Dragon breath (Feb. 8/09 - Chiang Mai, Thailand)

Today was a day to explore Chiang Mai. As we set out walking across the town with no particular destination, we started hearing drumming and chanting a few blocks over. Curious, we followed the noise and soon came across what seemed to be the makings of a parade or performance as tons of people were gathered around the Three Kings Square, and a couple dozen boys were dressed in red, sitting around the large gold snaking body of a dragon that resembled the Chinese variety we were familiar with. Sure enough, official looking guys in uniforms showed up and started reciting long prayers in Thai while people in the audience bowed their heads and tv cameras started rolling. Kids were gathered in groups wearing different costumes, so we stuck around in anticipation that something was going to happen. And it did - in came a big guy on a platform rhythmically pounding a series of drums, while the gold dragon suddenly came to life, swooping around the square while the red boys underneath it ran, ducked, and jumped around to make it dance. A couple guys dressed as Thai warriors (think samurai style) duelled with machetes, a bunch of guys and kids in bright clown-pirate like costumes did some high energy stick-banging moves, and guys took turns leaping through a raised hoop lined with knives. It was random, colourful, and very Cirque de Soleil-like! Then some guys strapped themselves to a 30 foot tall steel pole and held the dragon as it was passed to the top, coiling around the pole as it went up. A little boy (7 or 8 years old, max?) climbed an equally tall pole barefoot and freehand and then hung on as guys rocked the base to toss him toward and away from the dragon, touching it with some sort of wand that made it spew water over the crowd each time he made contact. Maybe this was symbollic for fire, but we did see it coming when they hauled a hose to the top of the pole with a pump at the bottom! The whole show was a fabulous cultural experience that we couldn't have stumbled on at a better time if we tried. We later found out that it was the annual day of holy Buddhist celebration, hence the party!

Thrilled with our free morning of entertainment, we walked farther across town and took in one of the biggest wats (temples) in town. Decorated with dragons and elephants inlaid with coloured glass, it was a beautiful structure. Images of the Dali Lama adorned the entrance, and inside was an elaborate shrine at the foot of a massive gold Buddha. Lots of locals were busy on their knees paying their respects, so we didn't really know what to do other than take a quick look and leave.

The old town of Chiang Mai (where we're staying) is surrounded on all four sides by a square moat - about 1.5km in length on each side. When we reached the south moat, we wer met with a bustling market that had the streets closed off to traffic and thousands of people out wandering around. Turns out that today is the last day of the week-long Chiang Mai Flower Festival! Perfect timing once again! For about half a kilometer on the south and east sides of the moat, stands selling food and clothes lined the inside and stands selling flowers and plants lined the water side. Winning plants were on display from the Chiang Mai Bonsai Club, and dozens of beautiful orchids lined the road, winners of an orchid competition. On the culinary side of things, you could buy anything from coconut ice cream and fresh fruit to steamed dumplings and sauteed beetles. I kid you not - we saw a couple booths selling fried bugs! I only got close enough to identify worms, crickets, and something that looked an awful lot like cockroaches. I hope the vendor wasn't offended when I took a quick picture and then ran away gagging! We sampled a random variety of sausages, salted strawberries (as wierd as it sounds), and home made donuts. The grand finale was a line-up of beautiful floats that had obviously been used in a parade for the festival, as every one was completely covered in flowers - right down to the decorative trim on the elephants' blankets and the scales on the dragons.

After such a colourful and bustling morning, we chilled out at a garden cafe with a cold drink and then did some scheming to figure out how to spend the rest of our time here in Chiang Mai. Later in the day, we walked east across the moat and checked out the night market going on beside the river. More food was being whipped up there, though it was more civilized fare like noodles, sushi, and dim sum. On the way back, we had some amazing pad thai and were pleased to learn that it was even better than the Thai House whips up at home!