Loy Krathong Festival: Where Your Wishes Move Beyond The Realm of Cultures
The Lantern Festival in Chiang Mai is one of Thailand’s most magical and long-awaited events - the kind that finds its way onto countless travel bucket lists. Each November, the skies above this northern city glow with thousands of floating lanterns, carrying people’s hopes and dreams into the night.
Nhung, our seasoned travel expert, has been to Thailand many times, from the bustling streets of Bangkok to the serene beaches of Krabi. Yet somehow, she had never experienced this enchanting light festival herself. So this November, she and her friend packed their bags and headed to Chiang Mai, determined to finally witness the wonder that so many travelers talk about.
Follow Nhung, our travel expert, to see what is waiting for you at a lantern festival.
1. Send Your Wish To The Sky….
Nhung and her friend left the hotel and walked to the release area. “You'd better go early in the evening,” Nhung said, “or you will be caught in the crowd that will gather soon after the sun goes down.” The lanterns are made from rice paper, stretched over a lightweight bamboo frame, and sold along the way to the festival area. Nhung borrowed a pen from the seller and wrote on the lantern her own wishes. “If you find someone selling the lantern, don’t hesitate to pick one! You might not be able to find it in the release area. They are sold out when I got there.” Nhung told me. “And don’t forget to bring a lighter. You will need it.”
Cheerful and lively music was spreading over the area. Thousands of lanterns were held firmly. Groups of friends, families, and couples shared a waiting moment. Their eyes were smiling, their faces were hoping, their minds were filling with unspoken wishes and dreams. Nhung and her friend lit up the paraffin-soaked wad inside the lantern, held its lower edge close to the ground, whispered their wishes and waited patiently for the heated air to completely inflate the lantern before releasing. The lantern slipped from Nhung's fingers to fly upward. The night breeze quickly collected it and swept it away into the sky. One by one, thousands of shining orbs overwhelmed the power of darkness and shifted it from black to gold hue. On the ground, thousands of faces of hope are waiting for their wishes to come true.
People decorated temples and streets with colorful Vesak lanterns. (Yeah, the lovely girl in the picture is Nhung)
In the evening, lanterns were lit up, illuminating the whole city.
Nhung really enjoyed being at the festival.
People held their lanterns firmly, whispered their wishes, and waited patiently for the heated air to completely inflate the lanterns...
... before releasing them to the sky.
2...And Let The Water Wash Out Bad Luck, Sins, Sadness, And Anger
Celebrated on the same day alongside Yi Peng is Loy Krathong. The difference in that is that lights are placed into baskets (Krathong) instead of the sky lantern and released onto the Ping River of Chiang Mai.
Nhung learned how to make a Krathong at her cooking class. She wrapped green banana leaves around a banana stem base to form a basket and decorated it with fresh flowers, candles, and incense. For Thai people, when you let a Krathong in the water, you are letting go of sadness, anger, sins, and bad luck of the old year, saving room for peace and happiness in the new year.
Nhung brought her Krathong carefully, stepped down to the river’s edge. She placed a coin on it, lit the candle and incense stick, made her last wish, then released it into the quiet water. Nhung gently splashed the water to send her Krathong to go further until it caught the flow of the Ping River. Around her, people started to release their handmade Krathongs. The river began to fill with candlelit banana rafts. Does it know it is carrying hundreds of gratitude and hopes, thanks and dreams dancing like fireflies in the water? No one has the answer.
The girls were saying prayers before sending their candle-lit Krathongs into the Ping River
The river was lit up with hundreds of Krathongs
Your bad luck, your sin, and your sickness in the old year will be rinsed off by the water
3. From A Cooking Class to The Artist Village
Nhung spent one day in her Chiang Mai trip on a cooking class. The food scene of Chiang Mai can make it a rival to Bangkok for the color, flavor, and enjoyment. It’s easy to find hundreds of cooking classes where you learn traditional Thai cuisine in Lanna cooking style. The Thai chef taught Nhung to cook Pad Thai, Tom Yum Goong, and Mango Sticky Rice. These are three of the most popular dishes that you can find everywhere in Thailand, from a house kitchen, a busy night market, or a fine dining restaurant. Nhung soon learned that the balance between sour, spicy, salty and sweet is all about the key of Thai cooking. That gives their dishes an irresistible flavor.
Baan Kang Wat Artist Village is another highlight in Nhung’s trip. The idea for this village comes from a wish to create a space for local artists and promote local handicrafts and culture. Small, lovely traditional Thai houses blend perfectly with the surrounding nature. Flowers and shrubs of all sizes and colors seem to be embedded into every corner of the village, creating a quirky and laid-back vibe. Baan Kang Wat is a perfect place for a lazy afternoon to reconnect with little happy moments that make up the whole world of our lives.
From the village, Nhung went to visit Wat Umong. This 700-year-old Wat wasn’t as touristic as other golden temples, and it made her feel like taking a step back in time. Nhung loves the ancient brick tunnels, the tranquil atmosphere, and ‘talking trees’ that have words of wisdom in both Thai and English. She spent an hour exploring around the temple, feeding the fish, turtles, and ducks in the pond, and witnessing the monk blessing. Nhung said Wat Umong was “a place that brings peace to every mind.”
Nhung and her friend with two other travelers, were at the cooking class
She loves the quietness and the lovely atmosphere of Baan Kang Wat
The ancient brick tunnel in Wat Umong, which Nhung said was “a place that brings peace to every mind”.
Chiang Mai lantern festival is one of the most inspiring festivals in the world. It’s not only beautiful, but it’s also magical. A lantern brings hope, moving beyond the realm of language, nation, culture, and religion, to join thousands of others on the same river or sky. They bring you something to hope and wait for in the future: A future of possibilities.
Related tour: Lantern Festival Thailand
