Loy krathong food stalls in Krabi

I was in Krabi for the 2017 Loy Krathong and was amazed at the number of food stalls. They were all selling "fast food" rather than the normal Thai night markets that sell curries and seafood etc. There was certainly a lot of choice.

Some fried insects. I've eaten these before in northern Thailand and my favourite were the bamboo worms, centre front of the lower photo -

This lady is making a giant crispy thing by heating it over a fire and turning it over and over (it looks like an Indian puri)

And a few sweet items

Loy kratong in Krabi 2017

Loy Krathong is a festival celebrated annually throughout Thailand.  The name can be translated as “to float a basket”, and comes from the tradition of making krathong or buoyant, decorated baskets, which are then floated on a river. People pay their respects to the goddess of the water. Loy Krathong takes place on the evening of the full moon of the 12th month in the traditional Thai lunar calendar.

I arrived in Krabi on the evening of Loy Krathong, so was just in time to see the festivities. Roads were closed off to allow pedestrians free access to the river area. I was amazed at how many stalls there were, literally hundreds, as well as a children's fairground. It was really bustling.

I got there just around sunset so had a look at the stalls. They were selling the krathong or food. 

Traditionally the krathongs were made of banana leaves and were lotus shaped and decorated with flowers, incense and candles. Now they seem to be all different designs. 

The ones of the dolls are certainly different, also the 2 'swan's above. They remind me more of Chap Go Mei in the Spring.

As it was still not dark I had a look round the food stalls and the children's funfair. I'll do the food as a separate blog.

When it was dark, I returned to the river to watch people releasing the krathongs. There were so many school children, still in uniform. People ask for forgiveness, or show their gratitude or thank the water goddess for supplying water all year. Some just release the offering hoping for luck in the coming year. Couples release one krathong each, hoping they will float away together, a sign of everlasting love.

I read that nowadays people are encouraged to make biodegradable krathongs, with no plastic, styrofoam or staples etc. These people are busy making them -

Even at 10 pm people were still making the krathongs, and the food sellers were doing a roaring business. Unfortunately the moon was very hazy.

Sky lanterns also used to be very popular, to fly away bad luck and grievances. Now they are banned around airports. And some airports such as Chiang Mai actually cancel flights during this time because of the danger of the high flying lanterns. 78 flights are cancelled in 2017 at Chiang Mai for the festival. 

At 9 am the next morning I went back to the river and was amazed to see that all the street rubbish had been removed and all the stalls had gone. The cleaners must have been working so hard. Even the river was generally clear of debris.

Back in Phuket again

I am in Phuket again. I've been coming here 'regularly' for the last few years. Having first visited Phuket (and Thailand) in 1988, I then avoided it for many years, as I considered it too touristy and not the real Thailand. This is still true in my opinion, but I started coming again in the early 2000s and went immediately after the 2004 tsunami. At that time I stayed in Phuket town. Next visit was 2008. Then from 2013 onwards I started 'regular' visits, usually staying in Patong.

Although I still consider it to be too touristy, and not the 'real' Thailand, I enjoy coming as I can relax and do very little, don't need to go sightseeing, so can just laze around. I know where to eat good food at cheap prices, I ignore all the tourist restaurants and bars.

The sad thing is all the sticky cake stalls seem to have disappeared. I used to love these in Thailand. These photos are from 2008 -

And the pancakes, which were 10 Bt when they first appeared (1990s?) now cost up to 80 Bt.

The beach chairs in 2016 -

have now been replaced by these

Most tourists in my hotel are Russians, Chinese and Indians. Last year there were a lot of Middle East people. The hotel manager, a Russian, said Patong is 40% Russian whereas Kata is now 100%. I went to Kata in 2015 and didn't like it, as it was like mini Russia then.

On my current visit, I was intersted to read this article in the Bangkok Post on 3 Nov 2017 :


Phuket friendliness scores well on index 
3 Nov 2017 
BUSINESS > TOURISM & TRANSPORT | WRITER: SUCHAT SRITAMA 

Phuket is at the top of a competitiveness index thanks to product quality and local friendliness, according to a study by the Public Policy Studies Institute Foundation (PPSI). 

The competitiveness index looked at major tourist destinations in Thailand except Bangkok. 

The index found Phuket topped the list, followed by Chon Buri, Chiang Mai, Surat Thani, Krabi, Songkhla, Nakhon Ratchasima, Phangnga, Prachuap Khiri Khan and Samut Prakan, respectively. 

The research was conducted recently, focusing on two indicators: arrival numbers and local friendliness. However, some of the highly competitive locations had low scores on the environment, safety or cleaning issues.

For example, Chon Buri province had the second-most visits in the country but it had a low score for environmental issues. Chiang Mai ranked third in arrivals but faced the same problem. 

One recent study on how to develop cruise tourism here found many liners are interested in this emerging market, especially families and working-age travellers. Laem Chabang port in Chon Buri, Samui port in Surat Thani and Phuket port all have high potential to serve cruise tourism.  

Average spending for cruise travellers is 6,174 baht per day per person, which is higher than the average for all tourists. 


Whilst I was in Patong a cruise ship came in, Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas. When I googled it I see it mostly goes to Phuket, Penang, Langkawi, Klang and Singapore.