The ultimate guide to Loy Krathong
Sukhothai's Loi Krathong celebration includes Thai performing arts, music, muay Thai demonstrations and parades.Loy Krathong, the world’s only festival that lets you send your bad luck, guilt, negativity and pretty much everything rotten about your life rushing down the river, takes place nationwide on November 21.
All over the country, Thais head to their nearest body of water after sunset to release an endless stream of floating floral arrangements -- the krathongs -- with many of the wee rafts covered in banana leaves carrying a candle, a snip of hair to represent all that bad stuff and a few coins as a bribe to the great water goddesses.
It's an incredible photo opportunity too, with huge, colorful events taking place all over the country. But before we delve too far into the fantastic, let’s review the bad.
The crowds
There are a few places you don’t want to be on Sunday if you’re celebrating in Bangkok. First and most importantly, stay far away from Saphan Taksin. Foot paths to the river stretching all the way from the BTS station inch along slower than traffic on Sukhumvit at 6 p.m. on a Friday night.
When you finally do make it to the river, you’ll likely resort to giving your krathong to one of the guys standing there with a long stick-like device to lower it into the water for you from one of the pier’s higher points, rather than battle for a rare space at river level to do it yourself.
Almost equally as unpleasant is Santichaiprakarn Park, on Pra Arthit Road. Add hundreds of clueless backpackers looking for some cultural enlightenment to the above mix and you get a motley crew of scam artists, confused tourists, university kids and a traffic jam that won’t clear till well after the last krathong has been loy’d.
The bandits
As we told you last year, Loy Krathong is payday for any kid willing to swim after the krathongs. And there are plenty.
By the dozens, kids -- and a few adults -- bob in the Chao Phraya river’s soupy grayness, little silhouettes waiting for the next 10-baht coin to float past.
Though Lumpini Park and Chulalongkorn University’s ponds get some Loy Krathong action, the best place to witness banditry is the busy Saphan Taksin pier.
The bandits there leave little money for the river goddess. They furiously snatch up krathongs, fingers rifling through orchids, sparklers and bits of ceremonially clipped hair or fingernails –- all to find one or two coins.
But enough unpleasantness. Loy Krathong is a fantastic event well worth getting out and celebrating. Here are some of the best locations and events taking place all around Thailand on Sunday.
Bangkok’s top spots
Though Sunday is the official Loy Krathong day, nationwide events begin on Friday, including Bangkok's grand opening ceremony. Parades of boats lit up with decorations will cruise along the Chao Praya River so if possible, try and find a restaurant between the Krungthep and Krungthon bridges on the Chao Phraya river to check out the procession.
On Sunday night, Wat Rakang Kositaram on the Thonburi bank of the river and the sure-to-be-crowded Wat Arun are among the popular temples for an authentic taste of Loy Krathong. Both can be reached from the Bangkok side of the river by catching a boat at the Tha Tien Pier.
Though still crowded, the large ponds at Bangkok's parks offer a less assaulting experience than the Chao Phraya River's piers. Our top pick is Chatuchak Park on Paholyothin Road (BTS: Mochit). It will be crowded but not as bad as downtown’s Benjakitti Park on Ratchadapisek Road by the Queen Sirikit Convention Centre, Lumpini Park (MRT: Lumpini) or Benjasiri Park (BTS: Phrom Phong).
Meanwhile, pretty much every riverside restaurant has a Loy Krathong celebration on Sunday night, including the big five-star hotels, which includes a free krathong to "loy." And yes, they jack up the prices to take advantage of all the Loy Krathong revelers that can't bear to face the crowds. Even restaurants that aren't riverside have dinner specials on offer.
Get out of the city
Three- to five-day festivals are taking place all over Thailand, but one of the best places to spend Loy Krathong is easily the ancient former capital and cultural hotbed, Sukhothai. The Sukhothai Loi Krathong three-day celebration from Friday to Sunday includes Thai performing arts, music, Muay Thai demonstrations and parades.
There’s a display of traditional Thai fireworks and the whole thing ends with krathong floats being set adrift in the pools and ponds within the Sukhothai Historical Park.
Chiang Mai has a huge Loy Krathong celebration from November 18-22 that includes the traditional Lanna ritual of launching floating lanterns (khome loi or khome yi-peng). During the festival the entire city is decorated with lights and lanterns, and there’s a giant krathong parade depicting the story of the life of the Lord Buddha, Thai literature, history and Thai art in addition to the usual concerts, contests and religious festivities.
Expect Chiang Mai's parades to be a whole lot spicier this year, now that a court ruled transvestites are allowed to participate in the official festivities.
Further off the typical tourist path is the ancient city of Tak, near the Myanmar border about half-way between Chiang Mai and Bangkok. The city’s residents celebrate Loy Krathong from November 19-22 on the Mae Ping River.
Though they follow the nationwide tradition of setting ornately decorated krathong adrift, they’ve replaced the usual banana-leaf floats with coconut shells, which are threaded together and launched simultaneously to appear as long chains of glittering lights. It’s a very cool scene and accompanies a parade, Loy Krathong contest, traditional rituals, light-and-sound performance and musical entertainment.
For more on Loy Krathong visit www.loikrathong.net, which features articles on the history of Loy Krathong, the various festivals held in different provinces, accomodation options and a guide to making your own krathongs.
