Category Archives: Holidays

August 28, 2014
King
20

Loy Krathong / Yee Peng 2014

This year the full moon will be on November 6th, but the Loy Krathong celebrations in Chaing Mai will go from the 5th through the 8th.

The city will be alight with fireworks, floating lanterns and Krathongs floating down the river.

The Yee Peng Mass Lantern Release at Mae Jo University for locals is to be on October 25, 2014. The International event is to be on Nov 8, 2014.

Last years trip to Doi Suthep, the Tiger Kingdom, and the local mass lantern release in Mae Jo was a huge success. CMStay will co-ordinate it again for 2014!

Here are some of the specifics:

OCTOBER 25, 2014

8:45am – 9:00am – Pick up from either of the two CMStay locations. (Proper VIP tour van)

9:30am – 10:45am – visit Doi Suthep Temple. Chiang Mai’s most famous temple overlooking the city.

Get a blessing from the monks
Take pictures of the the view overlooking Chiang Mai

11:15am – 13:30pm – visit The Tiger Kingdom. Take pictures with with Tigers! also break for lunch.

Get in the cages and take pictures with all different size tigers.
Tiger Kingdom has a great buffet lunch it you are interested.

14:00pm – 20:00pm – Mae Jo for the monk’s blessing and mass lantern release.

Watch dancers performing local, Northern style dancing
Join in on chanting and meditation with Monks
Brief ceremony for Yee Peng
Launch the floating lanterns

All transportation, snacks, and bottled water are included in the price. 1,000B/pax Click Tour Reservations for more info!

***Contact us if you need help with a scooter rental or help booking any tours locally.***

The International Event being held on November 8, 2014 is a private event done entirely in English. Tickets are now on sale, and cost 3,000B/pax for standard tickets and 4.500B/pax for VIP tickets.

The tickets will need to be purchased before Sept 15, 2014.

Tickets Include:

Opening Ceremony by The President of Doungtawan Santipap Foundation.

05.20 p.m.
05.30 p.m. Lanna Folk Performance
05.50 p.m. Enter to the floating lantern ceremony area.
06.10 p.m. Announcement of Regulation in the Ceremony.

Meditation

06.30 p.m. Chanting and Meditation

Candle-Lantern Illumination

07.00 p.m. Circumambulation Ceremony

Ceremony of Lights

07.25 p.m. Lighting the ground lantern Ceremony

Flying Lantern Illumination Ceremony

07.40 p.m. Launching of Khom Dhammachai. (Floating Lanterns)
08.30 p.m. Floating Kratong (small flower vessel) in the pond.

End of ceremony.
TOUR INCLUDES

Each person per seat will receive the following services:
Special Lanna Thai meal at the the event and 1 meal box on the way back.
Two lanterns
One flower raft or krathong
Souvenirs

TOUR EXCLUDES

Transportation (Please contact us to arrange your transportation)

Click Tour Reservations for more info!

For anyone who missed out on a ticket to the Nov 8 event, the Oct 25 event is still available. Anyone who wants to join our trip to Doi Suthep, the Tiger Kingdom and the Yee Peng Lanna Mass Lantern release, please book quickly!

***Contact us if you need help with a scooter rental or help booking any tours locally.***

For any questions, or to register with us for either event please use the Contact Form or send us an email : king@CMStay.com.

February 25, 2014
King
0

Songkran in Chiang Mai April 12 – 16

Category : Holidays

Songkran in Chiang Mai

Chang Mai, as the largest cultural center in Northern Thailand, hosts the biggest Songran celebrations in the land. Traditionally, the festival dates were determined by the lunar calender and start in mid-April. Today the dates are set as April 13th – April 15th. However, in Chang Mai, the celebrations are stretched to last at least five or six day!

BEFORE THE FESTIVAL

Songkran in Chiang Mai - Elders

Thailand greets in the New Year with the cleansing properties of water. In the days leading up to the festival, houses in Chiang Mai are thrown wide open as families start to clean house. Families prepare offerings, new robes and favorite dishes for the monks. Young people ask for blessings by pouring jasmine-scented or fragrant water on the wide-open palms of their elders. Everywhere there is a spirit of anticipation of the new year.

THE WATER FIGHT

Songkran is rooted in the belief that water brings luck, cleanses the body and soul, and preps participants for the coming year, but the festival is now most famous for the water fights. During this period, the streets of Chang Mai close and the citizens start to celebrate with a water free-for-all! Armed with everything from water guns, buckets, hoses and scented talc, celebrants roam the streets and drench each other in cooling water.
In the past, a delicate sprinkling was all that was required. But as the centuries have passed, the festival evolved into an all-out water fight that the young and old enjoy. Don’t be surprised if you’re doused in water even if you innocently venture down the street. The water fight symbolizes the true spirit of fun and the beginning of the New Year.

SOLEMN TRADITIONS

For Songkran in Chang Mai, locals also celebrate the solemn, spiritual side of the New Year. On the third day of the New Year celebration the temples and all images of Buddha are washed with sacred, jasmine-scented water. Families and friends wear traditional Thai garb and place jasmine leis around their necks. While enjoying the water festival, you may encounter locals decorated with ritual string around their wrists and arms. They may offer to tie some around your arms as well. The string is a symbol of well-wishes and good luck for the coming year. Local tradition dictates that you continue to wear them until they fall off on their own, but most take it off after about a week as it can become pretty funky.

Tourists participating in the Songkran celebrations may also encounter persons walking about with white paste in silver bowls. This paste, when applied to the body and face, is believed to ward off evil and protects the wearer during the New Year.

Enjoy the food, the culture and beauty of Thailand during your stay and get a chance to take part in an event of a lifetime. Greet the New Year with water and with love during Songkran in Chiang Mai.

Send us an email king@cmstay.com to confirm Songkran in Chiang Mai!

More Info: