More Loy Krathong festivities, and a hint of racism

A seemingly endless procession of carnival floats brought Chiang Mai to a standstill again tonight, with crowds of thousands lining the streets. Without being too cynical, it was noticeable that the very beautiful girls taking part in the ceremonial dancing or being carried along on the extravagantly ornate floats, had without exception either been chosen for their very white skin, or had liberally plastered themselves with whitening cream.

Nothing could be more obvious in the above photo (click to see the full-size version). Such a shame in my book, the natural skin colour of the Thais, dark or light, is so very attractive when you strip away the layers of gunge...

(Check out the excellent recent blog from 'Thai Girl' on this subject, well worth a read...)

More pretty girls from the parade??

Not exactly! Many Thai onlookers wore traditional dress for the occasion - including the girls from the Spotlight a Go-Go!


Back to the parade proper, and more painted skin...


The festivities draw to a close, the crowds begin to drift away around midnight. The parade lasted the best part of six hours...

It somehow seems strange that the mood will suddenly switch as from tomorrow, with the start of three days of official mourning from Friday 14th November. As a show of respect during the cremation ceremonials for Princess Kalayaniwatthana, no alcohol will be on sale in bars and restaurants over that period. There is a total ban on music at public venues. Sober dress is the order of the day (my girlfriend has bought me black t-shirts especially for the occasion). What a contrast after the last few days...