The Golden Triangle + Chiang Rai (to see the White Temple)

Thailand: lower left, Burma: upper left, Laos: upper right

     A few weeks ago, a group of about 6 of us from the Thai Studies group decided to take a little trip up to the Golden Triangle, and to the White Temple in Chiang Rai.  I wanted to head to the Golden Triangle because of the amazing view you get when you head up there.  When at the Golden Triangle, you can see 3 different countries (Thailand, Laos, and Burma), and you can see two rivers merge into one (the Ruak river flows into the Mekong river).  However, that is not the only significant fact about the Golden Triangle.  That point at which those three countries meet, with only two rivers separating them, is the home of where one of the largest opium trade has happened since the 1920's.  Of course, this site is no longer the hot spot of an extensive opium trade, but it is still a significant point of historical interest in Southeast Asia.
     Getting to the Golden Triangle was the easy part... we bought a one way bus ticket to the Golden Triangle, and then just hoped that everything would fall into place.  Our initial plan was to stay a few hours at the site, then catch a bus to Chiang Rai in the evening and stay over night in Chiang Rai.  Well, turned out we wouldnt have been able to catch a bus that night so we found a small little guesthouse to stay for the night.  The next morning at 7am, we caught a bus from the site of the Golden Triangle to Chiang Rai, where we took a tuktuk to the White Temple.

my feet are in the Mekong river!!! (Burma is right behind me)

  
     We got to the White Temple at around 9:30ish... and had a few hours to walk around and see it all before catching the bus we had bought tickets for at 1:30.  So we got to the White Temple, and quickly found out (because I didnt already know) that the White Temple is in fact not a traditional Thai temple, but rather a huge modern art project.  This project was started 7 years ago by a Thai artist, and is expected to be finished in 2070.  While it was already quite amazing when we went to see it a few weeks ago, it was nowhere near finished.  There was only one building that was completely finished, with a few other buildings that were just mere skeletons, and then others that had not even been completely built yet.  In a description of the temple from a booklet, the artist expressed that he wanted the site of the White Temple to be a site that people all over the world will want to see and visit, such as the Taj Mahal ...a little egotistical if you ask me.  But still none the less, pretty sweet (I definitely recommend that you all look this up on Wikipedia).

loy kratong / yi peng

     For the last month or so, there has been the non-stop sound of fireworks.  Not only that, but every night for about 2 weeks prior to the actual weekend of loy kratong, we would look up into the sky, and see a few lanterns floating up and away.  We had all been told about the Loy Kratong Festival by previous Thai Studies students, the faculty and staff at Payap, and our Thai friends, but none of us really knew what to expect, or even really what it was.  Even with loy kratong drawing nearer and nearer, with just days left before all the festivities really hit Chiang Mai, we still didn't know what to expect.  It wasn't until Friday night (the 19th) when it was apparent that the population in Chiang Mai grew substantially, and entire city streets were shut down because of the multiplicity of people, that we realized just how big this festival really was.

Pete and Me getting ready to let a lantern go!

     The actual festival is supposed to happen on the night of the full moon in the 12th month of the traditional Thai lunar calendar (so November on a western calendar), but it seems to be celebrated for about 3-4 weeks straight leading up to the actual date.  People make little boats out of banana tree, and banana leaves, along with decorations. These are called Kratongs and they are sent down the river during the festival as a symbol of letting go of all one's grudges, anger and defilement's, so that one can start life afresh on a better foot, and also to honor the water goddess.  Loi Kratong coincides with the Lanna festival called yi peng.  During yi peng, Lanna style lanterns (khom loi) are set off into the sky, and the festival is meant to be a time for making merit.  Because Chiang Mai is the ancient capital of the Lanna Kingdom, the two festivals are celebrated together so that the multitudes of boats are getting sent down the Bping river along with thousands of lanterns getting set off into the sky. 
     Along with the Kratongs, and lanterns, the festival has become so much more.  There is a parade every night of the few days surrounding the night of the full moon, and people are setting fireworks off everywhere you look.  This truely was an amazing experience, and although at the time I really didn't know what the festival actually meant, or that it was actually two different festivals celebrated at the same time, the sights to be seen (the beauty of all of the lanterns lighting up the sky), and the celebration of the festival was something that will be ingrained in my memory forever.

the lanterns filled the sky for 3 days straight

people getting ready to let lanterns go

some people letting Kratongs, and lanterns go