Last night as we wandered around to find dinner, we walked by the Clock Tower of Chiang Rai. Tonight, Chai insisted we go back for the ‘light show.’
Originally, in the middle of this particular round about, there was a smaller tower known as the Kodak clock tower.
Chalermchai (the artist who did the white temple) persuaded the mayor of Chiang Rai to move the old clock tower to a location opposite the market, to make way for his design. There are light poles along Phaholyothin Road that match the clock tower style. Not sure if Chalermchai designed the poles and insisted they go with the clock, or the city added those later.
The poles were very nice. I don’t think I have a picture, but it was a nice avenue lined with the special light poles leading up to the roundabout. Well done on the light poles.
Anyway, Apparently, the clock tower show, which happens at 7, 8, and 9 pm each night, is a spectacle not to be missed.
So on our way back from Wat Huay Pla Kang we went back to the center of town, jumped out of the car and stood on the median with a bunch of tourists to wait for the anticipated… whatever the light tower was going to do… at 7, 8 and 9.
I have been to Germany and other countries with old clocktowers. I have seen clock tower shows where on the hour, animated figures dance and zoom in and out of the tower putting on a display. Very interesting and wonderful.
This was nothing like that.
There was no rhyme or reason to the presentation that I could figure out. There was music. Not a tune, or tunes I would associate with a gilded clocktower in the middle of a roundabout, but then again, I am not sure what music I would use as a backdrop to an ornate, pretending to be old clock in the middle of a road. But I am narrow about such things.
I could not pick out a common theme or story, and nothing came out of the clock to… do anything. It simply stood there in it’s gilded glory as the hands ticked their way lazily around the face.
I only noted the time passing because I wondered how long this could possibly go on.
The music, and the lights – yes there were laser like lights and spotlights – were not internally generated by the clock, but projected from a building nearby. As far as I could tell. Again, lacking in coherent presentation in my book. Random lasers moving about; odd music; occasional strobe or spot lights, or maybe those were cars driving by. As far as I could tell the entire thing was random other than it (whatever it was) started at 7, 8 and 9 pm. I might – probably – missed the point entirely.
upon reflection I could pull out the precision of a clock drives humanity out of their natural chaotic rhythm. But that is just crazy talk I made up to make me feel better about the experience.
And it lasted 15 minutes. I lost interest after 5 to be honest, and only held on that long because I was trying to figure out what was going on.
And my arms were tired from trying to film it. And I was grumpy because other people were trying to film it so there were phones in my filming. And the traffic noise and general noise of the city drown out the music, which was not very loud in the first place. Perhaps I was not at my peak of attention to experience the event.
We left early and went to find Chai. He pulled up and took us to a lovely little street diner for dinner before we returned to the hotel. And that was day 1 in Chiang Rai, Thailand.
