Michael Powell's Blog, page 12

Loy Krathong In Chiang Mai – Thailand

It was already early evening, when I arrived in Chiang Mai, so I didn't want to waste any time. After dropping my bags off at the hotel, I ran out into the city center, and found the streets packed with amazing floats that were designed to look like temples or dragons.

Bangkok – First Visit To Thailand

Bangkok is a massive city. That's obviously well-known, but I hadn't realized its scale until actually arriving. Unfortunately, I didn't have tons of time to explore, as this was more of a business trip.

The 2021 October Fallas of Alzira

Fallas of Alzira - Our plan had been to take the train in the morning, see a few figures and the mascletá at 14h, then grab lunch and return home.

A Mini-Workation for Seven Days in Zakynthos, Greece

If you're a long time follower of our travel blog, you know that we often visit to Greece, in order to maintain our frequent traveler status with Aegean Air. We try to make it an annual thing, but of course the Coronavirus had kept us away for two years ... so we've been desperately looking forward to making a return.

Going Up In Smoke – Fallas 2021 Coming to an End

Fallas 2021 came to an end on Sunday, September 5th -- the strangest Fallas which we and many others had ever experienced. Set in the autumn instead of the spring, devoid of mascletàs at the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, and marked by falleras wearing masks.

Random Fallas Figures of 2021

On the last few days of Fallas, once all the figures have been erected, you got roughly 4 days to see as many figures as possible. As mentioned before there are roughly 800 of them (split up half in a kids figures and the main figures) and it’s impossible to see them all. Of course […]

Too Precious To Burn! Our Favorite Fallas Figures of 2021

If this is the first time you're hearing about Fallas, and the first time you're seeing photos of the amazing figures which are constructed around the city, you're probably not going to believe (too precious to burn) that they're all burnt to the ground.

La Ofrendà of 2021: Masks and No Spectators

If a Valencian from 2018 had been able to glance three years into the future, they wouldn't understand what's happening. Why is Fallas being held in September?

Falleras in Masks 2021: Parades to Pick Up Fallas Prizes

The Fallas of 2021 is probably the weirdest Fallas of all; not only because it happened during the month of September, during a pandemic, but also because all of the Falleras and Falleros were wearing masks while marching in the big parades through Valencia.

La Plantà of Fallas 2021: A Second Attempt

The Plantà of Fallas, when monuments are erected throughout the city, is already in its final stages. Valencians are accustomed to having their streets taken over by the massive, colorful statues, but usually it's in March.