Today we got up early, caught breakfast, and hit the streets while it was still quiet. We took care of our travel arrangements for the next few days, and then headed down to the park for the Chiang Mai Flower Festival. This annual event is extremely popular with Thai tourists and flower lovers. The streets are filled with decorations, there are parades, and there are competitions throughout the weekend.

I am going to try and make this entry short, but we took alot of pictures.

To start with, Chiang Mai is already covered in flowers. Despite the pollution and litter everywhere, Thai people love flowers. They are everywhere. In the medians, on balconies, in gardens, hanging from pots... it's really visually stunning.

At the festival, we saw the most amazing orchids ever. Merrick, you would have been in an orchid orgasm the entire time. We took alot of pictures. Shaunna's hand is in some of these so you can get a sense of perspective.

Here is a massive collection of hanging orchids:
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Here are some stunning orchids:
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We also saw alot of prize-winning bonsai trees:
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Everywhere we looked there were stands of flowers and plants. There were also tons of food vendors. We ate some different food from the vendors and experimented a bit. I saw another vendor selling crickets, roaches, grasshoppers and grubs by the bagload... but I wasn't feeling as brave today...
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We ended up leaving the Flower Festival and wished (once again) that you guys could have been there. It was so cool.