Loy Krathong Festival is known to be the second famous Thai festival after of course the new year Songkran festivities. The tradition is so romantic and beautiful with floating Krathong and flying lanterns filling the rivers and sky. The festival is further glorified with traditional performances and amazing fireworks! Here is all you need to know about the about Loy Krathong festival in Bangkok:
When is loy Krathong Festival in Bangkok
Loy Krathong takes place every year on full moon evening of every 12 months. It is celebrated in series of days starting one day before the full moon to one day after the actual full moon date. The dates are calculated on the basis of the Thai lunar calendar and therefore the dates change every year. The dates for the upcoming 3 years including this year i.e 2018 are listed below
Loy Krathong in 2018: Friday, the 23rd of November
Loy Krathong in 2019: Wednesday, the 13th of November
Loy Krathong in 2020: Sunday, the 1st of November
You Might Like to Book: Loy Krathong Tours
Loy Krathong celebration in Bangkok
Initially according to traditions of Thai Krathongs were floated in rivers or small canals but nowadays releasing them into lakes or ponds is also considered. Many places host a number of events along with Krathong release including beauty contest, Krathong making competitions, and dance performances called “Ram Wong”. Many people have started replacing Krathong with lanterns although this does not include the majority of Bangkok. Mostly people fly lanterns in Samui and Phuket.
See more traditional activites:
Traditional Activities & Celebration in Loy Krathong Festival
Best places in Bangkok to celebrate Loy krathong Festival
Undoubtedly Sukhothai and Chiang Mai are popular choices for celebrating Loy Krathong festivals but Bangkok is also a great place to enjoy this event. Here you can find various ponds and other city public parks with lakes to launch your Krathong. These parks are also filled with families and friends having a joyous time. Have a look at the places where you can go for releasing your Krathong.
Most popular spots:
Asiatique Riverfront
To celebrate the festival of Thais, the best way is to celebrate with locals. Majority of them gather around Asiatique riverside night market to celebrate Loy Krathong. Here you will see many cultural events that involve music as well as other traditional events eg: displays of Krathong preparation, a bunch of floating Krathong on the river looking all beautiful and some awesome fireworks. All of this happens at the large broad walk present in front of Asiatique.
By the riverbanks of the Chao Phraya river
To add more charm to this Thai festival in Bangkok, you can always go to the clean waters of Chao Phraya River especially between Krung Thon Bridge and Krung Thep Bridge. It is such a pleasure to celebrate the Loy Krathong festival alongside the historic temples and palaces. It gives a strong sense of connection. You can also find vendors selling local stuff from street to all the way till riverbank where people are waiting for boats that can take them to the river where they can finally float their Krathongs.
If you are looking for less tiring and more enjoyable place to celebrate this event you can always visit Sukhumvit where you can spot two parks i.e. Benjakiti Park (Asoke) and Benjasiri Park (Phrom Phong).The parks are not crowd-free, you will still find hawkers and vendors lined up on the front gate selling food and Krathong on sale. Also, the park crowd is usually not a tourist but local people coming from nearby urban areas with their family. The Benjakiti Park (Asoke) is comparatively bigger and therefore overcrowding is less issue here.
Benjasiri Park
Benjasiri Park also known as Queen Park is a smaller park, but it is quite easy to locate. It is just present next to Skytrain station i.e. next to Emporium Mall. The park is nice with a central lake having fishes and turtles. It could have been a great place for floating Loy Krathong if it were not for the crowd. However, the crowd is less in the evening and therefore it is an ideal time to go here or you can always go early and float your Krathong and then sit back, relax on the grass (which gets muddy with time) and watch while others float theirs. Also, you can always find Thai local life here, any day of the week.
Benjakiti Park (Asoke BTS / Queen Sirikit MRT)
This huge park is not very well known which may be attributed to the fact that its location is a bit difficult to trace. You can either take Skytrain and then walk till Queen Sirikit Convention Centre till you find an open gate or you can take a subway MRT available at Queen Sirikit then walk some miles to locate the open gate. As mentioned, the park is huge therefore the crowd is easily dispersed here with children running and playing around while enjoying the fireworks. You can easily make your way to the waterside. Most of the time a spot is fixed for floating Krathong which is usually on the left side of the lake. You can also appreciate the beautiful skyline of the city from here.
See how to float a Loy Krathong basket:
Thailand Guide: Floating Flower Basket in Loy Krathong Festival
See loy Krathong fireworks in Bangkok
If you love beautiful light decorations and fireworks, this place is perfect for you because here you can see illuminated boats decorated with colorful lights along with breath-taking firework right above the river that lighten up the entire sky. It feels like a magical moment. By joining our tour you can not only enjoy the gorgeous fireworks but you'll also be signed up for enjoying a delicious international buffet while cruising on Chao Phraya River.
Nagaraphirom Park is another wonderful place present on Rattanakosin Island by the Chao Phraya river. Loy Krathong event is hosted here. Prior to the event, there are multiple cultural performances here to keep you entertained including Theatrical plays, puppet shows, and boat procession acts.
Celebrate loy Krathong Bangkok in hotel
A lot of the hotels arrange Loy Krathong event at their swimming pools which are such a great deal. This allows people to enjoy the ceremony and participate in “Ram Wong” dance without engaging in struggles of dealing with huge crowds. Most hotels located along Chao Phraya River are known to have Loy Krathong event plus they are great places to stay in with comfortable rooms and good service.
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