Growing up I have great memories of Christmas. I was born on my mother’s birthday which falls between Christmas and New Year. I don’t know if that proximity was why, but Mom loved Christmas. That said, as an adult my favorite Christmases were in Korea when we shared the holiday with friends. Going home was always lovely. I love my family. But it seemed like fitting myself into a smaller and smaller box to meet family expectations of who I was supposed to be. Our first year in Denmark we spent Christmas in Spain. This second Christmas as we made our slow way home was in Thailand.
This was at least our second Christmas in Thailand. Christmas there is a very different experience. One, Thai’s being predominantly Buddhist it is not a holiday celebrated locally. Before, when Europeans were the dominant tourists, the holiday still had a strong presence. But European tourists have been replaced by Chinese. Two, it’s hot. Not as hot as summer. In Chiang Mai you might even need a sweatshirt or light jacket at night. But it is far warmer than Christmas in Korea, Denmark, or even southern Spain. Three, meaning that few of the traditions most in the Northern Hemisphere are used to are even possible here.
At most, LB will only remember bits and pieces of the trip and possibly nothing of Christmas but I always try to make the holiday special. In 2020 she got the avalanche of gifts from the in-laws, but I also decorated the whole house. Well, the inside, anyway. In Denmark I got a small tree, even though we wouldn’t be there. And in Spain I picked up a reindeer and put the small gifts I’d brought at its feet. In Thailand I managed to source a small Christmas tree. We even decorated it! Well, I did. LB woke up to prezzies and goodies. That night we headed out to a Christmas party at a local bar restaurant. They even had a Santa handing out gifts to the littles.
For New Year we tried to stay at Smile Lanna but they were unsurprisingly booked for the holiday. Instead, we ended up at the Empress. The Empress is near the Night Market and practically next door to Art in Paradise. At mid-level and up service in Thailand is generally excellent to superb and the Empress was no exception. It is an old-fashioned tower hotel with the emphasis on old fashioned. The rooms reminded me of something from a Bond movie, one starring Roger Moore. They actually had a phone bank of landlines in the lobby. Something I haven’t seen in at least twenty-five years. The rooms had wood paneling and a console with buttons controlling the lighting and the television. They also had a bathtub which was an indulgence we had not had since we left the US at the beginning of 2018.
While the breakfast buffet was at best okay the dinner we had at the restaurant was lovely. At least mine was. It was a set menu with a choice between Thai and Western. I chose Thai, which I suggest one always do in Thailand. SM’s was also good, and more to LB’s liking. They also gifted us with little trinkets to celebrate the holiday. The hotel of course has a pool. It was in shadow much of the morning making the water quite chilly until later in the day. Not that this dissuaded LB. Fortunately, there was also a sauna in each changing room. Another unexpected and delightful perk.
Once the sun sets on New Year’s Eve, no matter where you are in Chiang Mai, you’ll start to see lanterns floating in the air. The main event, however, is at Tha Phae gate of the Old City. It is there that the crowds coalesce and where you’ll find the festival like atmosphere. It is at the gate, at midnight, that there is a mass release of the lanterns. There are also fireworks there and over the river. With LB we did not stay out for the New Year. It would have been absolute chaos by the gates. But our room overlooked the city, and we were able to watch the midnight lantern release and fireworks while sipping our cocktails with LB peacefully sleeping behind us.
The next day SM went off for a massage and LB and I popped over to Art in Paradise. The museum is spread out over two floors has well over a hundred illusions divided into six different themes. One thing that was different from other “trick-eye” museums I have been to was the ability to download an app that brings the illusions to life. Literally. Using the app water falls, crocodiles snap, and bugs crawl. It’s really quite cool. That’s also meant literally as the building is air conditioned. Expect to spend at least an hour here. I would recommend it for kids four and up. By the time we got to the end LB, four at the time, was very ready to hit the café for rainbow cake and juice.
Before we leave Chiang Mai I did want to mention the dinner and traditional dance we went to. I wouldn’t say it was an amazing experience, but the food was good and it was entertaining. More it is fast paced enough to keep the attention of most kids. At the end people can go on stage and join the dancers. After we all go outside, through a gauntlet of vendors, to a final fire dance. And then we were off to Singapore.