I have been waiting in anticipation for the unveiling of Chiang Rai’s Flower Festival at the Flag and Lamp Park (which is located downtown on Thanalai Rd). For about a month, I want to say, they have blocked it off, surrounded it with a high green wall of tarp and have been digging away with backhoes.
Chiang Mai’s Flower Festival is in February and since I have attended it several times, it honestly lost its charm after the second year. In fact, I’ve never blogged about it. That should tell you something. Hahahaha.
By February, CM is already hot, so looking at the decorative floats, orchid and plant displays and perusing the open market is an exercise in ignoring the heat. Bring an umbrella or wear a hat.
Chiang Rai, on the other hand, celebrates its Flower Festival when the weather is cool enough to sustain flowers like tulips, crocuses and lilies. The main celebration is at Suan Mai Ngam Park, on the bank of Kok River near the new Immigration office and Tessaban 6 school. I wanted to go earlier this week, but the taxi never called us back and so I did other things instead.
When I was picking up my regular bag of freshly grown coffee at Nangnon (I feel sooo spoiled. Talk about supporting locally.), Tu told me that the flowers at the Flag and Lamp Park were better. And since that was where I was exactly heading, I felt better about having missed the other park.
Now, I still might head over there as I still have time to do so. But the Flag and Lamp Park has a big stage set up, a music schedule and food vendors nearby. There is also going to be the Countdown New Year’s celebration at the Clock Tower, so everything is close and within cozy distance.
But that’s still a day away, until then, here are some of the beautiful pictures from the park. It was worth the wait. A lot of care and detail went into the setup and layout. I rather enjoyed it. I think hitting it a dusk was a good time to enjoy the flowers and then you could also see all the lights as it turned dark.
The pictures don’t do it justice, but hopefully my good friends do 😉
Happy New Year! Wishing you much love, luck, health, wealth and happiness in 2015. Hugs from Thailand.
Life, the Universe, and Lani 
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