Out and about in central Bangkok
Elderly buskers
Lunch at food stalls at a local market
Today is the lunar festival of Loy Krathong
(Floating Boat festival). The staff at the embassy
brought individual offerings to float on the
compound pond.
Anita made her own floating boat.
Buddhists believe that you send
all your stress and problems away
by floating this offering.
Many of the bases are made of
bread and were devoured by the
huge goldfish in the pond.
Mark and I decided to join in the city's celebration
of the festival down by the river. We took the
skytrain to the river and availed ourselves of the
free hotel ferry service to the Mandarin Oriental
Hotel to get a good view.
We were unaware that the hotel had their own
cultural celebration and we were able to
purchase tickets for the buffet meal and
evening of traditional music and dance.
Tables and stage by the river.
Balmy night with entertainment by local regional
groups and activity along the river.
Each department of the hotel had made their
own (massive) floating offering, which were
launched into the hotel pool, where the buffet
was served.
Hotel staff in traditional costume.
Dancing and music from various regions
A very special celebration for the last night
of our holiday.
Fireworks to end the evening.
Thank you all for sharing our journey! It certainly has been diverse and extremely satisfying.
Our next adventure is to Northern India and Nepal, where we will walk the Anapuna Circuit (23 days) in March/ April next year. Let us know if you are interested in joining us - we begin walking on Aprl 1st. www.nirekaadventures.com
If we can get wifi we will resurrect the blog to share our experiences again.
Best wishes,
Meg and Mark
28/11/12
Our email : mm_smith@bigpond.net.au