Happy Holi!

In some places in India, there are more festivals than there are days of the year. In fact, life in India is pretty much one big festival and they certainly know how to celebrate it.

Though I've experienced lots of little festivals in three months, I'd been looking forward to experiencing one of North India's biggest festivals: Holi.

Holi is a Hindu festival celebrated on the full moon day of the Phalgun month (usually February/March). There are so many legends surrounding Holi that is difficult to get a clear grasp on the events. As one legend has it (in a very short summary), someone was thrown into a fire but spared his life because he prayed to Lord Vishnu.

The Life of a Solo Traveler

"You're traveling the world, alone?!?!"

Well, technically, I guess you could say that.

Monkey Beach, Penang National Park, Malaysia

But, as I try to explain to hesitant friends and family, I'm never actually alone (unless of course I want to be - another great perk of solo travel). Traveling alone is not only one of the best things I've ever done, but also one of the easiest and least scary ways to travel - despite what it may seem to the unfamiliar.

แห่เทียน (Hae Thian) - Candle Festival

Asanha Bucha Day is the Buddhist holiday that commemorates the beginning of Khao Pansaa, or Buddhist Lent. Also known as the "Rain Retreat," this is a three-month period where monks are meant to stay inside monastery grounds for a period of study and meditation.

The most famous national celebration, the "Candle Festival," takes place right in my town, Ubon Ratchathani. Weeks in advance, workers prepare downtown Ubon for the event by building structures and cleaning the park. Massive wax sculptures are intricately carved and displayed at the local museum in anticipation of the festival.

Songkran

Songkran is a quintessential Thai holiday that I had the pleasure of experiencing last month.

Songkran, derived from a Sanskrit word literally meaning "astrological passage," is considered the Thai new year. Although, the Thai calendar year (currently the year 2055) changes in sync with the Western calender. The origins of Songkran may come from a similar Buddhist holiday in India. Buddhist countries in the SE Asia region such as Burma, Laos and Cambodia celebrate a similar festival around the same time as Thailand (April 13 - 15).

Although officially the festival is three days long, in reality it often encompasses a 5 or 6 day period in which you can expect to be perpetually soaking wet given one step outside.

Sawadee Bee Mai!

Here is to what has been the most monumental & best year of my life to date: Bringing in 2011 with all my best college friends in New York City, an incredible whirlwind of a last semester of college, good times which have become fond memories in 111 Hudson, the stereotypical spring break with 30 of my friends in Montego Bay, Jamaica, Senior Week & graduation celebrations, clocking 50+ hours a week at Moosewood Restaurant, backpacking around Europe for a month with a very important person, spending time with friends and family for my last month in the states, and moving across the world to Thailand. And here is to an unbelievable first three months here: instantaneous bonds with friends from all over the world, surviving the TEFL course with those friends, traveling while schools were delayed due to the flooding, moving to my new home in Sriracha, beginning my job as an English teacher, making new friends (that English teacher bond everywhere), learning, observing, & participating in the Thai way of life, and the on-going adventures and exploration that make me never want to leave this place! For five months of the year I was homeless - renting a space, traveling, here, there, everywhere. It is nice to have a place to call home; and I truly do feel at home here. 2011 was huge for me, but I do have a feeling there will be some competition in 2012!

I am off to ring in the 2012 with good friends on the beautiful beaches of Koh Chang (Elephant Island)! Best wishes to all. Happy New Year / Sawadee Bee Mai!

Loi Krathong

I experienced my first Thai festival, Loi Krathong, last Thursday. This takes place annually on the evening of the full moon of what is usually November on the western calender. 'Loi' literally means 'to float' while 'krathong' is the lotus-shaped float often made out of banana leaves. The festival is often referred to as the "festival of light" or "floating lantern ceremony". On this evening, all over the country, thousands of Thais gather at a local river, canal or lake to light a candle on their hand-made float, make a wish, and let their float be carried away by the current. The flame is supposed to signify a release of sins.