Last week I was in Ayutthaya for Khao Phansa, the start of Buddhist Lent. Often referred to as the rainy season retreat, it is a period when monks remain within the temples and devote themselves to study and meditation.

This starts on the first day of the waning moon of the eighth lunar month in July until the fifteenth day of the waxing moon of the eleventh lunar month in October, known as Ok Phansa. This year that’s July 22 until 19th October.

At the small klong-side village of Lad Chado, a 40-minute drive from Ayutthaya, Khao Phansa is celebrated with a colourful floating procession in which candles and Buddha images are taken to the local temple.

There’s an air of celebration about the event and the entire village gets involved. This year it was promoted by the Tourism Authority of Thailand and attracted hundreds of visitors from Bangkok.

I also spent an evening at old temples in Ayutthaya photographing candlelit processions, and tak bat dok mai or floral almsgiving at a temple in Saraburi. More on those later in the week. I was at the events with Richard Barrow who is an invaluable source of information on events in Thailand.