The world famous Loy Krathong Festival in Thailand this year took place between 1st & 3rd of November 2009 with the main day being the Full Moon night of November 2nd! The Loy Krathong festival always takes place on the first full-moon night of the twelfth lunar month. The custom of placing hand-made floats decorated with flowers and candles on waterways is believed to go back over 700 years to the Sukhothai Historical Period ,which was the formulative period for what became Siam & today is modern day Thailand. The word Loy means to float and Krathong is a small vessel made from banana leaves which can float on water. A candle is placed in the krathong, along with incense sticks and small coins. A wish is then made and the krathong is sent floating down the river. This act is seen as a symbolic gesture of gratitude to the Mother River the source of water without which we could not survive. Thai belief is that floating the beautiful Krathong away also refers to sending away misfortune and bad things from the past and asking for good luck & fortune in the future. In Northern Thailand the Loy Krathong festival which is also known as Yee Peng is particularly spectacular & is celebrated for two nights under the full moon. The celebrations in & around Chiang Mai include the release of thousands of Khom Loys (paper hot air floating lanterns) into the night sky all over the city, this really is a not to be missed event and is the feature of the video above. There is also a …

One of the key Thai festivals on the annual calendar, Loi Krathong, took place on Monday evening, Bangkok’s populace heading in droves for the water to light candles nestling on small “rafts” (Krathong) that are then gently lowered into the river, wishes are made, the hopes and dreams of city dwellers, along with any bad luck, consigned with a flourish for safekeeping to the dark swirling waters of the Chao Phraya River which winds like a giant, lazy snake through the heart of Bangkok. I start tonights adventure at the southern end of the city where the BTS line crosses the river, and I get a quick idea what is in store when I try to squeeze onto the Skytrain at Siam, which is packed to the rafters, not the norm for the post rush hour. Alighting from the spur line at Saphan Taksin Station where the BTS disgorges passengers before skimming over the Chao Phraya on the Taksin Bridge, I am immediately and, but less unexpectedly by now, thrust into a huge scrum of people. I was expecting it to be busy here as this one of the key transport hubs where the BTS meets the river, but its really, really busy. Getting down to the Sathorn Pier it is a case of filing slowly along past stall after stall of Krathong makers selling their wares, people behind the tables busily crafting these intricate arrangements, as buyers flock around, with the skill and dexterity of a lifetime of experience. The Krathongs themselves are mostly around ten inches across with a base tightly fashioned out …

Loi Krathong - The Festival of Lights - was held on the full month of the 12th month in the traditional Thai lunar calendar, which fell on 1-3 Nov this year. Many Thai believe that floating a krathong will create good luck, and they do it to honor and thank the Goddess Mae Khongkha, the mother of water. Loi means “to float”. Krathong is small floats decorated with flowers, incense, and candles. They also have large paper lanterns released to the sky called Khom Loi. This was our first Loi Krathong - it was amazingly very beautiful. Flowers, candles, lanterns, and fireworks were everywhere. It was so colorful and romantic