Country Article / Postcards
Thailand's Most Romantic Evening
Date: 11/25/2004
Dear International Living Reader,
Loy Krathong has got to be Thailand's most romantic night of the year. All over the country tonight, as the sun sets on another glorious day, families will gather at riverbanks and waterways to celebrate this ancient festival.
Each family member carries a krathong, a lotus-shaped boat made from folded banana leaves and decorated with globe amaranth and jasmine flowers. A lit candle and incense sticks are fixed on the top, a coin and a piece of paper with the launcher's name are added, and the whole is then carefully placed into the water and launched with a gentle push.
Watching their krathong float away, hopefully carrying any bad luck away with it, people give thanks for the rains which have just finished and pray for a good rice harvest.
And then they party under the full moon.
Last year, Dusit Island Resort and Rimkok Resort, Chiang Rai's premier hotels, held dinner parties alongside the Mae Kok River. For those with less refined tastes, the riverside was lined with beer tents and stalls selling barbecued fish and papaya salad. There were live bands everywhere. And this year, after a bumper rice harvest, is expected to be even better.
At home on our farm, we'll be surrounded by celebrations. Last year we couldn't see all of them but we could certainly hear them. The night was full of music and fireworks, while processions of lanterns drifted silently across the sky. We sat outside, where the moon was bright enough make the distant mountains clearly visible, and the night air was just cool enough to make a jacket necessary.
We're expecting another magical evening.
John Seely
For International Living
Rate this Postcard:
Rating: 3/5 (24 votes cast)