A Lanna experience
The heat really was overwhelming, a dry heat, no wind and a constant haze over the city that made the sky look white. It seems the haze also blocked the UV, because despite the strong sun we didn’t burn. To get a bit more accustomed to it all we spent a day by the pool.
Swimming, playing with the inflatables, drinking fruit shakes, planning our week and talking with other guests about their adventures and plans; that formed the majority of the day. Sam talked about her new-found snorkelling skills (and troubles), to some divers, learnt a lot about elephants and mahouts and heard about a good but heavy going cooking school.
A Lanna experience
That night we booked a Lanna experience, food, traditional dance and a hotel pick-up, sounded great. At the complex we passed vegetable carvers and were seated next to a large stage. Almost immediately our food arrived, northern hors d’oeuvres with free refills, tasty and good value for our baht. Whilst we were eating the show began, a poor PA system got a bit confused and we had two audio streams for a while, but that sorted itself out. The Thai Lanna dancers performed finger-nail dances, knife dances, traditional battle dances and so on, though all of it felt overtly kitschy, and at a pretty poor standard. The slightly cheesy narration didn’t help. Our evening was saved by Sam going on stage and attempting to reproduce the complicated hand movements, a moment I’ve captured on video.
