Loy Krathong

December 4th, 2010 Leave a comment Go to comments

Holding the khom loi while its air heats up. Our fearless leader Walai to the left in the purple shirt. Right with the green purse is our bookkeeper and launch manager Pisamai. Our current youngest and third youngest girls stand in front of picture. You can see candles placed on the rail all around the reservoir in the background.

The Loy Krathong festival came with the full moon near the end of November this year. Everyone seemed to be out to celebrate at the big reservoir in the center of Nang Rong. For such a big deal it seems strange you can’t find it in the Wikipedia list of Thai Holidays. I asked someone and they said “Because it’s not a holiday! We just celebrate it for one night so no one needs to take a day off from work.” There is some religious significance about an offering to the river goddess for granting water, etc., but most everyone these days are just out for the good time.

You can look up “Loy Krathong” (literally “float bowl”) in Wikipedia if you want more general information. Notice the third picture down in the article. I saw that in Chiang Mai a few years ago. I looked up and saw a great number of stars showing brilliantly in the sky. I finally realized that the sky had high overcast and no stars were showing through, but a thousand students at Chiang Mai university had all launched khom loi, 5’ high hot air rice paper balloons using a fuel cell ring underneath. The fuel cell flame is bright and shows strongly from a long way up.

Part of one of several parades that night.

There is a long straight wide street in front of the reservoir with restaurants on the other side. This night there were a great many food carts and sellers along that side also. Several parades, each complete with sound carts (see my article on that) came by during the time we were there. My camera is not made for it, but I caught a small section of one parade with local ladies dancing. A lot of tents, a performance stage and other things were on the peninsula out into the lake. We did not get out there but I show a picture of it from across the lake.

More activity across the lake.

We got snacks from the vendors, floated some Krathongs and my favorite, launched a few khom loi balloons. I hope this tradition can go on awhile more, but you never know. Last year a house in Nang Rong burned from a balloon that went the wrong way. This night was great with no wind so the balloons could go right up while travelling very slowly out into the lake.

I drove one of the vehicles to haul all our kids and some staff the few blocks to the lake. Later I took the 3rd family back home. They are the family that had just moved into the new house. I took a picture there just before I drove off.

Our new family home at night. Just moved in!

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  1. November 11th, 2011 at 06:01 | #1

    Fine visit into your Thai world. Don’t see any flood waters?

  2. November 11th, 2011 at 09:12 | #2

    This is from last year’s (2010) Loy Krathong. I have not personally seen flood waters yet. I will tonight, when we deliver aid via boat to the central area above Bangkok. My son Nathan, who is visiting, went to Bangkok for what he thought was one night. Next morning he arrived at the Mo Chit skytrain station and could not go down the the street (to get to the bus station). The flood waters were to deep and there was no taxis or buses that could run down there anyway.

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