krathong day

Today (okay, this actually happened a while ago!), we got to put our krathongs to use and participate in a great holiday of Thailand. We took a boat up the Chao Phraya to place our krathong. It was fun and at the end there were fireworks!!! Anyway, I got a bunch of mediocre pictures. Enjoy:

Liam took the opportunity of making his krathong to romance some locals:


I took the opportunity to finally get some pictures of the Rama XIII bridge:


Here’s Wat Arun by night with my favorite spectacle on long night bus rides—bare fluorescent bulbs in different arrays, sometimes colored by a thin, clear coat.


Here's me playing pirate:


Here's one of the river-float light displays--yes, its Thammasat's!


The moment of truth is coming... here I am lighting the candle and incense on my krathong:


And here I am releasing the krathong!


Here's the crew on the boat:


The underside of the Rama XIII bridge:


The crowd by the Rama XIII bridge (note the fire-lights in the darkness):


And again:



Fireworks at the end!!!



At the end of our journey I couldn't help but notice my favorite building in Bangkok. Its visible to Bangkok residents from the river near Saphan Taksin and from the BTS Sky Train station there. Its at the far right in this picture:


You may notice that it looks like it is straight out of a Tim Burton movie. Thats because the building was abandoned during the financial crisis of 1997. The building looks especially macabre because as it rises, the color of the stone it is constructed of darkens, until the top ends abruptly, complete with rebar reaching out like rusty snakes from the top of the building. Its been one of my little city-companions throughout my trip here, and I thought it was worth a mention.

Anyway, thats all for now. Will try to update as often as possible, and have everything up before I come home.

The spotlights...