>> Phichit will be the first one that will start the show the 6 and 7 of September. The race is organized to pay tribute to the Bouddha Luang Pho Pet statue which is in the Wat Tha Luang. It’s besides around that temple, by the Nan river, that all the festivities that surround the pirogue races take place. They are categorized according to the number of rowers; the biggest can carry 55 people.
It’s also by the Nan river that the next weekend (13 and 14) that the traditional Phitsanulok water jousting takes place. The competition starts at 10 in the morning with a presentation of the boats, all sumptuously decorated. Then, two by two, the pirogues enter the race. An is a tennis tournament the elimination is direct for the loser and the winner can carry on to the final. During the two days, the visitors can also see the numerous religious processions and enjoy the traditional dishes offered by the workshops next to the shore.
From 21 to 25 of September, you’ll have to go to Narahtiwar, one of the more meridian province of the country. The challenges that exchange the crews in the pirogues are an ancestral tradition and their boats decorated with fabulous paintings that illustrate dragons, snakes and monkeys.
At least, the 25 and 26 of September, the last races of the month take place at about 100 kilometers from Bangkok, in the old royal city of Ayutthaya. The tradition goes back to the time the town was the capital of the kingdom. (/JM)