PATTAYA 2 Page 26
SUNDAY 17th NOVEMBER 2013:
Arrived back in Pattaya and our apartment much later than anticipated last night. This was due entirely to the sheer volume of traffic as it was a holiday-day here. It's an event in Thailand called Loi Krathong.
Loi Krathong (also written as Loy Krathong or Loy Gratong, is a festival celebrated annually throughout Thailand. The name could be translated "Floating Crown" or "Floating Decoration", and comes from the tradition of making buoyant decorations which are then floated on a river.
Loi Krathong takes place on the evening of the full moon of the 12th month in the traditional Thai lunar calendar. In the western calendar this usually falls in November.
Loi means 'to float', while krathong refers to the (usually) lotus-shaped container which floats on the water. The traditional krathong are made from a slice of the trunk of a banana tree or a spider lily plant. Modern krathongs are more often made of bread or styrofoam. A bread krathong will disintegrate after a few days and can be eaten by fish. Banana stalk krathong are also biodegradable, but styrofoam krathongs are sometimes banned, as they pollute the rivers and may take years to decompose. A krathong is decorated with elaborately-folded banana leaves, incense sticks, and a candle. A small coin is sometimes included as an offering to the river spirits. On the night of the full moon, Thais launch their krathong on a river, canal or a pond, making a wish as they do so. The festival may originate from an ancient ritual paying respect to the water spirits.
Government offices, corporations and other organizations bring large decorated krathongs. There are competitions for the best such krathong. A beauty contest is a regular feature and fireworks have become common in recent years. Also, the launching of hundreds of Chinese Lanterns is very common.
Although we were both tired after the long journeys by sea and by road from Koh Wai, we decided to go down to Beach Road and join in the festivities. This, of course, is more importnat to Aom as she is a Thai.
There were thousands and thousands of people on the beach all having fun setting off fireworks, launching their Loi Krathongs and sending the lanterns up into the night sky. It really was quite a spectacle.
Got back to the apartment around 2:30am.
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TOP LEFT: Some Loi Krathongs on sale.
TOP RIGHT: Aom busy purchasing her Loi Krathong. She then lit the candles and went down to the water's edge and launched it along with a prayer and a wish for good fortune as per Thai tradition.
CENTRE: Two photos of the beach at Pattaya. The dots of lights in the sky are some of the many hundreds of Chinese Lanterns.
- BOTTOM: Aom with her Loi Krathong prior to launch. The right-hand pic shows a lantern ready for the off.
Here's a short movie of the event on Pattaya beach:-
Here's something different: some oddities seen in and around Pattaya and the markets.
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TOP LEFT: I don't think this is really a "Porn House". "Porn" in Thai means something you wish or hope for; maybe porn??.
TOP RIGHT: This hotel is near to our apartment. The "Shagwell" may well be as it suggests. Also note what else it says on the sign: "Pattaya's Only 10-star Doss House".
CENTRE ROW: These hideous market mannequins are commonplace.
BOTTOM LEFT: Spot the chameleon.... or is it comedian?
BOTTOM RIGHT: A disgusting little man!! [see movie below for what he does next].
LEFT MOVIE: A disgusting little man.
RIGHT MOVIE: An example of the traffic-light systems commonplace in Thailand [sorry, could be boring].
Since I mention the traffic-light systems in Thailand I've come to realise that one of the major causes of traffic jams in cities are these traffic-lights. In UK, by in large, they change according to the volume of traffic and sequences of no more than a few minutes are generally the rule. In Thailand the lights remain of red for anything up to 3-5 minutes and you can imagine the build-up traffic this creates. When the lights eventually change to green, this colossal build up of vehicles is released and guess where they end up? Yep, you've guessed it... at the next set of traffic lights which will be red. If the traffic was better regulated, the huge jams would lessen considerably. Nobody seems to have twigged-on to this, or rather if they have they cannot be bothered to alter the sequences. It's definitely a Thai thing!
MONDAY 18th NOVEMBER:
See next page (Page 27) for some long-awaited news.....
