Loy Krathong Festival 2011

in Chiang Mai during 8-10 Nov.
Schedule – Activities – Events

6-15th Nov.

All day – Chiang Mai Lantern Displays @ Around Thapae Gate, Chang Puak Gate, city moat, 3 Kings Monument and Governor’s House.
8th Nov.
18:30-19:00 – Opening /Ceremony of Yee Peng Chiang Mai Festival @ Thapae Gate.
17:00-22:00 – 20th Yee Peng Lantern Procession Contest @ from Thapae Gate to Panthip Plaza
9th Nov.
17:00-24:00 – Yee Peng Kids Contest @ In front of CM Municipality office.
9th- 11th Nov.
All day – Front Gate Decoration @ all temples in Chiang Mai
9:00-22:00 – Hot air balloon release games & Dhamma preaching @ Wat Mok Molee ,Maninoparat rd.
17:00-20:30 – Incredible of thousands Hot Balloon Release at A. Mae jo. “Yee Peng Lanna International” @ Thudon Sathan temple, Maejo, Chiang Mai. Registration www.yeepenglanna.net This year, registration cost US$ 100
17:00-22:00 – Lanna Local Market @ Thapae Gate
9th – 10th Nov.
18:00-24:00 – Miss Yee Peng Beauty Contest @ Tha Pae Gate
10th Nov.
8:00-10:30 – Worship rituals to the house of spirit and white pagoda @ In front of CM Municipality Office, Wangsingkam rd.
9:00-12:00 – Heat Air balloon & Giant Heat Air Balloon Contest @ In front of CM Municipality Office, Wangsingkam rd.
19:00-23:00 – Small Krathong Processions Contest Municipality Office
10th-11th Nov.17:00-24:00 – Hot Balloon release, Krathong release and Fireworks @ Nawarat Bridge, small Bridge and Nakornping Bridge
11th Nov.18:00-24:00 – Giant Krathong Processions Contest @ from Thapae Gate to the front door of CM Municipality Office

Chiang Mai’s unhurried atmosphere, abundance of temples and friendly folks help make window-shopping without windows an utter joy.

Night Bazaar
Changklan Road. Every night from 5pm-around 10pm
Chiang Mai’s oldest and most famous walking street, this stretch of Chang Klan road was long ago a hotspot for traders who’ d come from faraway lands via the southeast Asian river system, Ping River. Nowadays, it’s even more overrun than ever by haggling foreigners. Bargaining is expected of course. Even Night Bazaar is not a shining star, yet it remains a must-see and goes on every night. Loads of fun cad be had and there are several special great spots nearby, just off the street. The comfortable Kalare Centre is a sensational market all its own, with higher-class wares, a varied food court and free cultural performances. Down the road, the Anusarn Market is the place to for fresh seafood and more of an authentic local feel.

Sunday Walking Street
Held at Tha Phae Gate, Ratchadamnoen Road and Prakoplao Road, in the Old City. Beginning times vary, but the best time to show up is 4 or 5pm. Ends aroud 10pm.
What began as lark few years ago has today morphed into one of Asia’s biggest, best , and most boisterous community markets, It’s like parts social gathering .
What make the Walking Street so special is that it’s blessedly free of typical mass-products. Virtually most of the things on display is locally hand made by local artisans, often clever art students from Chiang Mai University looking to earn some extra money themselves. Consequently, you’ll find things here unavailable anywhere else. Likewise, the food is often homemade, out-of-the ordinary and downright delicious – snacking as you walk proves virtually impossible to avoid. And finally , street performers are out in full force, so even those who hate shopping may find themselves happily entertained as they leisurely shamble through the heat of the old town.

Saturday Walking Street
Wualai Road, directly south of th Old city. 5 pm to around 10 pm
The little sister to the Sunday Walking Street in coming of age as well. Saturday market is on the “silvermith’s road” may a bit be more charming. After dark, Wualai road takes on a magic, colorful ambience that is enhanced by loads of shimmering silver jewellery on display. Yet silver merchants make up only a small minority of the stalls; in fact much of the same wares found at the Sunday market can be founded here but less variety and less crowded.

Ref: chiang mai 101 magazine; Oct-Dec 2008

Chiang Mai Events and Festivals in January
• 1 Dec.2010-6Feb.2010> Royal Flora Ratchaphruek festival at Ratchaphruek Royal garden in Mae Hia sub-district.
• Miid January> Bor Sang Umbrella festival that full of local parade with the bright colors of the parasols and fans in ‘Umbrella Village’.
> Chiang Mai Jazz in the City Festival 2011 at “Nim City Daily”, Mahidol rd. on Saturday 15- Sunday 16 January 2011
15 January 2011, 16:00-19:00 Opening ceremony, 19:00-23:30 ANA GRACEY, Koh Mr.Sax Man, Nareekrajang Kantamas, Mum Laconic, Tewan Sapsaenyakorn, etc.
16 January 2011, 16:00-19:00 Activities on stage, 19:00-23:30 Delritmo/Chiang Mai,Harmonica Sunrise, Fourseason, Pom/Autobahn

• Late January> Tawai Wood-crafting fair at the famous handicraft Tawai village, a celebration with stalls and local craft, including hands-on demonstrations.
Chiang Mai Events and Festivals in February
• Begin February> A delicately scented and vibrantly colored procession takes place on Tha Pae road – to celebrate the Chiang Mai Flower festival. It is at this time of year that the flowers of the region are in full splendor.
• Mid-February> Wonderful Chinese New Year’s festivities and unique Lanna Wedding on Elephant Back. Many people travel to Chiang Mai to get married at the Elephant Conservation Center for this romantic event.
Chiang Mai Events and Festivals in April
• Begin April > Poy Sang Long festival, a three day event where young Shan men are paraded around the streets in preparation for Buddhist monkhood. They are dressed in a princely fashion, like the Lord Buddha, before being taken to the monastery for a period to learn the ways of the monks.
• 12-14 April> The famous Water festival called “Song Kran” will be on Thai New Year. This inevitably involves a lot of fun and plenty of water spaying .
Chiang Mai Events and Festivals in November
• 10-11 November> Loi Krathong (Yi Peng) – night-time event held during the first full moon in November, where small boats made of banana leaves are filled with candles, incense and flowers, and then floated down rivers.
• Hilltribe Cultural Festival – throughout November, free event based within the northerly Chiang Rai province, close to Chiang Mai, and featuring live music, craft markets, food stalls, demonstrations and general partying
Chiang Mai Events and Festivals in December
• King’s Birthday – December 5th, celebrated by the whole of Thailand, with much of Chiang Mai featuring a range of celebrations and decorations
• Chiang Mai Mardi Gras – throughout December, parades of costumed dancers and bands, together with plenty of entertainment to go around, make this an event to remember. The Chiang Mai Mardi Gras is based around Changklan Road and lasts for several days
• Chiang Mai Food Festival – throughout December, a chance to sample traditional Thai cuisine at its finest and enjoy cooking demonstrations

The northern province of Chiang Mai will be hosting a majestic International Fireworks Display and Contest on New Year’s Eve to mark the most auspicious occasions of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej 83rd birthday and Her Majesty Queen Sirikit’s 79th birthday as the Thai nation welcomes a new year and new beginnings.
The spectacular international fireworks displays in honour of His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen will be presented by teams representing five nations – The People’s Republic of China (PRC), Australia, the United States, Denmark and host country Thailand.

Glorious Fireworks, the opening show, will be held at Muang Thong Thai Lake on 13 December. This will be followed by a second presentation on 14 December by the Pattaya Klang beachfront. The grand finale on New Year’s Eve will be hosted at the 700 Year Stadium in Chiang Mai.

Other highlights of the evening include an exhibition and candle-light ceremony in honour of Their Majesties, a performance presented by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, a presentation by Chiang Mai province, the “We Are One” concert, Count Forward activities, and sales of crafts and village community products promoted under the OTOP — One Tambon One Product — label.

Contact information:
Tourism Authority of Thailand, Chiang Mai Office
Tel: +66 (0) 5324 8604, (0) 5324 8607
Fax: +66 (0) 5324 8605
E-mail: tatchmai@tat.or.th

ref. http://www.tatnews.org/latest_update/detail.asp?id=5156

Originally, the Royal Flora Ratchaphruek took place 1 November 2006 through 31 January 2007 at the Royal Agricultural Research Center(Royal Flora Ratchapruek park) in Mae Hia sub-district, Mueang district, Chiang Mai. It was one of the grand celebrations being hosted by the Royal Thai Government in honor of King Bhumibol, the world’s longest reigning monarch.

The 92 days of the expo featured 30 international gardens reflecting nations such as Japan, South Korea, Belgium, Netherlands, South Africa, and Canada; more than 2.5 million trees of 2,200 species of tropical plants and flowers are presented to the world in this exhibition. The AIPH, the Association of International Horticultural Producers, gave this expo A1 status, its highest level; such an exhibition occurs only once a year throughout the world. In addition, a host country can only hold one such exhibition once a decade.
The floral park is divided into a handful of different areas, some of the highlights include the garden for the king. There were two features in this zone: one was International gardens, which were presented by 30 participating nations and covered 21,000 square meters. The Ho Kham Royal Pavilion is the centrepiece of the Expo. It is designed in the Lanna (Northern Thai) traditional style of architecture. The designs of the gold leaf paint it nearly blinding in the right sunlight. The sculptures of the Singha are ivory white and stand in all of their majesty on guard. As a structure, the pavilion is a stunning tribute to the King, though on the inside there is also respect paid to his accomplishments as leader of the Thais.

Thai Tropical Garden The enormous 100,000-square-meter garden showcased the diversity of tropical horticulture: fruit varieties, plants, flowers, herbs, and rare plants.

Expo Plaza was the focus of the exposition’s fun-filled activities, amenities, and services. Visitors were able to purchase local products from Chiang Mai such as handicrafts, paper umbrellas, and souvenirs and enjoying many type of Thai local food.
Cultural shows from various regions of Thailand were performed here, including traditional music and dance.

The festival drew three millions visitors from around the world at that time. Now, the festival may have long since ended; however, the gardens are still as immaculate as ever, meticulously maintained so that all may marvel at their beauty. Flora Festival continues to be arranged by Thai government every year during winter time, the most blossom period.

This year you may enjoy “THE INTERNATIONAL HORTICULTURAL EXPOSITION: ROYAL FLORA RATCHAPHRUEK 2011″ during 1 Dec. 2010- 6 Feb. 2011, 7.00am-20.00pm Everyday
-Enjoy variety of flowers
-Music in the garden(Sat.-Sun. and National holiday 18:00-20:00pm till 29 Jan’11)
-Thai culture show by local communities and students(17:00-18:00pm)
-Thai herbal information

There are another interesting activity in this occasion. We will release “Kome Loy” in to the sky. The “Kome Loy” is a drum-size lantern similar to a hot-air-balloon. It is made of lightweight rice paper to be able to float in the air, and in order to send it up, a method to heat the air is included by tying a small receptacle underneath the open section of the lantern. Oil is then placed with a cotton cloth. As the oil catches fire and burns, hot air quickly fills the lantern and it soon rises into the air. Some beliefs that flying Kom Loy to the air could also release all wrongdoings, unlucky and sadness. Sooner the new good things will come to life. Wishes should be made before the kome loys were let go.

There are a lot of other activities in this festival. The activities include a procession and Yi Peng Khom Contest as well as various Krathong designing contests. They will be presented on a fantastic decorative parade together with beautiful ladies from Miss Noppamas beauty contest in the same occasion. Lanterns will be posed and decorated around the temples and houses. Arches will also be set up. In addition, various fun fests will be arranged to participate in; for example, Lanna cultural performances, light and sound presentation, boat racing on the Ping River, and floating of Krathongs.
It is also nice to go shopping in style, finding some artistic decorative items, at the famous Nimmanhemin Road. During this festival, there are musical performances, art exhibitions, demonstrations by shops along the Nimmanhemin Road area including Northern plays, and Lanna style market or Kard Mua.

20th (Sat): 10,000 Sky Lantern at Tudong Satan (Lanna Dhutanka meditation center), near Mae Joe University (about 15km.(20min.) from Sukantara Resort). 10,000 of fire balloons called “Kome Loy” will be set in the same time about 8.00 am. This is special tradition of religious Dhammakaya group. Any visitors can join them. Sky lanterns can be bought there.

21st (Sun): Small Krathong day. Mae ping river will be full of light. For shopping lovers , Tapae Gate is Chiangmai’s main entrance to the old walled city is today the main center of Chiangmai’s public city activities and festivals. Sunday (Walking Street) Market at Thapae road (5pm ~ 11pm) is also nice to visit.

22nd (Mon): Big Kratong Parade at Thapae Road

Under the beauty of full moon night on “Loy Krathong”, Sukantara Cascade Resort & Spa would be decorated beautifully by many kinds of traditional lanterns keeping Northern-Thai Lanna style. “Kratongs” and “Kome Loy”would be prepared for our customers as complimentary to let them enjoy the festival by releasing them on the stream next to the waterfalls.

For almost 90 years, the village has grown up from 20 families to 125 families which are considered to be medium in size. The villagers normally live in a bamboo hut or wood house. They mostly grow crops such as corn, bean, rice, etc. for their living. Moreover, wild products from the forest such as bamboo roots, fruits, wild vegetables and honey are also important for them. Karen originally believes in ancestor spirit and spirit of nature.

However, over 30% of the Karen people are Christian according to visiting of western missionaries. This group is also Christian. They go to church every Sunday like other Christian do and wear their own traditional gown to the church.
Karen dresses are made to be loose to be comfortable to wear and work. The dress for a woman of the tribe is very distinctive. Unmarried girls wear white V-necked sack called “Che-wa”. Married women wear black gown decorated with grain beads only on the top portion called “Che-Zu” and loin cloth as blouses. Men wear hip-length red gown with colorful stripes called “Che-gnor” with loose black cotton trousers. Unlike other tribes, the Karen does not like large pieces of silver ornaments.

This group of Karen are Christian, they will usually dress their beautiful hill tribe gowns to church on every Sunday (10:30-11:30am). If you stay over Sunday at Sukantara Resort, you may take trekking to Tad-mok National waterfalls in the early morning and stop by the village to join the church with them. They are definitely welcome to all visitors from Sukantara Resort cause some of their family members or relatives work with Sukantara.

from TTOasia Magazine, July 2008

A private white sand beach, a private morsel of forest, a private stretch of forest, a private stretch of river, a private winery, I had seen it all. But a private waterfall, low and lovely, was a first.

No wonder this resort was listed among the “Best Paradise” by Tourism Authority of Thailand. It was, indeed, a plot of paradise, and I had no problem believing it received a superlative  “Top of Paradise” award.

If you arrive in Chiang Mai, the staff will be pick you up and take you to their forestry heaven located 40 minutes away for B800. For those who drive themselves, the resort is located 26 km north of Chiang Mai. At Mae Rim you turn into Mae Sa Valley road, follow it for about 3 km and past a bungee jumping attraction which also pretends to be ” the original monkey centre” – I didn’t stop to find out if it were monkeys or Australian who jump -  you turn right and zigzag for another 8 km through the greenest possible landscape. Then you arrive in you temporary, cascade-studded paradise.

The first building of this 4-year-young resort you discover, partly hidden in half park half jungle , is the Chiida Spa. The timber – just about everything is in wood at the resort – Chiida Spa rooms are designed in the northern Thai Lanna style and combine a romantic, luxurious and “mystical” interior with hill tribe decorative items. The relaxing and rejuvenating therapy-massage pampers guests through an extensive menu of not less than 45 choices, lasting from 30 minutes to 6 hours. The most exotic of the lot bore the emotional names of “Chiida Waterfall Therapy”, “Silky Facial for Men”, “Cocktail Wrap” and “Chiida Indian Serenity”, The longest lasting are “Romantic Honeymoon” (4 hrs, per couple) and “Ultimate Perfect Detoxify” (6 hrs, per addict).