Getting from Bangkok to Chiang Mai

My hour long Air Asia flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai started off on a good foot as I barely made it to the airport in time which turned out to be a blessing because I didn’t even have to wait a single minute.  When it was finally time to board the plane I was pleasantly surprised when I boarded a BRAND NEW airbus 320 jet!  The fact that the plane was new was immediately noticeable upon walking into the plane by the smell.

The interior of the plane smelled like brand new leather.  I first wondered if they just had the seats reupholstered but the usual yellow interior from the ancient Air Asia planes was white and brand new looking.  I asked the flight attendant and she said the plane was delivered 3 days ago.  I was debating in the back of my head whether a new plane was a good or a bad  thing since old planes have obviously stood up to the test of time while new planes were a proven commodity.

The new plane meant less freebies from Air Asia as I was charged  not only for my meal (a sandwich I paid for at booking) but a can of soda while on board.  If charging for the soda wasn’t enough, they actually charged me for a cup and ice!  Personally I will take a brand new plane over free soda but some people may have other ideas.  The hour long flight was smooth with absolutely no turbulence and the landing was smooth.

Looking Down on Chiang Mai from Moutain near Doi Suthep Temple

Where are all the Skyscrapers?

Regardless of which country you think about, you would expect the 2nd largest city to be pretty big.  The countries and cities that come to mind first such as the United States (New York, Los Angeles), Brazil (Rio De Janiero, Sao Paulo) and China (Shanghai, Beijing) are some of the largest countries in the world and obviously several times larger than Thailand.  Even so I would expect a city of 600,000 in northern Thailand to have some resemblance to the metropolis I live in Bangkok. I already knew the airport was only 10 minutes via tuk tuk to the city center so I was paying attention to the city while the plane was making its final decent.

I was looking for some evidence of city and I saw none so I figured that we didn’t fly over that part.  It turns out Chiang Mai has no skyscrapers and very few noticable buildings over 20 stories. An interesting fact about Chiang Mai is the city center or “Old Town” is completely surrounded by a moat!  Yes, you read that right.  The center of Chiang Mai used to be surrounded by brick walls which were surrounded by a moat.  A small section of the brick wall still remains which is where the beginning of the Sunday walking market is (you can read about it below).

Traffic Around Chiang Mai's Moat just After Sunset

Getting Around in Chiang Mai

Unlike Bangkok which has to be top 10 on the list of worldwide cities with the most taxi cabs, Chiang Mai has very few.  I saw less than a handful of “taxi-meters” during my 72 hours in Chiang Mai.  Tuk Tuks on the other hand were plentiful.  Taking the place of the taxis were trucks with benches on either side of their covered beds (I don’t know the name of them). Since there is less traffic volume than Bangkok, many tourists also take to the roads themselves.  In addition cars which cost in between 1000-2000 baht ($30-60USD) per day you can rent motorcycles, mopeds and bicycles.  I decided to brave the Thailand traffic on a moped which I rented for 200 baht ($6USD) a day.

The automatic Honda scooter/moped? I drove around on was more than adequate to explore the city. The first thing to know if you’re driving around Chiang Mai is the moat is surrounded by traffic on each side which are going in opposite directions.  It is pretty easy to get caught up in the traffic flow and just go around in circles (or squares in the case of Chiang Mai).  To actually leave the city on your own is not that bad.  Traffic gets less congested as you leave the main city into the surrounding areas.

If you inspect the map (below) and the tourist map you can pick up at the airport, you can see there are only a handful of main roads which exit the main part of the city in each direction.  A major landmark such as a shopping mall or sign for the zoo usually marks the right road to use to get to an out-of-town location.  Walking is always a viable option which is best at night when it cools down a bit.  This is why choosing the right accommodations will help you get around more efficiently as well as save money although you’ll no doubt want to leave the city limits to explore the surrounding areas of northern Thailand.

City Center Surrounded by Moat (green sqare)

Things I did In and Around Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai Night Safari

Sunday Market Walking Street Fair

Visit the Long Necked Karen Hill Tribe

Monkey School

Insect Museum

I saw the sign for the insect museum while returning from the long neck hill tribe visit.  My driver hadn’t been to the museum so I decided to check it out.  The entrance fee was 100 bht ($3USD) and it reminded me of most insect museums I have been to.  The insect museum consisted with the standard cases of dead, pinned-up insect species as well as a decent selection of live beetles, scorpions and various other bugs as well as live butterfly and dragonfly netted in rooms.  Although the $3 15-minute tour wasn’t a total waste of money, I would only recommend it to serious insect lovers (or haters) as it was pretty much standard fare.

Night Bazaar

I was warned by a Canadian expat about the night bazaar being overpriced.  I just gassed up my moped and decided to go check it out around 9 or 10 at night.  The night bazaar consisted of a bunch of food and product vendors on a few streets at which looked like a small China Town.    It is located around the Mae Ping river on the east side of Chiang Mai (yellow area on above map).

From Bridge over Mae Ping River Near Night Bazaar

More Things You can do In & Around Chiang Mai

Things which were advertised all over the place and included in various tours I checked out but didn’t fully pursue.  Any of the following popular attractions are worth checking out especially if you are interested in the individual activities.

“Templing”

There are dozens of temples big and small within the Chiang Mai city limits and many more in the surrounding areas.  I overheard two tourists talking about “templing all day” while I was eating breakfast and for some reason it made me not want to ever enter a temple.  I have been in Thailand for the past 8 months and visited for 3 weeks back in 2005 and I still have not been inside a temple.  I actually rode my rented moped about 20km out of the city to go to Doi Suthep temple which was near the top of a nearby mountain and didn’t enter because it was completely saturated with tourists.  If “templing” turns you on, Chiang Mai is a “templer’s” paradise so knock yourself out.

Elephant Camps & Treks

Another thing to do out of Chiang Mai was various elephant camps and treks.  Most multiple day all-inclusive tours included something to do with elephants.  They look like quite an experience but I’m just into sitting on the back of a stinking wild animal for hours getting bit my mosquitoes in the middle of the jungle.

White Water Rafting & Off-Roading

Most packaged tours included some form of rafting.  There were also numerous tours which involved off-road motorcycles and ATVs.  With less rules and regulations than the US I would be willing to bet that any daredevils who like outdoor motorized activities would have a blast with these.

Flight of the Gibbon

Along with Tiger Kingdom, Flight of the Gibbon was advertised everywhere.  It was included in many 2 or 3 day package tours and consisted of zip lining, rock climbing and eco-tourism.  You can read about it on TreeTopAsia.com It looked pretty fun but I didn’t have the time.

Tiger Kingdom

Tiger Kingdom was promoted hugely from everything to pamphlets at the airport, to numerous billboards to stickers in tuk tuks.  The Canadian expat woman I talked to in the huge 3 story Starbucks by the gate at the beggining of the Sunday walking street fair told me to avoid Tiger Kingdom.  She said the tigers were drugged and one of her friends got clawed and had to get 60+ stitches.

If the chance of getting mauled by a 500+ pound feline beast isn’t reason enough to avoid an attraction I don’t know what is.  I actually went to Tiger Kingdom because my driver recommended the buffet which I guess was actually 1/2 of the attraction.  The buffet was actually really good and hit the spot after the hill tribe visit.  Some tables actually were aligned right next to the tiger cage in which the workers played with the tigers like house cats (video below).

Accommodations in Chiang Mai

This was my first trip I have taken with TourismPicks.com at the top of my mind so I planned to stay in a different places with different costs each night I stayed in Chiang Mai.  Searching online for a hotel was like trying to find a piece of hay in a haystack so I turned to the Thaivisa.com forum which I made a thread asking for recommendations.

The first person who responded on the forum within 10 minutes recommended the Montri hotel so I booked it for a single night to make life easier.  I had arranged a pick-up from the airport to my booked hotel which cost 150 baht ($4.50USD) and had a guy waiting for me with a sign with my name on it.  I had a whole 15 seat tourist van to myself.  There are many hotels in Chiang Mai to accommodate for the bustling tourist industry and I had a chance to sample 3 of them for my 3 night stay.

Places to Stay in Chiang Mai:  Montri Hotel

Places to Stay in Chiang Mai:  Studio 99 Serviced Apartments

Places to Stay in Chiang Mai:  Royal Guest House

Outside of Royal Guest House in Central Chiang Mai

Does Popular = Good?

It is often easy to assume that an ethnic restaurant that is packed with people of the food’s decent is going to be good but it does not hold true 100% of the time.   Beirut Restaurant on the other hand seems to be filled with 80-90% of capacity every time I walk by.

In on the basement floor of the Phloen Chit center which is in between the Phloen Chit BTS station and Sukhumvit Soi 2 most restaurants are very slow.  There are Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Italian and Thai restaurants in the Phloen Chit center including one of 3 (that I know of) locations for Lee Cafe and I’ve never seen any of these restaurants even close to full.

I figured Beirut Restaurant would be good but I didn’t know for sure.  With the huge Middle-eastern, Mediterranean and African population at Soi 3 or “Soi Arab” as it’s known by the Thais I wondered if the restaurant just had the right location.  I was hungry and I had to try it just to see if the place was as good as it appeared to be.

Finally Give Beirut Restaurant a Try

Since I’m usually on the way to pick up a salad at Villa Market I pass the packed  Bombay Restaurant.   I have thought numerous times that I would have tried it if it wasn’t so packed and I finally had my chance when I saw only 1 or 2 tables at the restaurant on a Thursday night around 7:15pm after Thai class.  I was sat down and given a menu and I happened to sit in a corner of the restaurant looking out the window.

Bombay has quite the extensive menu but one of the combo plates caught my eye.  You can choose between a dozen or so choices in combinations of 2, 3, 4 or 5 if I remember correctly.  I think these combo plates are for more than a single person but I tend to eat like a pig so I figured why not.

I ordered a combination plate with beef and chicken shawarma, salad and falafel and a strawberry lassi which is a sweet yogurt based drink that I routinely used to order in San Francisco Indian restaurants.  The combination plate came with 2 pieces of pita bread.

Beirut Restaurant’s Food

I got my giant plate of food and I realized that I chose 4 items which came with pita bread but it didn’t come with hummus.  My strawberry lassi was so delicious I finished it in around 30 seconds and ordered a mango lassi when I ordered a side order of hummus.

I must say the food was delicious.  By no means am I a falafel connoisseur but the falafel at BierutRestaurant was the best I have ever had.  Both the beef and chicken shawarma were perfect.  They had the perfect amount of spice.  The hummus was good (as all hummus ever) and the pita bread was standard as well.

Overall Impression

A packed restaurant in the midst of a bunch of dead ones turned out to be as (indirectly) advertised.  I only ate there because it was less crowded than usual but by the time I finished my meal around 8ish and turned around, the place was packed almost to capacity again.  My bill was 600 baht ($18USD) which was mostly due to ordering too much and two 100baht ($3) lassi drinks.  You could get in and out without spending 500 baht but most likely (especially if you’re with someone) will spend over 500 baht hence the price rating.  It really depends on what you order.

Although most of the time I eat Mediterranean food it’s a falafel or kebab sandwich off the street Beirut Restaurant had the best Mediterranean food I have had.

Yearning for that American Breakfast

Ever since living in my first apartment in Bangkok I’ve missed the American breakfast.  An “American breakfast” was served at the restaurant in my other apartment but it was a true “American breakfast” in name only.  When I think of American breakfast I need excessive portion sizes, tons of sugar and tons of fat.

Bangkok’s “American breakfast” meals usually include a single slice of ham or bacon, a couple pieces of wonder bread toast and a single egg.  This hardly compares to the greasy mound of hash browns, bacon, scrambled eggs, pancakes and waffles you get at the typical American diner.  Not that I would be eating this all the time but it definitely is on the menu once a month at the very least.

Little Hut has a rather large menu of probably around 12-15 pages which includes not only breakfast, lunch and dessert waffles with various toppings but a full Thai food menu.  I was impressed that the menu has a nice vivid color photo for each item on the menu as well.

Little Hut actually has some great freshly brewed coffee as well.  They grind the beans and brew each cup fresh which is nice.   They offer 3 different waffle thicknesses and multiple toppings.  Of course I got extra thick topped with blueberry preserves and whipped cream which I doused in maple syrup, a true diabetic special.

Tasty!

Little Hut’s Location & Service

Little Hut House of waffle is located on Sukhumvit Road in between Soi 1 and Soi 3.  It is located in a shopping center (I don’t know the name) right next to Burger King.  Burger King is always crowded with Farangs and that is actually the reason I found Little Hut.  The inevitable craving for “the original flame broiled whopper” brought me to Burger King which was so crowded I walked straight through to see Little Hut which was closed at the time but I made a mental note to come back.

Burger King is easily visible from Sukhumvit Road and is actually close to the combo Pizza Hut & KFC.  To get to Little Hut you can use the Burger King entrance and walk straight through and to the left you will see Little Hut.  I’ve already been there twice and I was the only customer in the restaurant each time where I had the typical 2 or 3 people waiting on me.  The actual restaurant is very clean and nice.  The tables, chairs and dining set-up also gives the vibe of the American diner which is a nice change of pace from the  typical  way restaurants look in Bangkok.

Right Next to the Ever-so-popular King of Burgers

Overall Impression

On most of these blog posts I have talked about whether I would go back or not.  It’s too late to write this about Little Hut because I already went back the next day and ordered the same thing.  While waffles smothered in syrup, fruit preserves and whipped cream aren’t the healthiest I know craving the remnants of an American breakfast like back home will draw me to Little Hut House of Waffle again and again.

I ordered a pineapple smoothie, 2 cups of coffee and the aforementioned blueberry waffle and the bill was only 180 baht ($5.40).  I recommend Little Hut to anyone who likes waffles and wants something on par with the waffle you can get at the typical American diner.  Anyone heading to the infamous King of Burgers should think twice and check out Little Hut house of Waffle (and full Thai food menu) next door for a better dining experience, better service and better food.

Shopping in Hanoi

It seems like every major city in Asia has shopping areas which all tend to be very similar.  Cho Dong Xuan is no different.  Like most streets in Hanoi the streets in the Dong Xuan area were narrow but the densely packed stores (along with the usual swarms of motorcycles traffic) made this area a little more crowded.  It took only a few minutes to get to Dong Xuan from Hoan Kiem lake which is the primary lake in Hanoi.

The shops sold a wide variety of items from T-shirts to umbrellas, to fabrics to toys and everything you could think of.  I would say a very large percentage of the shops were selling stuff most people would consider junk.  The prices seemed to be a lot more fair than Saigon specifically Ben Thanh Market but again it obviously depends on what you’re looking.  If you’re the type of shopper like me who is either looking to buy a specific item or not going to buy anything I would be willing to bet that you would likely buy nothing at Cho Dong Xuan.

Overall Impression

Since I live in Bangkok where I’m somewhat familiar to the process of shopping it seems kind of pointless to shop in Vietnam or anywhere else for that matter where I can get the sam stuff with less hassle. The areas

As I mentioned in the overview of Hanoi, the people were far friendlier, less annoying and more polite in Hanoi and it made shopping a lot more relaxing than in the hustle of Ho Chi Minh City.  I would recommend Dong Xuan market and the area for anyone looking to buy cheap Vietnamese handicrafts, knock-0ffs and clothes but if you’re looking for something high-end, top quality or very nice you’re probably better off looking elsewhere.

Looks like its Tme to Shop at Cho Dong Xuan

What's Left of Hoa Lo Prison

Far From Paris

Paris Hilton would not like the accommodations at the “Hanoi Hilton” which is what Hoa Lo prison has been referred to for dozens of years.  Hoa Lo which translates to commonly translated as “fiery furnace” or even “Hell’s hole” and means “stove” is a prison was built by the French in 1886.  Much of it was torn down but what is left serves as a museum and a reminder.

It was around 3pm I had a return flight to Bangkok at 8pm.  I just had a coffee at a cafe with my friend and we saw an American traveler girl who was on the same boat with us in Halong Bay walk by!  My caffeine buzz allowed me to spring up from my chair and run down the street to flag her down.

We got to chatting and she mentioned that the “Hanoi Hilton” was nearby which served as a reminder for me.

Getting There

I had all but given up on any more tourism opportunities and was just going to kill some time before I took a cab back to the airport but now I put Hanoi Hilton on the remaining itinerary.

After coffee I asked no less than 10 Vietnamese people including police, tourism shop owners and pedestrians where the Hao Lo prison before we actually found ourself’s at the entrance.

Touring Hoa Lo Prison

After paying the minuscule entrance fee you are pretty much free to walk where ever you like.   There is a general direction but you are free to go from room to room and read them as well as the stuff inside them.  The most noticeable things I saw were the actual French guillotine that used to behead Vietnamese prisoners and of course the actual jumpsuit and parachute of US senator John McCain the prison’s most famous inmate.

Some rooms had a LCD TV which was hooked up to a censor that was triggered by you walking in the room.  The videos were a mix of mostly old footage, some new image and of course were laced with war-time propaganda.  For example, the videos showed the US pilot prisoners playing badminton and sports like they were in a country club when in fact they were being beaten and tortured on a daily basis.

There was some artwork, stories, and setups like you see below of what life was like in the prison and they all painted a bleak picture of the former Vietnam.  Overall the tour took less than an hour which was good because they were closing as we were trying to finish up the tour which would have been ironic if they forgot about us, closed and locked us in the Hanoi Hilton!

Example of Accommodations at the "Hanoi Hilton"

Overall Impression

Hoa Lo Prison is not the most exciting tour but it doesn’t need to be.  It is a no-nonsense tour which costs almost nothing (20,000 Dong = $1.12USD).  Taking your time and touring Hoa Lo prison takes around an hour and you are able to freely walk around and examine what you’re interested in.  I would recommend anyone who finds themselves in Hanoi with some free time to check out the “Hanoi Hilton” but make sure to have a map printed out to avoid the troubles finding the building which is barely distinguishable from any other building in Hanoi.

More Pain and Suffering for you

Gia Bao Hanoi Hotel (s)

If you read my overview of Hanoi Vietnam you will already know that a very popular area for tourists and the residents of Hanoi alike is the area surrounding Hoan Kiem Lake.  For a short trip to Hanoi this area is surely the most convenient, best area to stay so after a night in Church Hotel which was a few minutes away we decided to move hotels to experience another.

Gia Bao Hotel was featured in (my friend’s) Hanoi Wallpaper Guide which showcases “a tightly edited discreetly packaged list of the best a location has to offer for the design conscious traveler.”

The Wallpaper guide recommended two rooms in the Gia Bao Hanoi hotel which both happened to be available.  The rooms it recommended were 504 and their biggest room on the top (7th) floor.

I took room 504 and my friend took the top floor which had a balcony.  I liked room 504 which felt like home and had a nice feel as you could tell someone carefully decorated the room, not that I care about decor but it was definitely noticable.

My friend chose the top floor room which was more expensive and had a rather large outdoor deck with furniture on it.  He found his room to be excessively loud as there was a construction project next door along with the honking Hanoi traffic which was loud on the top floor but rather quiet in room 504.

Across the Street from the Older 7 Story Gia Bao Hanoi Hotel

There are 2 Gia Bao Hotels!

The suite on the top floor was too loud for the tastes of my friend so he asked to be moved.  It turned out they would move him to their other hotel which happened to be brand new.  As you can see on the map, the 2nd Gia Bao location is very close to the older first one.  He enjoyed his newer and quieter room in the 2nd Gia Bao location as I enjoyed my location.  Even for two friends, one without a cell phone staying at separate locations the distance was not an issue at all.

Overall Impression

I thought the Gia Bao was the best hotel room I stayed at in Vietnam by far.  Everything including the large Samsung LCD television was appreciated.  The only thing which I can nitpick about was the bathroom was not as nice as I think every hotel’s bathroom should be.  Not that I’m a “design-conscious traveler” but the Hanoi Wallpaper Guide really painted an accurate portrait of the hotel and the room.  My room (below) #504 cost $50USD which was around the same price most mid-level hotels cost in Hanoi and Saigon but it was far nicer than all the other ones I stayed at.  The service was friendly and helpful and the location was great.  If I had to pick a hotel in Hanoi for a return visit, either Gia Bao location would be on the top of my list.  Visit the Gia Bao Hotels website for booking and more info.

Festival of Lights

I don’t have my calendar marked with the many Thai holidays and events but it seems like I find out one way or another when something is going on.  How I found out about the Loy Krathong festival was by pure chance.  I was walking around Bangkok far away from where I live to look for cool things to take pictures of hoping I would run into the Chao Phraya River when the inevitable happened.
On a Saturday night I got lost walking aimlessly around an area of Bangkok where I had never been before.  It was around 7pm and completely dark around the area with wide streets of several lanes.  I saw some canals but I figured I was no where near the river so I decided to get a taxi.  I found a taxi but as usual the driver could barely understand my Thai or English.  He finally understood I wanted to go to the Chao Phraya River and he seemed pretty excited to take me there.  I had no idea there was any kind of festival going on but when we finally drove over the bridge I saw the following….

Looking to the Shore of The Chao Phraya River From the Bridge Towards the Shore

Loy Krathong Saturday Night

I was instantly excited.  I was figuring that I would be taking pictures of the same Bangkok skyline that I had many times before but now I had a bunch of cool boats and other stuff.  The taxi driver let me off across the Rama VIII bridge on the bottom under the bridge where there was a large festival with tents set up with various souvenirs, games and food.  There were also monks who were on loud speakers talking Thai about something.  There was a Ferris wheel and marry-go-round for kids as well as a giant screen set up to watch movies.

There was probably a few thousand people there on Saturday night which I would consider comfortably crowded.  There was a bunch of people with their tripods taking pictures which was a lot of fun because there were many cool things to take pictures of.   There were these very brightly lit boats (above) with spotlights as well as other decorations along with the aforementioned children’s rides which were also lit up.

A girl came up to me and had me fill out a survey while I was eating this fried spicy fish cake.  A surprising question I saw on the survey was asking if I was satisfied with the level of security.  I did notice a lot of security guards around the area of the festival and many police patroling the bridge and I wondered why.  I would find my answer when I went back Monday night.

I stayed from around 7pm to 9:30pm and then I decided it was time to go home.  I walked back towards the east side of the bridge looking for a cab and under the overpass which was deserted with a couple homeless people sleeping in hammocks.  I had a chance to take a couple cool pictures from under the overpass which was the onramp to the Rama VIII bridge above.

Loy Krathong Festival Saturday Night - Under the Rama VIII Bridge

Getting to the Loy Krathong Festival on Monday Night

I found out when I returned home from one of my security guards that the official Loy Krathong wasn’t until Monday night so I planned to go back. I then realized that all the cherry bombs (fireworks) I have been hearing for the entire week leading up to Loy Krathong had to do with the festival.

At Monday at around 6 or 7PM I took the BTS to National Stadium which was as far west as the BTS (sky train) goes in hopes of catching a cab which would take me to the river.  I could sense that a larger celebration was in the air when I noticed that there are usually a dozen available cabs at any given minute this Monday there were maybe 1 every 5 minutes!

I was thinking there were many people going to the Loy Krathong festival as I walked occasionally turning my head over my shoulder and not seeing any available taxis.  I decided I would walk all the way there, which turned out wasn’t going to happen.

Krathong Raft

I was walking over an elevated street crossing when I saw a farang (foreigner in Thai) who I asked directions to.  I started talking to the farang who happened to be a transsexual woman originally from my home town of San Francisco!  He/She? recommended Chiang Mai which reminded me that I hadn’t been so I booked a ticket the week later!

She told me to get in a cab to take me to the river because it was far and I decided to cab it.  There was still not a single cab available so I found a tuk tuk who charged me 100 baht to bring me to the festival.  As I rode in the tuk tuk towards the festival I noticed there were many people lining the khlongs (canals) eating, lighting fireworks and of course their krathong.

I’m not going to explain the whole tradition of the festival but you can in the wikipedia article which explains the significance of lighting the krathong rafts (right) and releasing them in the canals and rivers.  It took around 15 minutes through and around traffic in the tuk tuk to get to Rama VIII bridge where the festival was being held.

Under East side of Rama VIII Bridge Looking at Loy Krathong Festival

Cool Scene Under Rama VIII Bridge Onramp

Loy Krathong Festival on Monday Night

Once I finally got to the festival via tuk tuk I noticed that the deserted area from Saturday night where I took the above pictures was completely packed with people like a can of sardines.  I now realized why the question about security was on the survey I filled out on Saturday.  Mix together crowding, burning hot air balloons (very top pic), cherry bombs, kids swimming in the river and people walking amidst traffic on the busy bridge I’d say security was a definite need.

There were at least 5-10x more people at the same place on Monday night.  On the east end of the bridge there was only 1 narrow staircase for the thousands of people going up onto both sides of the bridge and the thousands of people who were trying to exit, bottleneck anyone?  I actually felt pretty uncomfortable like I was about to get squashed so I went back to the top of the bridge and tried to hail a cab illegally in the middle of the bridge.

Down under the bridge was so crowded I didn’t even bother to go down, mostly because I checked out everything that was down there on Saturday and because it was super crowded.  It was very smoky in the air as people were lighting their paper hot air balloons (pictured at very top) which would burn in the air.  Police were actually catching people and making them stop lighting their balloons but many people got them off where they would burn in the air, crash in the river where cleaning crew boats awaited.

The air was completely filled with ashes from all the burning of the krathongs and balloons as you can see in the video at the bottom.  I still thought all the boats with spotlights and brightly colored designs were cool but after a while I just wanted to get away from the crowd and terrible air.  I failed to hail a cab on the bridge and failed to get through the crowd so I ended up risking my life and walking on the bridge on the side of the highway but I was not alone.

Walked on Bridge Back from Loy Krathong

Overall Impression

I though the Loy Krathong festival was very cool!  I saw pictures from smaller cities in Thailand and their celebrations looked just as impressive if not more as the giant capital city.  There was plenty to do for the entire family and many opportunities to take some great pictures which you can’t get every day.  Since I was there on Saturday night I didn’t want to say the whole night on Monday so I had a rough time leaving when most people were going to the party but I would recommend anyone who visits for the Loy Krathong festival to go on Saturday or Sunday if they don’t like sometimes suffocating crowds and go on Monday if they want to spend the whole night celebrating with 1/2 of Bangkok.