New Year's!

After sampling Bangkok and Koh Chang, we headed up to the mountains of Chiang Mai. We spent a great week there, had some clothes made, wandered the Night Market, took some cooking classes, and generally lounged around.




Every night we could see a trail of orange lights in the sky. There were so many, that it looked like a creamsicle Milky Way. After a few days of wondering, we finally chanced upon a source. See, the Thais looooove their king. There are pictures of him in every restaurant, every hostel, on the backs of tuk tuks. And this year was a big anniversary, so even though the anniversary had past, citizens were encouraged to remember the king by wearing yellow [royal color] and lighting lanterns on New Year's.



New Year's was pretty organized, with countdowns and fireworks. A drunken ex-pat at our bar tried to send off one of the lanterns. But she didn't plan well, and the lantern got stuck in the utility wires above the bar. Hilarity ensued as people tried to swipe at the lantern with a broomstick 8 feet too short. Eventually the wind freed the lantern to join the sky parade.