Loi Krathong

Loi Kratang is a festival in Thailand that takes place on the 12th lunar full moon of the year. Prior to coming to Thailand, I had seen many amazing pictures on various travel blogs so naturally it was on my must do list.

Amazing photo, not taken by me

There was a bit of controversy over this years Loi Krathong celebration due to.the recent passing of the head monk. Since the country is still in mourning, it was debated whether or not the festival should still go on. The government actually postponed it, then put it back on, then cancelled it. So really I had no idea if and when my dream festival was even going to take place. Luckily, the festival did go on, though it was apparently subdued a little. There were no big firework shows and large celebrations. Even if it was subdued, I still had an awesome time. We went to Bung Ta Lua lake in Korat to take part in the festivities. There was so much to take in, it really was sensory overload. Since it was night, and I'm no where near the photographer I desire to be, my pictures suck.

The lake with the lanterns in the air

Thai flag lantern

Bunny lantern. This was my fav

The origins of Loi Krathang have changed so much over the years that there is no clear answer of exactly what or who is being prayed to. Like everything in this country, it's another way for Thais to ask the Gods for good luck and good fortune while setting free the negative. Since I am not religious, I adapted my own set of guidelines for releasing my sky and floating lantern. I released the negative aspects of the past year into the sky lantern and watched them fly away. Our sky lantern took off with great speed and we watched it rise high as well as burn out.

Zach with our lantern

Ready to set it loose

We also released a floating lantern into the lake. I saw this more of an omen of how the next year would be. Our lantern floated beautifully and burnt til the end

image

Getting ready to float

Some lanterns in the lake

They had food and beers and games and rides. And also a miss Loi Krathang pageant. I'm not sure if they are women or lady boys, but I'm leaning towards actual females on this one

Beauty contest

Darts!

My favorite pic

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