October | Boun Lhai Heua Fai | Light Boat Festival

Venue: Luang Prabang Province

Boun Lai Heua Fai is a festival for the Phanang Naga which is held during Boun Xouang Heua in order to bring good luck. Each village in many provinces makes and decorates a boat. The boats are then paraded through the town, at night they are lunched onto the river and ceremoniously set on fire as offerings to spirits. This festival involves floating the ritual flowers onto the river, to send of bad luck and give thanks to the water spirits. When holding boat race, people ritually reclaim the land from the Naga, chasing them out from fields and streams and back into the Mekong River.

Luang Prabang during light boat festival is a magical and enchanting place to visit. The enchanting of festival will be all temple are full of paper lantern decor. On the night of fullmoon , the highlight of the festival is light boat parade on main street, a lot of people are procession parade to Wat Xiengthong before placed on mekong river.
Photo cre: Saiyoffical