Thailand has been facing some of the worst coronavirus crises since the very beginning of the outbreak back in early 2020. Mid-April was the start of widespread infections in Bangkok that has been affecting the whole country to regress into chaos, resulting in a series of governmental restrictions, including the closure of 31 types of venues in Bangkok and the face mask-wearing enforcement. Since the first phase of COVID-19 outbreak, these islands have been visited by travellers already residing in the kingdom, and now the incident has even made it more unlikely for the tourism to come back like the government had planned earlier. The upsetting events have not stopped coming, as the Facebook page of Samet National Park made an announcement last night (April 26) that Samet island, together with five nearby islands, is ordered by the government to suspend new entry to the area for 14 days in order to control and prevent the coronavirus infections. The temporary closure will be in effect until at least May 10. Koh Chang, another renowned island in Trat, is considering to partake in the restriction. Stay tuned for an update. The area of Khao Laemya National Park is also included in the restriction. The other five islands are, namely, Koh Ku Dee, Koh Thalu, Koh Gruay, Koh Kham, and Koh Plai Tin. All these aforementioned spots are widely known among both national and international tourists.

• Sunset Beach, Koh Lipe
• Koh Samui
• Chiang Mai
• Doi Inthanon National Park

Thailand’s water culture inspires one of the country’s most popular and picturesque festivals, Loi Krathong. People in Tak province make Krathong Sai using multiple coconut shells strung together. Many travel to see the distinctive regional celebrations. Upon the full moon of the twelfth lunar month each November, millions of Thais light the waterways with ornate floats or spangle the skies with fireworks and paper lanterns. This well-preserved ancient tradition differs around the kingdom. The generic krathong (leaf vessel) that people loi (float) is a raft of banana stem adorned with leaves, flowers, incense and candle. Lanterns in the North float in the sky instead, with flame-powered Khome Loi paper balloons lofting upwards most dramatically around Chiang Mai in the North. Curves of banana stem ‘bark’ are used to form the simpler Krathong Sai Kaab Kluay of Samut Songkram. Found nationwide, it is best exemplified in the major celebrations in Bangkok, the capital, and Sukhothai, an ancient former capital. And wistfully make a wish.

What is a Krathong?

The festival’s roots are ancient, but the Loi Krathong we see today became popularised from palace rituals of the early Rattanakosin era to venerate the water goddess, Mae Khongkha. Each krathong contains the Buddhist offerings of flowers, at least one incense stick and a candle, the flame and glowing ash fading as the vessel bobs downstream. Other rafts peak in the middle to evoke chedis (stupas) or the mythic Mount Meru. The standard shape resembles the open petals of a lotus in bloom. What is a Krathong? It is not by coincidence that Loi Krathong occurs at one of the year’s highest tides. Two centuries ago, most Thais lived on rafts or in waterside stilt houses. Some take the form of a sacred swan. The festival materials reflect a bygone village lifestyle. Water was vital to livelihoods from fisheries, floating markets and rice fields. A krathong raft uses a buoyant disc of soft banana tree trunk ringed by banana leaves folded into auspicious traditional Thai patterns known as Lai Thai.

Contemporary taste and materials have influenced krathong design. The festival is a chance for communal sanuk – the Thai sense of fun. A fad for polystyrene bases has given way to greater awareness of their adverse environmental impact. The increasing quantity of krathong each year begs the question why Thais create them in the first place. An ecologically-sensitive krathong can now be made from bread or vegetable matter which fish can eat. Traditional vessels are biodegradable, but that still takes time. Municipal workers collect all the spent krathong they can, while some Thais minimise their impact by sharing with friends or family. They are an offering not just of thanks for life-giving water, but an apology for polluting or carelessly misusing the pristine gift of the Mother of Waters. Thais flock to the waterways in gleeful, larking groups. Creativity with petals. Leaves turn floats into works of art. Natural dyes add to the floral palette.

Couples often launch one jointly as a romantic gesture of togetherness. People bow down with the krathong raised to their forehead, pray in thanks, then set the craft adrift. Other authorities speculate that it may derive from an act of remission to India’s sacred River Ganges. An ancient Thai tale holds that the krathong was invented in the early Siamese kingdom of Sukhothai by the maiden Tao Sri Chulalak, commonly called Nang Noppamas. How the festival began remains unclear, but various accounts point to an Indian origin. Those seeking better luck place something of their own – a hair, a coin, a nail clipping – into the raft, because the act feels like casting away one’s grief or ill-fortune. Buddhist explanations of Loi Krathong suggest a rite to honour the disciple Phra Uppakhut, or to pay respect to the Lord Buddha’s footprint beside the mythical Narmada River. The closest parallel is with Deepavalee, a festival of lights also held in November, in which Hindu devotees float tiny lanterns to honour the gods Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu.