Rocket festival goes off with a bang!

Posted by admin on May 3rd, 2010 filed in Culture & customs, Isarn, Living here

The famous rocket festival come to Thailand for three days from this Wednesday and promised to be a fantastic occasion in the northeast town of Yasothon. Amateur rocket owners stuff as much as 25kgs of black powder into bamboo or plastic pipes to give their homemade missiles a decent lift from the ground.

This deafening festival has its roots traced back in the mystical skies ruled by gods, as it is believed that the clouds and rain that heralds the start of the rice planting season will only come when said deities are in the mood for a little good lovin’.

And nothing gets the omnipotent rulers in the mood like a variety of explosions with the vapour trail and god height seen as a positive omen. The higher it goes, the more rain will fall on the northeast plateau bringing good fortune and a bumper rice harvest.

While the rockets compete, the crowd is entertained with comedy, often bawdy with a smattering of dirty jokes and raucous country music. It’s a genuine farming community excuse to have fun and get the planting season off to a good start. Accidents are few and far between, but as the beer and rice whisky flows, missiles may stutter, wobble or even do some low flying antics over the tents and entertainment stages.