Monday, November 22, 2010

Thai monarch celebrates traditional Loy Krathong festival

Thai monarch celebrates traditional Loy Krathong festival


BANGKOK, Nov 21 - His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn on Sunday celebrated the Loy Krathong festival at Siriraj Hospital pier and floated their krathongs on the Chao Phraya River.




The 82-year-old monarch was taken by his chief physician and medical team in a wheelchair to the Siriraj Hospital riverside pier to float his krathong, a tiny lotus-shaped vessel, in the Chao Phraya River.

Surrounded by hundreds of well-wishers who shouted out "Long Live the King," the monarch as he progressed to the pier waved his hand greeting his joyful subjects and watched a procession of illuminated boats along the river celebrating the festival organised by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA).

Thai people across the country on Sunday also enjoyed celebrating the Loy Krathong festival and floating krathongs or hand-made rafts into the rivers to drift away their bad luck.

The Loy Krathong celebrations are especially lively in the Thai capital, with Bangkokians flocking along the Chao Phraya River to join "The Delightful Stream, Loy Krathong Festival 2010" parades of boats and lighting decoration.

The full moon festival filled night skies, illuminating the darkness in Chiang Mai where hundreds of traditional hot-air balloons were released into the sky of the northern city.

In the ancient capital cities of Ayutthaya and Sukhothai, the traditions of the full moon festival are also well-known for their traditionally distinctive celebrations.

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