc.
Cruising along
by Linda_T about Riverside Bar and Restaurant
The food and ambience of the cruise was fantastic. You need to book in advance at it gets pretty busy.
We arrived at the restaurant and had a drink and perused the menu. We then boarded the boat and placed our order. When our food arrived the boat cruised up the Ping River and back.
Boarding time: 7 : 15 PM
Departure time: 8 : 00 PM
Duration: 75 minutes
Boat charge: 90B for adults / 45B for kids 5-10years
Reservations: recommended The menu was varied with a huge selection of Thai and Western food. The Chicken Green Curry was delicious.
Golden Triangle Part 1
by nattybabe
We decided to take a full day tour from Chiang Mai to the Golden Triangle as well as the Karen Long necked Hill Tribe. It was a really long day (7.00am - 9.30pm) but it was completely worth it. Obviously it would be better to see these attractions from Chiang Rai but we were short on time and didn't have the opportunity. It cost 800 Baht for the full day including water, snacks and lunch. Quite reasonable I thought!
Elephant Riding with Nice Place Guesthouse
by Waxbag
Elephant Riding We used a ladder and platform to board our elephants. There were two per elephant. Our elephant was pregnant and the owner told us to be careful. We weren’t really sure what that meant because I can’t imagine what we could do to hurt her but we were as gentle as we could be. We had to step on her head to get to the saddled bench. Riding an elephant is much harder than riding a camel. The ride was very bumpy and twice we almost fell off. You must devote one hand to the elephant seat at all times. The elephants are also oblivious to the passengers and will walk under limbs and branches that can easily flick off their precious cargo. John had to hold on to my belt loop to keep me on as I tried to take pictures and video the experience. There were 5 elephants and one baby who occasionally suckled from its momma’s massive mammories. We saw one elephant with a ‘5th’ leg that swung from side to side like a pendulum. The elephant behind unleashed its bladder and bowels creating a thunderous cascade matching the volumetric flow of the waterfalls we saw yesterday with a few large muffins thrown in for good measure. We rode for 1 ½ hours to another platform then disembarked and parted with our elephants.
Sign in with Facebook
Chedi
Wen and the vendor
Artist going amazing work
Wat Phra Singh
