Eight Boots Abroad

After six weeks of intense trekking in Nepal we planned a few weeks of relative downtime and family relaxation in northern Thailand! Not by coincidence, our downtime was coordinated with the ancient Yi Peng and Loy Krathong festivals – also commonly known as northern Thailand’s “Lantern Festival.”

When we started planning this year of travel, a visit to Thailand during this festival was one of our most anticipated events. Back home in Colorado the thought of launching tens of thousands of fire lanterns into the sky, while surrounded by unregulated, amateur pyrotechnics displays is completely incomprehensible. Thankfully here, the humid tropical climate of Thailand suppresses the danger of wildfire.

We had watched several Yi Peng festival videos online ahead of time, most warning the viewers not to expect much of a “zen” experience. We were prepared to embrace the lovely full-on chaos of this event… and it did not disappoint! We were shoulder to shoulder in a crowd of thousands of local Thais and travelers. There were moments of lanterns failing to properly launch and crashing back into the crowd, flaming lanterns caught in trees and on power lines, and our family favorite: fireworks attached to floating lanterns which levitated, then ignited, and occasionally shot back down into the crowd. Oddly enough, we didn’t witness any serious injuries.

It took some mental gymnastics, but eventually we were able to suspend our feelings about the potential danger and actually enjoy the astounding beauty of the chaotic event. In fact, it was one of the most breathtaking moments in our travels so far!

In addition to participating in the local Yi Peng sky lantern launch, we also joined the Loy Krathong festival in Chiang Mai. The Loy Krathong celebration is slightly less chaotic (although amateur pyrotechnics were still present) and involves releasing handmade biodegradable floral boats with candles into the Ping River. The sight of everyone’s candles peacefully floating down the river was stunning … while avoiding off-course, ground-level fireworks continued to keep us on our toes.

We also observed our first “family sabbatical birthday” during our time in Chiang Mai with our amazing H celebrating 12 successful laps around the sun! We spent the special day at a Thai cooking school on an organic farm in the countryside making delicious soups, spring rolls, curries, stir fry, and desserts.

Of course, since we’re hikers we also found a nice trail in the hills outside of Chiang Mai. Known as the Monks Trail, it connects the Buddhist temples of Wat Phra That Doi Suthep and Wat Pha Lat with the city of Chiang Mai. Hiking through the dense forest and exploring the quiet, magical temple complex of Wat Pha Lat was our favorite part.

We used our remaining time in Chiang Mai to do very fancy things like dental cleanings, travel immunizations, and haircuts.

After a week and a half in Chiang Mai we headed even further north to the small rural town of Pai, near the border with Myanmar. The road between Chiang Mai and Pai is infamously tortuous and during the three hour drive there was definitely some vomiting involved. I love how this has become an ongoing subtheme of our year – taking bets on who will be the next Silleck to vomit. This time around, I was the lucky winner.

Known as a backpacking/hippie/free-spirit hub, the town of Pai is also home to a vibrant community of traveling/nomadic/”worldschooling” families. Our kids were able to do activities with other kids for the week: soccer practice, art classes, board games and Minecraft meet-ups, and even an aerial hoops class (now they’re fully prepared in case they ever decide to run away with the circus). We also did yoga classes and even found an outdoor 25m pool for family swim practice!

It’s hard to fully explain how free-spirited the vibe of Pai is, here’s a short video from a normal afternoon in the town park to give you an idea:

Now you understand how our kids found themselves participating in an aerial hoops class with other nomadic students. It was like the entire town was filled with a backpacker circus troop. Ha!

We also visited the nearby countryside, spent an afternoon walking through community rice fields along the Kho Ku So Bamboo walkway, and enjoyed a sunset while hiking the narrow catwalk trails through Pai Canyon.

The town of Pai was a great place for a week of relaxing and meeting other traveling families, but I wouldn’t necessarily describe it as an “authentic” Thailand cultural experience. The week here was quiet though, and it gave our kids a chance to hang out with other traveling kids their age!

After six challenging weeks in Nepal, a couple of weeks of easy travel downtime in northern Thailand was a welcome change – but we quickly found ourselves ready for more remote adventures. Off we go to Laos!

Thailand – Chaing Mai – Howie’s Addendum

After leaving Nepal, our arrival in Thailand felt like an abrupt change in pace. It felt a bit strange to not wake up in the morning and have a specific hiking goal in mind each day, but I will admit that some rest and comfort has been appreciated. Also appreciated are the food options in Chiang Mai – Thai cuisine is near the top of my favorites list, and cheap, delicious food options are abundant! MB fell deeply in love with khao soi, a fantastic egg noodle curry soup that is a particular specialty of Northern Thailand. Our family also collectively made a goal of consuming as much mango sticky rice as humanly possible, and I’m happy to report that we very much succeeded in this task. Learning to cook some traditional Thai dishes during the cooking class on H’s birthday was a treat.

Beyond the amazing food, other highlights for me included:

The Chiang Mai Lantern Festival (Yi Peng). Seeing the hundreds of lanterns floating up into the inky sky was spectacular, and the surrounding festival was delightfully chaotic. It had just the right combination of exotic, ethereal beauty and the feeling of excitement that comes with the possibility that a flaming lantern may at any moment unexpectedly plummet from the sky into the crowd. I wish there had been fewer people launching amateur fireworks, as the frequent explosions put H on edge, but clearly safety regulations played no part in this event. 

Loy Krathong festival. During this festival in honor of the Thai water goddess Phra Mae Khongkha, amazingly elaborate flower boats (or even some made of fish food!) are constructed to release the past year’s troubles and seek good fortune. The floating krathong are beautiful to behold, and we were again grateful to take part in the festival while avoiding being hit by stray fireworks.

Monk’s Path, and the Wat Pha Lat temple. The Monk’s Path hike itself through the jungle was pleasant, though not spectacular. The Wat Pha Lat temple, on the other hand, was gorgeous. The kiddos felt like Indiana Jones as we entered the temple complex, greeted by moss-covered statues and naga staircases leading to the ancient stupa. While many of Thailand’s temples feel new and polished, adorned with massive amounts of gold leaf, the nearly 700-year old Wat Pha Lat gives its visitors a sense of connection to more ancient times. By far my favorite temple we visited in Thailand.

All in all, we found northern Thailand to be a delightfully restful place to recharge. Now, the adventure continues – on to Thailand’s neighbor Laos!