The phenomenal Boun Lai Heua Fai (translation: floating boats of light) festival reached a crescendo with the parade of the 52 fireboats down the main street of Luang Prabang, around the end of the peninsula, and then down the very steep stairs into the Mekong River, where they are set afloat. The festival, held on a full moon at the end of Buddhist Lent, celebrates the end of rainy season, paying homage to the river and water gods, and to float suffering and negativity away. The large boats, made of bamboo, wire, tissue paper, and lit by candles, are made by various villages within Luang Prabang. It is amazing that none of them went up in flames. In addition to the huge boats sent down the river, individual people make or buy little boats made from banana leaves, and decorated with flowers, a candle and joss sticks (incense), and float them down the river as their own personal offering. These little offerings make the river twinkle with light! I think this parade was the most beautiful I’ve ever seen.
Fireboat Parade by Candle Light
Lao Airlines In-Flight Magazine Cover
In case you missed my Facebook post: A couple weeks into my time here in Laos, I was given an assignment to take photographs for Sao Sinh, a “rent and roam” traditional Lao clothing business with ties to the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre, where I’m volunteering. I’m OVER THE MOON HAPPY that one of my photographs is on the cover of the November/December (busy season!) issue of Lao Airlines in-flight magazine! Plus, two more of my photos are on pages 18 and 20. Check it out! Credit given on the masthead on page 8. I’M THRILLED!!!
Temples Decorated for Boun Lai Heua Fai
The temples in Luang Prabang are beautiful every day, but decorated for Boun Lai Heua Fai they are absolutely magical! When I walked into one for the first time, I felt that I had been transported to a fairy land. The festival officially started on a Saturday, and continued through to the parade on Monday. The first night, Saturday, ended up being a little rainy at the end. Sunday was a complete wash-out, with pouring rain and thunderstorms. So disappointing, though I had fun having drinks and dinner with a friend. The weather for the parade on Monday night was perfect. Before the parade reached my end of town, I even had the opportunity to help one of the temples put the lanterns out on the ground and light them. On Tuesday evening, a Facebook post from one of my favorite temples, Wat Pa Phai, alerted me that they were extending the celebration for another night. I quickly gathered up my photo gear, and headed out the door! It was a fabulous evening, the crowds had thinned, people were very respectful, and a peaceful feeling prevailed.
Festival Preparations
I’m so lucky to have been in Luang Prabang during the Boun Lai Heua Fai festival, otherwise known as the Fireboat Festival. The festival celebrates the end of Buddhist lent. The town and temples are decorated with colorful lanterns, and the festivities culminate in a beautiful, raucous parade down the main street. Villages (villages here are like neighborhoods at home) come together to construct huge, elaborate fireboats that are paraded down main street. The end of the parade route is the Mekong river, where the fireboats are set afloat, unmanned. It was quite a sight to behold. Even the preparations were gorgeous. I spent a lot of time at the temples, talking to the monks, and making photographs. The preparations took about two weeks. I saw the monks working every day, having fun, taking pride in their fanciful creations. It’s really quite amazing what they accomplished. The decorations are all handmade, not bought in a store like our Christmas decorations, which make them even more special and meaningful. So beautiful!
This blog post is photos of the preparations, I’ll post a couple more with the temples decorated and lit up, and of the festival parade.
Hidden Treasure
When I’m in the place where I’ve lived all my life, I’m often bored, blind, stuck. Everything is too familiar, and I drive by without seeing anything at all. I can’t get out of my own way. Living here is completely different. Everything is fresh and new, and I live at a slower pace. I walk everywhere because I don’t have a car, and I won’t get a scooter (the ubiquitous local mode of personal transportation), because I’m afraid of hurting my recently healed broken leg. Even riding a bicycle seems kind of scary. By walking everywhere, I see so many things. Some days, it seems like a new treat is around every corner. Because I don’t have much of an agenda other than going to my volunteer job every day, I’m open to just seeing what happens. Funny, interesting, and often joyful things happen - Every. Single. Day. Here are a few:
One morning, on my day off, I went for a walk to the park at the very end of the peninsula, and sat down to enjoy the beautiful scenery. A young Lao man sat down next to me, and wanted to practice speaking English. Talking to him was a pleasure, and I ended up staying there with him for more than an hour. We talked about his life, where he’s from, his family, and how difficult it is for him to find a good job. There were a lot of young teenagers in the park, obviously enjoying a day off from school. He told me that it was teacher appreciation week in Luang Prabang, which meant the students gave their teachers small gifts, and then had the afternoon off. This young man then excused himself for a few minutes, then reappeared with a lollipop for me - it was his thank you to me for being his teacher for the day. So sweet! It made my day!
This is the young man that I met in the park. I ran into him again at the festival, and we walked around together.
Each week I take my clothes to be laundered by a friendly lady not too far from where I live. She seemed particularly happy to see that my clothes include a couple of sinh. Sinh are the traditional Lao skirt women wear. It’s really amazing that when I wear a sinh, locals on the street make comments and smile their approval and pride that a foreigner likes their clothes and wears them. (No cultural appropriation problem here.) When I took my clothes to the laundry this week, she wrote up the usual receipt, I paid her, and then she asked me to wait a minute. She came back with the gift of an apple! That was the most delicious apple I’ve ever had!
My apple. Simple joy!
In the past few weeks, I’ve been taking a lot of photographs of the novice monks preparing decorations for the Boun Lai Heua Fai (end of Buddhist lent) festival. I’ve spent so much time at Wat Sop Sickharam lately that the monks know me now. It’s always a pleasure talking with them, and feel that they are comfortable having me around. It’s more fun talking to them than taking photographs. Also, one evening when I was out taking photographs of the temples with their beautiful decorations, it started to rain lightly, the crowds had thinned, and I set up my tripod and camera. One of the novice monks was very interested in what I was doing, so I showed him my camera. Before I knew it, he pretty much took over, and had fun taking photographs with my camera. I then turned my iPhone camera on him, using my camera. It was a lot of fun. Before I left, we friended each other on Facebook (he knew how to use it better than I), and I sent him the photos of himself. It’s the simple things in life that truly bring joy!
Hey!! That’s my camera!
Sometimes the hidden treasures are quiet, contemplative experiences. I think the temple offerings are like this. I always seek them out, and I’m drawn to photograph them. I think about all of the blessings in my life and take a moment to reflect in gratitude.
