Thailand: Skylanterns and Jomtien Beach!!

Sky lantern launch by some college students beside the Gulf of Thailand

What is a sky lantern? Well, for a start these are sometimes also referred to as "Chinese" lanterns and were featured very prominently in Disney's "Tangled," the story of the long, blond-haired princess Rapunzel. Click here to see one of the clips from the film!! A sky lantern is simply a paper lantern with a candle inside. When lit, the lantern acts similarly to a hot-air balloon and can rise up until, like a star, it twinkles brightly in the distance. Releasing these lanterns is often-times seen as good luck, and they can be seen all year-round in Thailand. Once a year, however, in the mountains area of northern Thailand and during the Yi Peng festival, thousands of paper lanterns are lit simultaneously, unleashing a myriad of shining stars into the heavens. In the late night hours, the crowds vanish and left on the beach are the locals, students and residents, enjoying the cool of the night and the light breeze from the ocean. Sabai sabai (Sabai is a Thai word that can be roughly translated to mean, relax, take it easy... a hakuna matata sort of mood). Nightfall found us lounging on Jomtien beach, talking and lazily watching a group of students light and launch sky lanterns from further down the beach. A link to a video of the historic event - my first sighting of a sky lantern launch - can be found at the end of this entry!!! But the question is how did we end up here?


After a relaxing sunshine-filled day spent around the resort and unwinding after the semi-long trip to Pattaya, my group decided it was time to head out and grab dinner by the sea. Yes, when I say by the sea, I mean by the sea. Hundreds of small restaurants dot the ocean-front of Jomtien beach. A road along the coast separates the restaurants from the beach itself, but during nice weather, these restaurants set up tables that are adjacent to the ocean waves. The live music pipes club music and Thai music out, creating a nice ambiance for ocean-side dining. And did I mention the prices? The most expensive dish that you would find is less than $15 USD. This includes crab, sea bass, shellfish, you name it! And taste. We must talk about taste!

The Thai seafood is GREAT! The dish featured above is one of my favorites- crab curry with egg (pronounced "boo pad pongari" in Thai). Crab curry consists of crab meat, curry, egg, and various vegetables all cooked together. The crab and curry flavor gently mix together and permeate all the other ingredients. The end result is a concoction of flavors that burst together on your palate. What? No, I'm serious! It's reminiscent of that one scene from Ratatouille, which can be found on Youtube. If there was a dish to die for, this would be it! Boiled mussels, and a wonderful-yet-painfully delicious "tom yum goong" rounded off the meal. Oh, and actually I found that coke with plenty of ice is a fairly effective deterrent to too much spicy-ness. Even if you say "my pet" - the phonetic pronunciation of "not spicy" - the food oftentimes ends up still having a kick to it.

Talking about the atmosphere, which I guess technically we were not, but even so... the view is spectacular and the light sea breeze is very refreshing. The picture below is a long-exposure shot of the view form the table. Now this pictures does take some explaining. First, the moon is shining brightly above. But the small, fluorescent green lights on the horizon? Actually, these lights represent fishing ships! With unsubstantiated research, some locals DID tell me the lights are to attract fish, and hence when the sun goes down, green lights pop up all over the ocean. Now what about the light spookily moving in the water? Simply another fisherman wandering through the water with a light attached to his hat, much like miners would wear in a mine shaft. A fishing pole in hand, and a small basket at his side, this fisherman seemed to have some luck while we were eating! Fun to watch for sure! I was the only "farang" at this restaurant (basically "farang" means "white person"), but truth be told, I've come to love the Thai culture and it didn't feel strange at all. The ocean breeze also was quite effective at keeping those pesky mosquitoes far away!!

Later on, we wandered down to the beach. By this time, night and fully set in and it was time to relax. Stroll along the ocean, occasionally passing by groups of Thai men and women sitting on the beach and singing songs and strumming guitars. Also present were groups of students, some swimming, some drinking and talking/laughing loudly. The air seemed so light and the place so peaceful, miles - no, worlds, away from the concrete jungle of Bangkok. There is something in that city that adds vibrancy, but also seems to drain energy from a person. It's nice to escape every once in a while! While sitting with my friends, we noticed an elderly Thai gentleman beach hunting with a metal detector. I raised my camera and he paused for a second and smiled at us. The people here are very friendly!

As the evening progressed, we saw a group of students trying to launch sky lanterns. With practice, these lanterns can go far and for a long time. However, the first student seemed to be struggling with the lantern, getting it off the ground. It soon took off, only to burst into flames and quickly descend to a watery grave in the ocean. I took a quick video while a more-experienced student launched a second lantern. The result can be seen on Youtube, link below! Sabai, Sabai is the word for the trip. So far a peaceful and relaxing visit to Pattaya!!!

Skylantern launch from Jomtien Beach, Thailand

     

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