Scattered images of Chiang Mai's old city and suburbs

The temple bells in the old city ring at dawn, their sound crisp and rhythmic. As the curtain at the corner of the window is lifted, the sky is ink-dark. In the next moment, a faint light appears from nowhere, it is so frail that it could be swallowed by darkness at any time. The darkness of the night, like a celestial beast, wishes to devour all light and the souls of those bathed in it. In the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the sky is finally pierced by light, and at this moment, its power is amplified a thousandfold. The pagodas and Buddha statues are draped in a golden glow. Beams of light stretch towards different directions, and the various lights eventually merge into the roundness of heaven and the squareness of earth. The darkness collapses, bowing to the ground, and finally curls up towards the Suthep Mountain, fleeing into the jungle.