VIENTIANE: The people of Vientiane, together with visitors from around the country and further afield, are once again enjoying the colourful annual Boat Racing Festival (Boun Xuang Heua) which this year is taking place from October 15-18, immediately following the end of Buddhist Lent.
The highlight of the event will be the boat races on the Mekong River on Friday (Oct 18), while on Thursday (Oct 17) night lighted boats of all shapes and sizes will be set afloat on the river, and flaming lanterns will rise into the night sky.
Small model boats will be assembled and adorned with candles, while people will flock to the riverbank to launch tiny, ornate craft made of banana leaves and containing lighted candles, in an age-old custom known as loy kathong.
Candlelight processions will take place at the main temples and hundreds of stalls will be set up to tempt shoppers looking for bargains.
These will be open from 8am-11.30pm every day, according to a Chanthaboury district official.
To ease traffic congestion during the festival, city authorities have closed four roads near the river from October 15-18, during the hours of 6am to midnight.
These roads are Done Chan, Fa Ngum, Khoun Boulom and Chao Anou.
The Boat Racing Festival is the first public festival in Vientiane following the relative sobriety of the three-month Buddhist Lent and gives people the chance to once again indulge their party-loving spirit, with a focus on traditional wooden longboats and rivers.
The boat races and the accompanying festivities take place in many towns across the country, drawing people to riversides to cheer for their favourite team, and bring streets alive with colour, noise, and the smell of cooked food sold at myriad stalls.
During and immediately after Buddhist Lent, each province selects a different date for the Boun Xuang Heua festival depending on local customs.
In Luang Prabang province, the event is organised to coincide with the Hor Khaopadapdin festival in early September. - Vientiane Times/ANN
