For those looking for in-depth insight on Lamphun (pronounced like “Lampoon”), you will have to look elsewhere.
This is for me to turn the question back to the internet.
As of the time I am writing this I have spent only one day and one night in Lamphun. However, that one day was memorable.
My friend and I thought it would be a great idea to hitchhike from Chiang Mai to Bangkok.
5 hours and 5 drivers later, we made it as far as Lamphun in the early afternoon (realistically only a 30 minute drive from Chiang Mai). Our last driver connected us with her friend who was driving to Bangkok early the next morning and would take us all the way there. We were in luck and all we had to do was kill some time and find a place to sleep in the sleepy Lamphun town.
mats to sleep on at his temple
We quickly learned, we were even luckier because there was a massive Buddhist festival going on, and that Lamphun was not so sleepy after all.
At the town’s main temple during the day, it seemed there was a huge party. Drums, dancers, costumes, adolescent boys on the top of tall stupas continuously sending down cups of jasmine water for merit-making. I was confused as to what was going on, but the wave of smiles and laughs picks you up and keeps you going.
There were thousands of people roaming around the temple, night market, the parade of floats and classic cars, and the stage area where there were even international performances. The whole province must have been gathering there that night.
My question is does anybody know something about this holiday/celebration? My hunch is that it must be a festival really local to Lamphun. It was near the end of May and it was on a weekday if that helps. It was one of those unknown, unexpected coincidences that has kept my fire burning to keep on traveling and to not overlook the small towns.