Loy Krathong Festival

Tomorrow night (Nov 12) will be a night to remember. Thousands of people across Bangkok (and millions throughout Thailand) will be out and about for a spiritual yet romantic little outing. We will all chip in to decorate our rivers, canals, ponds, swamps, pools etc w/ a gorgeous thing.

“Loy” means to float. “Krathong” refers to a small raft holding a lit candle, burnt incense and of course ornate flowers which could be lotus, banana leaves, orchids, jasmine, roses, or daffodils. Anything goes.

On this night in early November, everybody knows it’s time to be humble in a flamboyant style. The moon is full. The tide is high. The rainy season is bidding goodbye. The cool period of the year is saying Hi. Let’s apologize.

But to whom?

To the Goddess of Water, for any wrong doing that has been done to her during the past year, whether it be - taking water for granted, taking fish and other water animals away from Her, …….or peeing into Her, oops.

To be eligible for Her forgiveness, one needs to send a beautiful gift on this full moon night.

Unlike folks in small villages where a temple pond is the only place to go, people of Bangkok will have many choices to choose from. Wisit and friends might be planning to launch their Krathong’s on the Chao Phraya River. Warunee has probably set her eye on a canal close to her house. Surasak should just go to a pond in the Lumpini Park ‘cause it’s a minute from his work. Munlika will stick w/ the swimming pool of her condominium as every other year.


But take note: lovers must never float their Krathong’s at the front pond of my school, Chulalongkorn University. We believe it has a breakup curse. But, if that’s your goal, hail a cab!

Besides the apology, everybody is free to make a wish for whatever they feel they deserve, and let me tell you, for some people, it is strictly worldly. More money, another promotion, men wishing for bigger boobs on their next girlfriend, chicks secretly asking her man’s hairline to stop receding. Me? Let me think.

A monthly hot fling!

You would probably be right if you have already started to feel sorry for the Goddess of Water.

Back to the raft, Thailand has almost come full circle. A few years back, styrofoam was ubiquitous. Nowadays, whatever is being used, it must be natural. So most people use banana trunk as in the picture below.


The three cut slices belong to one of my colleagues. She’s not gonna buy but make them all herself. One is for her. Another is for her boyfriend. The other will be for another man her boyfriend doesn’t need to know.

Trust me it’s gonna be a hectic night for Peggy.

Joe

P.S. Special thank to www.thaiworldview.com

City of Fairy Tales

If you think about it, Bangkok is truly a city of fairy tales.

She is the heart of a far, faraway kingdom. She is almost overpopulated w/ different types of angels (as elaborated in my post dated Sept. 7, 08.) And, as if that was not enough, a central part of hers also houses a vigorous fleet of dragons.

No no, it’s not some filthy sexual innuendo here (even though the filthier the better.) We’re on our way to “play” w/ real dragons. Ready?

Rain has just stopped and the sun just re-emerged. This would be an excellent time to stroll in the park, wouldn’t it? Also, this would provide a perfect condition for somebody to sunbath on a sun dappled bank.


That’s right! It’s one of our friends right there.

Colleen Jolly from Washington DC, a BangkokSong guest, is the very first person in the whole world to introduce me to the famed reptiles at Lumpini Park. The irony is that the park (think NYC’s Central Park) is only a 10- minute walk from my building. It really took somebody from the other side of the globe to tell me about something a stone’s throw from my door step, huh?

Their official name is Monitor Lizard. Maybe they have not been properly monitored, as they continue to breed and multiply. Be prepared to be greeted by any of them anytime. Be at any pond in the park and you’ll find them a tourist attraction in their own right.


Eating habit: they are meat eaters. Anything defenseless makes the best dish. Birds, turtles, fish, and possibly babies. That’s right, human babies! If you have one, never leave him or her unattended. There’s no reason to take even the slightest chance.

Personally, I think they’re long and cute, but we wouldn’t be able to hang out together. Forget about inviting them for dinner anytime. I mean, what do we have in common? They eat meat!

Anyway, the closest stations to the Lumpini Park are MRT Silom, MRT Lumpini, and BTS Saladaeng. Respectively.

Or, you can walk there in 10 minutes from BangkokSong.

Joe

All photos were taken by William Duffy from Seattle, USA. He and his wife, Piper, used to live in the residential building that I work for (also a 10-minuite walk to the park.) He sent me these photos after his wife had reintroduced me to “the famed neighbors.” Again, it took three Americans to educate me on this matter.