Loi Krathong in Thailand selected as ‘an unmissable event’

People booking holidays to Thailand may be interested in one journalist’s recommendation about an event in the country that is described as unmissable.

Loi Krathong festival in Chiang Mai has been described as one of the top ten unmissable events in 2010 by a journalist from the Times.

The Thai festival of light is usually held in November each year and is one of the most picturesque events in the country’s calendar.

Residents of the city send thousands of paper hot air balloon lanterns into the skies and watch a fireworks display as they drift into the night.

Writing in the newspaper, Heather Sills commented: “The eerily beautiful sight is punctuated with fireworks as the bad karma of its citizens drifts to eternity under the gaze of the full moon.”

According to Thailand.com, another ritual associated with Loi Krathong is the release of a kratong into the river.

Kratongs are floats constructed in the shape of water lilies that are filled with candles, joss sticks and coins. Locals light the candles and joss sticks before letting them drift downstream.

Written by Erin Marshall