Best Time to Visit Thailand During a FestivalPrepared by Harold Stephens
Travel Correspondent for Thai Airways International
Thailand is in monsoon country. Contrary to what most people believe, a monsoon is not a rain. A monsoon is a seasonal wind that brings rains. Thus, monsoons are always associated with rain.
Most people don’t like to travel during a monsoon and understandably why. Fortunately, Thailand has two monsoons, the Northeast and the Southwest monsoons. And they don’t blow at the same time. What this means for the traveler, travel in Thailand is good all year round. One just has to choose where the monsoon isn’t blowing.
For the traveller, other than avoiding a monsoon, when is the best time to visit? During a festival, travellers planning to visit Thailand might then wonder when are the festivals in the Kingdom? The truth is, any time of the year is a good time. Thailand is a land of festivals, and there are one or two a month all year long taking place somewhere in this huge country. Of course, some might be more interesting than others, but that’s up to individual tastes. Royal Orchid Holidays brochure and booklets, available at all Thai Airways ticketing offices, are there to help plan that vacation not only in Thailand but, all in all, Southeast Asia and the World as well.
One interesting feature about festivals in Thailand is that they are more than just special events; they are an essential part of social life and they are performed by the Thais for the Thais.
Festivals have many inspirations and follow diverse forms. Some of the most important revolve around the main religions of Buddhism, Islam and Christianity, while others mark the changing cycle of rural planting and harvest. There are festivals for eating, for traditional sports such as longboat racing, for flowers and fruits, arts and crafts, while others celebrate the hot season, rainy season, or no season at all.
Thais are a fun loving people and although some of their festivals are serious and solemn, most involve colourful displays of dancing and music, processions and shows, where everyone, locals as well as visitors, can have a good time.
Some Thai festivals occur on fixed dates, others follow the lunar calendar, which means they change from year to year. Travellers should check exact dates in advance, through worldwide offices of the Tourist Authority of Thailand or Thai Airways International. Both are on-line.
The fall of the year ushers in some dramatic and exciting festivals. Let’s begin in October.
Vegetarian Festival (October)
For ten days people of Chinese descent in Thailand's southern provinces, Phuket and Trang, observe a strictly vegetarian diet and rituals by religious ascetics, parades and colourful ceremonies at Chinese temples.
Longboat races (September-October)
Longboat racing has been popular in Thailand for centuries. Regattas are held on many river locations, among the most spectacular being at Phichet, Phitsanulok, Narathiwat and Nan.
Buffalo Races (October)
Held in Chon Buri, near Pattaya, this festival celebrates the end of rice harvesting. It is a lively time for all, with much eating, partying, beauty contests and processions. The main event is the enthusiastically supported water buffalo races.
November has three noteworthy festivals.
Elephant Roundup (Mid November)
This annual event held in Surin, eastern Thailand, is the largest gathering of elephants to be seen anywhere. Over a hundred of the great beasts take part in many types of spectacle, from parading in ancient war formation and the re-enactment of old battles, to taking part in a football match and tug of war contest. There are also demonstrations of how wild elephants were once captured and trained. Junbo Village, near Surin, was established by THAI to help orphan and sick elephants.
River Kwai Week (Late November)
This is a commemoration of historic events surrounding the Bridge over the River Kwai, in Kanchanaburi province. A spectacular sound and light show, fireworks, rides on vintage trains and historical exhibitions.
Loi Krathong (November)
Perhaps the most charming and unique of Thailand's traditional festivals, Loi Krathong, also called 'festival of light', is celebrated throughout the Kingdom on a full moon night. Celebrants gather beside every lake, river and canal to launch tiny decorated floats, usually made of banana leaf, with flowers, candles and incense as decoration. This act symbolises forgiveness of past misdeeds and is a gesture for wish fulfillment. The festival is at its most spectacular by Bangkok's riverside, in Chiang Mai and the ancient capitals of Sukhothai and Ayutthaya.
The problem is where to enjoy the festivities, Chiang Mai, Phuket or right in Bangkok. It’s the opinion of most that the best celebrations take place in Chiang Mai, and I am inclined to agree. But Phuket too has its special fairs and in Bangkok all the better hotels, especially those hotels along the river, put on great shows. But Loi Krathong is not restricted to these destinations alone. Every village, no matter how small, will have its own celebration. Indeed, Loi Krathong is nationwide. The reason for the full moon is that it is when the tide in the rivers is highest and the moon at its brightest, creating a romantic setting ideal for poets and lovers.
During Loi Krathong people in the evening go down to their local klong (canal) or river to float their krathongs. They believe this will bring them good luck. The krathongs contain a flower, a candle and three incense sticks which are lighted before being placed on the water. People make a wish at the same time. The belief is that if the candle remains burning until the krathong is out of sight then their wish will come true. By the end of the evening, there are hundreds of flickering lights bobbing up and down on the water. The Chao Phraya River in Bangkok looks like a river of fire. It’s beautiful and especially when fireworks displays go off at the same time.
The festival probably originated in India as a Hindu festival similar to Divali as thanksgiving to the deity of the Ganges with floating lanterns for giving life throughout the year.
According to the writings in 1863 of King Mongkut, the beloved King Rama IV, the original Brahmanical festival was adapted by Buddhists in Thailand as a ceremony to honour the Lord Buddha. Lighted candles floating away are symbolic of letting go of all one's grudges, anger and defilements, so that one can start life anew. Aside from creating good luck, Thais pay honor and thanks to the Goddess of Water, Phra Mae Kangkha. According to legend, Noppamas, a consort of the Sukothai king Loethai in the 14th century, was the first to float decorated krathongs.
The Thai tradition of Loi Krathong may have started off in Sukhothai, but it is now celebrated throughout Thailand with the festivities in Chiang Mai and Ayutthaya being particularly well known. In Chiang Mai it is known in northern dialect as 'Yi Peng.' The largest krathongs are decorated floats, paraded through the town on trucks. The colorfully lit floats form a long glittering parade as they make their way to the Ping River. Meanwhile, up above, thousands of 'khom loi' (floating lanterns) drift into the night sky. These large balloon-like lanterns are released at temples and sometimes at public gatherings.
The Chao Phraya River is one of the main waterways to celebrate the Loi Krathong festival. In Bangkok, riverside hotels organize special celebrations for their guests. In some hotels, swimming pools are turned into a temporary river for the Loi Krathong celebration. The Oriental Hotel, for instance, has the ideal setting for Lau Krathong at its Riverside Terrace and across the river at its Terrace Rim Naam. Perhaps best of all is to celebrate aboard the hotel’s Maeyanang Rice Barge. The Riverside Marriot down river also has its fleet of rice barges.
Hua Hin Vintage Car Parade and Art Festival
This year, from 1st -16th December 2008, there promises to be a vintage car parade that just takes us a step beyond the norm—and certainly farther than around the block. This one is from Bangkok to Hua Hin on the coast, some 225 kilometres away. That has to be some kind of record.
Called the Hua Hin Vintage Car Parade and Art Festival, it’s organized by Hua Hin Hotelier’s Club led by Sofitel Central Grand Resort & Villas Hua Hin and the Vintage Car Club of Thailand. It’s sponsored by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Hua Hin Municipality and Hua Hin Market Village, all of which will be around displaying their banners and flags.
December is a month of festivals all by itself.
H.M. the King's Birthday (December 5th)
The love and respect felt by Thai people for their King is on display throughout the country, around this day. City buildings are decorated and brilliantly illuminated after dark. People also assemble on streets during the evening with lit candles to honour their monarch. The most spectacular event is the review of massed Royal Guards by Their Majesties the King and Queen at the Royal Plaza in Bangkok.
And last, there are the Christmas holidays when the whole country enters the spirit.
Next week we will look at the Khmer ruins in Thailand, with a special look at the magnificent Preah Vihear on the Thai/Cambodian border that is in the news recently.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q. Dear Mr. Stephens: As a writer, I am very disappointed that you would write the following article: "You Don't Have to Go to Mexico to Experience Mexico, Go to Los Angeles" (You are not only damaging the tourism in Mexico, but you are creating a false image of L.A. Los Angeles is very ethnically diverse city that not only includes Hispanics, but other ethnic groups. Thai Town is included in L.A. county. Although I am Thai, I feel offended for those who are Hispanic and for those who live in L.A.
I don't feel your travel feature was appropriate at all. You didn't have to say that L.A. is Mexico. You could have still written the article, but have said that L.A. is also home to Mexican culture instead of bluntly, and disrespectfully, saying that "Los Angeles is Mexico." Why don't you just say, "Hey, you don't need to go to Thailand. Just go to Thai Town and you're in Thailand." –Sincerely, Tanya S. Thamkruphat, Santa Ana, California, USA
A. Dear Ms. Tanya: I am very sorry to have upset you with my writing. It's difficult for me to please everyone but I still try. To be fair to you, I can print your letter in the Q&A section of my weekly story, and let’s see what readers have to say. I will make one comment here, other than L.A is my hometown. I wrote that story three years ago. What took you so long to respond? –HS
Harold Stephens
Bangkok
E-mail: ROH Weekly Travel (booking@inet.co.th)
Note: The article is the personal view of the writer and does not necessarily reflect the view of Thai Airways International Public Company Limited. | 
