Chiang Mai has a large Chinese market area and it’s all set up for New Year Celebrations. Tonight it’s jam-packed with locals and tourists. Giant people-powered dragons wind their way through the crowds collecting coins for good luck.
Children are dressed in adorable outfits and getting their photos taken by proud parents (and at least a couple of admiring tourists). Many people wear red, festive clothes to celebrate,
This is yet another opportunity to try inexpensive, delicious street food. A large serving of Pad Thai cost $2.00 and Larry’s Thai Sausage on a Stick was 62 cents. The roasted squid was a bit more expensive at $3.00. There is so much variety!
Late this afternoon we went to Wat Suan Dok for a Monk Chat
…Boon, our host is a 24-year old Monk who has been training since he was 12-years old. He grew up in Myanmar but moved to Chiang Mai to study. The Monk Chats are designed to help interested tourists learn more about Buddhism and to help the Monks learn and practice English. We were in a group with people from Nepal, the Philippines, and Canada. We all learned a lot and had an interesting conversation! Boon did an excellent job of answering our questions.
This is an evening view of the Wat Suan Dok.
Daytime temps are rising into the mid-nineties and the humidity is very low at about 26 Percent. Our hand-washed clothes dry very quickly outside.
We’re looking forward to more New Year Celebrations on the actual day, Tuesday, February 5th! Hoping for fireworks over the Ping River!