I remember my first Loy Krathong festival. It was actually my first and my last one.. I am glad to be able to experience it.. It was either 1990, 91 or 92. Can’t really remember the exact year, but it was during school holidays I begged my dad to take my to grandma’s, I wanted to spend few days staying with grandma at our kampung in Kepala Batas, where my dad grew up.
Dad agreed, I packed my bags, and balik kampung… and during that time, it’s really kampung house, wooden kampung house with a well for water source and grandma uses firewood to cook. I get to play with cats and dogs, climb up the strong big guava tree and even collect chicken eggs from the coop! I miss childhood at kampung, and I do miss grandma a lot as well.
Anyways, during that time school holidays are usually in November and we starts school in December.. We went a few of times, first time stay was along with my sis, our cousin sis took us to the movies, ran around the kampung and we took our first little puff of ciggie (without grandma’s knowledge of course.. grandma’s eldest sis actually smoked and then threw the bud on the ashtray without putting it off, so curious us tried a puff each, sis choked a lil, we laughed it off, and never touch any ciggie there after.. I was 7, I think) :P…
So I spent like a week in kampung on my last visit and and during that particular stay, grandma brought me over to a friend’s place, I’m not really sure where it is, somewhere in mainland, near the Wat (Buddhist Tempe) she was put to rest a couple of years later… When we were young, we go to the Wat a lot on different Thai festivals, occasions with grandma and my parents of course…
So we went with 5th grand aunt.. I think she’s grandma’s bro’s wife something like that… well, I need to check with my dad again on that.. :P I was too young to remember in too detailed… I remember her green car with plate WAT XXXX. So off we go on a journey, and we stayed over at a house, I think it’s their friends.. and they speak Thai.. grandma speaks Thai.. During night time while they chat, I sat there and ate a lot of quail eggs cos I don’t understand what they were talking and I’m the only kid around… Eating is my only choice… I don’t think they have TV cos I remember I was quite bored :P…
There were so much preparations going on the next morning, it’s like a big festival… grandma told me it’s called Loy Krathong… and I was introduced to Krathongs… the pretty lotus-like arrangement with flowers like the below photos with candles and incense sticks, it’s lighted up and then released to the river… there were prayers, and then we get to feast :P Well, I don’t quite remember the whole thing but images of those time, still flashes in my mind sometimes.. sweet childhood time with grandma will always be fondly remembered…
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Photo © 2007 Grant Cameron
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