It’s not every day you see a man riding a pink elephant.  We were fortunate enough to be in Bangkok and Chang Mai for the Yi Peng (Lantern)and Loi Krathong Festivals.  On a night of the full-moon, the festival celebrates the spirit of the water.  Today it’s generally a time to have fun, release lanterns into the sky and small decorated rafts (krathongs) onto a river.

Part of the festival in Chang Mai was a huge parade, complete with enormous floats, beauty queens, music and even monks! The parade wound it’s way through the center of Chang Mai, but I have to say the floats seemed to be unevenly spaced.  After a float would pass, the crowd would surge again into the street until the next float came.  We ended up seeking refuge in a pizzeria along the sidewalk and ate our dinner leisurely as the parade passed.

White elephants are revered as objects of good fortune and blessing all over southern Asia.  In Thailand, they are often depicted as pink, and when one is found they are ceremonially presented to the King.  As you can imagine white/pink elephants are a sacred symbol of royalty.  This part of the parade was reenacting scenes from the life of Buddha.

To see more of our favorite photos from around the world check out our travel photo page. Let us know your favorites and we’ll include them in our photo of the day series.

Thailand is probably one of the easiest and most comfortable “exotic” destinations to travel.  The people are incredibly warm and friendly and the county has decent infrastructure.  If you’re looking for a beach to lay on, there are plenty of cheap all inclusive holidays to be had.  We skipped the beach and stuck to the cities to explore Thai culture and religion.  We spent several days in Bangkok and Chang Mai and even took a Thai cooking class!