Photo Gallery

Events & Festivals

Click on the thumbnails to see each photo enlarged.

4th Anniversary Party 2008

Loy Krathong

As the night sky is lit by the full moon of the twelfth lunar month (usually in mid-November), thousands of ornately decorated floats are set adrift on waterways across the Thai Kingdom in ‘the Festival of Lights’ - ‘Loi Krathong’. The Loi Krathong tradition (from the Thai ‘Loi’ = to float and ‘krathong’ = raft) was adapted by Buddhists in Thailand from the Indian Hindu festival of ‘Diwali’. The present custom stems from Royal rituals which were then adopted by the proletariat to be celebrated annually throughout Thailand.
 
Today, the people of Thailand float a krathong to honour and thank the Goddess of Water, Phra Mae Khongkha. Some believe that by setting the krathong adrift, one symbolically casts away one’s grief, misery and misfortunes. For young couples, Loi Krathong is the time to make wishes for happiness together and success in love.
 
Krathong are about a hand-span in diameter and are made from basic materials, traditionally a section of a banana tree trunk. They are decorated with elaborately folded banana leaves in many shapes, with those in the form of lotus blossoms being the most popular.
 
At dusk, fresh flowers, lit candles and incense sticks are placed in the krathong. The float is then taken to a waterway where it is set adrift. The lighting of fireworks and the launching of hot-air lanterns (khom fai) is then undertaken to further the act of worship.

Vegetarian Festival

The Phuket Vegetarian Festival originated as a healing event for the ill-fated and promotes physical and spiritual recovery through ritual practices that cleanse the body and mind while strengthening the faith. The annual festival is the most colorful and dramatic celebration by Phuket’s Chinese-Thai majority and it takes place during the first nine days of the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar (approx. in late September or early October).