I celebrated my first Loy Krathong festival at Benjasiri Park on Sukhumvit Road.

The owner of my accommodation near Washington Square recommended this spot to me. I’d asked him about a nice place to watch the Krathongs being set afloat.

I’ve never forgotten that evening. Above all, I remember a little girl, perhaps ten years old, with her mother. They were both wearing traditional Thai costumes.

Amid the crowds of people setting a Krathong afloat on the park lake, the girl seemed completely absorbed. Lost in her own world, she focused only on the little raft in her hands, intricately folded from banana leaves and decorated with a lit candle and beautiful flowers.

Her mother then gently helped her put the cardboard box in the water.

In that moment, I understood what Loy Krathong is really all about.

For ordinary Thai people, the river carries away the worries and hardships, mistakes and disappointments of the past year, making way for a fresh start. Loy Krathong is then more than just a spectacle: it’s a festival deeply rooted in Buddhist folk beliefs.

But there’s another side to this festival in Bangkok.

The big official lantern festival: where the tourists gather.



Along the Chao Phraya, a dazzling sea of lights, hotel gala dinners, fireworks, music, stage shows and huge crowds.

Shopping malls like Asiatique
or Icon Siam, the famous piers—everything glitters, everything lights up, everything feels like a perfectly staged postcard from Thailand. Music from portable speakers, cheap mass-produced goods sold to tourists at wildly inflated prices. One big party, perfect Instagram shots.

And yet, I still think it’s worth experiencing: when thousands of little lights are set afloat on the water at the same time, it’s truly magical.

There’s something truly special about watching the krathongs float down the Chao Phraya.

But it's also well worth experiencing this traditional festival of lights alongside the locals.

Simply ask at your hotel or ask a taxi driver where nearby locals celebrate without much fuss, and where neighborhood families head in the evening with their takeaway boxes. You’ll almost always find small tables there selling handmade boxes.

Take the plunge: buy a little floating candle raft, light the candle, and set it on the water.

Let your own worries float away too, alongside those of the ordinary families in the neighborhood.

I do this every time, and every time it feels special to me.