Loy Kratong is one of Thailand's best annual festivals, taking place each November on that month's full moon. This year it was held on November 2, not long after our arrival. Participants create (or purchase!!!) a lotus leaf embedded with lovely flowers and one or more candles, which they then launch on a river or lake "to float our worries away." The event is typically accompanied by fabulous parades, lots of fireworks, and even "kom loi" balloons lit underneath by kerosene such that the heat lifts them unbelievably high into the air. This year we drove about 45 minutes north to the ancient city of Chiang Saen on the Mekong River facing Laos, where we enjoyed a two-hour parade and got rid of our own worries by floating our own "kratongs" onto the Mekong.
Two lovely local participants with their exquisite flowered "Kratong"
One of the dozens of traditional floats
Hill tribe residents from nearby villages also participate; these are Akha women.
Janet watching the parade start to go by...
Even a flame swallower to entertain us; he drank some kind of Thai whiskey, then lit it!
We made friends with a very informative local lady.
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