The Magnificent Festival of Lights – Lai Heaua Fai- Invoking blessings for the new year.

The “Lai Heua Fai” or the magnificent festival of the light boat was held in Luang Prabang on the 25th of October earlier this year. This magnificent festival of lights is held to invoke the blessings of the Nagas (water spirits) to bring luck to the Laotian new year. Boats carved out of bamboo and banana trunks are lit up and launched into the Mekong. Locals and tourists gather alongside the banks of the river, on jetties built specifically for the festival or take a Mekong river cruise with the availability of tour facilitators, the likes of Mekong Kingdoms to view or cruise alongside the 20,000 odd illuminated floats. These vessels are built by over 20 villages that participate in the ceremony and thereafter in a friendly competition wherein the most expressive boat is selected as the winner.