OCT 13

nonG Khai, Thailand

NAGA FIREBALL FESTIVAL (BANG FAI PHAYA NAK)

Mysterious fireballs are the stars of this festival which takes place around the full moon of the 11th lunar month (the end of Buddhist Lent) along the banks of Mekong River. In Udon Thani near the border shared with Laos, numerous fireballs rise up into the sky from the river in the evenings during this period. According to folklore, Naga – a serpent in the river that took the form of a human to be Buddha’s disciple – throws them up as a sign of respect.