Banana-leaf-boats

Yesterday was the Loy Krathong festival in Thailand.  This is where people get to the nearest body of water and drop a little banana leaf boat to pay respect to their ancestors and make offerings to the water (god?).  Had a chance to make my own banana boat… it didn't really help my confidence level to have the thai person beside me helping me… i mean mocking me the whole time I was putting together my masterpiece.  I was sure it would float on water, but my helper kept telling me that it wasn't BALANCE… i guess for a boat to float, it has to be balanced, or something?! 

As the sun went done, people started to make their way to any large body of water they could find. Usually that ends up being the main river in Bangkok, the Chao Phraya.  Fearing the crowds, I thought I'd take my apartment security guard's advice and go to Wat Prasii, near my place.  At least I could get home in a short time and hit the sack (braving crowds in Thailand saps my energy… maybe its the heat, or just the way people shuffle along).  So I got to the Wat, and surprise surprise, there must have been at least 1000 people there, and it was still early.  I tried to find a secluded place to make my offering, but of course with the blaring speakers talking about making merit at the Wat, crazy teenagers running around, to the constant popping of firecrackers, it wasn't the most serene of all places to make an offering.  After about 5 minutes of silent prayer/wishing, I dropped my Krathong into the water.  And, as luck would have it, the Krathong FLOATED!  

The last time i was in Thailand for Loy Krathong, there was a big thing about using styrofoam to keep the Krathong's floating, but it seems this time around, people were more environmental conscious and went back to using original or biodegradable materials for the Krathongs.  In addition to using the trunk of the banana plant to make the boat float, it was funny to see the thai people using bread and other edible materials for the boat… i guess it makes sense since the water they put their boats into have fish which they can feed.