People all across Thailand get together with their friends and family on the morning to begin making their Krathongs, and prepare to gather on the shores at nightfall to release them into the waters wherever they may be. Loy Krathong is a time to be joyful; a time to celebrate as the ill-luck and suffering floats away with the Krathong, leaving you happy and free to start afresh. It is believed that as you float your Krathong on the waters, it will carry away all the bad luck and sins which you have acquired, and the wishes that you make as you set it in the water will begin with the new day. It is also believed that if a young boy and girl launch a Krathong together, their wishes will combine and they will become lovers, either in this life or the next.

‘Loy’ is the Thai word for ‘float’ and ‘Krathong’ refers to a small lotus shaped boat made from the stem and leaves of a banana plant; so the name of the festival means literally, to float your banana boat! Each Krathong is adorned in fragrant flowers and also holds a candle, 3 incense sticks and some coins as an offering to the Goddess of Water. It is a time when people offer thanks for the good fortune they have received over the past year, and apologise for any wrongs they have committed, offering their wishes, prayers and Krathongs to the River Goddess, or if you live on an island to the Goddess of the Sea.

Sessions are performed on a floor mat with the client comfortably dressed. It is an ancient holistic therapy, which strives to promote wellness and vitality by helping the body return to a state of balance, harmony, flexibility, and health.

Thai Massage is an interactive manipulation of the body using passive stretching and gentle pressure along energy lines. These movements help to adjust the skeletal structure, increase flexibility, relieving muscular and joint tension, stimulating internal organs, and balancing the body’s energy systems. The effect is uniquely relaxing as well as energizing. Receiving a Thai massage is a bit like doing yoga without putting forth any effort while also getting acupressure treatments!

There are several areas of massage when talking about Thai massage, head, foot, body massage, oil, herbal, facial, honey and body scrubs, as well as others that have been developed by many of the practitioners at the Natural Wing. These are all derivatives of the foundation of ‘Thai massage’.

Ayutthaya was a centre of administrative supremacy for the lower Chao Phraya Basin from 1350 onwards. Originally there were 2 Kingdoms, Lavo and Ayutthaya. King U-Thong who later became King Ramathibodi I, commanded the construction of a new city in 1347, founded it in April 1350, and then named it Krung Thep Dvaravati Si Ayutthaya after Ayodhaya, the home of Rama in the Ramayana epic, which means ‘unassailable’ in Sanskrit. Little did he know the irony that this name would come to hold.

Check out the different course combination’s to see what would suite you best, from courses taught by world cruisers with yachts that are ocean-going vessels equipped with the necessary gear to undertake passage making ocean crossings.

Of course there isn’t anyone who can become, within a week, a fully trained skipper ready to cross the seas, but these companies goals are to create a truly useful crew with maximum practical training possible in your given time frame.

Thai food was traditionally eaten solely with the right hand, using sticky rice as the transferring method of scooping and ploughing food from the bowl to the mouth, but today it is now generally eaten with a fork and a spoon. This was introduced as part of Westernization during the reign of King Mongkut, Rama IV. It was his brother, Vice-king Pinklao, who, after watching a brief demonstration of Western dining etiquette by American missionary Dr. D. B. Bradley, chose only the Western-style fork and spoon from the whole set of table silverware to use at his own dining table.

Thai food is famous throughout the world for its phenomenal tastes and lively flavours. However, to those who are used to a more subdued plateful, the sudden immersion into the hot and spicy world of ‘tom yam’ and ‘phat prik’ can leave stomachs turning, and nether-ends burning. And if you are cooking for the very first time in your holiday villa and have added a little too much flavour, you may just need some natural Koh Samui help.

A common treatment for upset stomachs in Koh Samui, be it from spicy food, bad food or a simple virus, is ginger. This medicinal root herb has several healing qualities and is very effective against the onset of colds as well as diarrhoea.

If you feel your stomach is a little unsettled, just nip into a mini mart or 7-11 and pick up a box of ginger tea. The boxes usually hold individual servings for you to just add hot water. A little honey can be added if you like, although you should avoid overly sweet foods and drinks if your stomach is playing up.

Alternatively, visit a local fresh market, selling vegetables, herbs, meat and fish, and buy some fresh ginger. A small chunk, bashed and added to hot water, will be even better. Ginger tea also makes a refreshing and delicious iced tea, although it is better to drink it hot or warm to help get your insides back on track ASAP.

The theory is that if the spirits who haunt the place are given a home, they will not spitefully endanger the drivers who must pass this way. Some Spirit Houses along the roadways have been built to appease the tormented spirits of people who died violent deaths in crashes at these sites.

When changes dictate that a new Spirit House be created, a ceremony will be held to transfer the spirit from the old Spirit House to the new. After that, the old Spirit House can be discarded. Many find new residence near a Temple or Wat, but usually at a place where other spirit houses have been left behind. So it is not uncommon to see many old Spirit Houses jumbled together in one place, resembling a fallen city all on its own. So as you pass by these small ‘Spirit Cities’, do not be frightened by the cacophony of sounds emerging from every type of vehicle that passes, but stop and have a close look at what offerings have been made. Perhaps you may even want to make an offering of your very own, for the spirits of another world.

As you tour through Thailand, you will see these Spirit Houses everywhere, and even some in odd locations that will seem to make no sense at all.

The Spirit House can be seen at conspicuous spots outside every business establishment in the Kingdom, on pedestals in front of every hotel, decorating the corner garden area of a restaurant, at the front of a bar or club, and even in outdoor food markets. They are built on the grounds of Buddhist temples, outside caves in the mountains, near fishing ponds in the valleys, and occasionally in the middle of an uninhabited forest. Most importantly, however, the Thai Spirit House is built in the yard of every home, hotel and villa property.