Venus, Jupiter and the moon form a celestial smile.

The students were surprised to see the moon smiling when they arriving for classes on the evening of Wednesday, December 3, 2008, Yes, it’s true. It was pointed out to me in an excited mixture of English and Chinese, dozens of times.

Thanks to an unusual alignment of the planets Jupiter and Venus, and a crescent moon, those looking heavenward were treated to a celestial smile. I’m an idiot about astronomy, was this phenomenon visible in North America?

Photo: BBC

Today’s guest post is from Matt at nomadicmatt.com. A traveler and expat, Matt is currently enjoying the tropical climes of Thailand, part of his never-ending globetrotting adventure. He takes up the slack as stevo enjoys a sabbatical.

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Most tourists walk away from Bangkok thinking “There’s not much to do there.” I used to believe that too. Then I lived there and found there is a lot to do in Bangkok. Actually, there are a lot of free things to do in Thailand if you look around. Here are ten things that will keep you busy:

Visit the Grand Palace Though the king no longer lives there, the place is a great place to visit and contains amazing Asian architecture, Buddha, statues, and murals. The royal quarters are off limits though.

The reclining Buddha at Wat Pho, Bangkok, Thailand.

Visit Wat Pho Home to the famous reclining Buddha, this temple is located right next to the Grand Palace so you have no excuse to miss it. They even offer incredibly popular Thai massage classes too. (Certificate included!) Visit Wat Arun Located across the Chao Praya River, the temple of the dawn is easily spotted by its four rising spires and its center tower. It’s also located on the back of the Thai money and true to its name it is a great place to see the sunrise. Shop Bangkok is great for shopping. Malls here are more than stores- they are entertainment complexes. You can watch movies, go bowling, drink at bars, and even eat are some world class places (yes, in Bangkok, great dining can occur in malls!). Head to MBK for all the cheap movies, phones, video games, and whatever consumer electronics you need. Head to Pantip Plaza is great for computers. For designer clothes, Siam Paragon has it all. In fact, in Siam Square there are about 7 different malls. Hang with the locals at Santika Santika is a club in the Thong Lor area of Bangkok. It’s packed with locals on the weekend and has live music as well as DJs. If a crowd doesn’t appeal to you, there are a plethora of lounges and bars in the surrounding streets to choice from. Hang with the ex-pats at Cheap Charlie’s Cheap Charlie’s is a local institution and after 20 years, it’s still a popular hang out spot with the ex-pats. Located in an alley off Soi 11, this place is nothing more than a bar and stools. That doesn’t stop it from being busy every night of the week and, on the weekends, crowds flow into the street. Eat in Chinatown Thailand has a robust street food culture. You can’t walk down the street without tripping over ten food vendors. They are open 24 hours a day, every day and Chinatown is no exception. The food here is exceptional. Street stalls line every section of the street and you’ll have hundreds of food options to choose from. The best part of Chinatown is the seafood vendors that line the street around dinner time. Delicious seafood at a rock bottom price. Hang with the tourists on Khoa San Road All the backpackers and few locals spend their nights at Khoa San. Drink at the little beer stands and dance the night away at Gulliver’s or ditch them all and join the locals at Brick Bar, a Thai bar with Thai bands playing every night of the week. Wednesday is ska night. Visit the weekend market The giant weekend market covers a few football fields. You can buy everything from clothes to souvenirs to luggage here- all at discount prices. It’s a great way to spend a Saturday. Watch a Muay Thai match Muay Thai is the national sport and no trip to Thailand is complete without watching a match. The nation’s largest venue is in Bangkok. Every weekend, crowds of people flock to watch their national champs beat each other up. Go and get into it!

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In Matt’s own words: I’m a twenty-something vagabond who has been on the road regularly since 2005. I’m a native of Boston, Mass but lately, everywhere has been my home. After a trip to Thailand in 2005, I decided I to leave the rat race behind and explore the world.  …more image from: praveenc.wordpress.com

Today’s guest post (while the stevo is on sabbatical) is from amuirin at Stop & Wander. The mistress of visual prose explains the Thai Loy Kraththong festival.

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It is night. The moon is bright up above. As you tiptoe down the hillside to the river, you catch your breath at the sight that you behold. The river is alive with a million brightly burning candles. They dance upon the water as far as the eye can see. As you draw nearer you see dark shadows emerge as human shapes crouching beside the water’s edge to gently release their small offerings, candlelit krathongs, to the genii of the water. As each small vessel is released, it floats away joining the long line of tiny flames moving down the river.

This is the festival of Loy Krathong which takes place in the twelfth month of the lunar year in Thailand, on the night of the full moon. At this time river and canal levels are high, and the weather is clear for the people to hold their annual celebration.

What is Loy Krathong? Why did it originate? The term translates directly enough. Loy means ‘to float’ and kratong means a floating vessel (traditionally lotus shaped) that is decorated with banana leaves. In recent years the cup or vessel has been formed from styrofoam, but this practice is being reversed due to environmental concerns. Origins of the holiday are less direct and more shrouded in mystery. In 1863 a story was written by King Rama IV to tell the story of Loy Krathong. The story rose from legend, and it tells the tale of Noppamas, a beautiful lady, a daughter to a wise and accomplished man who’s beauty and intelligence were such that people said only a king would deserve her hand.

The king was very curious when he heard songs about Noppamas, and he sought her out and married her. She married the king but kept the traditions of her Brahmin religion even after her wedding to the Buddhist king. The king requested that she accompany him to a water procession, and she complied, after first fashioning a decorative krathong to pay tribute to the water genii of her religion during the journey. She tried to release it surreptitiously, but the vessel drew so much attention that the king went to examine it. He was so enchanted with the ritual, that he declared everyone would make krathongs at this time every year and float them down the river for the pleasure of Buddha. He said that all the blessings bestowed by Buddha for this ritual should go to the River Genii of Noppamas faith.

Cultural anthropologists believe the festival drew its origins directly from the Hindu festival Divali in India. The holidays take place at the same time of year, and both feature candles on the water; Krathongs in Thailand, floating lanterns in India.

Wherever the holiday originated, the custom is breathtaking to witness. Children and adults construct their krathongs, decorating them with banana leaves, adding the traditional candle and three incense joss-sticks. People also add locks of hair, fingernails or coins for blessings. When you go to release your krathong, you make a wish and then launch it. Your sins and bad luck float away with it, down the river, and this clears the way for a joyful new year.

In the large cities they offer fireworks during the festival, and there are beauty contests in honor of Queen Noppamas. If you visit Thailand in November, consider celebrating Loy Krathong in a smaller region where street lights and smoke do not interfere with the beauty of candlelight on the canals.

Here are some other articles with pictures and the full story as told by King Rama IV about the first Loy Krathong and Queen Noppamas.

http://www.thaistudents.com/festivals/krathong.html

http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/5265/loykrath.html

http://www.thailand.com/travel/festival/festivals_loykratong .htm

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Self-described amuirin says: I’m a blue-skinned bellydancer from the planet Melio 5 (not to be confused with the much more infamous Melio 15, read more…

image from at-bangkok.com

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A Thai Soldier stands guard at the Grand Palace in Bangkok, overseeing the arriving mourners. Princess Galyani Vadhana, sister of Thailand’s King Bhumibol, died after a long battle with cancer, January 2, 2008. The King declared 100 days of national mourning for the princess, who was deeply respected by Thai citizens for her work in arts and music, sports, education, and social welfare.

Each day, thousands of mourning Thais, dressed in black, descended on the Bangkok’s Grand Palace to pay their respects. Memorials and shrines to the princess were set up around the country.

Captured: February 2, 2008.

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A praying statue. Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Captured: February 1, 2008.

Question: What was one of the best things about Thailand?
Answer (from the peanut gallery): The hookers? The transsexual “Ladyboys”?

No, shut up.

Answer: Books.

Yes, Thailand has one the largest selections of English-language books in South East Asia. New, used, mint, or nearly destroyed, The Kingdom of Thailand has them all, ready to be read by the literature-starved, China-based expatriate.

There’s a lots of books in China. Funny though, they’re all in Chinese. This makes reading them difficult for me as I recognize about 100 characters. Note: You need to know about 2000 characters to be able to read a Chinese newspaper.

Buying used books in Hong Kong is a pricy venture. Those Honker bastards like to flaunt there superior salaries by pricing things out of the range of real adventurers. Another reason I hate Hong Kong.

Question: What did you buy, Stevo.

I’m glad you asked. Nothing earth-shattering. Nothing profound. No literature. Candy and fluff really, for a starved mind.

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Stephen King.
I wanted to buy this when it was first released. At the time I had no access to bookstore (living in the wilds of Northern Ontario, Canada). When I moved back to the city I didn’t have the requisite funds to purchase said tome. So, a trip to Thailand was the answer. I’ve already finished it. As we are bloggers, writers and scribes of sorts, I recommend this to everyone. It’s packed full of information and humorous anecdotes.

‘Salem’s Lot, Black House, Stephen King’s Danse Macabre, by Stephen King (and Peter Straub)
Yes, mind candy. Salem’s Lot is my all-time favorite novel. It was the first King I read and it scared the life out of me. I’ve read it many times since.
Danse Macabre is King’s non-fiction treatise on the history of horror fiction. I started it years ago but never finished.
Black House is the sequel to The Talisman, written with Peter Straub. The Talisman is a mythical adventure in a parallel world. Black House follows the main character years after the original.

The Rape of Nanking, Iris Change
In December 1937 the Japanese army attacked the ancient Chinese capital of Nanking. More than 300,000 civilians were tortured, raped, and killed during the infamous event. Two movies are being released about Nanking, one American and one Chinese. I’d like to know more about this, and maybe understand a little better why the Chinese bitterly hate the Japanese. On a personal note: Mrs. Stevo’s grandfather had his head lit on fire by Japanese soldiers. You don’t have to look very far to find a personal story related to The War of Liberation Against Japanese Aggression.

Lonely Planet Hong Kong & Macau (Lonely Planet Hong Kong and Macau), Lonely Planet Southeast Asia on a Shoestring (Lonely Planet Shoestring Guides), Lonely Planet Travel Guides
Self-explanatory.

The Best American Travel Writing (2000), Edited by Bill Bryson
A way to see other cultures, in my own backyard and beyond, and learn more about my craft at the same time.

Lost Cities of China, Central Asia and India (The Lost City Series), David Hatcher Childress
I remember learning about an Aztec city discovered in the middle of the jungle, in junior high. Since then I have been a lost city sucker. Indiana Stevo?

I’ll keep you updated on my progress with these books. Things are about to get busy for me again. Maybe I have enough reading material to last until my next vacations.