Jomtien Beach was littered
with floats, balloons, discarded bottles, bags and food containers left
behind by revelers.
Urasin Khantaraphan
All the twinkling lights on the water and in the sky look pretty on
Loy Krathong, but the day after the festival Pattaya turns into a sea of
water-logged krathongs and spent hot-air lanterns.
Pattaya city workers, beach vendors and volunteers set to work around 5:30
a.m. Nov. 7 in Jomtien and Dongtan beaches to clean up the mess left by the
Loy Krathong festivities the evening before. CP All Co. organized a clean up
and offered bags for more than 100 people to clean up more than two
kilometers of beachfront.
The beach was littered with more than just floats and balloons. There also
were discarded bottles, bags and food containers left behind by revelers.
Beach vendors noted that the evening festival coincided with low tide, so
people had to walk far out to launch their floats of flowers, candles and
incense into the sea. Then the tide came in and all the tiny boats washed
ashore. Most, vendors noted, were made of natural materials.
Pattaya municipal officers rapidly collected trash gathered by the beach
operators and the beachfront was back to normal by 10 a.m.
