Damn drunken Laoatians.

I had been drawn to Nhong Khai- a small city on the northeastern Thai/Laos border- for one reason, Naga Fireballs. legend has it that on the closing night of Bhuddist lent, coinciding with october full moon, Naga- the seven headed serpent god of wisdom- emerges from it's home beneath the muddy waters of the mekong river, and spouts brilliant pink fireballs into the air.
of course there has been much specualtion as to the actual cause of the phenomenon-drunken laos soldiers firing tracer rounds into the sky, methane gas drawn to the surface by the gravitational pull of the moon-and so on. but whatever the cause, it does actually happen. and i meant to see it.
I arrived in the city the day before the spectacle was to occur, having arrived by train overnight from Ayathuya, to find the city's guesthouses almost completely full. With a stroke of luck and a helpfull guesthouse employee i was able to secure a room. Now, i just had to figure out how to get to the festivities. appearantly the fireballs are only visible from certain vantage points along the meakong, and closest to nhong khai was about 70 kilometers to the east. after asking around and eliminating a couple of options, i found a group of travellers from a neighboring guesthouse who were planning to rent motocycles and travel to the town en-masse. i rented a motorcycle the following morning and met up with them at the guesthouse.
The trip will be another entry all it's own. let's just say that it was "exciting" to say the least. driving down the highway (on the left no less) with an englishman on the back of my rented motorbike is something i didn't think i would be doing earlier that day.
Pulling into our destination, i was struck by a familiar feeling. it was just like arriving in the parking lot of a country fair, or monster truck rally back in north america. there seemed to be an excited air floating about the temporary parking lots and hastily erected foodstalls. it occured to me at this point that even if i didn't end up seeing anything, that the trip was already well worth it. Our group made their way down to the riverside, which was already packed with thousands of thai people, who were sitting and talking excitedly amongst themselves on the concrete bleachers built into the side of the riverbed, i can only assume for this exact occasion.
we found ourselves a spot, spread out some mats, sat down and began to watch.
I didn't even know exactly what i was supposed to be looking for. i had read much about the fireballs, but never was there any exact discription. and the plethora of small fireworks being let off on both sides of the river only added to my confusion.
after about 30 minutes of waiting, i was having a conversation with patty (the englishman that i bore on the back of my motorcycle) when a huge cheer arose from the thais lining the bank of the river.
I wipped my head around to the dirrection they were pointing but to no avail. I was going to have to be more vigilent.
about 10 minutes after that i was watching a section of river to my left when the same cheer came up again. once again i had missed it. I was just getting frustrated when an old lady behind me tapped my on the back and pointed to the location that the first fireball had come from.
I guess there are fireball "hotspots."
so i began to diligently watch the area where she had pointed. and sure enough, about 10 minutes later, a bright pink ball-no bigger than a baseball-leaving a pink trail behind it- rose quickly and silently into the air. silently that is, except for the thousands of thais and one canadian who saw it, yelling and pointing.
Over the course of the next few hours, i saw about 12 or so fireballs, and with each one my excitement- along with the mystery - began to fade. they did, in fact, all come from the same place, and from my vantage point, they all seemed to be coming from beyond the trees on the opposite side of the river. (although, someone who had seen from a different village, informed me that she saw them rise out of the water.) but they looked more and more to me, like a bigger version of a roman candle.
The thai's didn't seem to care though, emitting the same cheer and excited laughter with each one. and then it dawned on me.
This was visual proof of their religion. The closest that westerners get to this is waking up on christmas morning and seeing that the cookies and milk have dissapeared. That, or the hokey televangelists on sunday morning T.V.
The Thai people revel in this spectacle and even if it isn't guaranteed to be genuine they still flock from miles around just to be a part of it.
And as i gathered up my things and prepared for the long journey back, i found myself grateful for the chance to even form my own opinion.