A bird flies over the abandoned giant sculpture of a Buddhist monk in Cha-am outside Hua Hin, 145km south of Bangkok, on February 25, 2021. (Photo by Mladen Antonov/AFP Photo)

A jockey rides a water buffalo during the annual Chonburi Buffalo Race in Chonburi on October 1, 2020. (Photo by Mladen Antonov/AFP Photo)

This photo taken on November 1, 2020 shows tourists taking photographs of the figure of an elephant made of rice straw in an amusement park on the shores of Huay Tueng Thao lake outside Chiang Mai. (Photo by Mladen Antonov/AFP Photo)

A woman kneels down to pray at a “Pray and swipe right” event organised by online dating app Tinder, with social-distancing stickers featuring its flame logo on the praying ground, a photo booth where people can take profile pictures for their new accounts, and free offering sets, at the Trimuriti shrine on Valentine's Day in Bangkok, Thailand February 14, 2022. (Photo by Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters)

We are all drawn to fire, entranced by its beauty and ferociousness. Its brilliance draws us in like moths to a candle flame. Thus, many of the celebrations that humans have involve lighting fires. They can be big or small; there could be many little lights or one giant inferno; they may float on water, burn on land, or rise high into the skies. Loi Krathong is a festival that is held each year in Thailand and a number of other places. During this festival thousands of little fires are lighted, presenting a marvelous sight for all the onlookers. It is believed that this tradition is an adaptation of Brahmanical festival, which was adopted by Thai Buddhists to honor Buddha.

Nopparat (R), a 24-year-old transgender, and a Buddhist monk (L) wait to speak to officers during an army draft held at a school in Bang Na in Bangkok April 3, 2015. Thai men over 21 must serve in the army. Those who volunteer serve six months, but others choose the annual lottery, which goes on for 10 days in recruitment centres around Thailand. Only those not considered physically capable of service, the mentally ill and those who have significantly altered their physical appearance, such as transgenders, are exempt. Picture taken April 3, 2015. (Photo by Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)

Revellers use water guns as they participate in a water fight during Songkran Festival celebrations at Kowloon City district, known as Little Thailand as there is large number of restaurants and shops run by Thais, in Hong Kong April 12, 2015. The Songkran festival, also known as the water festival, marks the start of Thailand's traditional New Year and is believed to wash away bad luck. (Photo by Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

Hanging bird cages are displayed on poles during a bird-singing contest in the Rueso district in Thailand's southern province of Narathiwat on March 23, 2014. Hundreds of bird owners from Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore took part in the traditional contest held every year. (Photo by Madaree Tohlala/AFP Photo)