Nancy was invited to her tutor’s village to witness their Rocket Festival. We were told the drive was about 6.5 hours away. So after my physical in Bangkok, Nancy’s driver, Somphong, picked me up from Nancy’s apartment and we started our drive up to NE Thailand to a small village named Wari Sawat. After driving about 3 hours (Thailand’s traffic is horrendous) we realized we would not get to the village till about midnight so we decided to stay in the town of Korat, also known as Nakhon Ratchasima. Nancy had stayed at a hotel there before so we went there to see if they had a room. It was a pretty big hotel and reminded me of an Embassy Hotel in the States. We checked in and for a room with 2 beds and a full breakfast in the morning it cost $57. Great deal and I was very happy not to be driving many hours in the dark. We decided we didn’t want hotel food so we went in search of some authentic Thai food on the streets. We found a small outdoor restaurant and luckily Nancy knows Thai and tried to order us some pad Thai but no luck. We ended up with seepad noodles with pork and fried rice and a big Singha beer. It was very tasty. I went back and ordered another beer and it turns out they just send their 10 year old son to the 7/11 store to buy the beer as they don’t sell it themselves. Our total dinner bill was $4.20.
Next morning after our full buffet which you could choose from fried eggs, omelet, cereal, toast, fruit, pastries, not to mention all the Thai and Japanese dishes we headed off to the village.
On the way we made a small detour to a village that specializes in making Thai silk. They actually grow the silk worms, spin, dye, and create incredible works of art. It was amazing to see how they dyed the silk by tying small pieces of plastic on the strands so the due would not touch that part.
Ok now back on our road trip we finally arrive into the village by noon. Khun Took, Nancy’s tutor, and her family greater us warmly and we all sat down to lunch which consisted of fishball curry, omelet, spicy beef and of course Leo Beer. In Thailand since it is so hot they add ice cubes to the beer. I actually got used to that. After lunch it was off to see the parade. This is where different districts dress up and dance. Some of them are displaying the way of life of the village like fishing and others are just wearing the same colorful shirts. Many of them have been drinking all day as this is the rocket festival to bring the rains for a good rice harvest and the start of many hard months of working the fields. The parade was very colorful and loud. The Thai people like loud loud music with thumping bass pounding.
After the parade we headed to another village and picked up some take away for dinner. That evening during dusk we all headed out on mopeds to visit the family’s rice paddies. It was a beautiful warm evening with an incredible sunset. It was interesting to see the rice paddies and learn of the family history. I was amazed to find out that women are left more of the land than the men and the youngest is left the most. Maybe because the youngest daughter is supposed to take care of the parents in old age.
We returned to the home. The house is simple and on stilts and all of the living is done under the house. The only thing that is done in the upstairs house is sleeping. We sat on a big bamboo table for meals and to chat. Luckily they had some chairs for us Farang’s (foreigners) as there is no way I could sit for that long without back support. Haha
We could hear music from the temple as the party was still in full swing at 9pm. I was happy that I could finally go to sleep (my goal was to stay awake till 9pm – I was still jet lagged and so tired, I’m not used to getting up at 5am). The family decided to head down to the temple to see the music while I went upstairs to bed.
We had a very comfy mattress to sleep on and Nancy and I decided to move it so we both could get up in the night if we had to head down to the bathroom. Well little did we know we had positioned our mattress where our heads were now pointed to the west. The girls came in and were very upset and asked us to move the mattress back. Turns out that the decease are laid to rest with their heads pointed to the west and it is disrespectful and disruptive to the spirits when you sleep with your head facing west. After long conversations we finally understood and moved the mattress back. I’m sure I slept better for it (if only the pounding music would stop – it went on till 5am).
Finally it was our big day to witness the Rocket Festival. But first the family was offering a money tree to the Buddha’s at the temple. This is a donation to the temple. We left the house at 8am and walked to the temple with a branch full of baht tied to the sticks. When we arrived to the temple there were 8 monks waiting to receive the donation. It was a beautiful ceremony with chanting and prayers.
Back to the house to have breakfast and wait till the first rocket would be launched at 11am. We walked to the field where a carnival atmosphere was in full force with dart games and many snack booths available for purchase. At the field we witnessed 11 rockets under the tent ready to be launched. We were warned not to get too close to the rockets as they can be dangerous. We took position under the big tree about 1000 meters away. They announced it was time for takeoff but we really were not prepared for the explosion of the first rocket. It was amazing and ear piercing. We did not expect all the smoke that engulfed the spectators. Luckily we were just upwind from the smoke. The first rocket went incredibly high. The rockets are judged according to height achieved, how straight they fly, and the “beauty” of their smoke trail. The winning team takes home almost US$1,000, while a third-place win barely covers the cost of building the rocket.
What an adrenaline rush. The first rocket took 3min and 48 seconds to land.
The villagers do not make the rockets for the prize they can win. To win 1st prize is a huge prestige award. It takes over a week to assemble a rocket. They weigh 180lbs and cost about 12000 baht to assemble. After the big bang the 2nd attraction are the side bets. Many of them make bets on how long the rockets will last. I saw a bet of 10,000 baht on the first launch. That is more than an average month salary of a school teacher in Bangkok.
We watched 5 of the 11 rockets launched but none were as spectacular as the first one. The 3rd rocket lasted for about 30 seconds. Unfortunately we had to leave before the end of the festival since we had an 8 hour journey back to Bangkok. Later we learned the first rocket won the prize.
It was an intimate adventure into the real culture of Thailand. Nancy and I were the only female (foreigners) attending and I think we were as interesting to see as the rockets for the locals.
Bring your crash helmet, and may the best rocket win
