Out of Norm Travels

One of the most important festivals in the Thai   Calendar and celebrated in a big way at the northern region of   Ubon Ratchathani .  Accessible via air, it took just about 1 hour for me to get away from the Bangkok city set-up to an unforgettable experience of a traditional festival in the thick of things.  I went down to Ubon a day earlier so that I could spend some time to go around town and head to the temples to see the work in progress before seeing all the candles / floats in all their glory. This is my account of Day 1 (day before the Festival).... Imagine you have spent 8 years in apprenticeship and having the honor of creating a 2m-sometimes 4m tall candle sculpture for one of the biggest candle parade of the Buddhist country. This festival celebrates the start of  Buddhist Lent  where the  monks  will mediate for 30 days in the mountains and only to descend from the mountain top at the end of Buddhist lent.  Fro...