Festival no.1 - Loy Krathong

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One of the things I am going to try to do on my travels is to see and enjoy festivals and events - the local and specific, the national and mass attended.. The good, the fun and the 'hmm I'm not sure about this' ones.

Loy krathong (and 'loy kra-tung' out loud as I learnt*) was a regions wide festival I was looking forward to before I arrived in Thailand - knowing it would be when I was starting all this, and that I'd likely be in a place that partakes. I wasn't in one of the hotspots, like Sukhothai, but Kanchanaburi and I enjoyed a colourful, chilled and fun time.



The festival goes a long way back, with Hindu origins, though its exact beginnings are a little unclear. It was likely started as a way to send apologies to the water goddess for polluting and using the rivers and to show gratitude for them (apt before COP21?), along with the hope of sending away ill fortune and negativity. Today it is perhaps more of a time to think of new beginnings, to let things go and to appreciate the waterways.. whilst probably getting a photo with the beautifully decorated water lanterns (lotus flowers, candles and incense, and preferably a base of banana leaves or bread) and of course to join the ubiquitous capturing of the mass floating krathongs.



Wandering through Kanchanaburi in the day, there were preparations for when the full moon (of the 12th lunar month) would reveal itself. School kid traffic on their way to events; lantern making along the town's traditional sino-thai markets and in the temple grounds; treat stalls about the parks (I think I had stumbled into a schools event in the nearby Wat Nua park - smiles and yummy food, I joined the long line for crepes); trucks full of balloons; the setting up of lights through the streets and riverside, and market rows updating their stock.



Into the evening time, the small piers by the local temples became busier and the lantern makers would keep assessing the volumes left. People mingled about the golden Buddha statue and paid respects, bowing with krathongs at their side. Families walked about with homemade lanterns, paper mâché turtles; making hasty repairs of the children's creations as they headed to the water.
I spent time at the temples and picked a lovely little lantern. I joined others in the ritual of lighting from the large candles, taking in my piece and it's burning incense, before bending to the waters edge and placing it in. Off lantern went, catching up with fellow lit paddlers, little ducks heading off. I kept watch of mine for a while. The river looked wonderful.

These were nice moments. The trees were lit up and it was humbling to watch others in their ritual, the small boys jumping about in the water, the families lighting sky lanterns and the excitement as they finally headed up out of the group's hands.



I jumped on a motorbike taxi down to the south of town. Here the lights that had been set out earlier were illuminating the many making their ways through markets and catching up with friends and family, eating treats. You could hear the chatter and bustle loudly now. I went back a few times for meat sticks dipped in hot sauces, delicious and 5 baht a piece.

A stage had been set out on the river with seating stands, so I went and joined, not sure what to expect. I started from standing behind a row of heads, to being called over with others and grabbing some bum space and later being one of the last ones sitting on the main stand as a microwave raffle commenced (I didn't get called up). In between was a really wonderful show celebrating loy krathong. It was centred around two lovely and humorous stories. Firstly of a Gran trying to teach her granddaughter the true meaning of the festival - the girl playing the old woman was great and even in thai it was instantly recognisable as the voice of the 'old, wise, good egg character', whilst the representation of modernity was a dance of selfie taking air heads (respect, Grandma). The second story concerned a washing house where the young work girls were playing up, but more troublesome was that the house was polluting the river (okay, I was a little less sure on this plot! but the acting and dancing were very entertaining)

Both scenes narrated the real story of loy krathong, or at least the tale made popular in early Bangkok of the court lady Nopphamat of Sukhothai. So the stage was adorned with glittering costumes for royalty and court folk, original lantern copies, and traditional street backdrops. At one point the Thai King's song was played and we all stood up quickly. Beforehand there had also been various performances and presentations on stage, which had an American beauty pageant feel to them - sets of similar sized and identically costumed toddlers to teens danced together and then lined up for name calls, curtsies, bows and hearty applauses. Apparently these are now a common part of the festival and are known as Nopphamat Queen Contests.

The show ended with the whole cast back out on stage; dancing, a happy crowd, heads singing and bopping along and off went the fireworks to our delight.

A very good night. Festive indeed.



* a little fact, many thai words written in English have unnecessary double characters and silent letters, often the H's, which can make pronunciation hard (think Ayutthaya), though fitting with the notoriously inconsistent rules of English. This is a legacy of the 5th king of the current dynasty who, in attempts to modernise and thus ward off colonial threats, encouraged words to be made longer in their English translation so any texts looked more sophisticated. (and make future visitors look less sophisticated in their badly spoken Thai!)

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Photos

Beautiful temple grounds
Wat Nua and Wat Thewa Sangkharam