Celebrating Loy Krathong in Apeldoorn is suffering
Celebrating Loy Krathong thousands of kilometers from Thailand is no easy feat. First of all, a Krathong has to be made that floats and is environmentally friendly, so no Styrofoam.
After the first hurdle had been taken and we had succeeded in manufacturing a beautiful canal-worthy krathong, the weather was very bad. Rain and strong wind are not ideal conditions.
Then with the krathong, a warm coat, umbrella and lighter towards the Apeldoorn canal. Once there we had chosen the wrong side of the bank. The distance to the water was too far, which would not benefit the launch.
Through wind and weather back to the other side of the canal and yes, there was a nice riser. Lighting the candles and incense sticks under these circumstances proved to be a real ordeal.
After devising the necessary wishes, the krathong was allowed to choose the open water. The Dutch wind was not kind to this Thai building and it just kept floating on the shore. The candles soon fell prey to the wind and rain.
Anyway, we were able to celebrate Loy Krathong appropriately and that's what it was all about.
Photo: Girlfriend Kanchana, freezing along the banks of the Apeldoorn canal.
Unfortunately, here in the Netherlands Loi Krathing is usually chilly, cold and often wet. The candles are usually quickly blown out by the wind. With my love I made the Kratongs from round cork coasters. It floated fine and we released them in the ditch or pond near our house. The last time (2014) I found the Kratongs in the reeds a day later and tidied them up. I have also celebrated it with other Thais, who insisted that the water should at least be a canal, which guarantees waves that quickly capsized the Kratongs. Now there is also a canal near my house, but my wife preferred the ditch/pond further down the street, after all, it's the idea that counts. And despite the chilly weather, I always celebrated it with pleasure. 🙂
Haha… reminds me of an attempt by my son and I a few years ago.
We wanted to launch the Kratong in the IJssel near Deventer…
The outcome was about the same…
My wife made a bread krathong. It continued to do well. That looked nice in the pond in our street.