Shameless capitalism at its BEST~!!! Money hunters came out in full force tonight to net as much baht as possible from eager merrymakers~!!

Here in Sukhumvit, preparations for the Loy Krathong festivities started in the afternoon, when sellers began to display their items for sale on the street.

Even motorcycle TAXI drivers became krathong entrepreneurs for a day (pictured right)~!!

As with other Loy Krathongs of the past few years, this year's floating krathongs were made of natural materials - leaves, flowers (orchids, marigold, roses, etc.), coconuts, bamboo.

Sold for between 15-40 baht, there were also some yummy-looking edible krathongs made of colorful bread (pictured below right) and ice cream cones (pictured below left)~!!

The idea behind such materials is because a few years ago, most krathongs were made of styrofoam and because it's not biodegradable, styrofoam krathongs posed a hazard to the environment (plus, imagine the headache of trying to get rid of millions of soggy krathongs the next morning from ALL of Thailand's many rivers and klongs~!!).

A law was then declared banning these styrofoam krathongs. From then on, krathongs were made of natural materials as these would decompose and not harm the environment (though I personally think that due to the sheer number of the krathongs bobbing up and down on every watery surface in the Kingdom, it'd be highly unlikely that the environment would really remain unaffected heh heh~!!).

By early evening, the Loy Krathong frenzy was thick in the (cooler YAY~!!) air. Sukhumvit became unusually crowded as more money chasers came out to get a slice of the Loy Krathong money pie:

beggars (both human and animal)

as well as other sellers offering not just krathongs but also glow-in-the-dark sticks, laser toys, snacks and some other unrecognizeable flashy spinning thingymajigs I couldn't identify...

Under the glow of the November full moon, Sukhumvit citizens (and also many visitors) from all walks of life flocked to the Queen Sirikit (Benjasiri) Park and under Her Majesty's benevolent gaze, completely let loose~!!

Camera flashes lit up the night. Youngsters were allowed to stay out 'til late. Whole families took advantage of the pleasant cooler "winter" weather and enjoyed night picnics under the moonlight together.

(NOTE: yes, we like to think that we DO have "winter" here, though our "winter" is nothing compared to the snow-and-ice skates-and-bobsleds-and-penguins kind of "winter". But hey, at least from November to January, we can all pretend we actually have "winter fashion"~!! And should global warming destroy our wintry dreams... oh well, at least we can still feel nau and wear jackets and pashmina shawls inside the movie theaters~!!). 

Nevertheless, one thing was for sure: Nobody could escape the panting packs of "merchants" salivating to score some baht.

Those who took the BTS were greeted by even MORE sellers at the bottom of the stairs (pictured right) as they all made a beeline to the park.

Soon enough, the park's entrance became clogged with humanity~!!

(I was impressed that the authorities had already expected this pandemonium and placed extra security).

True to Sukhumvit style, this year's Loy Krathong was heavy on the international flavor.

You get farang tourists trying Loy Krathong for the first time.

Expats

Japanese salarymen

Japanese kodomo (kids)