Nakhon Sawan is not a spectacular town. There are no beaches nor mountains. No skyscrapers or wild nightlife. It’s a quiet town full of great food and friendly faces and that’s what we love about it.
Once a year, however, the town transforms of Chinese New Year. Nakhon Sawan is home to a large Chinese-Thai population, particularly in the older part of town. For two weeks the whole area is decked out in red lanterns, banners and dragons. one of the temples is home to a bug market complete with fairground rides and down by the river there are Chinese Operas and other performances.
The festivities culminate in a two big parades; one at night and one the next day. Unfortunately we have always had to be in school on the day of the parade so we’ve never been able to see it properly but we always go to the night parade and I love it!
I know that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. For some it’s too crowded or noisy or they’ve just seen it to many times and are bored. But I think it’s the best thing about our town.
The drums are so loud that you can feel the beat bouncing off the building around you. The red lanterns flood the streets with a warm glow and the smell of fire crackers lingers constantly in the air. There is a buzz that I can’t quite out my finger on and you can feel the energy and excitement from people as they line the streets in red.
It’s difficult to describe so I’ve made a short video to try to give you a little taster of the celebrations!
