Loi Krathong

Hello Family and Friends,

Happy December!  I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving holiday. Unfortunately, I had my first bout with what I think was food poisoning.  Luckily, I followed doctor's orders and am now feeling a lot better. Definitely not how I would have wanted to spend such a festive week.  Nevertheless...I still managed to have some fun!

Old business - shirt sleeves and skirts in temples.  Most of you know that I work very hard to be as polite and appropriate as possible...most of the time.  I am familiar with the proper dress etiquette for entering temples, and thought I had done so when I was in Luang Prabang.  My advice...always double-check with a local.  Or...bring a scarf or long-sleeved shirt to cover yourself when you enter a temple.  Admittedly the shirt that almost got me kicked out of the Luang Prabang Royal Palace Museum (which has a temple on the grounds) only covered my shoulder and part of my upper arm.  I had worn it in temples throughout Thailand so thought it was not a problem.  I don't normally wear skirts but decided to that day.  My skirt comes to my knees, but probably should have been a bit longer.  Many temples have signs before you enter showing what is appropriate.  Here is a link that explains it pretty well: http://goseasia.about.com/od/travelplanning/a/visiting_buddhist_temples.htm Lesson learned*sigh*

Loi Krathong/Pee Yeng Celebration (sometimes spelled Loy Kratong) - The Festival of Light

This is the best link for explaining the celebration in Chiang Mai.

http://chiangmaibest.com/loy-krathong-yee-peng/

I was told by the staff here at my apartment that last year, they celebrated Loy Kratong the entire month of November.  This year, the government placed limits on the celebration, so it only lasted for 3 days.  There were concerns about the lanterns interfering with air traffic, so air traffic was discontinued after a certain hour on the 2nd day to allow for the launching of the lanterns.  All I know is that the fireworks started on Sunday and didn't stop until Saturday.  Not sure how the fireworks affected air traffic.  For me, it was a "sleeping with my earplugs" kind of week!

Loy Kratong Day 1 - A group of us celebrated the beginning of Loy Kratong at Han's condo with lots of lights, candles, pizza, salad, wine, beer and lots...I mean lots of desserts.  Han had the place lit up!  And we had fun eating and talking.  This is the only picture I took:

Han's Lit Up Condo (candles on the balcony)

Loi Krathong Day 2 - During each of the 5 years that we lived in Bangkok, we floated krathongs (Lauren wouldn't have it any other way:-).  It was a simple ceremony carried out the evening of the full moon.  "Loi/Loy" means to float, and a krathong is a lotus-shaped float.  Traditional krathongs are made from a slice of the trunk of a banana tree.  These days, due to concerns about the environment, many krathongs were made out of bread.  The bread dissolves or is eaten by fish.  Here are a couple of links about how to make krathongs:

https://www.facebook.com/notes/amazing-thailand/lets-see-how-to-make-a-krathong/236896379703907

http://ec.payap.ac.th/?page_id=808

Picture of my kratong (no - I did not make it myself)

I'm also including the English and Thai versions of the Loy Kratong song.  You can't float your kratong without singing the song!

Thai version - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UP1N2kYZ-Gc

English version - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GNJWizHWMxc

Chiang Mai not only celebrates Loi Krathong but also celebrates Pee Yeng, which includes the launching of lanterns.

Lanterns being released in the street

Loi Krathong in Chiang Mai is so popular, that people come from all over to take part in it.  On the 2nd night, the main streets near the river were so crowded, you could hardly walk.  I worried a bit about the possibility of a stampede if something serious happened.  Luckily, no stampede occurred. Han and I persevered and made it to the river to float our krathongs.

With regard to lanterns, people were not all that knowledgeable about how to launch them.  A couple of lanterns failed to launch and came crashing back into the crowd.  Not good.  A few disintegrated in mid-air.  Since I was planning to float a kratong, I thought it best to shrink my global footprint by not launching a lantern.  Nonetheless, they looked lovely once they were floating up into the sky.  It was a magical night!

Loy Kratong Day 3 - I was not feeling well enough to venture out for the parade on the last night, so I've attached a link that will give you an idea of what it looked like:

http://www.chiangmai-alacarte.com/loy-krathong-festival-november-24-25-and-26-2015

Although this is an enjoyable traditional celebration, it is not great for the environment.   If I return to Thailand again during the Loi Krathong festival, I won't float a kratong or launch a lantern.  Pollution is pollution and affects us all no matter which country we happen to be living in at the time. The clean-up of the river after Loy Kratong was massive, and I am still seeing lanterns on the side of the road, in trees and hanging from electrical wires (yikes!).   Here is a link to a blog post that explains what happens on a more personal level (she uses the word phalang = foreigners):
https://resaeaves.wordpress.com/2010/11/28/thegoodthebadandthefacts/

Festivals are so much fun - mainly because they involve people getting together to celebrate!  Like most Thais, I love a good celebration, but my hope for Thailand is that Thais find a safer and more sustainable way to celebrate this wonderful festival!

Have a great week!