Bangkok announces location of Loy Krathong festivities
As Thailand’s Loy Krathong festivities are coming up next week, Bangkok has announced that it will hold the events along the famous Ong Ang Canal from November 6 to 8. The main event will be at the foot of the Rama 8 Bridge in the Bang Phlad district from 5pm to 10pm. Other festivities will be held at public parks across the capital on the night of November 8.
The Deputy Bangkok Governor says that a replica of an old market will be built at the Rama 8 site, to bring back the atmosphere of the old days. Here, products from the capital’s 50 districts will be on sale. The event will also feature art shows and cultural art for the crowds. The three-day festival will also feature open-air movie screenings and music.
In light of the tragic mass shooting at a daycare centre, police say that they will be on duty at all locations to ensure the public’s safety. Fireworks, firecrackers, and sky lanterns will not be allowed this year. Officials say each family is encouraged to use just one “Krathong,” or traditional floating basket, to help protect the environment.
Officials say if anyone needs help during the festivities, to call the hotline numbers 199 and 1555. Next year, the city administration is planning to organise a monthly festival that will go on throughout the year. The festival will have a theme of “Colourful Bangkok,” and will aim to promote tourism around the country’s capital.
Meanwhile, the Loy Krathong Festival will be even more magical than usual this year as a total lunar eclipse will grace the sky on the same day, making the moon appear brick red, according to the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand.
In Thailand, the Earth’s shadow will start falling on the moon at 3.02pm and will leave the Moon at 8.56pm. Thailand’s Moon will be eclipsed for almost an hour between 5.44pm – 6.41pm, said NARIT.
At 7.49pm, the moon will shift into a partial eclipse and then a penumbral eclipse, which is when the Earth’s outer shadow falls over the Moon’s face. The eclipse will be completely over at 8.56pm.
