Religious sites – Page 2

Loy Krathong/Yi Peng festival

If you’re coming to Thailand to experience the beauty and culture, one of the top ways to do that is to time your trip for the Loy Krathong and Yi Peng lantern festivals in mid-November. And arguably the best place to experience it is in Chiang Mai, situated a long day’s journey (428 miles) north of Bangkok. We arrived here with just a few days to shake off the jet lag and prepare for the three-day event, held this year on November 14-16.

The celebration was tempered due to mourning for King Bhumibol, who passed away on October 13. The traditional beauty contests and fireworks were not done, and quite a few displays were present to honor the king.

There are many aspects to this cultural and religious event, but the two central visible themes are the handmade loy krathong floating lanterns, and the prefab khom loy hot air balloons. The lanterns are available for sale in the sidewalk stalls, starting at about $1 each (25-40 baht) with special krathong creations ranging upward from there. In addition there are lantern displays in the streets and the temples, and artful layouts of candles arrayed on the sidewalks.

Grandmother teaching the art of making loy krathong

Krathongs are typically made of organic materials, which is good because they are going to mostly end up in the river. The base is made of a section of banana tree trunk. In addition to the floral arrangements there are usually incense sticks and candles. The array of krathongs was beautiful, and there were plenty for sale as we got nearer to the river, with prices surprisingly low at or near the riverside. Families and charitable groups were constructing them at tables set up right on the sidewalk.

krathongs made from ice cream cones and flowers — krathongs made from carved ice cream cones and flowers

krathong floating in a pool at Wat Inthakhin temple

The largest center for the release is near the foot of the Saphan Nawarat bridge, crossing the Ping River. We met up with Flora, a fellow couchsurfer and teacher of English here in Chiang Mai, and set out for the site. The adjacent roads and the bridge itself were packed with humanity. We were grateful that we chose to arrive well before sunset and found a spot on a concrete stoop just 4 muddy feet from the river. There was no one in front of us and we enjoyed an unobstructed view of the celebration for almost 2 hours. The sights were especially lovely under the extra-large “supermoon“.

People wait to release krathongs at the Ping River

Releasing krathongs on the handmade pier — Releasing krathongs on the pier

Krathongs float in the Ping River, under the full moon

Crowds and lanterns at the Ping river, viewed from the west side

Supermoon shines down on the crowd; lanterns float in the sky and on water

The khom loy sky lanterns are the other famous visible part of the festivities, and their launch is integral to the Yi Peng festival, which overlaps the Loy Krathong festival. These hot-air balloon lanterns are released all over the city, and we saw them speckling the sky. (There is a large tourist-oriented release at Mae Jo University, with tickets costing $100-$300. You can see more about that here.) On Tuesday during the main celebration tourists released some of the lanterns on the bridge and along the river banks near us. The crowd roared in joy if the lanterns went up, and they squealed in unison if a lantern descended toward the crowd or actually crashed. One of the lanterns fell into the river at the footing of the concrete bridge, on top of a pile of wood and trash that had accumulated against the piling. It made a terrific sight, but it quickly extinguished itself.

Khom loy lanterns are set alight on Saphan Nawarat bridge

(While fireworks were officially banned, you can see above that someone decided to send one up.)

Khom loy lanterns are released from Saphan Nawarat bridge

As we left the area we made our way through thousands of people who were struggling to get to the river. There was no sign of traffic control, and cars, motorbikes and bicycles brushed against us in the sea of humanity. When we finally broke free from the crowds we were exultant and wiped out. We found a tuk-tuk to take us home to our apartment, one of the few outbound vehicles passing by a traffic jam of inbound people. It had been a beautiful, unforgettable night.

A change of climate: up to the mountains

My friend and former coworker Rafael has returned from his visit to arctic-cold Wisconsin, and he and his wife San invited us for a road trip to the Sierra Gorda mountains. Our destination: El Chuveje Waterfalls, and the picturesque mountain town of Pinal de Amoles.

I told a friend about the upcoming trip and she was a bit worried for me; it’s a 3-hour drive on twisty switchback roads, very narrow and very fast, and even the strongest of stomachs sometimes gets twitchy. So starts the internal conversation: I have a cast-iron stomach (no I don’t); I’ve never had car sickness before (yeah, but what about boat sickness? Right?); I’ll be fine (but what if I puke? How embarrassing!) and so on. Uggh, please be quiet Brain.

The drive was punctuated by speed-demon motorcyclists roaring past us in packs, some wearing Go-Pro cameras mounted on their helmets. As they negotiated hairpin turns with no idea what/who was on the other side, I envisioned the Go-Pro recording a LONG unplanned descent to the bottom of the mountain.

While you climb the mountains the climate changes, sometimes with sharp demarcation lines: from scrub and cactus trees, to saguaro cactus, to barrel cactus, and suddenly, to deciduous trees and pine trees. Temperatures went from the 70s F back down to the 60s, and then at the very top, spiking to about 85 degrees, just as we began our foot ascent.

At El Chuveje we parked, paid our 30 pesos each ($1.60), and walked in about a mile. Flowing, standing, plentiful water is rare in these parts, and the pools and gurgling brooks were a feast for the eyes.

The small pools and cascades were pleasures enough, so I was unprepared when we reached the “actual” waterfall.

On our way back we stopped in Pinal de Amoles , a town of 1,600 residents located at 7,600 feet (2,320 meters) above sea level. This former mining town is now thinly supported on a small amount of local commerce and monies sent back home from overseas. It was a holiday weekend, so the locals had a music stage going, with a lively band of 4 musicians playing their hearts out. The young male guitarist whose voice has not yet changed was especially enthusiastic.

The central church was open to visitors as well.

Sunday in front of San José Church, Pinal de Amoles, built in 1770

San José Church, stained glass in late afternoon

When I visit these small towns I find myself imagining life here. As a teenager I desperately wanted to get away from Cudahy, my “small town” 0f 20,000, which bordered on the big city of Milwaukee. How do the local teens feel? Do you stay here, where everyone knows your name, you are a part of a close-knit community, and all your ancestors are buried in the churchyard? Or do you strike out for new lands, where you are excited but perhaps overwhelmed by all the vast options open to you?

As the day lengthened into late afternoon we continued the hairpin turn descent back to Queretaro. Just like when I was a child, the rocking of the car lulled me into a nice nap. Later we stopped at a pretty historic restaurant to cap off the evening. Thank you to Rafael and San for taking us on this journey!

Celebrations at Templo de la Cruz

On the weekends we can sometimes hear loud booms that ricochet off the buildings of the Centro area. Curious, we walked up to the Temple and Convent de la Cruz, and saw the religious faithful blasting off these rockets. You can see a number of them on one man’s shoulders, while another sets one off.

Firing rockets in front of Templo de la Cruz, Queretaro

As the action intensifies, the rocketeers rapidly toss the rockets from one man to another and fire them off as fast as they can, creating the sensation of being bombarded; and the likelihood that you will in fact get hit by falling debris. I know I did. Kids then pick up the 5 foot long sticks and whack each other with them.

The rockets will continue intermittently into the evening, with the last one I noted at 10:30 PM, and another single rocket at 6 AM.

Buses full of devout Catholics disembark in the area, with traffic jams ensuing, and buses honking and backing up and waving of drivers’ arms and shouting. This traffic mess is exacerbated by the fact that many of these devout ones, mostly men, will then hoist up a heavy pallet with a statue of Jesus or Mary, and circle the area on foot, followed by that bus.

On the plazas and streets nearby you can buy any variety of Christian religious articles, up to a 6 foot Archangel Michael statue. You can also get some tasty Mexican food, and/or a ringside seat with a glass of wine and an artisanal pizza. If you’re lucky, a wandering musician might be playing some really good saxophone nearby.