Ork Phansa Festival

Motorcycling through Thailand

From Chiang Mai we ride East some 600Km, an adventure in itself as there are many routes to choose from, absolutely spoiled for choice! Pretty much unable to travel through a village (let alone province!) without being distracted by some form of excess. I could pretty much double the size of this site purely with the activities over the next week or two, honestly! Not even exaggerating! Honestly, I even considered dedicating an entire category to it, and a page-per-experience, but just too much, the choices are bewildering! Instead we'll cherry-pick the best examples in each field and with a little massaging of the 11-Day-Tour's Start/Finish dates we should be able to squeeze two experiences into each Tour. First-up, my favourite, insanity personified!

The Buffalo Racing Festival. With their jockeys clinging on, buffaloes race at surprisingly quick speeds in what is also a celebration of this animal’s exalted status in the agricultural arena.

Obviously there's a complete ban on alcohol sales over the weekend, couldn't have the racers impeded in any way?! Yeah, right

The Nakhon Phanom Illuminated Boat Procession in which locals float the Lai Reua Fai or illuminated boats down the Mekong River. Loaded with food, flowers, incense sticks, candles and handmade lanterns, the boats make a spectacular sight. And really is quite a spectacle! I mention this next because usually the following weekend after Conburi Buffalo's, so here's our first pair;

It is not uncommon to see boat processions carrying the Thai faithful. During the day, some places will hold boat races. As the day draws to a close, the boats will often be used to transport flowers and candles, usually taking on a religious or patriotic theme. Taking place in Samut Prakan from is the Rap Bua Festival, an ancient Buddhist tradition of the local people of Bang Phli district and where the highlight is a magnificent barge procession of a replica of the Luangpho To Buddhist image along Khlong Samrong.

The Sakon Nakhon Wax Castle Festival 2022 from 2– 5 October, with amazing wax sculptures on display and long-boat races on Nong Han Reservoir. The intricate sculptures in the form of entire cities, elaborate deities and shrines are paraded around town and are helping to gain increased international recognition for this event.

We'll call this our "Cultured Pair"?

For visitors to Thailand, perhaps nothing beats the giant Naga Fireballs. This amazing show of lights is thought to be the work of igniting gases spontaneously, releasing fireballs that soar to the sky. The breath-taking show has special meaning for the locals and is a surreal experience for foreigners. They can best be viewed along the Mekong River for over 20km between Pak-Ngeum district, about 80km south of the Laos capital Vientiane, and Phonephisai district in Nong Khai province, Thailand. One of the more mysterious of events on the Thailand events calendar, this centres around the as yet unexplained fireballs that annually erupt into the sky from the Mekong River. I've seen them, can't explain it?! However over 6,000,000 people arrived over the weekend last year so a) going on bikes is a necessity to stand a chance with the jams, and again booking 12+ months or more in advance if accommodation is required. Nongkhai is around 50k from the epicentre actually, Phon Pisai being where there's greatest chance of experiencing the fireballs but also absolutely ram-jam-packed! We'll get you as close as feasibly possible.

 We also have DragonBoat Races in Nakhon Phanom which would pair up nicely with this, You should see these guys go! Bpuk's father's involved with a team so you'll see Fifty drunken guys paddling like crazy in our TMT Company Colours! We rarely win against the truly International-standard competition but have a great laugh taking part!!

Above; Cambodia vs. Laos & China Vs. Thailand, truly International Event and very exciting. Truly the Dragonboat World Championships!

Central To The Buddhist Way of Life;

Wan Awk Phansa is an important festival for devout Thais as it marks the end of lent as well as the start of a new season following the end of heavy rains. The holiday is recognised as a public holiday in Thailand and is marked on the full moon day of the eleventh lunar month. In signifying the end of the lent period for Buddhists, the festival highlights the importance of abstaining from meat, alcohol and smoking. On this day, the locals will make their way to the temples to make petitions as well as offerings. Often, the visit involves heading back to the temple of one’s birthplace. This is often accompanied by candlelit gatherings where the locals walk around the temple carrying a candle, a lotus bud and three incense sticks. Rule #1; Buddhism isn't a religion, it's a way of life. There IS no saving your piety for the audience on Sunday to show it off - a religion implies faith, which by its very nature also relies upon the tiniest possibility of doubt. There is ZERO doubt here, I've studied both the devout and irreverent, the only difference being how often/whether they bother to visit the temple & have a chinwag with the Monks. One look at relative crime rates, demonstrations, petitions, basic aggression in society proves that theirs works, and ours is so sadly lacking. We've so much to learn.