I can already tell this post will span countries, documenting my last few days in Chiang Mai as well as the journey back to the US. At the moment, I am sitting in the Chiang Mai airport waiting to board a flight to Incheon. There I will have a 13 hour layover as I wait for my flight to Honolulu followed by a short layover and an island hopper to Kauai. It’s a long trip ahead but at the moment I’m reflecting on my time here in Thailand and the travels that came before.
Last Thursday was the start of the Yee Peng or Loy Krathong festival in Chiang Mai. It’s a holiday blessing the Goddess of the River that stems from traditions in the Lanna Kingdom which used to encompass Northern Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. Thursday I joined thousands of people out at a Doi Saket festival to celebrate Yee Peng. The festival involved floating krathongs in the river as an offering to the river goddess. Krathongs are small boats made out of banana trunk, banana leaves, and decorated with candles, incense, and flowers.
This was just the start though; there were lots of stands offering street foods of various kinds as well as entertainment throughout the evening in the form of traditional Lanna performing various dances. The big event of the evening though was around 7:45 pm when we all lit sky lanterns and released hundreds of them together. It was a magical sight to see so many lanterns released at once filling the sky with light.
I thought that would be the end of the festivities however the next day I discovered there was more! After a day of touring some museums in Chiang Mai, I was enjoying dinner at the rooftop restaurant in the hotel I was staying at. After dark, thousands of sky lanterns appeared, dotting the horizon line as they drifted over Chiang Mai like embers from a fire. I asked the server about it and she mentioned the Yee Peng festivities were continuing and that there was a parade in the Old City. Since it was my last night in Chiang Mai, I had to check it out.
It was quite the parade! There were many elaborate floats with loud music and lights making their way down a crowded street. I was impressed by the size of generators some of them required to provide power. I stayed for a bit to watch the floats then wandered around the wall of the Old City, watching people float krathongs in the moat and launching sky lanterns with various degrees of success. It was at this point I began to get a picture of why my original flight out of Chiang Mai on this day had been canceled; all the sky lanterns and fireworks would have been quite problematic for any planes taking off from the downtown airport. Although it delayed my time getting to Hawaii, it was nice to get to celebrate the rest of Yee Peng and see the local parade.
Saturday I checked out of my hotel and returned the scooter I had rented. It was there I met my new friend, Charlie. He was working at the shop and was kind enough to take me downtown after I returned the scooter. We got to talking and since I had time to kill that evening I agreed to meet up with him again after he got off work. That afternoon, I got a Thai massage at a spa downtown and wandered through the Saturday Night Market as it was just getting started. Once Charlie was off work, we met up and he showed me around the city a bit more. He was a great local guide and took me to his favorite coffee place and a tasty restaurant for dinner. We had great conversation about life in Chiang Mai and my experiences there and abroad. At the end of the evening, he gave me a ride back to the hotel where my stuff was waiting for me and we said good-bye as I got ready to head to the airport for a late flight. It seems like I’m doomed to meet my best local friends the night I’m leaving.
Korea Free Transit Tour
By now, it’s Sunday and I’m in the Incheon airport waiting for my next red-eye flight to Honolulu. This morning after arrival I checked in with the Korea Free Transit Tour desk. If you’re going to have a long layover, the Incheon airport is where you want to be! They offer a variety of free tours spanning a 2 hour tour of Incheon to a 5 hour tour into Seoul. I had plenty of time to kill so I signed up for the 5 hour “Traditional Sites” tour of Seoul along with a couple other tours. By 8 am, I was on a tour bus into Seoul. The tour was fantastic and a great way to pass the time while waiting for my next flight. Our first stop was at Gyeongbokgung Palace, an old Korean palace featuring traditional Korean art and architecture. The first thing I noticed however was the snow. It was cold but apparently not as cold as it had been the day before when the snow arrived. We spent some time wandering the palace grounds and even got to see a reenacted changing of the guards ceremony.
After our palace tour, we headed to a nearby shopping street where we had lunch and were given a bit of time to wander the street and check out the shops. There were a lot of interesting things for sale including socks with Psy’s “Gangnam Style” printed on them and a Dr. Strangelove-esque caricature of Kim Jong Un riding his nuclear bomb. The time alloted was pretty quick and soon enough we were back on the bus to the airport.
My next tour was a “seaside and shopping tour” but since the shopping mall was closed, we ended up visiting the Incheon bridge instead. First stop was Eurwangni Beach, a small beach close to the airport. It was warmer there but still quite cold and reminded me a lot of areas around the Puget Sound. The tide was out so we wandered out along the mud flats taking in the fresh sea air.
After the beach, we moved on to the Incheon bridge observation tower. The Incheon bridge is the seventh longest bridge in the world and the view of it was limited due to the fog across the water. It was still interesting to learn about the bridge’s construction and see at least the start of it.
I ended up canceling my last tour so I could enjoy the transfer lounge. Seriously, the Incheon airport is where you want to have a layover. You can take a free shower, enjoy napping zones, free internet, and find plenty of shopping (if that’s your thing). I made liberal use of the free shower and napping zone and as a result I am feeling somewhat refreshed and ready for my long flight to Hawaii. I certainly look forward to flying through Incheon again sometime.
Aloha Again!
And now I’m back in Honolulu waiting for the last leg of my trip to Kauai. I am exhausted after two red-eye flights and I’m excited to see family and get some rest. Despite the length and distance, it’s been a smooth trip. More to come as I still have a week left in Hawaii before heading back to Washington. But for now, I’m going to rest up and enjoy some aloha!