Sticky Waterfalls and Floating Lanterns
By Lauren Gerzina & Justin Hayes
Climbing Waterfalls, Yi Peng, and Loy Krathong
After grabbing a quick breakfast in the Café downstairs, we finished packing our day bag and headed back down to meet our tour guide in the lobby for a trip to the Sticky Waterfalls. We were surprised again to learn that we were the only ones going on the tour as the Viator listing implied that there would be other guests. Yay private tour!
Sticky Waterfall Tour
We climbed into a minivan with our guide and his assistant/driver, and headed off to a national park on the north side of Chiang Mai. Our ride was actually quite interesting since our guide – who told us to call him Eddy – was super knowledgeable about the history of Thailand. He was a history major and loved to travel, telling us all about the Lan Na Kingdom and other ancient kingdoms of Thailand. He was also very knowledgeable about the Khmer Empire and its influence on Thai culture. We had a great conversation, and wished we had more time in Chiang Mai to take one of his other tours about the ancient civilizations in Northern Thailand.
After about an hour drive, we made it to Namtok Bua Tong-Nam Phu Chet Si National Park, home to the Sticky Waterfalls. The falls start from a spring just a hundred meters or so away. The water falls over 4 levels of gorgeous beige-looking limestone, which is so porous that you can easily walk up and down most of the falls (although some areas require the use of a rope). Some of the areas are basically like steps. The level at the very bottom was closed off, a little too dangerous to go down, so we walked down some steps to cool off under a ledge that created a shower-like spray of water.
The fourth level was easier to climb up, so we began our ascent back to the top. Eddy’s assistant was very helpful in guiding us up and down the falls, taking great photos along the way. Eddy also got some great photos from the top. It was a lot of fun!
While we were doing the falls, Eddy set up some tables and chairs and ordered us lunch from the nearby café. He also brought water and Coke Zero for us to enjoy with our meal. We sat for a bit and talked about Eddy’s background and how universities worked in Thailand. We also talked about how Eddy wanted to visit the U.S., but how it was incredibly difficult and expensive for Thai people to get a tourist visa. Our government requires Thai people to prove in interviews and applications they have roots back in Thailand (property, family, or a business) that would prevent them from trying to overstay their visa.
After lunch, Eddy showed us the source of the waterfalls, which was a beautiful little spring tucked away in the forest nearby. He also showed us a patch of sunflowers that only bloom for a few weeks a year around the end of the rainy season.
We got back on the bus and Eddy took us on another, more scenic route back to Chiang Mai to show us a large lake with a newly constructed bridge. Part of the road was still under construction so it was a fun time driving down the dirt road to the bridge. We got out at the bridge to take some photos and admire the scenery. We also drove over to the dam for one last photo shoot before our drive back to Chiang Mai.
Back at our Airbnb, we laid a bit by the pool (it was way too cold to get in) and relaxed/worked on the blog.
Yi Peng and Loy Krathong
As the evening approached, we got ready to go out and enjoy the festivities of the Yi Peng and Loy Krathong. As we got closer to the old town gate, the crowds became larger and larger and beautiful archway lights were set up over the busy streets. We got out long before our stop so we could walk around and figure out where we wanted to go.
Outside of the Tha Pae Gate, Lauren spoke to some tourist police (which are like police to help tourists stay safe and figure out where to go/what to do) about where we might see the floating lanterns. They said we would have to go about 45 minutes outside of the city to a temple that was going to be releasing the lanterns.
We debated whether to try to get to the temple tonight or tomorrow, realizing that we would be pressed for time to try to make it that night. So we eventually decided to go participate in the Loy Krathong festivities, where people release candles and incense on pretty flower-like arrangements onto the river.
As we got closer to the river, we found a stall to purchase our water lanterns and headed toward the area where people could release them into the water. It was extremely crowded, but we slowly made our way closer to the river. Luckily someone passed along a lighter to us to light the candles and set them afloat.
After we maneuvered our way out of the crowd, back up the hill, we headed back to the Night Bazaar to grab dinner. Justin decided to take a “cheat meal” for dinner so we could grab whatever we wanted to eat at the night market (and so he could enjoy some Thai beer).
As we were heading to the market, we noticed that a few lanterns were floating in the sky. Since the tourist police told us they wouldn’t be releasing them here, we figured it was just a few rogue lanterns being released. Then, the deluge began. More and more of them started filling the sky, mostly from the bridge we had just left.
As we entered the Night Bazaar food court area, we had a great view of all the lanterns being released. Lauren grabbed some Ramen, and Justin got the not-GF Khao Soi (Thai curry noodle soup popular in Northern Thailand). Justin got some Chang beer, and we enjoyed our food as we watched the lanterns fill the night sky.
After Justin got a small red-velvet cake dessert (because why not), we decided to head back over to the bridge to see the lanterns being released up close. We definitely did NOT purchase our own lantern and release it. That would be crazy.
After watching some people successfully (and unsuccessfully) release their lanterns, we made our way back through the crowd to start our walk back to the Airbnb. We caught a few more pictures of the sky on our way back, and then watched more and more of them float by from our deck.
It was truly an amazing and magical sight. We were glad we decided to stay in town to enjoy the floating lantern experience.
