Amphawa Floating Market

Relatively unknown to Western travelers, Amphawa is a river market in Samut Songkram province, about an hour’s drive southwest of Bangkok. Many locals still live a somewhat traditional lifestyle, paddling around on canoes to go fishing, as a means of transport, and to sell or trade goods in the market like in olden days. The market portion that caters to tourists does not really get going until around 3 in the afternoon, when shops along the canals open for business and vendors begin to set up their stalls. The central attraction for the market is the leisurely pace in which one can soak up the atmosphere by perusing the goods for salekey things include traditional Thai desserts, screenprinted.

T-shirts, vintage collectibles, paintings, handmade stationery and gifts. Guesthouses and homestays line the tiny ‘boardwalk’ that flank the narrow canals. Towards the evening, more merchants on canoes hang out by small piers where visitors can sample some delicious foodstuff such as boat noodle soup, Pad Thai, grilled squid, and green curry, while the longtail motorized boats start lining up waiting for customers to board. Trips on the river can be arranged, costing about 50 baht per person if the boat has 8 passengers, or about 400-500 baht if privately chartered, regardless of the number of people.

Touring the riverbanks offers a glimpse of local homes and customary routines in this rural district. Sightseeing involves speeding up the riverways and disembarking atcertain temples. Perhaps the most wellknown is Wat Bang Kung, which features a chapel ensconced in a big banyan tree’s serpentine branches, with a large Buddhaimage obscured inside. The temple is in the compound of Khai Bang Kung, a famous old Naval Forces Camp in Thai history, dating back to the late Ayutthaya period.The Camp was left deserted for almost 200 years, and then established as a Boy Scout camp again there in onor of King Taksin.

The temple grounds have an interesting hodge podge of sights to behold. Most photogenic are the dozens of life-size soldier statues depicting Muay Thai trainingand sword sparring. Most bizarre, however, definitely must be the 6-legged tortoise and wild boars in and enclosed in a mud pen.After nightfall, the last attraction to end the evening with is observing fireflies hovering in bushes along the river, blinking on and off like tiny beacons signaling seafaringsailors.

Loi Kratong Festival

November 21-24, 2007 Nationwide

Loi Krathong Highlights and Event venues

As the full moon of the twelfth lunar month (usually in mid-November) lights up the night sky, throughout the Thai kingdom, hundreds of thousands of ornately-decorated krathong or traditional banana leaf floats are set adrift in rivers and waterways in a spell-binding ritual called "Loi Krathong" - the 'festival of lights". This is one of the Kingdom's oldest and best-preserved traditions.

The Loi Krathong tradition we know of today has evolved from the royal rituals of the early Rattanakosin period in which several types of lanterns were set afloat in the Chao Phraya River and its waterways.

The Royal Rattanakosin Loi Krathong Festival
During the early Rattanakosin period, the royal rituals of Jong Priang, Lote Choot, Loi Khome Long Nam, performed during the twelfth lunar month were based on Brahmin beliefs. These were the court versions of Loi Krathong performed as an act of worship in which the Devaraja or ‘God Kings’ made offerings of light to the Brahmin deities. Lit lanterns were hoisted on to poles for two weeks during the twelfth lunar month and then floated on the waterways as ritual offerings. From its Brahmin roots, the practice has evolved over time and has come to be part of a Buddhist ritual performed as an act of deep reverence and worship of the sacred relics and holy footprints of Lord Buddha.

The practice was subsequently adopted and adapted by common folk. Krathong floats are made from basic materials easily found around the village and reflect the simplicity of life beyond the palace walls. They typically take the shape of lotus in full bloom, swans, chedis (stupas), and Mount Meru from Buddhist mythology. However krathong floats in the shape of lotus blossoms are most popular.

At dusk, as the full moon begins to rise, the krathong is decorated with fresh flowers and the candles and incense sticks are placed in the krathong. The float is then taken to a waterway where the candle and incense sticks are lit and the krathong set adrift. The floats are carried downstream by the gentle current, candlelight flickering in the wind.

Soon after, attention turns to celebration. The evening's festivities consist of impressive firework displays, folk entertainment, stage dramas, song and dance. Scenes as described in ancient Thai literary accounts are still very much in existence today.

Krathong floats in the shape of lotus blossoms are most popular and are made from materials easily found in each locality. Loi Krathong customs and traditions reflect local beliefs and cultural evolution and interesting regional variations can be seen.

Loi Krathong Sai on the Ping River
Night of A Thousand Floating LanternsIn Tak province, the banana-leaf floats are replaced by coconut shells which are threaded together and launched simultaneously so they appear as long chains of hundreds of glittering lights on the Ping River, hence the origin of its name, "Loi Krathong Sai".

Yi-Peng Festival in Northern Thailand
In the Northern Thai provinces that were once part of the ancient Lanna Thai kingdom, the Yi-peng Northern Lantern Festival is still being celebrated. Tubular lanterns, resembling hot air balloons, are lit and released into the night sky as an offering the Lord Buddha. As hundreds of illuminated lanterns drift into infinity, this conjures the same sense of wistful closure as the krathong float downstream.

The lighting of fireworks is undertaken in the same spirit as when lighting candles in an act of worship so fireworks displays are very much an integral element of the secular and religious rituals performed.

The Origins of Loi Krathong
There are various accounts about the origins of Loi Krathong. However given the river-based culture that forms the foundation of the traditional Thai way of life, it is widely believed that these are offerings made to Mae Khongkha - Mother of Waters in an act of appeasement. Many also believe that by setting adrift the krathong, one symbollically casts away one's grief, misery and ill-fortunes. Coins are also placed in the krathong as offerings. For the romantic at heart and young couples, Loi Krathong is the time to make wishes for happiness together and success in love.