Saturday Briefing

By Albert Chan

Each year, on the full moon of the twelfth lunar month, Thailand celebrates one of its most recognizable and popular festivals: Loy Krathong. This year, the Outrigger Serenity Terraces celebrated Loy Krathong on November 2, with our in-house guests and invited locals.

In the Thai language, “Loy” means “to float” and “Krathong” is a circular floating object decorated with banana leaves, flowers, a candle, and incense sticks. The candle and incense are lit, and the Krathong is launched onto the water to float on the current. It is also a time to send wishes, and some even use the event to predict their romantic future. It is said that if a couple launches their Krathong and makes a wish together, they will have a long and happy relationship.

For the Outrigger Serenity Terraces, the night involved a huge effort from all the crew to put together a spectacular evening of beautiful food and cultural entertainment. The guests were treated to a traditional Thai dance by one of our Hosts, Khun Aom, and classical dance shows by the children of the Child-Watch Phuket orphanage.

Five of our beautiful hosts then competed in the Miss Noppamas contest, which is named for a thirteenth century queen, Nang Noppamas, who is believed to have started the Loy Krathong ritual by floating a small boat laden with candles and incense down the river. Our guests were the contest judges and chose their favourites by placing a flower garland on the contestant of their choice.

The night was capped off with guests and locals alike launching their Loy Krathongs into the ocean and releasing Yee Pengs, specially lit hot air lanterns, into the night sky. It was a magical night enjoyed by all!