Loy Krathong

It just happened to be a holiday (Loy Krathong) and Molly and I decided to go to Khao San Road (foreigner/tourist central) to buy a few things for school, having seen and bought things like what we were looking for there before.  First we got dinner and had a few drinks at a bar we know that has a great happy hour.  We weren’t really buzzed or tipsy at all, and we each bought a few suitable things.  Then we decided to go play some pool at a nearby bar (again, that we have frequented in the past- we live very close to Khao San, so it’s difficult to stay away when someplace reminiscent of home is so nearby).  We had another drink and I ended up getting tipsy. 

On our way out of the bar, I noticed that a few stars were glowing in the sky, realizing only moments after noticing them that they were not stars, but wish lanterns that had been lit and released a medium distance away, probably a few miles down the road.  Molly told me that her Thai teacher told her all the wats (temples) hold small celebrations for the holiday so we went to Wat Praw Keaw, which is located inside the grand palace complex, not far from Khao San road and a very short distance from the river. 

Before I go on, a note about the grand palace.  The word “grand” is not an exaggeration.  I have gone once during the time I have lived here, but I had also been once in the past, on a trip I took when I lived in Korea.  We came to Bangkok for a few days and then travelled on to Cambodia, where we stayed in Siem Reap and saw Angkor Wat.  I included details from the Cambodian part of that trip in my previous entry about my second trip to Cambodia, and now I want to write about the palace (which was the main thing we did while in this city previously).  Shannon, Amanda, and I got to the palace in the late morning and walked around the high walls of its perimeter, trying to find a door that admitted entry.  A tuk tuk driver waiting nearby told us it was a holiday, and that the palace was closed for the day.  We were more than a little disappointed, but he offered to drive us around to other sights.  If you are ever in Bangkok and this happens to you DON’T LISTEN IT IS A SCAM.  He drove us around to various stores and tried to encourage us to buy expensive things, such as literal diamonds.  We finally got a regular taxi, who drove us back to the palace, explaining the scam and telling us that the palace is never closed.  We got there a few hours before closing time and went in.

That place is spectacular, in the original sense of the word and not the overused American bastardization.  Whole buildings were covered in mosaics of multi-colored mirrors, gilded in the spaces between.  There were huge towers and long spires, with intricate tile work and sculptures all around.  We walked all around the palace grounds and were stunned by the beauty and splendor of the buildings around us.  Obviously no expense was spared in its construction.

But that night with Molly we did not go into the main area of the palace, but to the river just across the way.  Along the river there were Thai people selling small floats covered in flowers.  Each float was equipped with one candle and three sticks on incense.  The purpose of these floats is simple: one lights the candle and incense and makes a wish for the year ahead.  One then puts the float into the water and pushes it away, sending the sins of the previous year along with it.  The soul lightened and the wish heard, one can then go into the year ahead with hope in their heart. 

Molly and I found floats that we liked and purchased them for 50 baht, which is about $1.50.  Hers had a few orchids and several flowers whose buds looked like Christmas lights.  Mine was decorated with a large white water lily and several orchids.  We walked down to the nearby waterfront and stood among the many Thais and a few other foreigners.  We watched as those around us lit their candles and incense, sharing lighters with those around them, helping them toward their wishes and goals for the coming year, aiding them in lightening their burden.  It made me think about all the small things we do every day to help one another, and how large an effect those seemingly small things could potentially have.  Who knows what changes may happen in a stranger’s life when you give them that extra 15 cents for the bus fare, or let them borrow your cell phone because their battery died.  Who can possibly guess how the path differs when you simply give someone your seat, hold open a door, or just pass them a lighter. 

A nearby English speaker (who was not a native speaker, though I think not a Thai either) lent us his lighter and his expertise.  We did not know the best way to light the incense, and he and his friend helped Molly and me to hold our floats in the best way, to help the flame catch on our incense, and to light the candle of our wish.  After we had finished, we walked to the edge of the cement pier, where men stood with long poles equipped with wire baskets at the end.  We placed our floats in the baskets and the men lowered their poles over the edge of the pier, placing our floats in the water and nudging them gently along their way, before turning to help the next person.  It was as if they were destiny’s middleman, bringing the hopes and wishes of the people to the ears and eyes of the gods.  It was a humbling and sobering experience, that brought me from a state of “oh my god that last game of pool was sloppy and these McDonalds fries are amazing” to one of simultaneous wonder and contrition, holding both faith in the future and guilty confession of the past.  No longer tipsy, Molly and I walked back from the river to the main road, pausing to examine and enjoy some of the other floats for sale (some of which were made out of bread with which to feed the fish).  We got into a tuk tuk and agreed upon a price, paying the man a little extra when we got to our destination and wishing him a happy Loy Krathong.

By the way, I wrote most of this as soon as I got home, so a lot of it is still the tipsy talking.

Alright: I looked it up when I got home.  Loy Krathong has nothing to do with wishes for the future, so most of the idiotic drunken-philosophy doesn’t really apply.  It’s all about letting go of the past and venerating Buddah with the light from your candle.  It’s a way of getting rid of sins, and letting go of anger and hatred.  The lanterns that originally attracted our attention were for another holiday that often coincides with Loy Krathong called Li Peng, which is a Lanna (northern) traditional holiday.  That’s where the wishes came in my head I think.  It’s all about gaining merit.  So that makes a little more sense.