Loy Krathong, a beautiful Thai celebration - My travel diary

Dear Steemit Community!

I was living in Thailand for 9 months and during this time I really experienced a lot of beautiful things in this amazing country. But the most stunning and beautiful event I´ve experienced at this time was definitely a celebration which is called Loy Krathong. I am super excited to tell you about my breathtaking experience and what Loy Krathong actually is.

You know that saying, “I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list”? That’s how I feel most of the time. It seems like almost every day I read about a place or an event I’d like to visit. There was one thing which was on my travel list for the past few years. I always wanted to see the Loi Krathong Festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
On that day when it was sure that I´ll move to Chiang Mai-Thailand I was super happy because I knew that soon I can finally join this event which was on my travel list for such a long time. As I knew that Chiang Mai is the best place to celebrate Loy Krathong, I was even happier and I couldn´t wait anymore.

But what exactly is Loy Krathong?
Loy Krathong is one of Thailand’s most important holidays. As the exact date of the holiday is determined by the Thai lunar calendar, the date is different each year. The holiday normally falls in November and festival and parade days differ slightly from city to city.
“Loy” means “float”, and a “Krathong” is a special Thai floating sculpture particular to the holiday. The traditional Krathong is made of banana tree trunk and decorated with folded banana leaves and flowers. Each Krathong has a unique design. You will find hundreds of Krathongs for sell around the main Loy Krathong festivity areas. For one Krathong you pay around 80 Baht (3-4$). Often school children will make their own Krathongs at school or with their family. They’ll even have Krathong contests at school to see who can craft the most beautiful and artistic float. I know that because I was teaching at a local Thai school.
Today the banana trunk core is sometimes replaced by styrofoam or bread. The banana trunk and bread Krathongs are obviously more eco-friendly.

One day before the festivity starts you have the chance to create your own and unique Krathong. There will be a lot of places like little bars and restaurants which provide the utensils and you can build your own Krathong. You just need to pay a tip for the utensils. My friends and I did that as well as our company offered that.
It´s not easy to prepare such a Krathong but don´t worry. Take your time and you will have a very special souvenir which was made by yourself.
It took us around 3 hours to build our own and special Krathong.

During Loy Krathong, it definitely doesn´t get boring in Chiang Mai.
Ask your hotel staff where they recommend celebrating Loy Krathong in your destination and they can easily point you in the right direction. We celebrated along the Ping river because there is the main celebration.
Head to the waterside where you see local Thais gathering to float their Krathongs.
Everyone makes a wish, and then sends the Krathong into the water.
It carries away your troubles and offers up your wishes and prayers with the incense and glowing candle. You may have to wait for a while before you actually get to the river, but it’s worth it. People are very friendly and once they sent their Krathong into the water, they will move and give you the space to do the same. Don’t light your candle until you are about to release your Krathong.

Loy Krathong is a very friendly festival, but it is not a party festival. It´s a calmer and more spiritual festival. There are lots of kids and families out, so don’t act like a jerk and do anything stupid as respect is very important for Thais. It’s the best to do as the locals do, and be respectful. If you keep that in your mind you´ll have a great time.

Once you should get hungry in between then don´t worry. There are everywhere little food places where they serve very cheap and excellent Thai food.

In addition to the water festivities, Loy Krathong in Chiang Mai features floating lanterns (or sky lanterns). Those are large paper lanterns that float up into the sky just as a hot air balloon does. Seeing hundreds or thousands of these launched into the air at once is magical. You will also easily find these lanterns for sale in Chiang Mai, and the vendors or other locals will be happy to show you how to light them and launch them into the air.
In order to control the festival, lanterns are only allowed to be released between certain hours on the day.
Unfortunately, we only had a Krathong and no lantern. But only watching it when people launch them into the air is already beautiful. I just loved both ways. The Krathong and the lanterns. It´s a really nice way to make wishes.

If you plan a trip to Chiang Mai during Loy Krathong I really recommend you to book far in advance as the whole city will be super busy and the traffic there is terrible.
And once you are there don´t take a Taxi or Songtheaw during the festivity. You will lose so much time. Just walk around the city and enjoy the magical atmosphere.

For me, Loy Krathong was an unforgettable memory. Joining the local festivities of the Loy Krathong holiday and taking part in beautiful traditions was a meaningful and memorable highlight during my time in Thailand. You can feel so much peace and love during this time and also the people I´ve met were wonderful. More importantly, I have memories which last a lifetime.
I am really thankful that I had the chance to experience this festivity and I can highly recommend it. Use your chance and join this unique celebration. You won´t regret it.

I hope you guys liked my story and I would be very happy about comments or any feedback.
Thank you so much for reading :-)