Northern Thailand - Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Northern Thailand - page 889

GREAT BALLS OF FIRE
Methane gas? Drunken Lao soldiers? Clever monks? Or perhaps the fiery breath of the sacred naga, a
serpentlike being that populates folkloric waterways throughout Southeast Asia. Since 1983 (or for
ages, depending on who you ask), the sighting of the bâng fai pá yah nâhk (loosely translated, ' naga
fireballs') has been an annual event along the Mekong River. Sometime in the early evening, at the
end of the Buddhist Rains Retreat (October), which coincides with the 15th waxing moon of the 11th
lunar month, small reddish balls of fire shoot from the Mekong River and float a hundred or so metres
into the air before vanishing without a trace. Most claim the naga fireballs are soundless, but others
say a hissing can be heard if one is close enough to where they emerge from the surface of the river.
Most Thai and Lao see the event as a sign that resident naga are celebrating the end of the holiday.
There are many theories about the fireballs. One, which aired on a Thai exposé-style TV program,
claimed that Lao soldiers taking part in festivities on the other side of the Mekong were firing their
rifles into the air. Interestingly, the reaction to the TV program was a storm of protest from both sides
of the river. Some suggest that a mixture of methane gas and phosphane, trapped below the mud on
the river bottom, somehow reaches a certain temperature at exactly that time of year and is released.
Many simply assume that some monks have found a way to make a 'miracle'. The latter was the
premise behind a 2002 comedy film entitled Sìp Hâh Kâm Deuan Sìp-èt (Fifteenth Waxing Moon of
the Eleventh Lunar Month), released with English subtitles under the peculiar title Mekhong Full
Moon Party .
Natural or manufactured, naga fireballs have become big business in Nong Khai Province, and curi-
ous Thais from across the country converge at various spots on the banks of the Mekong for the annu-
al show. Little Phon Phisai, the locus of fireball-watching, hosts some 40,000 guests. Special buses
(cheap or free) make the return trip to Nong Khai city, and several hotels run their own buses where
you'll get a guaranteed seat. Mut Mee Garden Guesthouse ( Click here ) sails its boat there and back
(2800B, including lunch and dinner).
If you don't come with the right mindset, you'll likely be disappointed. The fireball experience is
more than just watching a few small lights rise from the river; it's mostly about watching Thais watch-
ing a few small lights rise from the river. And even if the naga doesn't send his annual greeting on the
day you come (it's sometimes delayed by a day due to the vagaries of calculating the arrival of the full
moon), it will still be an interesting experience.