Bangkok: The drama surrounding the black-sprayed flowers at the Chiang Mai Yi Peng Festival has ended. The flowers have been replaced with white flowers and the traffic lines have been repainted black and white, along with signs honoring Her Majesty the Queen Mother.
According to Thai News Agency, the controversy began when Chiang Mai Municipality spray-painted colorful flowers decorating the median strip near Nawarat Bridge in downtown Chiang Mai on the night of October 27th to celebrate the Yi Peng Festival, or Chiang Mai Loi Krathong Festival. Officials have recently relocated the flowers, which had been removed following the controversy, to their original locations. They have replaced them with all-white flowers and removed the LED lights inside. Meanwhile, amid the white flowers, a plaque honoring Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, the Queen Mother, has been erected.
The original red and white sidewalk was painted over with white paint. Today, the sidewalk is painted alternating black and white for the Loi Krathong (Yi Peng) festival in Chiang Mai, which will take place from November 4th to 6th.