Vientiane boat racing 2008

October 15, 2008. In the early morning Lao national TV started live broadcasting Vientiane Boat Racing Festival. I usually stayed home at this day each year watching the racing from TV rather than sitting on the bank of the Mekong river under hot sun.

This year I planned to visit one of our friends whose house is located near the river bank. We (2 sons 1 wife and me) left home at about 3 p.m heading North to Wat Oubmoung along Luang Prabang road. The traffic was terrible especially at downtown. Along the both sides of the road the footpath was changed to the bike parkings with 10,000 kip per one bike (the normal price is 2000)

We arrived at the destination, the house still has a fact of a recent flood and sand bags used to fight flood still remained. I could see some of my coleagues sitting around big table. This picture is typical as every houses located near the festival must receive guests the same way, food and drinks.

We stayed with the party not for so long before we moved to another house and start eating and drinking again not even know which boat is the winner. That happens to many people each year.



We arrived home after dark as it was raining a bit. At night the festival still continued without us. In the next morning we heard from TV that this year people could see more Nāga's Fireballs than last year

Wan Awk Pansa in Vientiane (the end of Buddhist Lent)

Dear readers.
Every year on the night of 15th day of 11th month in the Lao lunar calendar (in 2007 it fell on October 26)is the end of Buddhist Lent which lasts for 3 months .

After ending of Buddhist Lent in my hometown - Vientiane there will be the boat racing festival, which will be organized on October 27.



The boat racing festival is the big even for people living in Vientiane and the whole country.

Usually it begins in the morning and finish in the evening. A lot of people will gather on the bank of the Mekong river to see the racing.

At night there will be illuminated boat processions - boats which are decorated with many small lamps and will be let go along river.



Also, every year on the night of 15th day of 11th month in the Lao lunar calendar at the end of Buddhist Lent (in 2007 it fell on October 26), an extraordinary phenomenon occurs in the area of the Mekong River stretching over 20 kilometres between Pak-Ngeum district, about 80 kilometres south of the Lao capital Vientiane, and Phonephisai district in Nong Khai province, Thailand. Fireballs spew up from the river. Everyone had doubts about this extraordinary occurrence, but later accepted what they knew as facts about the fireball: that it was not staged by humans, but happened naturally. So from then on, villagers on both sides of the river called this phenomenon the Nāga's Fireball. They believe that Nāga under Mekong River shoot the fireball into the air to celebrate the end of Buddhist Lent, because Nāga also meditate during this time

The fireballs have been seen for centuries and are most often reported around the night of Wan Awk Pansa - the end of the Buddhist rains retreat - in October only.