We wanted to make it to Chiang Mai for New Year’s Eve because we read that they have a beautiful lantern celebration. And despite Brandon’s claim that it was added to her bucket list after reading about it, Devon has had this on her bucket list for years. And it couldn’t have been more amazing!

First of all, we dedicated the day to getting pampered. (I wonder whose idea that was??) We each got a haircut and massage, and Devon got a mani/pedi all for less than $40! Most was done in a small shop with no other customers, so Devon had 3 women attending to her at once. (We will pretend it is not because her toes were disgusting after trekking and the first woman needed reinforcements.)

ADDITION: The massages were our first true Thai massages and we were not sure what to expect after the pinching and frisking we received in Myanmar. First they gave us baggy clothes to change in to, and then laughed at us when we had the pants on backwards. (There was seriously no way to tell which way they should go!) And the massages felt great! Then the pretzeling began. While all Thai massage have a fair amount of bending and twisting, Devon’s masseuse seemed to think she was related to Gumby. At one point she was standing on the top backs of Devon’s legs, the rest of which were twisted up around hers. Then she rocked forward to work on Devon’s back and pull on her arms. It was a little like this, but the masseuse’s feet were higher up on Devon’s legs, and the whole thing should be rotated to the left about 45*. (So same same, but different.)

For dinner we treated ourselves to sushi. I know we are in Thailand, but we needed something a little bit different than what we had been eating during the past month. We planned to spend the rest of the night exploring the market areas and potentially meeting up with friends. But as soon as Devon saw the lanterns in the sky she couldn’t stay away.

The Tha Phae gate area was already crowded with people launching lanterns. We watched and learned from other people’s mistakes before launching two of our own. Here are some tips in case you ever get to do this:

1. Make sure to open the lantern completely and hold the sides and top so they don’t catch on fire.
2. Have a pen or marker handy. Many write prayers, wishes, and more on the sides of the lanterns before launching them. We did not have a pen OR the space to do that.
3. Bring a lighter, or stand close to someone who will let you borrow one.
4. Don’t let go too early! This was the biggest error made. People were so excited to launch the lanterns that they did not wait for enough heat to build up inside. In these cases, they would rise a few feet, then drop down on to the crowd. Fire + crowd = not great. You have to wait until you feel it pulling up on its own before letting go. Then it will fly!
5. Do not stand under anything – especially anything flammable like trees.

The rest of the night we wandered the markets and watched the lanterns light up the sky! It was really beautiful to see some of them launch in front of temples around the city. It made the whole scene a bit more surreal.

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We ended up going back to the gate for the countdown and biggest launch of the night. It was fantastic! (Devon may have made us launch a third. Maybe.) It also helped that we started chatting with some awesome people. New Year’s Eve celebrations can often be over hyped, but this one could not have been more perfect.