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

Yamaga Toro Matsuri

The town of Yamaga is obsessed with the lantern; it has its own museum, it is on the manhole covers, it is everywhere! The lanterns are made out of gold and silver paper by hand, each one taking three days to complete. The dance is said to commemorate a visit by the legendary Emperor Keiko when the villagers greeted them with one thousand torches. The tradition of lighting the streets has continued to the present day.

The first night is the fireworks display, it was amazing, and it lasted for an hour and a half! Yina forgot the mat so we spread out paper from a pamphlet to sit on, like a homeless person. The show reminded me of the E-days fireworks show at CSM from the days of old. Huge fireworks that are so close that your chest reverberates with the firing of every shell. And there were commercials. There was a pause every once in a while, a name would light up and the announcer would give the credit. Odd, but I actually enjoyed the moment to reset my brain and eyes before the next round of fireworks. All along the river, yatai stands were set up selling all kinds of food and beer. Yina bought me octopus on a stick and soba noodles. Delicious!

The second night was the dance of one thousand Yamaga Toro women. Imagine just after sunset, one thousand women dancing with lanterns on their heads and wearing white yukata. I couldn't imagine it either. But it was amazing to see them all dancing in unison to sound of traditional biwagaku music.

It was a wonderful experience to be in Yamaga during the annual Toro Festival. Just walking around the town, I felt like a celebrity, everyone wanted to know where I was from. Such a friendly small town. Thanks Yina for organizing such a great trip. Sugoi desu ne?












The music is absolutely addicting. I tried posting a video, let me know if it works or not.

Fourth of July BBQ