24 November, 2550

At least, that's the date here in Sukothai, Thailand. Loy Kratong, 2007 for you who insist on the Western calendar. Loy Kratong is the lover's holiday here in Thailand, the 11th full moon of the year each year. It also happens to fall close to the King's birthday, 5 December, this year, (his 80th) and so is especially poignant. Tonight 'kratongs' will be set afire and floated out into the river, to better carry away strife and trouble and begin life anew tomorrow. Makes for a beautiful scene, lots of candles floating downstream, some rather large as towns and organizations compete. Most small, as that's all a few units of local currency will buy these days. And a few units is all anyone has here.

Sukothai is a World Heritage Site, renowned for old ruins of a past society that was never completely conquered by outsiders. Few, if any, can make that claim. Today it's descendants don't pay much attention to anything happening outside their borders. Maybe that's the way to do it. Get the US out of Iraq and stop paying attention to anyone else outside our borders. Bet that would get the currency moving back up again!

In closing, here's to you and yours, on the auspicious occurence of His Majesty's 80th birthday. Long Live the King!

[Follow-up, 27 Nov: Having arrived so close to Loy Kratong, I missed the heavy promotional campaign waged here in Thailand to make the holiday 'green'. Traditional kratongs, made of much plant material, also contained much plastic. Some few were all plastic. In these few days since the heaviest night of floating Kratongs (the locals float them nightly for a week to some degree) the news is full of complaints that 'Yes, there was a lot less plastic in the kratongs this year, but people carry them to the river in plastic bags, and just drop the bags which then get blown into the river....'

I also rode the bus through the Sukothai Heritage Park Sunday at noon. I have never seen so many plastic bags littering a park before in my life. I'm sure every person who attended the festivities/fireworks Saturday dropped at least 2...... It's just embarrassing.