Travel Photographer - Dr. Jeff Harper Photo Blog

A young couple setting their kratong to float into Klong Ha (canal 5). Loi Kratong is a wonderful occasion in Thailand . . . everyone participates.

Driving home from an evening of testing at my local drag strip, I noticed many cars parked near the rural canalside Buddhist temple. So I stopped to take a look.

I parked and walked across a narrow bridge toward the lights in the distance.

I entered the temple grounds through a 'side entrance' . . . lots of motorcycles parked.

Although it was a festival, a trampoline was the only amusement here for the kids in this rural location.

Once inside, I joined the crowd of rural Thai folks enjoying the evening out.

And what the people had come for was to stroll about the temple grounds eating various Thai treats, watching presentations and dancing on a stage, meet with the Buddhist monks for blessings, make a donation to the temple, to purchase or make their own kratong, and to launch their kratong into the klong (canal).

There were rows and rows of food stalls set up for the evening.

As always in Thailand, were was every imaginable delicious thing to eat on sale . . . readymade dinner packs . . . .

What would a festival be without deep fried frog?

The deep-fried bug snack stall was doing a brisk business.

The fried bug stall had two kinds of grasshoppers: these 'type A' grasshoppers, and . . .

. . . and these 'type B' grasshoppers. Take your pick.

If you were looking to munch on something a little more crunchy, there were the deep-fried june bugs on offer in green and black.

If crispy bugs weren't to your liking, there was also the chewy option: deep-fried and highly spiced grubs. Mmmmmmm!

For this festival, the food stalls had been erected in and among the temple buildings and large Buddha statuary.

At the base of this Buddha statue many local ladies were crafting kratongs for purchase to benefit the temple.

An onsite workshop of kratong production.

I purchased one of these kratongs made with a banana stalk base. "A krathong is traditionally a small floating container fashioned of leaves which is made to hold a small portion of goods like a traditional Thai dish (such as hor mok) or dessert. The traditional krathong used for floating at the festival are made from a slice of a banana tree trunk or a spider lilly plant. Modern krathongs are more often made of bread or Styrofoam. A bread krathong will disintegrate after a few days and can be eaten by fish. Banana stalk krathongs are also biodegradable, but Styrofoam krathongs are increasingly banned, as they pollute rivers and oceans." (**) There were NO kratongs for sale at this temple with Styrofoam bases . . . I was very happy to see that.

In addition to having kratongs for sale, there was a "Best Kratong" contest! Here are a few of the entrants:

This entry in the "Best Kratong Contest" was very beautiful.

My favorite to win the contest: the COVID-19-themed kratong. Yes, let's send the virus down the river along with our best wishes for a better life in the future.

The families would eventually wait their turn to enter a temple structure to pay respect to the Buddha.

Buddhism is a living "religion" in Thailand. Families carry out ancient rituals still today.

Small donations are placed on these bushes like leaves. Sweet.

Just wandering around the wat to enjoy the Buddha imagery.

The 'Wat festival' is not only a celebration of Loi Krathong and a fund raising event for the temple, it is also a community event. A stage is set up for local rural folk to share cultural and artistic expression, like this troupe of elderly traditional Thai dancers.

The traditional Thai dance group being publicly acknowledged and praised.

Community leaders and event organizers acknowledged by the area political leader.

I took my new kratong (float) toward the canal to launch it and was met with throngs of people now entering the Wat for the festival and launching their own kratongs. Notice everybody eating some delicious Thai snack or other.

I arrived at the canal as the crowds poured in across the bridge.

A nice family photo just before launching their individual krathongs.

I pressed myself into this human mass to launch my own kratong, express my hopes for the coming year, and send respect to the Buddha.

Such a wonderful sight: a whole community collectively floating away the bad from last year and the hopes for the coming year.

And one giant krathong for the entire community and Wat.

The whole scene brightly lit up in fantastic colorful neon arrays.

Reflect light on Klong 5. Magic.

Extraordinary reflection!

When I left I crossed back over the bridge and saw this amazing scene!

Looking across the canal to the other side, I noticed just as many people there crowding to float their kratongs.

Looking back under the bridge to the Wat side of the canal . . . many, many people out joining in an ancient Thai cultural tradition.

My last look back at the the rural Loi Krathong festival . . . way out in a dark Thai farmland night.