Chiang Mai Flower Festival
The evening after kayaking we headed down to the Buak Hat Public Park for the first night of the Chiang Mai Flower Festival. I wasn’t sure what to expect and I was mildly surprised to find the place packed. On the moat road, which was closed for
the event, we browsed the bromeliads and ogled the orchids. I’m partial to orchids and I was quite impressed with both the variety and the vibrancy of the selection. There were also a number of food stalls and, inside the park, a stage, more food, some rides for the little kids, and games of chance. On stage we were first treated to some live jazz and then the contest for the Chiang Mai Flower Festival Queen 2009.
The girls were 
of course beautiful but what was particularly spectacular were the incredibly opulent costumes, many featuring elaborate flower garlands, head ornamentation and black hair piled incredibly high. We ate and browsed and then headed over to the games of
chance. Zak and I knocked down a couple of bottles of orange sugar water with the pop guns but we failed miserably trying to pop 7 balloons with 7 darts. Maya and Zak won an eraser and a kid’s hankie by scooping up floating plastic eggs but Zak’s real success came in knocking down a pyramid of cans with tennis balls. He won a large stuffed panda bear which he gave to Maya. Very fun.
The next day wa
s the Flower Festival Parade. It was similar to parades in the U.S. in that there were marching bands, floats, and festival queens. The floats were opulent and entirely covered with flowers. The marching bands had the same absurd uniforms and the festival queens had their long black hair sculpted into incredibly elaborate structures. There were also hill-tribe dancers and music and other in
teresting entries, such as a group of young-women dressed as flowers and young-men dressed as plants and a sort-of song and dance troop extolling the seven virtues of Thailand. What was perhaps most novel aspect for me was the much more relaxed attitude toward the delineation between spectator and participant. People would just walk in fr
ont of a float to get a good photo or even pose their kids next to the flower queens for that perfect shot. Little care was given to accommodate the size of the floats or the bands and, on more than a couple of occasions, I saw people nearly run over or trampled upon but nobody seemed to care. They were all there to enjoy themselves as
performers or spectators and did their best to help each other to that end. As a result the parade would move forward in bursts. The progress of one group might be thwarted by the crowd and then they would rush to catch up as soon as they were able. My Western mind was at first put off by the lack of order but I soon came to appreciate the relax
ed nature of the whole endeavor. I guess it is kind of like the difference in attitude toward zoning regulations. Here in Thailand, you might find a simple cement-block structure added onto a house willy-nilly but if the family needs a bathroom and that is the only way they can afford to put one on, why sweat it?
the event, we browsed the bromeliads and ogled the orchids. I’m partial to orchids and I was quite impressed with both the variety and the vibrancy of the selection. There were also a number of food stalls and, inside the park, a stage, more food, some rides for the little kids, and games of chance. On stage we were first treated to some live jazz and then the contest for the Chiang Mai Flower Festival Queen 2009. The girls were 
of course beautiful but what was particularly spectacular were the incredibly opulent costumes, many featuring elaborate flower garlands, head ornamentation and black hair piled incredibly high. We ate and browsed and then headed over to the games of
chance. Zak and I knocked down a couple of bottles of orange sugar water with the pop guns but we failed miserably trying to pop 7 balloons with 7 darts. Maya and Zak won an eraser and a kid’s hankie by scooping up floating plastic eggs but Zak’s real success came in knocking down a pyramid of cans with tennis balls. He won a large stuffed panda bear which he gave to Maya. Very fun.The next day wa
s the Flower Festival Parade. It was similar to parades in the U.S. in that there were marching bands, floats, and festival queens. The floats were opulent and entirely covered with flowers. The marching bands had the same absurd uniforms and the festival queens had their long black hair sculpted into incredibly elaborate structures. There were also hill-tribe dancers and music and other in
teresting entries, such as a group of young-women dressed as flowers and young-men dressed as plants and a sort-of song and dance troop extolling the seven virtues of Thailand. What was perhaps most novel aspect for me was the much more relaxed attitude toward the delineation between spectator and participant. People would just walk in fr
ont of a float to get a good photo or even pose their kids next to the flower queens for that perfect shot. Little care was given to accommodate the size of the floats or the bands and, on more than a couple of occasions, I saw people nearly run over or trampled upon but nobody seemed to care. They were all there to enjoy themselves as
performers or spectators and did their best to help each other to that end. As a result the parade would move forward in bursts. The progress of one group might be thwarted by the crowd and then they would rush to catch up as soon as they were able. My Western mind was at first put off by the lack of order but I soon came to appreciate the relax
ed nature of the whole endeavor. I guess it is kind of like the difference in attitude toward zoning regulations. Here in Thailand, you might find a simple cement-block structure added onto a house willy-nilly but if the family needs a bathroom and that is the only way they can afford to put one on, why sweat it?After the parade, we headed back to the Flower Festival where we inspected the floats. Maya enjoyed one of her favor
ite Thai treats, and ice cream sandwich. This may not sound very exotic except that the ice cream sandwiches here are actually small scoops of vanilla or vanilla/coconut ice cream served between two slices of white bread. Yum. The kids also got on a small Ferris Wheel which was set up for the day. They were latched in and, little did we know, they were in for the longest Ferris Wheel ride in history. Other kids would be let on and then let off. 
The Braunwarth kids continued to go around and around. At some point, I had to sit down and I was just laughing every time they would pass through the bottom of the circle and start up again. They literally must have been on for forty minutes before Zak got the attention of the operator and got let off.
ite Thai treats, and ice cream sandwich. This may not sound very exotic except that the ice cream sandwiches here are actually small scoops of vanilla or vanilla/coconut ice cream served between two slices of white bread. Yum. The kids also got on a small Ferris Wheel which was set up for the day. They were latched in and, little did we know, they were in for the longest Ferris Wheel ride in history. Other kids would be let on and then let off. 
The Braunwarth kids continued to go around and around. At some point, I had to sit down and I was just laughing every time they would pass through the bottom of the circle and start up again. They literally must have been on for forty minutes before Zak got the attention of the operator and got let off. 
That night we came across more Flower Festival activities at the Tha Pae Gate near our hotel. The music and dancing were marginal, at best, but there was a particularly prolific fire breather. Nothing like the potential for self-emoliation to liven things up.
posted by Braunwarth @ 5:27 PM
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