Thais celebrate water festival despite floods

Thai boy Pattana Suntharotok prays before releasing a traditional Krathong float into a pool during the Loy Kratong festival in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011. Every year when the moon is full and the rainy season draws to an end, Thailand's waterways fill with millions of floating lotus-shaped lanterns - a symbolic, centuries-old gesture once meant to placate to the country's goddess of water. This year, flood-ravaged Thailand has plenty of reason to pray for rebirth - and little reason to celebrate.

Buddhist Thais float their Krathongs, small lanterns made of banana leaves or papers, at the statue of Lord Buddha during the Loy Krathong water festival at a flooded temple in Nonthaburi, Thailand Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011. The festival comes on the heels of a cataclysmic waterborne disaster that's drowned one-third of the country in three months, killing 529 people and wiping out rice fields and factories and livelihoods along the way. The flooding is the worst in Thailand since World War II, and it's not over yet. Damage so far is likely to exceed $6 billion. Recovery will take months.

Thai Buddhist monks chant prayers to honor the Loy Kratong festival at a temple in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011. The festival, came on the heels of a cataclysmic waterborne disaster that's drowned one-third of the country in three months, killing 529 people and wiping out rice fields and factories and livelihoods along the way. The flooding is the worst in Thailand since World War II, and it's not over yet. Damage so far is likely to exceed $6 billion. Recovery will take months.

Thai residents buy Krathong, a small lantern made of paper, before floating it in to the river during the Loy Kratong festival at a temple in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011. The festival, came on the heels of a cataclysmic waterborne disaster that's drowned one-third of the country in three months, killing 529 people and wiping out rice fields and factories and livelihoods along the way. The flooding is the worst in Thailand since World War II, and it's not over yet. Damage so far is likely to exceed $6 billion. Recovery will take months.

A Thai woman holds a Krathong, a small lantern made of banana leafs, before floating it in to the river during the Loy Kratong festival at a temple in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011. The festival, came on the heels of a cataclysmic waterborne disaster that's drowned one-third of the country in three months, killing 529 people and wiping out rice fields and factories and livelihoods along the way. The flooding is the worst in Thailand since World War II, and it's not over yet. Damage so far is likely to exceed $6 billion.

A man floats a Krathong, a small lantern made of banana leafs, in to the canal during the Loy Kratong festival at a temple in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011. The festival, came on the heels of a cataclysmic waterborne disaster that's drowned one-third of the country in three months, killing 529 people and wiping out rice fields and factories and livelihoods along the way. The flooding is the worst in Thailand since World War II, and it's not over yet. Damage so far is likely to exceed $6 billion. Recovery will take months. 

A Thai Buddhist Novice waits for people to buy Krathong, a small lantern made of banana leafs, before floating it in to the river during the Loy Kratong festival at a temple in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011. The festival, came on the heels of a cataclysmic waterborne disaster that's drowned one-third of the country in three months, killing 529 people and wiping out rice fields and factories and livelihoods along the way. The flooding is the worst in Thailand since World War II, and it's not over yet. Damage so far is likely to exceed $6 billion. Recovery will take months. 

A young Thai boy makes his way with Krathong, a small lantern made of banana leafs or paper, to a canal during the Loy Kratong festival at a temple in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011. The festival, came on the heels of a cataclysmic waterborne disaster that's drowned one-third of the country in three months, killing 529 people and wiping out rice fields and factories and livelihoods along the way. The flooding is the worst in Thailand since World War II, and it's not over yet. Damage so far is likely to exceed $6 billion. Recovery will take months.