Sunday Night Walking Streets, Chiang Mai

The month of November in Northern Thailand is nothing less than *magical*. The rainy season is starting to clear away, the mountains are getting noticeably cooler, the humidity mercifully eases, and across the country celebrations are under way.

Last weekend I stayed at Kristi's Guesthouse in the center of the old city quarters. This guest house is a personal favorite of mine, and I'm coming to terms with the fact that it's no longer the hidden gem it used to be a few years back. It's located on a charming 'soi' lined with cobbled streets, modest and shy guest houses, a temple, a cafe or two and several Thai cooking schools.

I woke up at an ungodly hour on Sunday morning to the BANG! of fireworks and gongs going off in the temple outside my balcony window. It's official, the Buddhists are in full-force celebration mode now...monks are filing out of the temples with their precious few belongings to go home for the first time in months.

In the later years of Buddha (~540 B.C.) villagers complained about his monks traveling through their rice paddy fields. The rainy season is the most important season for growing rice, and the monks were accidentally damaging crops as they traveled the countryside spreading his message. He ordained that the rainy season months should be a time for monks to stay inside the temple walls, perfecting their meditation and focusing on their teachings...this tradition has carried on nearly 1,500 years later.

To this day, young men are traditionally ordained as monks at the beginning of the rainy season, and remain inside the temple walls for 3 months straight, the duration of the season. So today, on a clear, bright and sunny day, a small migration of monks set foot outside the temple doors and started their journeys back home. Music and messages of good luck were blasted from megaphones and fireworks shot off in celebration. Some of the monks had suit cases in hand, others had duffel bags, Ipods and cell phones already tuned in as they exited the gates.

Today also happens to be the most special of market days in Chiang Mai, the Sunday Night Walking Street. It's a cultural market that takes place every Sunday. The city street traffic is shut down and artists from in and around the province come together to sell their artwork: handicrafts, jewelry, hand made clothing, paintings, sculpture, woodwork...any possible trinket you could want. Music, massage parlors and street food vendors add the appropriate ambiance, and every once in a while I battle the crowds to treat myself to some quality shopping and local treats!

*This video was shot from the front gates of a temple, where the festivities mix in celebration of the end of the rainy season and the ambiance of the Sunday night walking street markets.*

*Moo Ping! Grilled pork with sticky rice and dipped in a spicy green chili sauce.*

*A little mood music, a little soft lighting, and even you can fall asleep in a massage chair!*

*Of course, a quick stop to visit my friends (Nim and Ning) at Parasol Inn and to steal some of their food!---this is also when I unknowingly ate a dish loaded with 30 chilis...*