Last night was full of new experiences. First, Sarah and I went to celebrate Loy Kratong. Held on the full moon night of the twelfth lunar month, it's one of the Thais' (my students' anyway) favorite festivals. People gather along the river and lakes to float baskets (kratongs) made of banana leaves, flowers, candles and incense in appreciation of the Goddess of Water for providing life. The act also symbolizes letting go of the negative and starting anew, or sending misfortune away, or really anything you want as the Thais are pretty ambiguous about the exact meaning. They're also hopeless romantics, so it's turned into a pseudo-Valentine's Day as well. It's believed that if a couple releases one together, they will remain blissfully in love for the next year.
Sarah and I bought the environmentally friendly kratongs made out of bread rather than banana leaves, so instead of our troubles drifting away, they were annihilated by fish. It was a funny sight, the two kratongs bobbing furiously in the water at first and then within seconds reduced to a sad sight of two candles and some flowers floating like junk in the water. I'm not sure what it means for the year ahead but am hoping the end result is the same.
I'm willing to bet the river thinks being polluted is not an appropriate thanks. Pictures taken the day after would probably show a very different image. But doesn't it look sweet now?
Our new and improved selves then headed to a karaoke club, where friends had rented a room and were passionately belting out Sinatra's “My Way” when we arrived. I had never been to an Asian-style karaoke room. You order dinner and sit around a table serenading each other. It's a fun alternative to a regular night out on the town ... although I'm sure others wouldn't mind if that was my first and last time. My rendition of Bonnie Tyler's “Total Eclipse of the Heart” met with polite smiles ... “and okay, who's next?”
Last night was full of new experiences. First, Sarah and I went to celebrate Loy Kratong. Held on the full moon night of the twelfth lunar month, it's one of the Thais' (my students' anyway) favorite festivals. People gather along the river and lakes to float baskets (kratongs) made of banana leaves, flowers, candles and incense in appreciation of the Goddess of Water for providing life. The act also symbolizes letting go of the negative and starting anew, or sending misfortune away, or really anything you want as the Thais are pretty ambiguous about the exact meaning. They're also hopeless romantics, so it's turned into a pseudo-Valentine's Day as well. It's believed that if a couple releases one together, they will remain blissfully in love for the next year.
