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Fireworks and fun at Thai festivals

Ready for the festival

Thailand is well known for its festivals and holidays centred on royal and religious occasions. Probably the most picturesque and dramatic are Loy Krathong, or the Festival of Lights which comes in mid November when the moon is full, and the Vegetarian Festivals which are celebrated throughout the nation in October.

During Loy Krathong, floats called krathongs, are decorated with flowers and candles and set adrift in the sea, rivers or canals. As the floats drift away prayers are offered that everything bad will float away too. The idea is to load the float with all your problems so they will vanish along with the float.

The ceremony takes place wherever there is water, be it a small lake at the local temple, or from one of Thailand's glorious beaches. The spectacle of hundreds of candlelit floats under a full moon is incredibly dramatic.

Ready to launch the krathongs

With the floats launched, many visit a temple to give thanks for the waters of Thailand. In true Thai style, the areas where the launchings take place are crowded with food stalls offering an abundance of noodle and rice dishes. Despite the solemn ceremony it is a fun time with parties continuing into the early hours. Like all Thai festivals there is also an abundance of fireworks.

The krathongs float away

There are others forms of krathongs. Many send hot-air lanterns into the air with the same hope that their problems will vanish into the wild blue yonder. This is a particularly popular practice in Chiang Mai, Thailand’s second largest city. While hundreds send their float down the River Ping, the sky is filled with the lanterns drifting away.

Thailand is well known for its vegetarian festivals that take place in October throughout the country.

Best known is the festival celebrated by Phuket's Chinese community, which lasts for 10 days. The events include unpleasant body piercing, strange processions of people under trances with endless amounts of fire crackers exploding.

Vegetarian festival parade

The festival was started in the 19th century by immigrant miners from China who were lured to Phuket in search of tin. Phuket residents of Chinese ancestry and many Thais too, go on a vegetarian diet and attend ceremonies at local Chinese temples. Parades take place throughout the island although the centre of the event is in Phuket City. Watch out for people who have pierced holes in cheeks and tongues as part of a cleansing ritual. One contestant told me that the holes soon heal, in plenty of time for next year’s event.

A plus part for visitors is that a wonderful array of vegetarian food is on sale in the streets of Phuket City and many restaurants offer special dishes.

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