Last week we celebrated Halloween, this week it’s Loy Krathong, (both of which actually fell on the same day this year, i.e Saturday 31st October), but to enjoy the banter, PH3 celebrated them separately. To those of us from the west what is Loy Krathong all about?
The festival is originally a Siamese festival and literally means to float a basket, hoping to let all the bad things from the previous year sail away, (Bye Bye Covid, hopefully)
It takes place on the evening of the full moon of the 12th month in the Thai lunar calendar, therefore the date changes yearly.
A krathong is basically a small floating container or basket. Designs and builds of the krathongs vary, with the traditional krathongs being made of banana tree trunks or plants. There has been a particular interest in the past several years of ensuring that krathongs do not litter and cause permanent damage to the rivers and oceans that they are floated onto with material that can be eaten by fish or naturally dissolve becoming much more popular than plastic, styrofoam or other types of krathongs.
So now you know, onto the run. Because of the festivities the normal circle protocol had to accommodate the Loy Krathong ceremony, so first came the traditional Thai costume fashion show, with all 15 hares togged up Thai style, must say not keen on the “Andy Pandy” trousers, (which also look like an Indian Dhoti). If you want to know what your Thai girlfriend will look like when she gets older, get her to dress up like this! (reminded me of my wife’s mother!)
So who were involved: Knickerless, Miss Use Me, Cookie Monster, Casper, Hoi Wan, Pickaninny, Dutchess TadPole, Telly Tubby, Lady Squeeze My Tube, Chip Chip, Lost Cause, Scoobie Do, Ya Ya Angel and Two Time. Emperor Airhead was MC, but despite living here for donkeys yonks still could not grasp that it was loy Krathong, not Loy Graton (maybe that’s the American spelling!).
After an audience appreciation the following were picked as the best dressed and shared the prize, a bottle of Gin (which was well appreciated in the third circle later!) Knickerless, Cookie Monster, Casper and Lost Cause.
Then there was the Krathong competition, with some having 3 layers of brown bread as the base, some with Water melon and some with banana leaves, but the star prize went to Two Time, who had spent 4h Monday morning preparing her amazing construction. Most of us marvelled at the inventions, but missed out on them being floated, needless to say some just sank!!
Festivities Complete it was back to the circle:
1. Hash Crash: Jackal for falling of his brand new stool, Smoky Trucky Fucky & GI Joe for falling & bringing in his own drink.
2. Hash Trash: Sour Kraut Bone Collector (lost his Lau Kao Funnel)
3. The Aussies: Bledisloe Cup losers and then the Kiwis for sympathy
4. Raffle: Liberace (chair); G.I.Joe (Sangsom); Parisian Titi (shirt); Lurch (Bra); Lost Cause (torch)
5. Inappropriate dress: VV wearing an Isan Towel
6. Hares (all 15 of them): Who did what, all wanted credit for great team work & the food, but no one wanted to admit laying the trail, and some missing paper!!
7. Charitable Donations: Happy Survivor & She’s the Boss
8. Awards: Spermy (200 runs of which he claimed to have won 97 of them, Rule 5 Violation); Telly Tubby (10 hares); and shirts were given to Happy Survivor (10 hares) SC Bone Collector (100 runs); and Unstable Load (200 runs)
9. Hares song: this time the crowd ask to “see their rings” instead of singing, but the girls ran round in circles singing Loy, loy, loy Krathong!
10. Final Down Down: after the famous rousing song each of the following were given some hooch that tasted like dirty washing up liquid: Spermy, Hard On, Phantom, Dog Licks Its Dick & Fleece Lifter.
11. Hash Hymn led by Ben 10
12. And so it was, On On to Run 1900 for an even bigger celebration (is that possible) next week.
On-On! Burl Ives