More Loy Krathong 'stuff'

---

Geo: 18.8, 98.98

Jai's turn for the breakfast run - hurrah.
After eatingwe take an early tuk-tukto Wat Chaimongkhul by the river where Jai always used to go to make hermonk offerings etc when we were living here. We get a blessing and a string bracelet from a monk here then wander down to the riverside to watch last nights krathongs floating past. We walk back to Kong Court feeling a bit lazy about taking the tuk-tuk in the first place.
We get a phone call from Lily at our travel agents to let us know that she has bought our bus tickets from Chiangmai to Khon Kaen departing at 21:00 tomorrow night.
I go and visit an internet to get upto date with this blog and download a stack of photos.
Meet up with Jai at Sugar Bar for lunch and there is a heavy storm whilst I am walking there. It only lasts about 1/2 hour then the cloudy skies of thismorning are replaced by clear blue ones and the temperature creeps up. We stay at the bar for a while and play a few games of pool. We are both well out of practice so each game takes longer than it should.
Return to room mid-afternoon.
About 18:30 we walk down to the river in front of the city municipal buildings which is the centre for the Loy Krathong celebrations in town. We are much too early for much to be happening and there are not many people around. We hang around for awhile then the parade from town starts to arrive, very slowly. I have seen enough parade floats etc the last couple of nights to last me for a few years and fail to get too excited about things. I leave Jai watching the proceedings and stand looking across the river as the people start to arrive and float their krathongs, light their lanterns and let off fireworks. Jai sees that I am not particularly enjoying myself and decides to go back to our room in a sulk. She doesnt even want to float a krathong which is what we came down to the river to do.
We walk back through the ever gathering crowds but instead of going to our room we end up back at Sugar Bar where the same parade is still passing. It will be hours before the floats here reach the river. The large krathong floats keep passing for a couple of hours.
A couple of beers later and I decide that I am going back to the river to float a krathong and Jai sort of agrees to come with me. The photos that we take dont come out properly, perhaps because our hearts werent really in it.
Get back to Kong Court just after midnight which is a seriously late night for me.

---