Spectators struggle for glimpse of full moon fireballs
Hundreds of people in Vientiane travelled to road 13 south of Vientiane to Pakngum district on Friday afternoon to witness the Naga fireball phenomenon, causing traffic jams around the district.
The fireballs are said to appear on the last day of Buddhist Lent, which traditionally falls on the full moon; local people believe that a natural phenomenon, known as Bangfai Phayanak (the Naga fireball), occurs in Pakngum district.
As in previous years, Pakngum district authorities organised a Naga Fireballs festival, and this year, hundreds of people congregated in three main areas of Pakngum, Nongkhiet and Naxone villages.
A resident of Pakngum district, Mr Thom, 65, who claims to have seen the Naga fireballs, described the spectacle as red and pink fireballs that spring from the bottom of the Mekong .
He said the fireballs appear between 1 and 30 metres above the water, where they remain for up to 10 seconds before disappearing; they are different from fireworks because they don't fall and don't make any noise .
He said the egg-shaped balls usually appeared at some time between 6:30 pm and midnight.
To cope with the influx of vehicles making their way to Pakngum district, local authorities kept the flow of traffic smooth by providing directions, parking and places on the riverbank for spectators to settle in for a night of waiting for this strange phenomenon to occur.
Locals are able to make a tidy income from this event each year, charging for parking and renting out spaces for families to sit and wait; these 3 x 5 metre spaces can cost anywhere between 30,000 kip to 300,000 kip to rent, depending on where they are placed.
Each year there are also plenty of street vendors selling food to those who had come empty-handed.
Vendors also sell kathong, small boats made of banana leaves, for visitor to float as offerings down the Mekong .
One Vientiane resident who has made the trip to Pakngum district many times for this event, Mr Siphan Manyvong, confirmed that he had seen the fireballs every year for the past four years, all between 10 pm and midnight.
He said he be lieved the fireballs to be a symbol from the mythical Naga, deep under the water, marking the end of Buddhist Lent, just as humans on the land do.
He said this year there were fewer people making their way to Pakngum village than last year, because many had discovered alternative viewpoints.
Village official, Mr Phailat Khanthavong said that last year, a number of Thai tour buses had showed up, but this year, there had been none, probably because a similar event was held in Thailand 's Nongkhai province.
A Vientiane resident who preferred to remain nameless, said she had waited from 5pm until 9pm on Friday, and hadn't seen a single thing.
BySoudalath Phonpachith (Latest Update October 29, 2007)
