To travel is to take a journey into yourself. 

~ Danny Kaye

Festival of the Lights
Bangkok, Thailand

Coming Fall 2019!

This is going to be a really fun trip! I have friends, Mel and John, who have recently retired and moved to Southeast Asia. Vietnam, specifically. (Check out their blog here.) When I was living in Peru they came to visit me in the jungle city of Iquitos where I was living and now it is my turn to visit them in Southeast Asia.

I read about the Festival of Lights, or Loi Krathong, in Thailand and it sounded like an amazing tradition and visual delight, so I suggested we meet for the festival. They agreed!

The Festival of Lights is held annually on the full moon of the 12th month in the traditional Thai calendar, which is usually sometime in November, although the date in November varies each year.

In Bangkok people gather at lakes, rivers and canals, and release krathrongs, small lotus shaped rafts, as a way of paying respect to the goddess of water. The little rafts are decorated with candles, insence and flowers. Imagine what a sight that must be! 

A handmade krathong can be made from a banana tree trunk and leaves and decorated with flowers. On the night of the festival a wish is made as the krathong is set adrift in the river. On the River Chao Phraya River there will be one hundred ninety piers opened to the public to float their krathongs. The floating away symbolizes letting go of negativity.

The festival of Loi Krathong coincides with Yi Peng, a festival in northern Thailand. Lanterns made of thin rice paper or bamboo are launched into the air. In Bangkok, the release of lanterns into the air is prohibited due to danger to temples and other buildings, as well as aircraft. In Bangkok, they instead carry lit lanterns, hanging from a string on a stick. The lanterns are hung from trees, placed at the temples, or along standing on walls.

The other festival that I considered scheduling my visit around was Songkrang, Thai New Years in April. From all I have read it is time for the young to throw water at each other, but more so it is a time when most Thai people return to their hometowns to celebrate their elders. Although that sounds like a wonderful festival as well, I think I prefer seeing the glowing lights from a river filled with thousands of floating krathongs. It should be absolutely magical.

Location

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