Winding its way through the city center on 4^th February 2012, the annual Chiang Mai Flower Festival procession of floats and marching bands added a big splash of colour and sound to the old city, showcasing the city’s finest traditional handicrafts.

The floats, all made from a myriad of flowers, showed a mixture of traditional scenes of ogres and dragons and more contemporary themes. The people taking part were dressed in sumptuous Lanna Thai silks and cottons, some plain and simply weaved, others showing intricate, beautiful designs, every piece a tribute to the city’s weavers.

Not an ear, head or neck was left unadorned – single stems of roses, orchids or gerberas, towering headpieces of flowers and leaves, crowns and necklaces of elaborately hammered gold or silver (another of the city’s talents), and turbans of plain material accessorised by flowers. Traditional silk and paper umbrellas and reed hats provided shade.

Another beautiful procession and Royal Orchid Collection were there to capture it.