Land of the Elephant and Lotus.
Basil Thompson, Surrey.
hen I visited Thailand in 1993, it was love at first sight, and I knew
I would be coming back again and again.
Now, five years later, my enthusiasm shows no signs of waning - each time I go, I come away with more ideas of places to visit, and interests to pursue on future trips. Already I am planning as far ahead as November 2000, when there is a favourable conjunction of two of my extra-special fascinations.
Thailand is not the only country with elephants, both wild and trained, but it is the only country which has an elephant's shape (two big ears in the North and Northeast regions, with the trunk down South), and it happens to be the only country (so far) where I have ridden elephants. People who are not fascinated by these wonderful animals will never understand the attraction - and I cannot explain it - but I can remember how much I longed to ride an elephant at London Zoo when I was only five years old, and how disappointed I was when the queue was too long, and I had to make do with a Shetland pony ride instead!
Forty years later, at an Elephant Farm near Pattaya, I eventually realised my childhood dream; the following year I went on my first elephant trek through the jungle not far from Chiang Mai. In subsequent years I have made various other treks, visited elephant camps and training schools, and taken countless photographs of these beautiful beasts.
Every year, on the third weekend in November, there is a big Elephant Festival in Surin, a small city in Isan (the northeast region) towards the border with Cambodia. Many of the participants are from the village of Ta Klang, about 40km north of Surin, where the Suay people take great pride in their tradition of owning and training elephants.
During December I shall be spending a few days in Surin, and I hope to visit Ta Klang. In December 1999, I aim to make my arrangements for the Festival in November 2000 - accommodation gets booked up well ahead, and my 'dream-plan' is to start off in Ta Klang a few days before the festival, then walk (or ride) with the elephants and their mahouts to Surin.
The other great November festival in Thailand is Loy Krathong, held at the time of the full-moon, to mark the end of the rainy season. Miniature boats (or krathong) are decorated with flowers, incense sticks, and a lighted candle, then floated on canals, rivers and lakes all over Thailand. This ceremony is said to have started in Sukhothai, when it was the capital of Thailand about seven hundred years ago, following a Brahmin custom of paying homage to the water goddess. (Thai Buddhism also interprets the symbolism as 'floating away bad karma from the year gone by').
Each year at Sukhothai, festivities take place over three days and nights, culminating on the evening of the full-moon. Thousands of people gather from all parts of Thailand (there are surprisingly few western tourists!) and the atmosphere is like a three-day picnic in the balmy November weather. Old Sukhothai, with its lotus ponds and ancient temples, is hauntingly beautiful at any time; after dark, at Loy Krathong, it is a magical setting for illuminations, fireworks, 'son et lumiere' dramatisations, and - what took my breath away most of all - the Kom Loy.
These are small 'hot-air balloons' made of light fabric or rice-paper, powered and illuminated by large candles! To see flights of these 'magic lanterns' rising gently towards the full-moon is truly unforgettable. My first experience of Loy Krathong at Sukhothai was in 1996, to help celebrate my fiftieth birthday. Coincidentally, the Thai king was in his golden jubilee year, so the Kom Loy were being launched fifty at a time! I have attended Loy Krathong festivities at the Wimbledon Thai Buddhist temple before, and since, but I could not wait to see another one at Sukhothai.
The thought occurred to me: 'Why not try to combine both November festivals in one trip?' Loy Krathong is a lunar feast so it sometimes coincides with the third weekend (and the Surin festival) - at other times it can be 2-3 weeks before or after. Looking ahead, I could calculate that in the year 2000, Loy Krathong would be about a week before the Elephant Festival - just enough time to get from Sukhothai to Surin, then out to Ta Klang to join the 'march'!
If I can organise myself to take some slides which do justice to these events, I will be happy to show them at a future London meeting; meanwhile, I hope to keep you posted, through Globe, of any significant developments in this project.