Chiang Mai Flower Festival - Beautiful Flower Float with Thai girls in Thai Costumes

If someone asks me about winter in Chiang Mai, one of the very first things that flash up on my mind is the vividly-colored scene of the Chiang Mai Flower Festival – the time when all the roads surrounding the old city’s moat are awash with colorful arrays of floral fantasy. Not only because it is usually held annually in the nice and cool month of February, this fantastic festival takes place during the time of the year when all flowers in the city – the gentle purplish orchids, sexy red roses and lovely yellow Daoruang – flaunt their beauty in full blooms.

In 2010, the 34th Chiang Mai Flower Festival will be held on 5th-7th February at Suan Buak Hart City Park. This natural decoration perfectly fits the scenic settings of Chiang Mai city and creates such a delightful sight – not to mention the laid-back atmosphere with cool and breezy ambience. The most impressive highlight that I would like to recommend is the Flower Parade, accompanied by dozens of flower floats and flower beds tastefully adorned in Buddhist theme. Traditional Thai dancers in elegant Thai costumes as well as hill tribe performers donned in unique tribal garments never fail to keep spectators entertained.

Colorful Flower Carriage with a candidate for Miss Flower Festival

The floral procession will set forth in the morning at Naowarat Bridge and then move slowly along the street – making several stops for performances and shows – down to the City Park (Date to be announced). You will also see many beautiful young Thai ladies perching atop each parade carriage. These gorgeous ladies are candidates of the Flower Festival Beauty Pageant which will be staged in the evening at the Park. Also on exhibit are various types of award-winning flowers and decorative plants.

Chiang Mai Flower Festival is one of the most famous events and is a total must see to all tourists headed to Chiang Mai. The event has drawn millions of tourist to the city aptly dubbed ‘The Rose of Northern Thailand’. There is nothing to dislike about the Chiang Mai Flower Festival.

Flower Float with Thai boys in Thai Costumes	Flower Float designed by People from Sarapee District
Beautiful Thai lady with Bor Sang Umbrella	Cute young lady with fabulous flower hairdo.
Award-Winning Orchid in the flower exhibition	Gentle Thai Orchid on display

Chiang Mai Bike Week 2009

This article has been reprinted with permission from Thailand Travel Online.

On December 5, Father’s Day, all of Thailand will celebrate His Majesty the King’s Birthday and many special events will held throughout the country. If you are a fan of big bikes, then you might want to travel to Chiang Mai for this celebratory time and take in the largest Big Bike Show in northern Thailand.

Once again, the North Comets Motorcycle Club will host the 11th year Anniversary of Chiang Mai Bike Week. There will be 2 days of festivities, December 5-6, 2009 from 10 am. – 11 pm at Sirinart Garden Hotel.

The theme of the event is Old School Choppers and Antique Bikes. Many famous brands of Big Bike like Harley Davidson, BMW, KTM, Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki, Triumph, and etc. will be on display in the 6,500 square meter showplace. The admission is free for all and visitors are welcomed to join the excitement.

The event will feature many activities, live entertainment, car and motorcycle contests, music, exhibitions, and a lot more. People or companies who are interested in booth reservation or would like to be sponsors for this event can contact chiangmaibikeweek@gmail.com or http://www.chiangmaibikeweek.com.

Exhibitors can sign up at http://www.chiangmaibikeweek.com/index.php?lay=show&ac=article&Id=5369379

Sirinart Garden Hotel is located on Klong Chonlapratan Rd. (Canal Road) on the way to Hang Dong District.

Sirinart Garden Hotel Map

The 10th Nimmanhaemin Art & Design Promenade in Chiang Mai

This article has been reprinted with permission from Thailand Travel Online.

Welcome to Nimmanhaemin Road, Soi 1 in Chiang Mai.  This small, lively street becomes an extraordinary attraction each year during the Nimmanhaemin Art & Design Promenade. Nimmanhaemin Soi 1 will be transformed into a walking street market filled with quality merchandise and local art; this vibrant event is to be enjoyed by anyone who wants to come enjoy the beautiful Chiang Mai weather and take in the local art and design scene.

The 10th Year Anniversary Nimmanhaemin Art & Design Promenade (NAP) will be held on December 5-9, 2009 at Nimmanhaemin Road, Soi 1. This year, NAP will once again be featuring various booths of arts & design, home decor, handicrafts, chic jewelry, stylish clothes, and much more.  The event will be held from 10 am – 10 pm each day.

The area that we know as Nimmanhaemin today was originally a part of the Nimmanhaemin family property. Mr. Kee and Ms. Kimhor contributed this area for the construction of a road connecting Huay Kaew Rd. and Suthep Rd. Since then Nimmanhaemin Road was named in honor of the Nimmanhaemin Family and now, over 50 year later, the street has become an important business area and a popular trendy boutique center with a wholly unique atmosphere.

Come and join this fun event!

Recap
The 10th Nimmanhaemin Art & Design Promenade
Nimmanhaemin Road, Soi 1
December 5-9, 2009; 10 a.m.- 10 p.m.

This article has been reprinted with permission from Thailand Travel Online.

Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Business Association of Chiang Mai invites you to the Northern Eco and Adventure Mart 2009 from November 6 – 8 at Ratchapruek Garden, Chiang Mai.

With a goal to support and expand eco-tourism and adventure travel in the north of Thailand, the Northern Eco and Adventure Mart 2009 is a hub where traders can meet up to exchange opinions and tourism information in order to stimulate Chiang Mai as a center of ecotourism and adventure of Northern Thailand.

The event features Table-top Sales, Consumer Fair, Post Tour, Media FAM Trip and conferences.

To join Northern Eco and Adventure Mart 2009 as a seller, book a 2m x 3m booth for 3,500 baht (about $100) at Business Association of Chiang Mai.

For more information please contact:
Business Association of Chiang Mai
Phone: +66 53 820 333, +66 53 820 827
Fax: +66 53 820 826

This article has been reprinted with permission from Thailand Travel Online.

Usually celebrated on a full moon night during late October or early November, Loi Krathong Festival is held through out the country bringing a vibrant atmosphere to water bodies and where people come to float their small lotus-shaped boats and to the skies, which fill with thousands of bright floating lanterns.

In Chiang Mai, Loi Krathong Festival is locally known as “Yi Peng,” and Chiang Mai is recognized as one of the best places in Thailand to enjoy the Loi Krathong festivities.

The following schedule has been translated from a Thai language source and describes many of the events to be held during the 4 days of Loi Krathong 2009.

For more information about the festival please read the Chiang Mai Loi Kratong Festival 2009 article.

Chiang Mai Food Festival - Famous Northern Thai Dish (Cab Moo and Namprik Noom)

The 22nd Chiang Mai Food Festival will be held on October 9-15, 2009 at Muan Jai Square, Chiang Mai Central Airport plaza. The event has been organized again this year to help promote Northern Thai cuisine and strengthen Chiang Mai’s reputation for world class food services. The Chiang Mai Restaurant Association has held this event for over 20 years and has very successfully contributed to Chiang Mai’s good name with locals and visitors alike.

This year the festival will open with a welcoming ceremony and there will be presentations of food from restaurants that have been carefully selected to join in the festival.

The 22nd Chiang Mai Food Festival will include cooking workshops,culinary advice, singing contests, and free concerts from famous performers. The event is expected to attract 200,000 visitors and will be an important tourism event to kick off the tourist season. Visitors and gourmets should not miss this event!!!

Jaran Manophet Memorial Concert

This article has been reprinted with permission from Thailand Travel Online.

Whenever talking about Lanna Folk-Songs, Jaran Manophet, the renowned musical artist of the North, always comes to mind for his timeless artistic works and his sweet sounding and melodious songs that he left for all of us before he passed away.

To remind people of Jaran Manophet, the 8th year anniversary Memorial Concert will take place in Chiang Mai to bring people together and pay tribute to a great contributor to Lanna traditional music. The revenue from this concert will go towards building the Sala Laolueang Art Museum to display the works of various Lanna style artist’s and to preserve and promote Lanna tradition, in memorial to Jaran’s life work.

Jaran Manophet Memorial Concert will be held on September 3, 2009 at Chiang Mai University Art Center, Nimmanhaemin Rd. 8 a.m. – 10 p.m. The event features booths for Lanna art works, foods and drinks. Furthermore, there will be an exhibition displaying the art works of Jaran Manophet and his music collections will be available on CD.

On the main stage, there will be performances from students, Lanna artists, and Lanna Musicians. Also, there is a short film showcasing Jaran’s life and his work. The concert will feature many well-known Lanna singers including: Mai Muang, Patinya Tangtrakul, Suntaree Weachanon, and many more. For a unique evening full of celebration in the finest Lanna tradition, come to join the Jaran Manophet memorial concert.

Nimman Life Fair 2009

This article has been reprinted with permission from Thailand Travel Online.

Pu Sae - Ya Sae Ceremony is one among several macabre Thai ceremonies. Held in Chiang Mai annually every May or early June, at the beginning of the rainy season (in 2009 the ceremony will be held on June 7), the ceremony of Pu Sae Ya Sae is believed to predate the beginning of Buddhism in Northern Thailand.

Chiang Mai people worship Pu Sae - Ya Sae as guardian spirits of their region. Pu Sae Ya Sae, in their lifetime, were indigenous inhabitants of the region who wandered from Lawa (an ancient territory) and settled on the slopes of Doi Suthep.

Legend says that both Pu Sae and Ya Sae were cannibals and especially took great pleasure in human flesh, so the gruesome ceremony of Pu Sae – Ya Sae is tied to the legend of these cannibals.

When Lord Buddha traveled to the region, he passed through the territory of Pu Sae and Ya Sae, so they tracked his scent with an intention to eat him. The Buddha eventually managed to persuade both Pu Sae and Ya Sae to quit their former cannibalism by his sermon. They promised to hold dharma at all times, but pleaded with the Lord to allow them to eat buffalo flesh at least once a year as it must be so difficult for ex-cannibals like them.

To satisfy and honor the spirit of Pu Sae - Ya Sae, people in Chiang Mai built shrines for them; one at Ban Tin Doi on the foot of Doi Suthep and another on the foot of Doi Kham in Tambon Mae Hia where the ceremony is held every year. The ceremony ritually sacrifices a buffalo and makes offerings at the beginning of each rainy season.

The religious ceremony of Pu Sae – Ya Sae is a combination of Shamanism and Buddhism where a prior part of Lawa culture is represented through a medium or shamanist who is able to convey words from the spirit of Pu Sae –Ya Sae to others and is finally possessed by the spirit of Ya Sae.
While the offered buffalo is cut into pieces and cooked, the medium sits calmly drinking lao khao (local white liquor) and smoking cigarettes. Accompanied by gongs, cymbals and drums, the medium then dances around the carcass of the buffalo and tucks into a chunk of raw meat. The situation is seen as a representation of the spirit’s possession upon the medium.

The ceremony ends when the spirit of Ya Sae sees the painted Buddha image which represents the presence of Lord Buddha, and salutes. In this way, the legend of Pu Sae – Ya Sae is reenacted and the conversion from cannibalism in Pu Sae – Ya Sae is celebrated as the spirits get their annual treat.

In a deeper meaning, the ceremony of Pu Sae - Ya Sae can be seen as a social message conveying a combination between Buddhist-Shamanist and Thai-Lawa tradition as stated in an invocation of Pu Sae – Ya Sae: ‘Let not the rice of the Lawa die in their swiddens; let not the rice of the Thai wither and die in their paddies.’ These words suggest a close and positive association between Lawa and Northern Thai people which has long been held.

On Mother’s Day, August 12, the people of Thailand celebrate nationwide in tribute to Her Majesty Queen Sirikit on the date of her birth. Special events take place just about everywhere, from small rural villages to the royal palace.

To celebrate Her Majesty the Queen’s Birthday in 2009, Chiang Mai Municipality participating with Chiang Mai Queen’s Royal Orchid Association, Pa Ton Agricultural Gardening Group, and Bonsai Club will host the 28th Annual Lanna National Floral and Ornamental Plants Fair.  The fair will be held from 10-12 August 2009 at Suan Buak Had Park, Chiang Mai. The event organizers welcome all visitors to join in this event.

An officer of the Chiang Mai Municipality, Kane Santitham, says that Lanna National Floral and Ornamental Plants Fair is intended to celebrate Mother’s Day and to promote Thai orchids and ornamental plants worldwide. Also, the fair is to support orchid growing as an important industry in Chiang Mai. Mr. Santitham added that the theme of the fair will be based upon His Majesty the King’s philosophy of sufficient economy; emphasizing a balanced, holistic, and sustainable approach to agriculture.

The Lanna National Floral and Ornamental Fair will include orchid and ornamental plant contests, Mother’s Day Exhibitions, and agricultural products displays. There will also be OTOP products on display. People who are interested in sales or to reserve a booth can contact the office of Chiang Mai Municipality or call 053-232175-6.

Suan Buak Had Park is located just inside the Chiang Mai Old City moat, at the south west corner.