Loi Kratong

It got steamy again on Sunday and the sun was a hazy fireball above the buildings of Bangkok.

It also happened to be Loi Kratong, the Thai holiday famous for people floating kratongs, which are typically flower-covered objects with candles and incense which are cast into bodies of water to send away bad luck. Apparently, the big celebration in Bangkok takes place at the Chao Praya river (see previous posts) but given the nighttime start and the location not being especially close or convenient, we headed up to Queen's Park, which has a nice-sized pond and a decent turnout in its own right.

On the trip there, the sidewalks were lined with people making and selling kratongs.

 

After surveying her choices, Eliana selected an kratong in one of her favorite colors, yellow.

With our kratong in hand, we navigated the throng of people down to the pond in order to launch our offering.

 

The pond was already full of krathongs. People tried to propel theirs out into the middle of the pond, but the kratongs seemed content to hug the shoreline, creating a beautiful rim of fire around the pond. I'm not sure our pictures really fully capture how striking the sight is, but nevertheless, here are our attempts.

 

 

(ours!)