Pattaya workers, vendors scurry to clean up Loy Krathong’s aftermath

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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.

Jomtien Beach was littered with floats, balloons, discarded bottles, bags and food containers left behind by revelers.Jomtien Beach was littered with floats, balloons, discarded bottles, bags and food containers left behind by revelers.

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.