In my last blog, I promised photos of lovely Thailand, so I'm about to make good on my promise here and now. I submitted a travel article for the trip, and when it goes live, I'll send you all the link, so you can see more in depth.Here you see several Krathong floats, which are made of banana leaves and floated down the rivers in Thailand. They are made every November to celebrate the Loy Krathong festival, which honors the Goddess of Water and thanks her for allowing us to tread in her domain.
Sukothai
Our first stop was in the Sukothai Province (home of Thailand's first capital). The festival here was so fun, very regional. Kind of like the U.S. equivalent of a state fair. We a regional parade (clearly I was quite taken by the fire blower), a picnic, a light and sound show and an outdoor street market.I even tried the fried silkworms--yummy--taste just like french fries. Okay, I did pass on the bigger bugs and the fried frog skin. As adveturous as I am, it was all a little much at the moment.
Anyway, I think this may have been my favorite stop, as the festival was so *authentic* for lack of a better word. The locals were just having so much fun, you couldn't help but get caught up in the moment.
The light and sound show was fabulous, giving us a complete overview of Sukothai history. The show had floating lanterns and fireworks, in a UNESCO heritage temple in Sukothai Historic Park. They put lights,and candles and lanterns throughout the temple which made for quite a spectacle.Ayuthaya
Our next stop was in a city called Ayuthaya, Thailand's second capital. We had a great time exploring ancient temples and palaces here, which was amazing. I even got to see an elephant here, although I was told that this ISN'T where they come from. They're brought in just for the tourists, I guess, but whatever, I was sold.
That night the festival was a little more contained, it was held as a private buffet, just for our group. Yummy! All you can eat Thai food, it was a dream come true. They had performances on stage, and then we got to float our krathongs, but in all, we were removed from the general public, and I really missed getting out and mingling with the locals.Here Lizard, Lizard
(What the heck is that thing?)
So many wonderful memories of Ayuthaya, Thai Coffee at the freeway rest stop, temples, palaces, gardens, marketplaces. So what are my two most vivid memories? Soldiers march-running through the palace grounds, and the giganto-lizard in the same place. The lizard's probably why they have the soldiers there, don't ya think?Bangkok
The last festival, of course, was held in Bangkok. This was the elegant of the elegant. We all had to dress up (I found a Thai outfit, in my size even, in one of the Thai marketplaces, so I was quite in fashion). Our party was held at the Naval Institute, normally off limits to civilians, and it was overlooking the Grand Palace on the other side of the Chao Praya River. Here you see one of the river boats, designed up special for the festival. In the back left, you can see the Grand Palace, all lit up. Spectacular.Okay, sorry for the VERY short overview, but with a travel article coming out on the same subject, I'm not sure how much of this I'm even allowed to post. If you find this post getting removed in the coming days, it's cause my editor was NOT amused. :)
