Ex-PYs arrive in Bangkok. Transfer from the airport and check-in by themselves at Amari Hotel, Don Muang
From 17.00 : Registration
18.00-22.00 : Welcome dinner at the hotel (Welcome speech at 18.30)
27 November 2023
Mae klong Railway Market (Talad Rom Hub)
Ex-PYS will be amazed to see how the vendors pull their umbrellas and move some of their goods further back off the train tracks when the train approaches.
06.00-07.30 : Breakfast
07.30 : Leave Amari hotel for Bann Laem railway station by bus
10.10-11.10 : Travel by train from Bann Laem to Mae Klong railway station
11.10 : Arrive Mae Klong railway station and simultaneously experience Mae klong Railway
Market (Talad Rom Hub)
12.00-14.00 : Lunch at Amphawa Na Npn hotel and check-in at the hotel
14.00-16.00 : Activities at Baan Benjarong, Bang Chang
16.00-20.00 : Activities at King Rama II memorial park – shopping, making Krathong (lotus shaped
basket), having dinner, floating Krathong, etc.
20.00-22.00 : Party at the hotel rooftop
Loy Krathong Festival
Loy Krathong is a festival celebrated by the Thai people on the full moon night of the twelfth month of the Thai lunar calendar. In the modern calendrical system, this event usually occurs in November, though the date varies from year to year (this year, on 27 November 2023). Regardless of the exact timing, Loy Krathong is always considered an occasion for joy, gratitude, and new beginnings.
The term “Loy Krathong” is derived from the word “loy” – meaning “to float”- and the word “krathong” – which refers to a type of small, floating religious offering. True to its name, the festival’s highlight is the floating of krathongs across small and large bodies of water nationwide.
It is a common belief that Loy Krathong originated from the period of the Sukhothai Kingdom (1238 -1438). The classical literature Tamrap Thao Si Chulalak tells of a lady named Nang Noppamas, a high-ranking concubine of the King of Sukhothai. During an annual celebration where royals offered votive floats in the worship of the Buddha, Nang Noppamas designed an elegant float shaped like a lotus and decorated with miniature bird figures. This float eventually became the basis for the krathong. The story also inspired another common tradition of Loy Krathong: beauty pageants where contestants dress up as Nang Noppamas.
It is an important Samut Songkhram’s “Loy Krathong Kap Kluai” tradition held yearly during the Loy Krathong Festival. The uniqueness of the Loy Krathong Kap Kluay festival is that it brings out the banana tree trunk, a local material, to create a Krathong instead of using banana leaves, as usual. It is considered to be the wisdom of the villagers in the Mae Klong River.
Ex-PYs will participate in this charming festival at Rama II memorial park. They will learn how to make a simple “Krathong Kap Kluay”, have dinner with traditional cuisine, attend entertaining activities, shop various local products, and float their made Krathong Kap Kluay.
After joining the festival, a reunion party will be arranged at the hotel rooftop.
https://www.asiahighlights.com/thailand/loy-krathong-festival
https://www.tourismthailand.org/Attraction/king-rama-ii-memorial-park
28 November 2023
King Rama II Museum
King Rama II Museum
Visit the King Rama II park and museum. The park and museum were built in honour of Rama II. It is close to the Amphawa Na Non hotel and is only a few minutes walk away.
https://www.museumthailand.com/en/museum/King-Rama-II-Memorial-Park
Somdul Agroforestry Home
Get refreshments and relax at the coffee shop in the lovely garden next to Mae Klong River.
Please choose your preferred beverage from the below menu.
