Out and about in Chiang Mai

15/11/2023

The pilgrimage of new students of CMU to the top of Doi Suthep this coming Saturday will be a unique opportunity to see thousands of students in traditional Lanna costume, parading in joy and good humor. A spectacle not to be missed!

15/11/2023

Tribute ceremony for art teachers 🎭

Tomorrow, Thursday, November 16, 2022, at 9am, one of Chiang Mai's most important cultural events takes place. The ceremony in honor of the professors of Chiang Mai University's Faculty of Fine Arts, CMU. You can experience it on site by visiting the university campus, precisely here, at Dhamma Hall (Sala Dhamma, ศาลาธรรม มหาวิทยาลัยเชียงใหม่): https://goo.gl/maps/EQ7wvgQX4cTsmYmq7 👈

This is an exceptional opportunity to admire one of the most beautiful facets of Lanna culture, named after the ancient kingdom of Northern Thailand, with students wearing superb traditional dress. We encourage you to experience this annual event.

Take a look at these archive photos to get an idea of what you can experience: https://www.facebook.com/FINEARTSCMU/posts/888452263066111
***
Note that a first artistic encounter has already taken place the day before yesterday, Tuesday, in connection with an ancient legend integrated into Siamese culture where Nang Kaew ( #นางแก้ว) is a woman representing purity. She is chosen from among the students at Chiang Mai University's Faculty of Fine Arts. The show can be seen here (from minute 38:00): https://fb.watch/ojpYeFTZ6k/

#สโมสรนักศึกษาคณะวิจิตรศิลป์ #กลุ่มหน่อศิลป์ #คณะวิจิตรศิลป์ #มหาวิทยาลัยเชียงใหม่ #คณะวิจิตรศิลป์มช

14/11/2023

Tribute to Aek Wild Sax, who died 100 days ago 🎷

This Tuesday, November 14, 2023, a tribute will be paid to musician Aek "Wild Sax"'. He was one of Chiang Mai's best-known musicians. He passed away 100 days ago.

❖ From 9:30 am to 10:30 am, a ceremony will take place at Wat Chai Mongkhon (วัดชัยมงคล, https://maps.app.goo.gl/XaxDuZGihzjJoMDy5).

❖ Then, from 3pm to 11pm, at Tha Phae Gate Square (ประตูท่าแพ, https://maps.app.goo.gl/x4FZbccW1mjHYVrFA), his musician friends will perform, in his memory 😌

13/11/2023

👩‍🎓 Chiang Mai University Pilgrimage - CMU walk up - to the top of Doi Suthep. This annual student event, which will leave its mark on every participant, takes place this coming Saturday on the slopes of Chiang Mai's tutelary mountain. And you'll be able to take part (it'll leave just as much of an impression on you, minus the fatigue of walking). Details to follow...

บันทึกความทรงจำ รับน้องขึ้นดอย 2562ทุกครั้งที่บันทึกภาพ เหตุการณ์นั้นจะกลายเป็นอดีต แต่ภาพหลังการบันทึกนั....

13/11/2023

🌾 If you drive through the countryside these days, you won't be able to miss the rice harvest, which is in full swing and wears out the farm workers (hence the great respect for this cereal, whose farming is only slightly mechanized in Southeast Asian countries). These photos come from the Karen village of Hin Lad Nai, in the neighboring province of Chiang Rai, where around twenty families live.

12/11/2023

☸️ Here's a 'kathina' ceremony out of the ordinary! A traditional armed procession comprising 11 war elephants and 24 horses. Dancers from the south of the country were also present. It was yesterday in Nan, where Buddhist devotees were able to revere relics of the historical Buddha.

12/11/2023

🐘 ELEPHANT PARADE @ CHIANG MAI 🌈

The Elephant Parade is back in Chiang Mai. There are about fifty of them all over the city. Will you be able to find their location and take some great selfies?

11/11/2023

📌 One of the 'walking streets' we don't talk about enough, that of Sankamphaeng ( #ถนนคนเดินสันกำแพง), which welcomes customers and the curious every Saturday, day and evening, from 6am to 10pm 🍜 It can be found here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/2xCcZM3XQr2pVECE9 👈

11/11/2023

Journey of Lanna Gastronomy 👨🏼‍🍳

Can Northern Thai food reach gourmet levels? Come to this culinary event to find out. It offers you a journey through the culinary culture of Lanna with no less than 40 special menus that come from 4 different provinces: Lampang, Lamphun-, Chiang Rai and Phayao. Chiang Mais, through a university project, aims to promote itself as a quality culinary destination (Wonderful Secondary City - Lanna Gastronomy). On this occasion, the 10 best restaurants in the North will be unveiled ("Top 10 go local Gastronomy").

Journey of Lanna Gastronomy takes place this weekend, Saturday November 11 and Sunday November 12, 2023, from 11am to 10pm, at One Nimman Shopping Centre (วันนิมมาน), here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/oWHJjhxYGpGAVoEw8 👈 There will be various on-site entertainment.

10/11/2023

🌼 The Golden Lotuses of Chiang Rai 🌼

Earlier today, Saturday November 11, 2023, at 8am, the Mai Ya Mexican sunflower fields (จุดชมวิวตำบลไม้ยา) will be inaugurated. Less well-known - and less extensive too - than those at Doi Mae U Kho, in Mae Hong Son province, these fields are in Chiang Rai province. The festival takes place precisely here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/fJBeDhxBb1NdqMLE9 👈 A site that can be reached via rural road no. 4017, offering a beautiful panorama from which to admire this natural golden glow. As you can see, you're getting off the beaten tourist track here, and meeting a rural population who will welcome you with a smile.

#จุดชมวิวตำบลไม้ยา

10/11/2023

Awakening Festival 🌆

Have you managed to find the 17 light installations scattered around the Chang Moi district, between the Thae Pae Gate and the Ping River?

#เติมเต็มคำว่าเพื่อน

10/11/2023

AWAKENING FESTIVAL 🌆 17 Installations, 4 bars, 3 music stages

Starting today, the Awakening festival sets up shop in the Rose of the North for the first time! Illuminating the city with its light installations! From Friday November 10 to Sunday November 19, 2023, Chiang Mai's art lovers will have the opportunity to stroll among captivating illuminated displays set up in the Chang Moi-Tha Pae district. The event offers new perspectives on the historic commercial district, a spectacle that has amazed Bangkok residents for the past five years.

The festival's theme, "Polar-Rise", symbolizes Chiang Mai's rise as a thriving capital of the creative economy, while underscoring its ongoing struggle with environmental challenges. With 17 dazzling installations spread across 13 key sites, including Ratchawong Warehouse and Kitipanit, this event promises to be a visual feast. Get ready to immerse yourself in a world of luminous creativity! It starts tonight...

#เติมเต็มคำว่าเพื่อน

09/11/2023

The Golden Lotuses of Northern Thailand 🌻
As you may know, the Mae Moh site in Lampang is one of three places where you can see huge fields of Mexican sunflowers. And the place will be celebrating for three days starting tomorrow, Friday November 10, 2023 😃

🥳 Mae Moh Fest takes place from Friday November 10 to Sunday November 12, 2023 at the park of EGAT, the state-owned company that produces most of the country's electricity. The entire site will come alive over the three days. Chaloem Phrakiat Park will be open from 6am to 10pm; the Mexican sunflower fields can be admired from 7:30am to 6pm; and the botanical garden opens from 8am to 6pm. Concerts take place in the evening, from 5.30pm.

To get an idea of the venue, take a look at this trailer: https://fb.watch/obIM6ot4f4/

We wish you a great weekend 🌞

08/11/2023

And the Lanna Festival of 100,000 Sky Lanterns continues to enchant Wat Phra That Haripunchai, in Lamphun 🤩

07/11/2023

🤑 SALE OF THE YEAR! If you've got nothing better to do, head to the annual fair organized by Union Pan. It's sure to satisfy all your consumer desires. You'll find unbeatable deals on cars and motorcycles, furniture, exotic plants and animals, books, wedding planning (you never know), fabrics, clothes, beauty products.... You name it, we've got it!

But what really attracts us are the many street food stalls outside and the unrivalled local atmosphere. The fair is open from 10:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., until Sunday, November 12, 2023, at the Chiang Mai International Exhibition and Convention Centre (ศูนย์ประชุมและแสดงสินค้านานาชาติ เชียงใหม่), which is located in the north of the city, here: https://maps. app.goo.gl/GoqntXFMBbY8g9YZ7 👈

#ตลาดอาหารย้อนวันวาน #งานเเฟร์เชียงใหม่

07/11/2023

LANTERN FESTIVAL 🏮 Although Lamphun's is the most flamboyant, other sites also organize their own lantern festival. Such is the case of Nong Khwai subdistrict, in Hang D**g district, south of Chiang Mai city. The event takes place at Wat Saeng Chotanaram (วัดแสงโชตนาราม), more commonly known as Wat Na Buk (วัดนาบุก), a Buddhist temple located here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/ihLYgLQXQRhZiMgK6 👈

This Lanna Lantern Festival has been running since last Sunday until November 27, the eve of Loi Krathong. The temple is open from 9am to 6pm, during which time you can hang your lantern and make a wish (which can be written on said lantern), not forgetting to make a donation to the temple. Saturdays or Sundays are best, as a market is held here, with food (all the local stuff) and second-hand clothes for sale.

☸️ Don't miss a visit to Wat Intharawat (or Wat Ton Kwen, as the locals call it), one of Chiang Mai's most beautiful Lanna temples. It can be found not far away, precisely here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/jtbDs2nXGoLdQspC7 (วัดอินทราวาส (วัดต้นเกว๋น)) 👈

**g #วัดแสงโชตนาราม #วัดนาบุก

06/11/2023

☸️ Kathina' ceremonies are taking place all over Thailand, as the three-month retreat of Buddhist monks came to an end last week. Here, the retreat at Wat Lok Molee ended yesterday.

Identical ceremony at Doi Inthanon: https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=794210135839156&id=100057505297436

Here in a Buddhist temple in the Mae Chaem district: https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=667273192213727&id=100067931569470

06/11/2023

☸️ Throughout Thailand, the day after leaving monastic retreat (ok phansa), the period of thotkathin (ทอดกฐิน) or kathina begins. It lasts a month, until Loi Krathong (The Festival of Lights). Thotkathin is a ceremony of offering new robes to monks; you will therefore be able to attend processions, always moving and spectacular. One of the most beautiful, rural, is that of Mae Chaem, scheduled for November 25.

Those in Phrae province today will be able to participate in the thotkathin of Wat Phra Bat Ming Mueang Worawihan (วัดพระบาทมิ่งเมืองวรวิหาร), here: https://maps. app.goo.gl/1Gr1qWFX5Fsx495p8 👈 It begins so this Monday morning, November 6, 2023, at 9 a.m.

#ทอดกฐิน #วัดพระบาทมิ่งเมืองวรวิหาร
🙏 Source: Phrae.TV (https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=716581667170349&id=100064555665381)

05/11/2023

🌻 WILD MEXICAN SUNFLOWER FIELDS

Those venturing into the less touristy provinces of Northern Thailand - especially motorcyclists who enjoy the superb roads - will know that the Mexican sunflower fields are one of nature's floral wonders from mid-November to mid-December. Three sites are particularly popular with Thais:
▶︎ Khun Yuam, in the province of Mae Hong Son;
▶︎ Mae Moh, in Lampang province;
▶︎ Doi Hua Mae Kham, in Chiang Rai province.

The official opening of these sites - with an ad hoc festival - will take place in the next few days, and we'll tell you more about them when the time comes. But the reason we're mentioning them today is that those who visit the most extensive of these sites, Khun Yuam in Mae Hong Son province, will be able to take advantage of a festival that opens today!

The festival runs from Sunday November 5 to Thursday November 9, 2023 (and looks set to extend to Tuesday November 14!). It couldn't be more authentic and local, with local artists and a regional audience (foreigners can be counted on the fingers of one hand). And it's the former Khun Yuam district airport (สนามบินเก่าอำเภอขุนยวม) that hosts the festivities, here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/nXEGTnGGfzm83Di69 👈 On the evening program:
- Sunday November 5: the indispensable Miss Buatong beauty pageant;
- Monday November 6: a concert by local star James Chaturong;
- Tuesday, November 7: a market (with proceeds going to help the needy);
- Wednesday, November 8: a singing competition;
- Thursday November 9: three concerts by ethnic minority artists (including Shan);
And from Tuesday November 7 to Thursday November 9, a Muay Thai boxing championship.

04/11/2023

🌾 "New Rice" ceremony

We've already told you several times about this ritual that members of various ethnic groups in Northern Thailand don't fail to celebrate. It generally takes place after the rice harvest. However, depending on the region, the harvest has already begun.

And it's precisely today that the ethnic group living in Doi Mon Lan (ดอยม่อนล้าน) is organizing an event entitled "The Doi Mon Lan tradition of eating new rice". This mountainous region, part of the Sri Lanna National Park, is in fact inhabited by the Akha people.

The usual cultural activities of the Akha people can be seen here, including traditional dances such as the bamboo stick dance. The elders offer "new rice" to the guests present. It's also an opportunity for them to discuss their daily concerns with the authorities.

The event takes place this Saturday, November 4, 2023, in Ban A Yae (village no. 3), Pa Nai sub-district, Phrao district, Chiang Mai province, here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/oxFx4iALQPyBtfvd7 👈 It is organized by the Doi Mon Lan ethnic network.

#อ่าข่า #ดอยม่อนล้าน

03/11/2023

The Silver Temple celebrates 🪔

From today and throughout the weekend, events will enliven Wat Sri Suphan - the famous Silver Temple - and more generally the whole Wualai district! 3 local communities are joining forces to bring you their cultural activities. This means that the Saturday Walking Street Night Market will be even livelier than usual.

It takes place from Friday November 3 to Sunday November 5, 2023. Between Wat Si Suphan (วัดศรีสุพรรณ, https://maps.app.goo.gl/u4nQwWFTYQAZofH18) and the lesser-known Wat Nantaram (วัดนันทาราม, https://maps.app.goo.gl/AYo3rU5AaahokvKF9), via Wat Muen San, the "little Silver Temple" (วัดหมื่นสาร, https://maps.app.goo.gl/9oZtzpdtrCcfWFZ39). The opening ceremony takes place on Saturday November 4, 2023, at 7pm at the Silver Temple.

The 3-day program, from 9am to 9pm:
🎈a cultural market (silverware, lacquerware, OTOP products and other local products)
🎈artistic performances
🎈food, of course, with local specialties
🎈a beauty contest (children aged 6 to 14) on Friday November 3, where the winner will be elected Cultural Ambassador of Chiang Mai
🎈a shuttle bus linking the various venues with craft demonstrations (Friday 9am to noon and 1pm to 4pm, Saturday and Sunday 9am to noon). Reservations essential. Price: THB 299.00

Mini-reportage to get you in the mood: https://youtu.be/JTTJCu4AkEY

Here's a chance to discover the richness of this district, where silver work dominates.

03/11/2023

🛂 New relaxation of entry rules to the Kingdom of Thailand 🇹🇭

As part of the government's policy to boost tourism during the upcoming high season, Russian, Indian and Taiwanese tourists will be exempt from visa requirements (between November 1, 2023 and April 30, 2024, or even May 10). Visa exemption for Russian nationals has been increased to 90 days in Thailand (previously 30 days), a period not even Westerners can enjoy. A relaxation already enjoyed by Chinese and Kazakh citizens, in force until February 29, 2024. In other words, the tourism authorities are promoting Asian tourism. Remembering that this visa-free regime - albeit less generous - is applied to many other countries - foremost among them Great Britain, the USA, Australia and Canada - most of them Western.

Now that's something to boost tourism in the Land of Smiles 😏

01/11/2023

With the arrival of the "cold" season in November - which corresponds to the high tourist season - cultural and commercial events are flourishing. A case in point this week - starting tomorrow, November 2 - with 7 events highlighted by EventPass เชียงใหม่ 😃

❖ From THU 02 to SUN 05.11: . A film festival proposed by the Goethe Institut @ TCDC. More info: https://www.facebook.com/Dudemovie/posts/341031998275976

❖ FRI 03.11: the UnionStreet Vintage flea market @ Jing Jai market. More info: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551951866732

❖ SAT 04 & SUN 05.11: มาคราฟท์ - MaCraft #3. A beer festival with concerts @ Jing Jai Village. More info: https://www.facebook.com/macraftcnx

❖ SAT 04.11: DANCE BATTLE Blowout vol.15. A dance competition @ Think Park Shibuya. More info: https://www.instagram.com/blowout_dancebattle/

❖ From THU 02 to SUN 05.11: Chiangmai Pet Fair 2023, a pet show with a Japanese twist (Japan Petival 2023). The Central Chiangmai Airport shopping center hosts the event. Further information: https://www.facebook.com/CentralChiangmaiAirport/posts/331049362904247

❖ FRI 03 & SAT 04.11: Mycelium Festival 2023, an art and music festival held @ Chiang Dao (Tiger Jungle Art Camp, https://evpss.co/feccab). Further information: https://www.facebook.com/EventPass.ChiangMai/posts/305806485616191

❖ SAT 04 & SUN 05.11: the Joy Together market is open from 3pm to 10pm 🛍️ Much more discreet than other popular markets, it takes place on a small street in Chinatown (Kodang Rachawong, โกดังราชวงศ์, here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/FCQCPeKJaam4C16KA). page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057177710262

A great week to you all and thanks to EventPass เชียงใหม่ 😃

01/11/2023

🏨 Le Méridien is no more, long live the Chiang Mai Marriott Hotel!

The French spirit may well be a distant memory when you enter the new establishment on Loi Kroh Street, in the heart of the Night Bazaar. Le Méridien, one of the most popular hotels in a chain formerly created by Air France, is closing its doors and being replaced by a Marriott hotel. It should be noted that the Le Méridien hotel chain was in the hands of the American group Starwood Hotels & Resorts, itself acquired by the group - also American - Marriott International. And so, as of today, November 1, 2023, the Chiang Mai Marriott Hotel takes to the skies. Welcome to Chiang Mai 🙏

Let's hope that after the very recent opening of the InterContinental Chiang Mai The Mae Ping not far away, the Night Bazaar district will regain some color with the arrival of the tourist high season this November 😃

Find the Chiang Mai Marriott Hotel on Facebook: Chiang Mai Marriott Hotel (https://www.facebook.com/chiangmaimarriott)

31/10/2023

⏰ Chiang Mai Gate Market (ตลาดประตูเชียงใหม่) is one of the city's morning markets. The first traders can be found here as early as 3am! The market can be found here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/fLxppGb8bQTRsAgf9 👈

In fact, it's one of the stops on the exclusive "Doi Suthep early morning" tour offered by our partner, the Swiss-Lanna Tour, including offerings to the monks, in the company of Khun Wet, a former monk himself, who taught at the Wat Chedi Luang Buddhist University. For further information, click here: https://www.swisslannalodge.com/doi-suthep-early-morning

#ตลาดประตูเชียงใหม่

31/10/2023

🎈 Balloon Festival @ Central Chiang Mai 🍺

So of course this has nothing to do with either the hot-air balloon festival once offered at the Gymkhana Club or the annual one visible in Chiang Rai's Singha Park.

The Balloon Festival @ Chiang Mai is a music festival featuring a few small hot-air balloons, which nevertheless make quite an impact on the Chiang Mai night. The guest musicians are Thai celebrities. The festival takes place from today, Tuesday October 31 to Sunday November 5, 2023, on the esplanade of the Central Chiang Mai shopping center (เซ็นทรัล เชียงใหม่), here: https://goo.gl/maps/E2Bn63cVRZnNp1eT9 👈

Above all, it's an opportunity to eat street food while listening to music during these refreshing evenings. Admission costs THB 99.- and it's open from 4pm. Sponsored by Leo beer and mineral water.

30/10/2023

☸️ Here's what the offering ceremonies Tak Bat Tewo to the monks might have looked like on Monday morning in some of Northern Thailand's temples, here in Phrae province (and its famous meditating Buddha in the middle of rice fields, which you reach by walking on a bamboo footbridge.). For details, please refer to our previous post. We wish you a peaceful and serene day 🙏

29/10/2023

TAK BAT THEWO, a major offering ceremony ☸️

Early this Monday morning, October 30, 2023, larger-than-usual offerings will take place in many temples. The most spectacular take place where the temple is perched and offers a staircase descent.

The legend
It's a spectacular Buddhist ceremony known as tak bat thewo (ตักบาตรเทโว in Thai). Tak bat (ตักบาตร) means "to present food to a monk" (the bat (บาตร) being the alms bowl where he receives offerings). Thewo (Thai: เทโว) is derived from the word theworona (เทโวโรหนะ) meaning "The descent of the Buddha from the celestial world". Said ceremony involves prayers and matutinal offerings to hundreds of monks descending steps in remembrance of a legendary episode attributed to the historical Buddha.
This custom refers to an episode in the life of Siddharta Gautama. In this case, it concerns his return in glory from the Tavatimsa heaven, where he had spent his seventh vassa (monastic retreat) preaching the Abhidhamma - the last part of the canonical texts - to his mother and the devas. Other sources relate that the Buddha delivered a demon to his mother, who had died in heaven. Whatever the case, this festival commemorates the legendary story of how Lord Buddha, after three months spent preaching in the world of the devatas, came down to Earth, in the town of Sangkassa, via the triple staircase of gold, silver and diamond (or crystal, which is the one the Buddha is supposed to have taken).

The various ceremonies
One of the most spectacular and crowded ceremonies is held in Uthai Mai, in the Uthai Thani district, at Wat Sangkat Rattanakhiri on Sakaekrang hill, where 500 monks descend the 449 steps of the staircase to receive alms from locals and tourists alike. Impossible to be exhaustive here! We do, however, mention a few ceremonies that have been reported, in Chiang Mai and elsewhere:
❖ Chiang Mai Municipality invites you to take part in tak bat thewo at Wat Fa Ham (วัดฟ้าฮ่าม), on the banks of the Ping River, starting at 7:09 am (here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/NWACJpTHrhfxjzP79). Poster and information (in Thai): https://www.facebook.com/100064524919046/posts/716668517160639/

❖ The ceremony at Royal Flora Park (อุทยานหลวงราชพฤกษ์, https://maps.app.goo.gl/YXpdbdodRLEweGmx6) attracts large numbers of devotees every year. It takes place at 7 a.m. Poster and information (in Thai): https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=748412310653615&id=100064545588138

❖ Another place where the ceremony is held every year is Chiang Mai University - CMU - where 120 monks will take part. This takes place at Wat Fai Hin (วัดฝายหิน, https://maps.app.goo.gl/5TaC75t5xEQjPtfk9), starting at 7am. Poster and information (in Thai): https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=714823487345468&id=100064534698535

❖ We once enjoyed attending the ceremony at Wat Phra That Doi Saket (วัดพระธาตุดอยสะเก็ด, https://maps.app.goo.gl/j3gwJ8THGXMpAn2p6), east of Chiang Mai. It takes place at 7am, in the presence of 39 monks. Poster and information (in Thai): https://www.facebook.com/sutchatpapassarameThee/posts/835989071645535

❖ 59 monks will be present at Ban Tawai, the craftsmen's village. Poster and information (in Thai): https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=6660297317357772&id=100001327099129

❖ On the Samoeng side, 30 monks will receive your offerings at Wat Phra Phutthabat (Wat Pa Kluai, พระพุทธบาท (วัดป่ากล้วย, here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/mZSe2qHJpDcvpmDr5). Poster and information (in Thai): https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=658704456248032&id=100063254498925

❖ Another spectacular place to witness tak bat thewo, Wat Na Khu Ha (วัดนาคูหา แพร่), where its famous Buddha meditates in the middle of rice fields, joined by a bamboo footbridge, located in Phrae province, here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/tZrwiw2a5FAmW5A59. Photos and information (in Thai): https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=709536264541556&id=100064555665381

❖ Also in Phrae, at Wat Phra That Cho Hae (วัดพระธาตุช่อแฮ พระอารามหลวง, https://maps.app.goo.gl/xPkDjbXNEE2DDUmy9). Poster and information (in Thai): https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=712745870887262&id=100064555665381

❖ In Nan, at Wat Phra That Khao Noi (วัดพระธาตุเขาน้อย, https://maps.app.goo.gl/1fPfAaXEaAGpkHVG8), whose silhouette of the Buddha seen from behind is well known, 110 monks will gather at 6:30 am for tak bat thewo, with a procession at 7 am. Poster and information (in Thai): https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=732871272200713&id=100064335415371

❖ Still in Nan, but in town this time, at Wat Phra That Chae Haeng (วัดพระธาตุแช่แห้ง พระอารามหลวง, https://maps.app.goo.gl/DhcS5WVvDJvCor717), a royal monastery, the ceremony takes place at 7am. Poster and information (in Thai): https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=731674222320418&id=100064335415371

❖ And on the Khon Kaen side (so we're no longer in Northern Thailand), at Wat Phra Bat Phu Pan Kham (วัดพระบาทภูพานคำ, https://maps.app.goo.gl/Sfvhm6GBKDAEZ6Qu8), where a spectacular staircase ramp lends itself perfectly. Poster and information (in Thai): https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=975632773918458&id=100044152328267

❖ But also elsewhere in Thailand (alas, all in Thai): https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=773211334845460&id=100064698006011

#ตักบาตรเทโว

29/10/2023

☸️ OK PANSA. You may have noticed that the temples this morning were busier than usual. That's because the Buddhist festival of Ok Pansa (ออกพรรษา) marks the end of the Buddhist monastic retreat, which lasts three lunar months. It is set on the full moon of the 8ᶱ month of the lunar calendar, coinciding with the end of the rainy season (the monsoon in India).

Although it shouldn't be called "Lent", you should know that the sale of alcohol is prohibited today, so bars and nightlife venues generally close.

#ออกพรษา

29/10/2023

🇨🇳 As you stroll through Thailand's cities, you'll undoubtedly have noticed on the road vehicles from brands as yet unknown in Europe, be they cars or scooters (not to mention motorcycles). For the time being, Japanese brands, with their assembly plants in Thailand, are taking the lion's share. But the Chinese, lurking in the shadows, will be making inroads over the next few years (both in Thailand and in Europe). And the Keeway brand is one of them, offering motorcycles and scooters 🛵

You've probably never heard of them. The Keeway brand is a product of Qianjiang Motorcycle, which belongs to the Chinese conglomerate Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. It employs over 120,000 people. It also owns the Volvo brand, among others.

So, tempted by a Chinese scooter/motorcycle/car? Start by checking out the official page of the Keeway brand (scooters and motorcycles): (https://www.facebook.com/KeewayMotorcycle)

29/10/2023

While it's 8 a.m. on the hour in Chiang Mai, that's precisely when Europe switches to winter time: by the time it's 3 a.m., it will only be 2 a.m. 🕰 To put it another way, there's now a 6-hour time difference between Bangkok and Paris. At noon in France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland, it will already be 6pm in Thailand.

A beautiful Sunday to you all 😄

28/10/2023

Miss International 2023 👸 Honorable score for the Thai candidate

Baby Bow in the world's Top 7 🥉 She didn't win the world crown, but the journey of one of Thailand's former Miss Chiang Mai, Miss Supaporn Ritthipruek, was a beautiful one. She can be proud of it and continue to exude the charm that is hers.

26/10/2023

For lack of knowing Miss Sushi, we will soon know who will be elected Miss International 2023, a beauty pageant currently taking place in Japan, with the participation of our beloved Baby Bow 😃 Good luck to her 🍀

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