Isaan Rocket Festival in Thailand
| country: | Thailand |
| location: | Isaan |
| price: | From US $500 (5 days) excluding flights. Held over second weekend in May 2009 |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
description
'Rocket Day' (Bung Fai) is in fact a three day festival/carnival. Simply amazing and only in Isaan Thailand. The event heralds in the rainy season. The ancient belief was that firing these enormous (up to 2 tonne) Monster home made rockets would wake up the rain god and encourage the much needed rain for the rice season. It is now an excuse to have one very entertaining three day weekend.
Can you imagine giant Catherine wheels laying on their sides (like a UFO). Spectators are at a healthy 500 meters away, watching the very brave 'Rocketeers' light the wicks. WHOOSH, up up and away. Watch out, what goes up must come down! These rockets are launched every four or five minutes all day long, and there is an element of danger as some do explode at different stages of the launch. However the spectators are safe.
Can you imagine giant Catherine wheels laying on their sides (like a UFO). Spectators are at a healthy 500 meters away, watching the very brave 'Rocketeers' light the wicks. WHOOSH, up up and away. Watch out, what goes up must come down! These rockets are launched every four or five minutes all day long, and there is an element of danger as some do explode at different stages of the launch. However the spectators are safe.
itinerary
| Day 1: | Pick up at Khon Kaen Airport for a two hour drive to the “Phu Thai” village 50 kilometers from the Mekong River Border with Lao. Dinner is served at 6.30pm |
| Day 2: | Up early for a full breakfast, followed by a drive to the Forest Farm. We will take “Darwin” our pet monkey. He will show you how he forages for food. Bring your camera. 12 noon a light lunch around the pool at the guest house. David will describe the days events. 1 pm off to the Carnival. A short 15 minute drive to a bigger village that hosts the Festival. We are seated in a great spot to see the wonderful floats and dancing teams. So colourful, dancing to “Phu Thai” music played by bands loaded up on the floats. It is a feast for your eyes. This goes on for most of the afternoon so we take a break to wander at your leisure around the Temple grounds where the villagers have set up a fair ground. Vendors selling local Thai cuisine, the smell of woks cooking all sorts of tasty morsels. Stalls selling local handicrafts and woven cotton materials. 5pm we head back to the guest house for drinks at the bar followed by dinner. |
| Day 3: | Another early start. Breakfast is served at the poolside bar. At 9am we depart for Kutwah (The Rocket Village). The first rockets start to launch at 7am but this will go on all day. We are invited into the Judges Tent. Seated alongside the team and radio DJs. We get a full commentary on the days activities. This will be an amazing experience for you. Out in the rice paddies at a safe distance you will see the “Rocketeers” readying there rockets. On the green Flag they are ready to launch. The object of the contest is simple, whoever’s rocket stays up the longest wins. The losers get thrown into a local mud pool, to cool off. We spend lunch at the village and return to the guest house at 5pm for drinks and a summary of the day’s events. Dinner at 6.30pm |
| Day 4: | We take it easy this morning. Breakfast when you’re ready followed by a cultural performance by local children. You will see them sing and dance an old Phu Thai ceremony. Dressed in there traditional clothes. They will also tie “good luck” string on your wrists. 10.30am off to the festival for more of the same fun. Today we wander around with the crowds, remember, they seldom see westerners so you are treated a little like a movie star. Invites to drink and eat with the locals are common and fun. We leave the village at lunch time and head to a local “Prawn Farm” located in the rice paddies. We are served fresh water prawns caught and cooked in front of us. It’s a great lunch in a beautiful venue. Back to the guest house or back to the Festival is up to you. Dinner at 6.30pm |
| Day 5: | After an early breakfast we are picked up by our transfer transport for the drive to Khon Kaen and your flight to Bangkok. |
how this holiday makes a difference
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The Rocket festival also helps the local culture with its economy. There is also encouragement for younger people to be involved in the parade, giving them pride in the village. We do specialise in small tours, it enables us to get to know the guests well and for them to enjoy a much more personal experience. The tour guiding is carried out by Noi, her family and village Aunties and Uncles. When guests arrive we always sit them down on the "Deck" and have an orientation. We spend time explaining the history of the "Phu" (our village tribe) and how we fit into our village without any negative impact. On conclusion we normally take a stroll round the village and say "Hi" to the locals. There is always a welcome request "ma gin Keow" ("come and eat rice") with one family or another.
Our accommodation is located in a “Phu Thai” village. The “Phu” are a tribe that has its origins in China and Later, Lao. They have lived in this region for over 100 years. We have been careful to leave no negative footprint on this culture and still remain a small boutique guesthouse. All resources such as food, handicrafts, infrastructure and employees are from our village and therefore contribute to the economy. The guest house encourages the growth of the “phu” culture by the shows and sale of local handicrafts. The forest tours are photo opportunities and guided to minimize any ecological damage. The paths we take are routes that the villagers take when foraging for food such as herbs, insects and mushrooms etc. We have a shop in the guest house that sells village made handicrafts such as cotton clothing and materials. Most are made in the village. This is giving some income to our villagers. We encourage displays of local culture and in fact one of our most popular activities is a cultural “Phu Thai” dance and show performed by the children of our village. The fee is by donation and all proceeds go to the school for extra food and snacks for the students. Our guests spend on meals in the village as well as the guest house. This extra income to our village is very welcome. If we can increase the number of visitors we shall be in a position to put on more exhibitions of village culture including dancing and music shows. This helps to retain old “Phu Thai” traditions. The teachers here are very supportive of our guest house. We also give cooking lessons and weaving demonstrations, this also helps keep these traditions alive. Our guests bring income to the village by shopping in our co-op shop, eating in the noodle shop, and donating to our school in payment for the cultural shows the children put on. We also employ villagers in the guest house to clean, cook and care for children etc. We only use village labour to build new accommodation and developments. Selling village made cloths and handicrafts is a very useful income for the villagers. |
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