ลอยกระทง Loi Kratong

As if Music Day weren't a big enough distraction from my work, this week was Loi Kratong, the Thai festival of lights honoring the river goddess. This year Loi Kratong Day fell on the 6th of November (the full moon), but there were celebrations along the river for a few nights leading up to it. I went out on Wednesday night and then again on Thursday for the festival itself.

I worked late Wednesday and met two friends of mine, Chinese teachers from my school, outside the gates of the Grand Palace. From there we walked to the Chao Phraya River. The Thai Ministry of Tourism organized River Fest 2014 on the days leading up to and including Loi Kratong Day.

our picture got on the official @loikrathongthailand twitter

Several different temples along both banks held cultural exhibitions relating to the festival, with regular express boat service across the river. After enjoying some traditional Thai desserts and taking a selfie for the event's official Twitter feed, we headed across the Chao Phraya to Wat Arun.

a lit barge passing in front of Wat Arun

The whole river was aglow that night with a parade of colorfully lit barges and spectacular fireworks being shot off regularly throughout the night. Although the night had a chaotic, festive atmosphere, there was still time to find peaceful moments amid the chaos to reflect on the traditional meaning of the festival.

a temple shrine

We visited each of the ferry stop to see all of the exhibitions- the riverwalk highlighted Thai desserts and handmade kratongs, an open-air cinema played a classic Thai film on an old projector with the actors doing a live dubbing outside Wat Arun, Wat Kalyanamitra had a performance of a famous Chinese opera, while Wat Prayun presented the temple orchestra beneath its UNESCO World Heritage Site chedi. We ended our first night out quite late, at one of the quieter and more reverent temples, Wat Phra Chetuphon for the Chong Pa-Rieng (floating lantern ceremony).

my friends and me

There weren't many people at the last temple, as it was getting so late. Dozens of small candles floated in the peaceful water beneath a string of colorful lanterns, and my friends and I bought three candles of our own to float.

There were seven different colors of candles, corresponding to the days of the week. I chose a yellow candle for Monday, the day of my birth. We lit our candles, floated them, then sat quietly in the tranquil peacefulness underneath the almost-full moon. This would be the most peaceful and meaningful moment of the festival.

I got home quite late on Wednesday night, but despite being tired I was determined to go out again on Thursday to float my own kratong on the day of the festival. My new colleague, Kate, and I crammed ourselves in the most tightly packed skytrain car I've ever seen to head down to the riverfront, from where we met our Chinese friends (including our friend, Chinese Michael) and caught a ferry to the very crowded but incredibly fun celebration happening at the Asiatique Market.

fireworks over the river

After shopping around the stalls, we each found the perfect kratong for ourselves. Kratongs can be either handmade or factory-produced. Some are made of flowers and some are made of hard bread baked into shapes of flower wreaths, turtles, or crocodiles. The bread krathongs will dissolve to feed the fish. I chose a green and gold kratong (sic 'em).

Sic 'em Kratong

After several hours spent enjoying all that the festival had to offer- Thai dance, Thai boxing, food, crafts, shows, live music, and lots of fireworks... it was time to float our kratongs. I bought a cheap plastic 10 baht lighter and we muscled our way through the crowds to a quiet area by the water. I lit the candle and incense, made a silent wish, and let my kratong float away down the River of Kings.

about to float my kratong