Leaving Chiang Mai and Thailand

After 3 and a half weeks in Chiang Mai we found it hard to leave. The people at the Prince Hotel where next to family to us and relaxing around the pool had become habitual. I, more than Ken, am getting anxious to see new sights and move on to other countries. Meanwhile, our last week in Chiang Mai was spent seeing a few of the tourists sights, namely the umbrella factory and the silk factory. The city is getting very busy, December is high season here and now they are getting ready for the 'Loi Krathong Festival' or the 'Festival of Lights' which is celebrated on the full moon in November (the 28th this years). This is celebrated by floating little boats made of bamboo, or leafs etc with candles and incense inside of them down the river, lots of fireworks and sending hot air lanterns up into the sky. Although Chiang Mai has the largest festival in Thailand we will miss it because our visa will be expiring on the 29th and we have to leave the country. So... we left Chiang Mai yesterday and took the Vip bus(air-con, snacks, and oversized seats) to Chiang Rai. Chiang Rai is a city we visited on our last trip but more importantly it is the stepping stone to the 'Slow Boat' down the Mekong River to Laos. Two days motoring in a long tail boat just us and 80 or so other tourists, sounds interesting...we shall see.

Ken watches our lantern fly up into the night sky.  If it crashes it is
bad luck for you but if it floats up, up and away(like ours did) it is good luck!

Getting a nightly massage can become a habit.  At the Sunday night market a foot, back and shoulder massage costs 120B, about four dollars.

As part of the "Festival of Light" very colourful lanterns are hung around the doors and terraces.

A look down at the center of the Chinese marketplace. I think the total floor space of Chiang Mai's Chinese market would give the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul a run for its money.

The many threads of silk from the silk worms cacoon make up the one single strand of silk thread.