Yasothon Rocket Festival
The skies around the town of Yasothon light up on this night
with fireworks and rockets tempting the clouds to spill their
precious rain over the rice fields. Originating in pre-Buddhist
times, it is a fertility rite held to celebrate and to encourage
the coming of the rainy season, and parade ornaments and floats
often sport phallic symbols and imagery. Although the humble
origins lie in superstition, the festival is today a competition to
see who has the biggest rocket. For more information phone the
Yasothon Municipality on (0)45 711 397 or the Thailand Tourist
Office on (0)2 694 1222.
Venue: Phaya Thaen Park, Yasothon;
Date: 10-11 May 2008
Naga Fireballs
One of the world's most awesome phenomena is this natural event
which coincides with the end of the Buddhist Rains Retreat.
Hundreds, often thousands of balls of fire rise out of the water to
a few hundred metres before disappearing. It is not yet known how
exactly this occurs and though scientists may dispute, the locals
believe it is the work of Naga, a serpent living in the Mekong
River.
Venue: Mekong River, Nong Khai region;
Date: October 2008, TBC
