Well That Floats My Boat

Yesterday was Loi Kratong Day. For those unfamiliar with Thai custom, it's the day when everyone makes little boats topped with candles, incense and sparklers, and then goes and floats them on any available water source. Ironically, this ceremony, in which the lakes and canals of Bangkok fill with millions of pieces of floating detritus, is intended to give thanks for clean water and apologise for the pollution we cause. Trying to do our bit for the environment, Sara and I purchase ready-made biodegradable kratongs cunningly made out of bread. Now custom dictates that young couples should float their kratongs together; if they float off side by side, the couple are destined to be as one, whilst if they drift apart, things aren't looking so good. (I hear that cheating, through the hidden use of string, is not unheard of). We push ours off into the lake, and immediately Sara's is mauled by hungry fish, who sink it within seconds. Meanwhile mine has caught the interest a fast-moving predator, and I watch it zip randomly across the lake before also meeting an early demise. Our Thai friends are unable (or unwilling) to explain the possible omen.