TrongpaiExpat
October 29th, 2007, 21:33
The BF and I spent last week in Nong Khai Province. One of the reasons for the trip was to witness the phenomena Bongfai Phayanak or also called Naga Fire Balls emerging from the Maekong. There are festivals all along the Maekong in the Province for this event. There was a movie (2002) titled in English 'Maekong Full Moon Party' or in Thai something like "The Fifteenth Waxing of the Eleventh Lunar Month' that has made this event popular outside of the Province. The mythology is that a Naga resides in the river and emits fire balls. It's really methane gas burping from the river when the water cools.
We spent a few nights at the Pantawee Hotel (http://thailand.pantawee.com/) The exterior and lobby of this hotel look new and quite nice but the rooms are worn and basic but clean. Free in room computer was a nice touch as was free off street parking. At 600 B per night it's a good buy but I had to pay the "Festival Rate", 1,200. Pantawee is gay owned, they advertise in a some gay magazines but is not a gay hotel. In fact we were probable the only gay guests. All the area hotels double their rate for the Bongfai Phyanak and other close out booking all together for tour groups.
We went to the center of the event, Phon Phisai, a little town on the river where there's a good chance of seeing the phenomena. The city of Nong Khai also has a festival but we were told that Pon Phisai is the best place to go. We left the city of Nong Khai at 1300 to get ahead of the traffic and pick out a good place on the river bank. The small town gets inundated with people from all over. Getting in was easy, I feared getting out would be a problem but the Province police did a very good job and opened both lanes on the road out and closed all the intersections all the way back to Nong Khai.
There is a river bank walkway and the whole area is turned into a party zone. Fireworks displays, floating lighted big boats with chanting monks, thousands of little ktong boast with lit candles drift down the river, lit kites, and music. We bought a mat picked out a nice spot and had a picnic. Ch. 7 was giving on the scene reports and a few movie stars made appearances representing Nokia. Food stalls were every where.
We waited and waited and looked and looked. Then all of a sudden, while I was working on a piece of roasted chicken, the crowd let out a collective Ahaa--Ooo and I sprang to my feet but missed it. One little white puff of light was all it was, I was told. I sat back down. There was another reaction from the spectators but turned out to be a false alarm. When 10pm came around we decided to pack it in and call it a night.
I may not have actually witness the Bonfai Phaynak but the trip was not a total bust. The party was fun, the food good and it was nice to find this little town on the Maekong and I might come back someday when there are no crowds and just chill out on the Maekong. There are a few interesting guest houses right on the river.
We spent a few nights at the Pantawee Hotel (http://thailand.pantawee.com/) The exterior and lobby of this hotel look new and quite nice but the rooms are worn and basic but clean. Free in room computer was a nice touch as was free off street parking. At 600 B per night it's a good buy but I had to pay the "Festival Rate", 1,200. Pantawee is gay owned, they advertise in a some gay magazines but is not a gay hotel. In fact we were probable the only gay guests. All the area hotels double their rate for the Bongfai Phyanak and other close out booking all together for tour groups.
We went to the center of the event, Phon Phisai, a little town on the river where there's a good chance of seeing the phenomena. The city of Nong Khai also has a festival but we were told that Pon Phisai is the best place to go. We left the city of Nong Khai at 1300 to get ahead of the traffic and pick out a good place on the river bank. The small town gets inundated with people from all over. Getting in was easy, I feared getting out would be a problem but the Province police did a very good job and opened both lanes on the road out and closed all the intersections all the way back to Nong Khai.
There is a river bank walkway and the whole area is turned into a party zone. Fireworks displays, floating lighted big boats with chanting monks, thousands of little ktong boast with lit candles drift down the river, lit kites, and music. We bought a mat picked out a nice spot and had a picnic. Ch. 7 was giving on the scene reports and a few movie stars made appearances representing Nokia. Food stalls were every where.
We waited and waited and looked and looked. Then all of a sudden, while I was working on a piece of roasted chicken, the crowd let out a collective Ahaa--Ooo and I sprang to my feet but missed it. One little white puff of light was all it was, I was told. I sat back down. There was another reaction from the spectators but turned out to be a false alarm. When 10pm came around we decided to pack it in and call it a night.
I may not have actually witness the Bonfai Phaynak but the trip was not a total bust. The party was fun, the food good and it was nice to find this little town on the Maekong and I might come back someday when there are no crowds and just chill out on the Maekong. There are a few interesting guest houses right on the river.