Loy gratong festival – How to make your own gratong

How to make your own gratong

It will soon be loy gratong day again. Why not make your own gratong this year instead of buying one? It’s not too difficult if you can get the materials.

You will need:
– A slice of banana trunk or foam about 13cm diameter and 3cm thick
– Banana leaves to cover and decorate the base
– Small flowers for decoration
– Three incense sticks
– A small candle
– Scissors
– Pins, toothpicks and a stapler to hold things in place

How to put it together
1. First, check your slice of  banana trunk floats. If it is too thick, it will sink.
2. Cut a banana leaf into strips slightly thicker than the thickness of your base.
3. Pin the strips of banana leaf to cover the edge of the base. Trim as necessary.
4. Place the base on a banana leaf and use a pen to draw around the base. Cut to shape.
5. Pin the round banana leaf cut-out to one end of the stem or foam base. Trim.
6. Make decorative shapes with banana leaf strips and pin them to the base.
7. Decorate the base with flowers. Use pins or toothpicks to stick the flowers to the base. For small flowers, use pins. For bigger flowers use toothpicks.
8. Push three incense sticks into the top of the base.
9. Push in a candle near the incense sticks. You might need to make a hole first using scissors.

Just before you launch your gratong into the water, light the candle, making sure the incense sticks start to burn.

In 2015, Loy Gratong takes place on 25 November.

The Banyan Tree in Phimai

The banyan tree, or sai ngaam/ไทรงาม in Thai, is a tourist attraction in Phimai town.

The banyan tree in Phimai is over 350 years old. The old tree has spread out laterally using its arial roots and now covers an area of about 35,000 square feet/3250 square metres. The aerial roots of the banyan tree have grown down into the soil to prop up the plant and those roots have turned into hard, woody stems that look like tree trunks.

A path under the canopy of the banyan tree.

Next to the banyan tree there is a large pond with fish in it. At the nearby stalls, you can buy fish food to feed the fish or you can buy small fishes to release into the pond.

There is also a restaurant area where you can relax, eat some food or drink something.

Below is a map showing the location of the banyan tree in Phimai town, Thailand.

Entrance to the banyan tree in Phimai town is free. The gates are closed at about 6pm.

Phimai national museum

Phimai National Museum is located in Phimai town. The museum is open from 9am to 4pm from Wednesday to Sunday. It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Phimai museum is a ‘national’ museum. ‘National’ simply means it is owned by the state and is not a private museum.

The main museum building is on two floors but there is also an annex containing stone lintels and other stone items.

Phimai museum contains artifacts from the local area and the lower northeast of Thailand. A lot of the items on display come from the 10-13th centuries but there are also items from later periods. There are quite a few decorative stone lintels in the museum.

Phimai museum also has information about the Phimai Historical park and its restoration and renovation.

The cost of entrance to the museum is 20 baht for Thai people and 100 baht for foreigners. If you live or work in Thailand you might be able to get in for the local price but that is not guaranteed. Entrance for young children is free.

Phimai museum telephone numbers: (+66) 44-471167,  (+66) 44-481269.

Map showing the location of Phimai national museum, Thailand.

Phimai Historical Park

Phimai is most famous for the Phimai Historical Park.

The temple, Prasat Hin Phimai, is the central attraction of the historical park and was one of the major Khmer temples in ancient Thailand. It was connected with Angkor by an ancient Khmer highway, and oriented so as to face Angkor as its cardinal direction.  Most buildings date from the late 11th to late 12th century and are built of sandstone or laterite blocks.