Ghana 32 with a touch to Thai Loy Krathong

Hi,  Cut out a few web page bits on Loy Krathong from the web, as they explain the origins better than me.

As Thai festivals go, Loy Krathong is probably the second most well-known and popular after the new year Songkran festivities. It is also arguably the most picturesque and romantic, filling waterways and skies up and down the country with floating krathong and lanterns

Like many such festivals, there are several tales as to the history of Loy Krathong, which takes place on the night of the full moon of the twelfth lunar month, usually in November. In 2018 Loy Krathong is on Thursday November 22, while celebrations will also take place on the days before and after. While the most common story is that the festival originated in the era during which Sukhothai was the capital of what is now Thailand, other writings suggest that it came about in the early days of the Bangkok period as a way of honouring the Buddha. Small floating vessels known as krathong, released on rivers, lakes and ponds, contain a candle used to pay respect to the Buddha, while the floating nature of the krathong itself symbolises letting go of hatred and anger.

Certainly this is a theme of Loy Krathong that remains today – couples or families floating their krathong hope that, in so doing, they will wish away the bad things that have happened in the past year and usher in good fortune for the next year. For this reason, those celebrating Loy Krathong will often place a few fingernail or hair clippings on the krathong when they float it away. Another purpose to the Loy Krathong festival is to pay respect to the river spirits, and specifically Phra Mae Khongkha, the Goddess of Water, and therefore a few small coins are usually nestled into the krathong along with the nail and hair clippings.

But there the similarity ends.  Last night Wanna and I went up to the roof top swimming pool.  Yes pool,   no running water, except for the pool filter..................  It was a bit windy so getting the candles lit was a challenge in itself.

Wanna conducted ceremonies and I spend a good 15 minutes in dark and not so warmish but cool water.  Lovely evening. Good use of the roof top pool.

With full moon.....

Lovely few days in Thailand

House and garden looking good.

And there was a small procession and fancy fair in the village.  Was to celebrate the young boys entering Monk Hood.  Lots of floats. I took a few  photos and have added them below. Have not used Movie Maker for ages so apologies for poor editing. Nothing special but good reminders of a lovely relaxing afternoon.

Photos

My last post I mentioned I had a few pictures of Atyrau in the sunshine. Well see below. It’s interesting how the place changes. From winter with little light, cold winds and everyone covered up in fur coats etc to summer when everyone is out in T shirts and shorts. Skate boards, roller blades etc being used all along the river banks.  Kids walking around and of course thousands of mobile phones on display as everyone walks along with heads bend down reading!!!

The river is in full flow and the surface indicates a strong current. Bit of debris from further up, few branches and bits of wood, but a noticeable lack of refuse. No plastic bottles and flotsam. In fact walking around the town every where is clear. Dusty yes but clean. Main rubbish seems to be broken bottles and cigarette butts. I understand there is a strongly enforced law regarding littering. And it is taken very seriously. Good thing too. Clearly it works.

We moved apartments last week which seemed like a really good idea at the time. We had been (we being the team in the Ardager Apartments) had been asked to move. I took this implied either  move early and you get a choice of new apartment or later when your told to move you will get whichever apartment is available. We have a view of the river and all the support facilities, maid service laundry etc. No complaints. Except the boiler for hot water, it had not worked for 2 days.  Cold showers are cold here!!!! .  In addition there are several excellent shops around and a small market selling fresh veg. I say seems a good idea at the time. Saturday and Sunday no hot water and a large fridge which makes a lot of noise but does not make anything in it cooler….

Saturday saw us going to an office “family day out” at a local hotel. It was really for the kids and parents but certainly beat going to work.  There was a disco with some “Gangland” style presenter to get the kids up and dancing. For the adults there was a buffet and open bar for a cold beer etc. However it was 36degrees so not a good idea to drink in the sun. Most if not all were very careful in this regard. 

It's Not All About The House

Believe it or not I do have other things to do besides house construction. Today was a public Holiday in Thailand so last night lots of parties etc. The local villages have big concerts with Beauty Pagents, Cayote dancers etc. Starts late evening and normally completes about 6.00am....

Wanna and I went for a few hours early on. Took some photos of the food stalls and of course the pagent. Beautiful ladies.

Today no workers. Only Bob the builder turned up. Other assistants all had to many hangovers or got home way too late...

So we had a small Bar B Q on our jetty. Wanna lit some candles and made it all look nice.  If you look closely you will see Tiger our dog seemed to be enjoying the romantic side of it the most...
Hopefully back to house construction tomorrow.

Khon Kaen Chinese Evening

We had a quick trip into Khon Kaen the Friday evening.  Big parade and lots of fireworks and loud bangs etc. Welcoming into some temple for CHinese gods etc. All good fun.  Lots of people and as I said firework and music and loud, very loud drums and fire crackers. All surrounded by food stalls.  Great way to spend the evening. Stupidly I left my camera at home and took a few on my mobile but not any good at up loading them...

Easter Egg

Easter Sunday is for Easter Eggs!!!!!

Gladstone Easter Festival

A whole year has gone by and another Gladstone harbour Festival. its fun and I was amazed again this year how many people turned up. All families and a very nice 'safe' atmosphere. We watched but did not partake in any events. Some really big spinning wheels and even a ghost train.. I am not one for heights and Wanna seemed happy enough just to observe all the goings on. Had some sausage and chips and went home.

Photos are not much good as taken on my mobile phone.

This annual event is the highlight of the Gladstone year. It is coupled with a yacht race Brisbane to Gladstone. Yachts leave Brisbane on Good Friday and make their way here arriving some on Saturday and stragglers on Sunday. They get around 50-60 yachts with 15 or so being multi cats. So the town really comes alive in Saturday night. Luckily rum is made in Bundaberg as vast quantities are consumed during this period... I've put a link to the main web page below if you're really interested!

gladstone harbour festival

Australia Day. 26th January 2012.

Australia day is a time when the Aussies celebrate being Australian... .. Not sure how that works exactly compared to anyother day but still it's their country. Also it is a very noticeable and special day for immigrants who have taken the plunge to naturalize. So all in all it seems a day which has nothing to do with me.
I went to work in the morning and got home about 3.00pm. Only then did we decide to join in the fun and that was by going round to a friend’s house to play pool. Great afternoon playing pool and having a few beers all topped off with a fantastic garlic prawns and rice dish. At the back of the house, set in a quiet neighbourhood was a small garden which had about 7 resident Kookaburras. Lovely birds who eat meat. ‘Blue’ the guy who owned the house feeds them every day. He gave us a quick demonstration of how friendly they are. Eating out of his hands.

Strange with Wanna arriving I though I'd find lots to write about. And indeed there is but...

I collected her from the airport and then a few days going round to see stuff! We covered a lot of ground. Gladstone, surrounding towns and coast lines and yesterday even added in Rockhampton which is 110 kilometers up the coast.

Her arrival also coincided with the last few days of the Gladstone Festival, so a trip on the ghost train, then ANZAC day on Monday so parades etc. So for this entry I decided to just 'cut and paste' some of Wanna's photos and not get involved with lots of descriptions. So this is what she saw!!!

Busy Few Days Museums And Races

Its the Easter weekend and the work is closed down for Friday through Tuesday inclusive. What to do? Wanna is arriving on Saturday evening but between Thursday evening and then Bob and I decided to follow up on a few things. We both had concluded we had some work to complete and that's best done in the quiet of an empty office so that took care of a lot of our time. Then we visited the local Maritime Museum which turned out to be a lot better than we had expected. I had envisages a dusty old shed complete with a few 'old salts' who would bash on about the good old days. But no. it was run by, yes 'old salts' but they did not bash on, but covered some interesting stuff with a lot of local interest and knowledge. Us coming here to work also provided them with some questions for us as well. Good two way stuff. The LNG terminal we are building had received a mixed reception here in Gladstone. Some think it is a potentially dangerous industry and others worry about the short and longer term changes it is bringing to the community. Long term is probably OK but short term influx of workers maybe not such a good sight!!!! But all then discussion was good natured and for us a chance to meet and chat with locals. Lots of stuff including boats, flags, memorabellia and model boats. One chap was busy making them. My photos do not do justice to the place. I do need to go back again.

Easter Weekend in Gladstone is famous for its Festival. Music, dancing, eating, and of course bumper cars, ghost rides etc. Highlight being fire work displays and a parade. ( I covered this in my last Blog. I had a quick look round one evening but decided to wait till Wanna arrived and enjopy it with her.

Apart from that we, Bob and I, managed to get in our shopping. Not so easy over this weekend as everywhere wanted to close for Easter!!! That said we managed and followed it up by going to the Gladstone horse racing. We watched a couple of races. (No camera!!!). I lot my money on 2 straight races. The favourite did not do well enough. There is always next time.

Anyway that was than and so Saturday afternoon arrived and I went to meet Wanna at the airport.

Festival weekend in Gladstone. The Gladstone Harbour Festival is the biggest annual event to hit Gladstone. It had a yacht race from Brisbane to Gladstone with over 90 participants, various fates, music and talent shows and a street parade. Add in fire work displays and it is a fun and action packed week.

All this is available to me looking out from my Condo balcony. Makes me very lazy. But come Saturday I will get down to the music stage and listen into all the sounds!!!!!

Updates

Hi, Seems time has flown by again and continues too. As you know I stopped work at the end of June and since then have even less time to write and it seems even less time to do anything!!! Where has the time gone? Well looking back the house did take a lot of time and effort. Now with a few days break and some travel, I need to get myself into some form of routine.
I've started some guitar lessons (well following a book actually but that is still lessons right?). Its not so hard but for the training of the fingers to actually go where they are supposed to and in the time frame required. It all looks so simple watching Led Zepplin and Hendrix. Now having had a first try I am so much more impressed.
So where was I. Oh yes time. I am going to try and split my time between getting fitter, guitar lessons, Lego Robotics and as much as I keep putting it off, getting back into my Thai lessons. I'm not inherently lazy (honestly) but when I am not keen on doing something there always seems to be a reason for not doing it!! But right now as I'm not working I really am out of excuses...
Furthermore I am going to try and post every couple of day. Not always stuff about me but try and cover a lot more of what is happening around me as well. You know, things I see, and should really record.
One immediate example was last Saturday night. Pattaya City put on a fantastic fireworks display. The Navy or at least I think it was the Navy who supplied 3 big barges and moored them out in the bay. Loaded them up with fireworks and in front of a capacity crown, yes the beach and beach road were packed with people, proceeded to give us one of the best displays I have ever seen. This all synchronises to music coming from hundreds of speakers placed along the whole lenght of the beach. Needless to say I did not have my camera! I forgot it in the rush to leave the house. Goes back to being so busy when not working... Check out Pattaya Daily News International Fireworks Festival They did a very good report on it.
Today is Monday and already I am energized to move forward. Photos to follow.

Pattaya Balloon 2009

The 2009 Pattaya International Balloon Festival is in its 4th year just outside Pattaya. Adds lots of colour and brightness to Pattaya's skyline.
So with what was a beautiful morning. I today set off to work as usual and round the first corner I spotted a set of balloons taking off. Sure enough Pattaya Balloon festival in my back garden. Even got my driver interested.

It was about 6.30am so I thought a bit early for most people so imagine I was surprised to see some many cars about. Must have been 200-300 at the very least. Seems I was not the only one interested. The air was still, not a drop of wind which I'm sure made for great ballooning. We stopped for a few photos but being so early in the day the light was not so good. Really for photo work it needed some bright blue sky as a back drop to set it all off. However a quick stop was in order and indeed absolutely necessary and a great chance for a few photos, I will be honest with you, I was glad to be gong to work and not up 'there' in a hot air balloon. I had no wish to partake thank you!

Pattaya international balloon festival.

I'll say no more as it has already been said in far better detail on this link. That s.aid I might go along again tonight to see the night balloons.

Long Boat Racing

The Annual Long Boat Racing at Mapracham Lake, Pattaya took place this weekend. Thousands of people turned out to watch this amazing event. I say amazing. Why? Because the boats come in several different categories based on size, nukmber of crew etc. They do a number of 1-2 kilometer straight races. Some sort of elimination and a load of heats and grand finals.

Similar events go on throughout the year in different places in Thailand and neighbouring countries, including Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Taiwan. All these countries were competing here today, and its serious stuff.

The events in Thailand are sponsored by the Queen and a cup is awarded to the winners of the various events and catagories.

The lake shore is only about 500 meters from our place so it was a short walk to have few hours of really good and 'free;'entertainment.

It was loud. I mean very loud, in true Thai style. I think the enjoyment factor in Thailand is a direct link to the volume of music and coming out of loud speakers. Really loud then its realy Fun, Fun, Fun...

And with the electrifing excitment in the crowds it reminded me more of being in the stands on a horse race day with full commentary blasting out, then anything else I could equate it to.

Add in all the usual side shows with country dancing competitions between the local schools, music groups etc. All the kids dressed up in their traditional costumes and looking great. Big smiles all round. Exactly!!! You would not expect anything less in Thailand.

And of course it would not have been complete without the full retinue of hawkers selling ballons, horns, flags, assorted trinkets and stalls selling every possible type of Thai food imaginable. The smells of curries, stirfrys, sweets, coffees etc. Magic.

It's difficult to capture the atmosphere of it all with so much going on around you where ever you looked. But I did take a few shots with the camera.

But back to the boats.

What was particularly interesting to me was the way the people looked after their boats. Immaculate.

All the boats were beautifully decked out and had the usual Thai adornments of brightly coloured cloth tied round the front. Not sure of the nautical term for such a 'bow sprit'. They almost remind you of the Viking long boats. When looked at closely it was clear they also all had special names depicting good luck and a reference somehow to their origin. Wanna, my wife who is not great boat person (she will freely admit to this!) was able to tell me exactly which province or town, inside or outside of Thailand they originated from, just by reading the name. (Maybe she was Bull Shitting me, but I would't know any better would I?...). So I'll accept it anyway.

All this racing is taken very, very seriously. Which of course makes it all the more of a major event not to be missed. It was great just standing around, watching, especially the sight of the long 'long' boats. They have crews of up to 58 persons. (I know I counted ! ). I figured at 55 Kilo a person it works out at over 3 tons of body mass per boat. Add in the wooden boat, drums, paddles etc etc and at it is a lot of stuff to shift through the water. But they did it and did it very quickly.

I'll be back agin next year and I already am planning on donig a proper video of it all as a 3-5 minutes thingy. Something to plan for.