20070512

070512 Thaikarl - Bang Fai in Yasathon! rockets!

friends,

ROCKET FESTIVAL!  Yee ha!  half a days journey by bus(s) and we are in Yasothon thailand.  over in the lower northeast of thailand.  tok spotted a hotel from the bus as we were pulling into town.  only 250 baht for an aircon room. ($7.65).  we walked up the road towards all the sound and lights.

incredible.  the street is lined on both sides with stages - every hundred feet or so -- and on every stage is dancers or people or bands, and everyone is cranking out music at 120 decibels.  we're talking like 25 stages!  vendors along the sidewalks, many people walking around looking, families, kids, men women, young and old.  what a celebration.  that was last night (friday)

today, saturday was the parade.  long troups of dancers, each representing a Bang Fai (rocket) team paraded down the road.  they stop in front of a judging stand, and perform a long dance, to the music and singers on the judges stand.  there are these huge, superbly ornate floats - all covered with gold painted traditional thai art forms, flowers and statures that come down the road.  each float has a dragons head at the front up top. there is a man who is twisting a handle from below, so the dragon head tosses and turns, spraying water from it's mouth. so cool!

it's quite warm today, humid, and a little rain brought out all the umbrella's.  tomorrow i am hoping for clear weather, because there are going to be 90 rockets launched.  these things are huge bottle rockets, and will go many meters into the sky.  i'm all excited to see these launches.  i saw this rocket festival on a little news clip on tv about 7 years ago, and i have wanted to see this ever since.  pictures will be forthcoming.

but for now, we are going to take a cyclo (Tok just corrected me - cyclo is what they call 3 wheel taxi biks in cambodia and vietnam.  here in thailand they are called Sam Low - which means "three wheels") to the park where all the floats are staged and there is a party going on!

woo hoo!!!

onwards!
Nu and Tok

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I am in southeast asia April 19 - July 20 2007 ::: http://thaikarl.blogspot.com/

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