Loi Krathong festival

Was lucky enough that my week of layover in Bangkok between Japan and Laos landed on a major festival called Loi Krathong that is celebrated on the full moon night of the 12th lunar month (mid-November). Also known as the Festival of Lights, the banks of the Chao Phraya river shine with Krathong and boom with fireworks.

The word Loi means to float and Krathong is a cup created with banana leaves in the shape of lotus petals and adorned with flowers, incense, candles and coins. People dress in their finest clothes and make a wish before drifting their Krathong onto the river. The floating of the Krathong is intended to expel all sins and sufferings as well as ask for amnesties to the Goddess of the River in contaminating her bounty.

I thought it was interesting they floated a bunch of junk, albeit beautiful at night, to ask forgiveness for "contaminating her bounty". Heard a second explanation that the ritual is meant to worship the Buddha's footprint on the bank of the Narmada River...



And then there were fireworks. Although not as impressive as Japanese fireworks in terms of size, the proximity to the crowds certainly made up for it. My chest was reverberating with each shell they exploded...

Apparently the festivals vary quite a lot across Thailand. A friend staying in Chiang Mai described thousands of Khom Fai released into the air. Imagine mini hot air balloons floating in the sky instead of the river. Sounded interesting..

Loi Krathong