Boun Ok Phannsaa

                                                      

 Kra Tong's floating away on the mekong.

 Town during the procession or Lai Hua Fai. Fireworks everywhere. Beautiful decorations made by every temple.

 Boun Ok Phansaa, or the 'Rains Retreat', celebrates the end of Buddhist Lent which lasts for 3 months. In Laos it is held during the 11th lunar month, usually in mid-October. During this day the monks are allowed to leave the temple after three months and take offerings of food, sweets, money and robes. The monks decorate their temples with handmade stars made out of paper and bamboo. Each temple also builds an elaborate boat. The boat is left at the temple and people come and place offerings in it.
The next night there is a procession through town called Lai Hua Fai. Each Ban, or village, makes a beautiful boat. They will decorate it with money, candles, bright colored paper, flowers and anything else they want to offer to the goddess of water, the Naga. The parade through town is long and joyous and most people will wear their traditional ethnic clothing. The children all sing and dance and the men play their instruments. All of the people and their boats end at the stairs to the Mekong and one by one float their boats into the water.

During this large procession down the steps, people are also putting their own personal boats or Kra Tong's into the water.
These are made of folded banana leaves and marigolds. They have candles, incense and sparkles on them. Putting your Kra Tong in the water is a very meaningful moment. The act of the raft floating away symbolizes letting go of one's anger, grudges, sins, and sickness. It floats away so that good luck can float in.

I put extra candles on mine and watched it float away. It did float away and the candles stayed lit, which is a very good sign! This festival was meaningful for me. Last year was not my favorite, and I feel as though I have finally let go of a lot of the sadness and have begun to feel like my old self.  I ended up getting another one later while friends were going to float theirs. I made sure it was beautiful and full of candles and sparklers. I made my wish, watched it float in the opposite direction of the current and said goodbye to Jimmy.

 Jo lighting the Lanterns, Khom Fai, to be carried away in the sky.  They look like fireballs floating in the night. I rode my bike home and they where everywhere. It is so beautiful it almost takes your breath away. Strangely, I also thought of being in the ocean and being surrounded by bioluminescent Jellyfish.  I heard that in Chang Mai there are thousands in the sky at once. Here is a picture of the same festival, which lands on the 12th Lunar month in Thailand.