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increase
decrease“Bung Fai Phaya Naga”
The full moon of the eleventh Lunar Month - October 28, 2004.
Fireballs shoot up from beneath the flowing waters of the Mekong River, red and pink in color, climb into the air some ten to fifty meters high before disappearing without noise or smoke. It is a truly strange and inexplicable sight but beautiful and wonderful to see. The fireballs appear from both sides of the river, sometimes near the shore or more often in the middle of the river. Their supernatural appearance is unlike anything that could be man-made.
The times for them to appear are from 6 pm onward on the night of the full moon of the 11th lunar month. The total of fireballs appearing is unpredictable – sometimes only fifty, but more often than not hundreds to a thousand or more.
In the year 2004 none appeared on October 28th. Had it something to do with the lunar eclipse seen in the western part of the world? Fireballs did appear on October 29th, a rather poor showing of only 13 over a time span of three hours.
I missed the first one altogether. I heard the roar of the approx 60,000 visitors on the shore; I had looked too low, missed its rise into the air. Somehow during the evening I missed two more, couldn’t get my direction quick enough. But I can happily say that I saw ten fireballs rising out of the Mekong River and…as if by magic, float silently into the air and evaporate in the inky blackness of the night; a phenomenon that awes and delights. I felt privileged to have seen them.
Local legends have villagers claim that the fireballs are created by Nak, mythical serpents as central to Thai belief and as enigmatic as the fireballs themselves. To the locals the scientists’ desire to find a rational explanation for the phenomenon is an abomination. Faith and tradition vie with science.
There are several ‘Hotspots’ to observe the fireballs rising. My friend Mike and his Thai family picked me up at the hotel and we drove to Phon Pisai, about 40 km east out of Nong Khai. This location was chosen by approx 60,000 visitors to sit on the shore and wait for darkness to fall. No Thai enjoys ‘Sanuk’ (Fun – good time) more than the Isan people.
This was an occasion for Sanuk; eat, eat, eat more and drink.
The drive home at night was a true nightmare, rush hour traffic at its worst. But eventually we got where we wanted to go – me to a shower and bed.
I wondered why 90% of the visitors would arrive and wait on the river banks before noon. It is very hot at this time of the year. When we knew we had to come back the following day I suggested we arrive in the late afternoon. The fireballs can be seen from any location in the vicinity. We did arrive at 4:30pm the next day – the ladies scampered to spread the blankets while Mike and I sat just inside a restaurant, enjoying the breeze from the fans above.
I wish to come back another year. I would like to see hundreds of fireballs rising in groups of ten or more, one after the other.
Pebo
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