Programme notes:
Loi Krathong is a festival that is celebrated nationwide in Thailand, particularly in the in areas around the canals and rivers (or klong). Loi Krathong is traditionally performed on the full moon night of the twelfth lunar month in the traditional Thai lunar calendar, which usually falls in November. Loi means to float. Krathong refers to small raft or a banana-leaf cup decorated with flowers, incense sticks and candles. On that night, Thais will loi their krathong on the river to send away ill fortune as well as to express gratitude and apologies to Khongkha or Ganga, the River Goddess. Some Buddhists worship Lord Buddha's footprint on the bank of the Narmada River. Other devotees worship Phra Uppakhut, a great disciple of Lord Buddha.