Chasing the Dragon – Nong Khai

This trip involved two people, Boon and myself, traveling by local bus services.

The bus journey took approximately 12 hours.

Staying two nights at a local guesthouse.

The total cost of the trip was approximately 4000 baht.

As shown by the map, the festival site we chose to visit was at the border town of Ponpisai, approximately 50 kms on from Nong Khai.

What is it ?

Pa Ya Nak is the mythical(?) serpent spirit that is said to have sheltered The Buddha from heavy rain as he sat meditating his way to enlightenment.

Every October Full Moon , thousands of Thais gather along the banks of the Mekon River in various places in the Nong Khai province to witness, what are described on local town signs as, the ‘Dancing Fireballs’, bright red balls of light that shoot up from the river, apparently only at this particular time of year and a world exclusive to this area.

There are many different versions of what the phenomenon at Nong Khai is believed to be, here is one, passed on to me by Boon.

The timing is significant to Buddhist faith, as it apparently coincides with the date that The Buddha finished his teachings, on the path to enlightenment, to his first followers.

Many believe that the Great Spirit Pa Ya Nak now resides in the river and wishes to join in the celebrations held to commemorate The Buddhas’ passing on of his wisdom, creating this wondrous light show by spitting its mystical luminous balls of venom into the sky.

Having defied all attempts, to date, to explain this phenomenon or expose it as a hoax, it is a must for all believers in the mystical realms of this world.

Getting there

Leaving the night before, the night before full moon we had a 12 hour bus journey, on a local fan cooled bus from Chiang Mai to Udon Thani. It was one of the most nerve racking bus journeys yet, not because of the driver, who was actually driving quite carefully, but because of the clear, physical evidence of many very recent landslides.

Its another hazard of travel in Thailand that makes me happier to use my bike, with the theory that I’d be better able to get out of the way than when stuck on one of those buses.

Still we made it to Udon Thani in one piece.

Taking breakfast at a Thai cafe next to the bus station, we had a couple of hours to wait for the on going bus to Nong Khai.

The food was very good, and the lady there was very friendly and most interested in the fact that we had come all the way for the festival.

It was a very hot morning and the bus station was very busy with many people on their way to the same place. With little shelter from the sun outside the busy bus station, we were glad to eventually get on our way to Nong Khai.

Skirting the main city of Nong Khai, we stayed on the bus, further on to the smaller riverside, border town of Ponpisai; arriving there just before midday. By all accounts this is the main festival area and place you are most likely to see the fireballs.

Finding a guest house

The north-east of Thailand is the driest and possibly poorest region in the country. Maybe this is why you find the most beautiful Tuk-Tuks…an effort to brighten peoples days perhaps.

After the obligatory post bus journey coffee in the centre of town; where the prominence of Pa Ya Nak is everywhere; we set about trying to find somewhere to stay.

Time for another mild panic.

Our initial inquiries were met with some humour. ‘You are not booked in somewhere?’ ; ‘Pa Ya Nak Festival, everywhere booked up.’; ‘You should have booked a month before.’

Envisaging a cold night on the streets, we eventually found a Tuk-Tuk driver who assured us he could find us somewhere. Putting our faith in him , we jumped aboard for a very interesting ride that involved crossing a bridge that I would normally think twice about walking across. The photos don’t really show just how loose those planks appeared.

The first place he took us to was a very new apartment block over looking the river. A quick consultation with the Swedish proprietor and we were on our way; he wanted 7000 baht for a weeks let, the shortest period he would consider.

Out of our budget, but I suspect that the apartments were of superior standard, and overlooking the mighty Mekong, as it does, to many it would be worth the money.

Making our budget range a bit more clear to the Tuk-Tuk driver we were lucky enough to find a basic fan room at a small ‘guest house’ that turned out to be just 15 minutes walk into town.

In that region, for what it was, I suspect we still paid a ‘Festival premium’, but once I realised just how big this festival is I’d say that we were lucky to get anywhere.

Taking an afternoon nap to recuperate, we then wandered into town in the early evening to get a preview of what was in store. There is a beautiful little Temple near the centre of town that seems to be particularly centred towards children, with a playground and many animal statues spotted around.

Mekong Sunsets

As we wandered through, what is a very unassuming little town, it was clear that the population was steadily being temporarily increased by many thousand visitors the vast majority being Thais.

Indeed it was not until the main festival night that we spotted a few other Farang around.

There was quite an extensive market set up at the riverside Temple, with many food stalls and a large stage ready for the evenings entertainment.

Staring out over that mighty river, you could see preparations for similar activity over on the Lao side.

So we spent the evening relaxing by the riverside and were treated to one of the most stunning sunsets I’ve ever seen.

Grab a spot while you can

The next day saw even more people in town and the market was well crowded.

Wanting to be sure of a good vantage point we got food and drink from the riverside stalls and grabbed a spot on the riverbank steps.

As the riverside filled up we watched the preparations, including many long boats carrying light shows and some with musicians.

We also saw people coming over from Lao and discovered that if we had got there before midday we could have popped over to Lao for free.

There were a few short rain showers, but it didn’t put anyone off and, thankfully, did not last.

The mood was party like, as more and more people grabbed their places and picnicked by the water, waiting for the night time to draw in.

Tho fairly calm that day, you could still see the power in the currents of this historic waterway and I pondered the idea of a future trip by boat someday.

Crowds cheer as Pa Ya Nak spits fire

The cloudy skies obscured the sunset that evening but just created a different state of beauty.

The steps at the riverside had filled up well by the time the evening drew in.

As darkness fell across the Mekong, the first of many long boats, adorned with many flame torches, coasted up river.

Some of the boats carried musicians and the night filled up with the sounds of traditional North-eastern Thai music. Quite atmospheric in this expectant setting.

Having never been here before and not knowing quite what to expect, I was just beginning to wonder whether it had been worth the trip.

Suddenly the crowds all leapt to their feet yelling and screaming. Turning just in time we spotted the first fireballs shoot up into the sky.

Too quick to catch

I won’t feel too guilty that the anti-climax to this report is that there are no photo’s of the lights. Many say that they are impossible to photograph although if you check on the internet you will find supposed impressions of the lights that do give a reasonable picture of what you see.

To try to describe them doesn’t really do justice to the event as it is not just the lights but the mystery of how they come about.

To me the lights themselves were akin to large ‘Roman Candles’ but firing high into the night sky, seemingly coming from the surface of the river.

The cynic in me scoured the waters for floating remote controlled fireworks but could see no evidence of such a trick. Any such con would be extremely difficult to pull off, year after year ,with so many thousands of witnesses.

This year,(2006), was a quiet year, over a period of 2 and a half hours, we witnessed 10 lights, although we heard that there were a few more in the early hours. Supposedly there are often many more, sometimes up in the 40s.

Without the pictorial evidence I can only say , ‘go there and see it for yourself’. If you are at all spiritually minded it is definitely worth it.

Having witnessed this unexplained wonder, I pay homage to Pa Ya Nak and his tribute to The Buddha.

You can see more photos of this trip here in our Photobucket.com album