Loi Krathong is one of the most popular festivals of Thailand celebrated annually on the Full Moon night of the Twelfth Lunar Month. It takes place after the rainy season is over and there is a high water level all over the country.

” Loi ” means “to float ” and a ” Krathong ” is a lotus-shaped vessel made of banana leaves. The Krathong contains a candle, three joss-sticks, some flowers and coins. In fact, the festival is of Brahmin origin in which people show gratitude to the Goddess of water, who provides life-sustaining water to nourish their lives. Thus, by moonlight, people light the candles and joss-sticks, make a wish and launch their Krathongs onto canals, rivers or even small ponds in an act to pay respect to the goddess. It is believed that the Krathongs will carry sins and bad luck away. Indeed, it is the time to be joyful and happy as the sufferings are floated away.

In Bangkok, most of the festivities take place along the Chaophraya River.

Come and enjoy the Loi Krathong night in Bangkok dinner cruise.

Loi krathong Night Dinner Cruise ’s Itinerary;

(Pier 1 and Pier 2)
18:45 hrs. Check in at River City Pier. Then, board Thai Style River Cruise. Welcome on board by our charming staff.
19:00 hrs. Depart from the Pier, Welcome drink will be served. Enjoy Loi Krathong Night along Chao Phraya River. A delicious dinner is served while you watch the beautiful scenery on both side of The Choa Phraya River. Cruise up to Rama VIII bridge, the Temple of Dawn (Wat Arun), Grand Palace and the Emerald Buddha Temple (Wat Prakaew)
19:45 hrs. Thai Classical Dance or live band show will be performed.
20:45 hrs. Time to float your Krathong onto Chao Praya River.
21:00 hrs. Arrive at River City Pier

Note: this program above is for the Loi Krathong festival in 2007. Please contact the tour operator for the itinerary in 2008.

http://www.thairivercruise.com/index.php?tpid=0137

Kumuka Worldwide is a leading company specialising in worldwide adventure tours. Founded in 1983, it has more than two decades of travel experience. With over 450 exciting tours, ranging from 2 days to 35 weeks, covering 75 countries, spanning 7 continents, making use of a wide variety of transport and accommodation styles, with some departures available all year round, customers really are spoilt for choice with Kumuka.

Loi Krathong Festival of Lights Program
“Loi Krathong” - the Festival of Lights – is one of Thailand’s oldest and best-preserved traditions. It is held on the full moon night of the twelfth lunar month, and throughout Thailand, hundreds of thousands of ornately decorated krathong or banana leaf floats carrying candles and incense sticks, are set adrift in rivers and waterways. In Sukhothai province, the festival also features a procession of offerings, sound and light show and firework display. This tour takes you not only to the festival in Sukhothai, but also to Kanchanaburi, the Bridge over the River Kwai, Hell Fire Pass and the former capital of Siam, Ayutthaya. We cruise on a rice barge, and overnight on a floating jungle lodge.

Destination: Bangkok, Thailand
Duration: 9 days
Cost: US$1,040.00
Single Supplement: US$360.00
Maximum Group Size: 16
Age Guide: 18-55 years
Loi Krathong festival date 2008: 12 November

Day 1 Join Bangkok
Day 2 Floating Markets, Kanchanaburi – Bridge over River Kwai, Hell Fire Pass
Day 3 Death Railway Train Ride, Mon village, Jungle Raft Lodge
Day 4 Tiger Temple, Ayutthaya, Uthai Thanee
Day 5 Rice Barge Cruise, Drive Phitsanulok
Day 6 Sukhothai – Historical Park, Sri Satchanalai
Day 7 Sukhothai – Loi Krathong Light Festival
Day 8 Fly to Bangkok
Day 9 Tour ends Bangkok

Highlights
Thailand

• Bangkok
• Floating Market
• Bridge over The River Kwai
• Hell Fire Pass
• Death Railway
• Ayutthaya Province
• Tiger Temple
• Rice Barge Cruise
• Sukhothai Old Capital
• Loi Krathong Light Festival

What’s included

• 8 Breakfasts, 4 Lunches, 1 Dinner
• All Activities and Entrance Fees as per Itinerary
• Fully Escorted Tour. Kumuka Tour Leader and/or Local Guide
• Tiger Temple Visit
• Loi Krathong Festival

Accommodation and Transport
Accommodation

• Hotels (7 Nights)
• Floating Jungle Lodge (1 Night)
• Transport
• Private Vehicle
• Train
• Boat
• Rice Barge
• Plane
• On Foot

Please contact this tour operator for more details
http://www.kumuka.com/TourPage.aspx?
tourid=AST14&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

Float your floral krathong on the Chao Phraya River – the River of Kings – from the deck of the historic Tahsaneeya Nava teakwood rice barge and see your troubles float away. Enjoy a romantic candlelit dinner, surrounded by stars, twinkling lights, the floral atmosphere and the dulcet sounds of a traditional Thai kim, while gently gliding down the river. Float your troubles away.

Savour a superb ten-course Thai Traditional & Seafood set menu aboard the oldest and only authentic luxury teakwood rice barge operating on the river and experience the same superlative service and attention to detail that we have offered royalty, heads of state, international celebrities and people from all over the world for the past 30 years. It is an experience of Thailand you will never forget.

Special Loy Krathong package A includes:
Departure time: 5.45 pm, 8 pm, 10.15 pm

Welcome Loy Krathong “Champagne” Cocktail
10 course Thai Traditional & Thai Seafood set menu
Bottle of wine for every 2 guests
After dinner Digestif
A beautiful floral krathong for every guest
Complimentary pick-up/drop-off on main central hotel routes

Special Loy Krathong package B includes:
Departure time: 5.45 pm, 10.15 pm

Welcome Loy Krathong Cocktail
10 course Thai Traditional & Thai Seafood set menu
A beautiful floral krathong for every guest
Complimentary pick-up/drop-off on main central hotel routes

Every customer receives a fragrant jasmine garland and a pictorial historical map booklet of the Chao Phraya River, available in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Danish and Japanese.

Package A: 5.45 pm, 8 pm, 10.15 pm (Departure time)
Price for adults: 3,950 baht
Children (5-17 years): 1,000 baht
Children under 5: Free
Price exclusive of service charge 10% and VAT 7%.

Package B: 5.45 pm and 10.15 pm (Departure time)
Price for adults: 1,900 baht
Children (5-17 years): 850 baht
Children under 5: Free
Price exclusive of service charge 10% and VAT 7%.

Different ambience for each departure time:

• 5.45 pm -7.45 pm: This cruise is for the early birds who want to beat the crowds to the river in order to float their krathong
• 8.00 pm -10.00 pm: On this cruise one is at the heart of the activities for the Loy Krathong festival. It is the busiest time of year on the river as people and boats arrive from everywhere. A fireworks display is the culminating point.
• 10.15pm - 00.15 am: This is the most romantic cruise of the year. As the crowds die out at the end of the fireworks and the boats disappear, yet people are still coming to float their krathongs. The constant parade of candles moving down towards the river, the silence and peacefulness of the river with lit krathong floating gently downstream and the twinkling stars all create the most magical effect, which makes it our favorite cruise of the year.

http://www.loynava.com/loykrathong-bangkok.html

Price: US$: 920 dependent upon group size
Date: 12 November 2008 (please contact this tour operator for confirmed date and further details)

This is a great place for anyone, who would like to visit remote Thailand. The hiking and rafting (subject to river conditions) through the countryside is easy, no special skills are needed. In addition to celebrating Loi Krathong festival, you will enjoy the nature and the hospitality of your hosts in this unforgettable visit to the ancient kingdoms of Lanna and Nan.

Outline Itinerary
Day 1 Arrive in Bangkok and we transfer you to your hotel near the riverside. Overnight at Menham Riverside Hotel

Day 2 Sightseeing in Bangkok with a guide. Based in a hotel near the river you can easily travel around to see the sights. As the Thais have always travelled by boat, all the main attractions are built near to the river. Travel by boat to various temples (Wat Phra Keaw, Wat Po, Wat Arun), a palace and flower market etc. We take an evening air-conditioned sleeper train to the north.

Day 3 Today we can relax and enjoy the relative tranquillity of Chiang Mai. Free time to wander through the small town or take a bus out of town to do a hill walking. Guides can be provided (at extra cost). Stay at the Galare Guest House (Thai owned - traditional style with private bathrooms).

Day 4 After breakfast, we set off travelling along the side of the Ping River. It will be difficult not to keep stopping to admire the beauty along the way. We will stop for lunch and also to see the work that is being done to retain traditional weaving methods. Ban Rai Phai Ngam is the house turned museum and research centre, where about 40 of the top weavers continue these age-old methods.

We also stop at the Ob Luang National Park for a short walk and we visit Saeng Da, the traditional cloth museum.

We reach the village and take time to unpack and rest before dinner with our host community. The evening will be everything you could wish for, marvellous food, great company and some entertainment laid on by your hosts to welcome you. Overnight at homestay. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.

Day 5 At breakfast, we eat for energy, as we have the option to journey to the Mae Lu mountaintop, one of the highest peaks in Thailand. Arriving at the village, we will talk with the Pakagayor ethnic community (a Karen community whose lifestyle is intertwined with the jungle). We are taught about and can observe the relationship between people and forest.

At lunchtime we will try Karen hot sauce with the vegetables that we pick along the way. We will hike to the source of the Mae Jaem River and then bid farewell to our Karen friends and head back to our village for the night. Homestay.

Day 6 Today we spend time sightseeing in the area around the village, visiting old temples and weaver’s workshops famous for the teenjok (famous hand weaving of Mae-jam). At the Mor Meuang Centre you want to refresh your body with a herbal sauna and Thai traditional massage (optional at about $5 for both).

Learn about the nature cure system from the local doctor. Once you are nice and relaxed we will have dinner in a real Lanna atmosphere (Kun tok in north Thai language). After dinner we may discuss about the Mae Jaem lifestyle and culture related to nature and religion in Lanna. Overnight at homestay

Day 7 Merit making to the monks before breakfast. Travel to Doi Inthanon, the highest mountain in Thailand at 2,596m. The area is a naturalist’s dream, come true, with about 400 species of birds, mostly between 1,500m and 2,000m.

The mist that often covers the slopes gives an ideal environment for orchids and epiphytes. We will visit Doi Ang Khang nature resource famous for the ‘Thousand Year Rose’ and stop for some bird watching and walking along a nature trail for 2-3 hours. We visit Saeng Da, the elder’s traditional cloth museum. Dinner with host family. Overnight at homestay.

Day 8 Transfer to Mae Hong Son area by minibus (6 hrs), stopping for lunch along the way. Refresh yourself in the swimming pool of the “Fern Resort”, a small eco friendly complex, 7 km outside of Mae Hong Son. The resort lies on the edge of a huge National Park. The scattering of wooden bungalow is built on rice paddies in local Shan style.

You will experience the sights and sounds of unspoiled nature and friendly staff, all of them from nearby villages. Overnight at the Fern Resort (Bungalows with private bathroom)

Day 9 We spend the morning in Mae Hong Son and learn how relaxing life can be. It is a small quiet town, but the attractions are very special. You could take an elephant ride (optional - not more than 9 per hour / pp) Lunch is taken on the way to Soppong where we stay for the night. Overnight at a guesthouse

Day 10 We visit Tham Lot, one of the longest limestone caves in mainland South-East Asia. We then continue to Chiang Mai on the winding but beautiful Route 1095. After your arrival in Chiang Mai (about 6 pm) you can visit the Night Bazaar for shopping and maybe dinner. Overnight at Galare Guest House

Day 11 Free time to visit such places as Wat Phra Sing and Wat Chedi Luang in the inner city. In the evening enjoy Loy Kratong Festival (festival of Lights), first from your riverside restaurant and later as we mingle with the celebrating locals. In Chiang Mai, where the festival is called Yi Peng, residents also launch hot-air paper balloons into the sky. Overnight at Galare Guest House

Day 12 Free time in Chiang Mai. At 19.00, board a train to return to Bangkok, travelling overnight we arrive at about 6.00 am the next morning. Overnight on the air-conditioned sleeper train.

Day 13 Depart from Bangkok for home.

Highlights: This and our other community tours in Thailand are provided by grassroots groups and local development organisations. No commercial tour operator can match the intimacy of this authentic experience. Since there are only a small number of visitors each year, your experience is very special.

Price includes:
Fully supported village homestay, nature retreat and the towns of Chiang Mai and Mai Hong Son. All meals as stated by code - B, L & D. Internal transport in an air-conditioned minibus and also an air-conditioned second class sleeper train. Transfers to and from the Airport and railway station/hotel. Entrance fees to Wat Phra Keaw, Wat Po, Wat Arun. English speaking guide. Boat trip in Bangkok.

http://www.adventuretravelabroad.com/listingsp3.cfm/listing/13267