Our coordinator asked us to stay the weekend for the celebration, and I was glad she did. This was one of those weekends it was packed with things to do (Saturday's event was posted before this). It was a great way to explore and learn more about the town.
So this past friday was essentially the appetizer to my experience of the Loi Krathong festival. One of the Thai teachers, who I mentioned previously, Tu, offered to show us around. She is simply wonderful as I mentioned. She took Jenny and I to the temple and to the festival in U-Thong. When I saw the opening festival in U-Thong, I was amazed. Not only did we get the chance to explore the temple before it was packed, we saw the ruins where the first king of Thailand lived. We got to walk in the back of the temple and see some interesting animal sculptures. Also, we got to see people release the "first" lantern, and then a rush of balloons. These balloons are used to say thank you to the spirits of the sky (though it's not all the environmentally friendly). Of course, the night wasn't complete without a traditional performance explaining the Loi Krathong story, a good meal, some experimental treats (i.e. fried grasshoppers) from the many food stalls, kids running around, and a couple mosquito bites. It really was nice to leisurely walk around, see each stall without any pushing, but it was nothing compared to Sunday.
On the actual day of the Loi Krathong…
Color! Color! Color! An explosion of color all around me.
We started the day dressed in bright BRIGHT hot PINK flower print shirts for the parade we were to participate in. We were then given these vivid GREEN. YELLOW. krathongs to carry during the parade around town. I thought it would be similar to the stares and pointing we get on a daily basis, but this was slightly more in your face with invisible arrows pointing "farang" as we walked down the streets of U-Thong. It was unbelievable how many people took pictures of us and pointed. Celebrity? Maybe so…..
After the parade, we went back to the park where we attended another photo session. Could we take any more? We have to…. After the photo session, we went to the river and finally got to release our krathongs. Woot!! I was soo excited. The dark water was soon filled with green, pinks, purples, yellows, and a sweet smell from the incense. The park was packed to capacity with people. It was lit up with lights hanging from trees and lights from the tons of food stalls and other vendors. And if that wasn't enough…the whole park was light up with fireworks. I couldn't believe how colorful everything there was all around me. What's more, even after the main events passed like the Thai traditional dances and singing, there were still more people coming to light their lanterns and float their krathongs in the river. Who knew U-Thong had that many people? My question is where did they all come from?
Besides how I couldn't believe how colorful and how many people were in U-Thong, I of course ate way too much as usual. There were the normal dishes we see all the time plus some special dishes I haven't seen before --- som tam (papaya salad which is superb and one of my favorites), gung tort (shrimp cake), french fries, chicken nuggets, and pizzas…. Jenny and Elana were glad for the French Fries since their Som Tam was too spicy.
So besides being overstuff, overstimulated, and overpacked…I would say this was a Wowwwzz. Sums up my experience. I'm so grateful for staying this weekend. I had such fun meeting and getting to know in depth some of the students, teachers, and other locals. It was great to see them out and about and in their normal clothing. I hardly recognized some of my own. Good weekend :)
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| My Krathong |
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| U-Thong School's Krathong |
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| Floating Krathongs |
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| The River View |
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