Cultural events
Nakhon Phanom is famous not only for its many beautiful temples by the Mekong, but also for its cultural events and festivals durig the year. You will find festivals with Thai, Chinese and Vietnamese events. Almost every month during the year, there is a festival or cultural event with dancers and music from the whole region.
In 2018, Nakhon Phanom sat a record; 12.000 dancers performing folk dance perfectly in sync with each other. The event took place in the center of the city, by the Naga landmark.
Dancing in the streets
With every festival, there are dancers in the streets. It usually is in the main street facing the Naga Landmark and the Mekong river. Here are some sights and sounds from a few moments. Pay specially attention to the bamboo dancers. The events usually takes place in front of the Naga landmark.
See Map
See clips and photos of performers from some of the festivals.
One of the largest festivals of the year is the Fire Boat Festival (Lai Ruea Fai)
The Lai Reua Fai, Nakhon Phanom’s famous and mythological annual illuminated boat festival, is considered one of the Kingdom’s most spectacular cultural festivals to mark the end of Buddhist Lent.
The illuminated boat procession is a tradition of the Isaan people and it has been practiced for centuries. Legend has it that the Lord Buddha spent the entire period of Buddhist Lent in Heaven and returned to Earth at the end.
The local people of Nakhon Phanom gather together with Buddhist monks from each village temple to spectacularly decorate the boats with flowers, incense sticks, REAL burning candles and lanterns are launched on the Mekong River in the evening. Visitors can view the illuminated boats from around Nakhon Phanom together with cultural performances, music and entertainment plus a walking street featuring local food and handicrafts over nine days.
This takes place on the full moon day during October and is an magnificent experience that you should not miss.
Folk dancers in the streets.
The Durian event
One of the more special and interesting events; is the Durian happening. It takes place around the 12th of September. Despite is pointy looks it can be very tasteful - all depends of your tounge and likes. The smell and taste varies during the year, and at the right time the fruit is sweet and tasty. It can be smelly though, so dont take it to any hotels, trains, busses or such.
Durian fruit