Ubon Candle Festival!!!

Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand has a very famous “Ubon Wax Festival” every year around Buddhist Lent (usually in July or early August).  More commonly known as the “Candle Festival,” Thais from all over the country travel to Ubon for the 4 day holiday weekend to check out the amazing candles and wax figures. Several months ago, when Lauren, Gwen and I were planning the trip, I knew the dates for the festival, and we were able to coordinate it perfectly so that they could still see my school (for one day, which was perfect too) and then chill with me and the other Fulbrights during the 4 day weekend. It did end up working out perfectly: I had free time to hang out with two of my closest friends, and they got to see something really unique and exciting, while meeting and hanging out with the other Fulbrights (PARTY!) Eight other Fulbrights were in town, so it was a big party, to say the least.

Before the festival, I didn’t really know what to expect. I just kept hearing “large candles.” They were more than large. They were monstrous, intricately carved wax sculptures and life-sized candles on floats. They were overwhelmingly huge, as a matter of fact- I have never seen anything like them. I couldn’t even begin to describe how detailed they were. I heard one Thai person tell me it takes artists over 3 months to create them, but it must be longer than that (unless a whole team of artists was working 18 hours/ day haha). While the wax melted in the sun, men assigned to hose duty would walk next to the figures, spraying them  down to cool them off.

On Thursday night, Gwen, Lauren, Joey, Megan and I went to the park to check out the scene. All of the wax sculptures were on display down a very long road, and they were lit up. It was extremely beautiful and people everywhere were crowding the streets to take pictures. The streets became a museum! I love it.  I then took them to grab some dinner at the Trung See Muang night market, which was packed with people. I called Andrea Eisinberg, and it turns out that she was sitting directly behind me. Such a small world! I was very pleased at dinner because my favorite fruit for shakes, called “lamud” (like a fig) is in season again. While I was ordering a drink and watching them make it, the woman making it dipped her ladel into a large jar of sugar water- and their were multiple dead bees floating around in it. As she spooned out the water into the blender, I was praying that she didn’t scoop up a bee. (“Lamud-bee shake” doesn’t sound too appetizing to me!) We took a tuk tuk home, another first with Gwen and Lauren.

The next morning, I heard a knock on my door, and it was Eugene, Rachel, and Rachel’s Chinese friend Karen! So surreal (again) to see these Fulbrights in my neck of the woods. It was great. They put their stuff down in the room across the hall, and we all headed downstairs to get some iced coffees and head to the PARADE! Mahh Naow kindly drove us in her truck when their were no taxis available (and we had such a large group!) I was kind of disappointed that I couldn’t sit with the other Fulbrights in the back of the truck- they were laughing and Lauren was taking pictures. At the parade, it was PACKED. There were bleachers crammed with people holding umbrellas (to protect their white skin, of course). One at a time, a huge float with the beautiful wax figures we’d seen the night before would cruise down the street, being pulled by tractors and trucks. There was also lots of Thai dancing (which was great for Gwen and Lauren to see, too). Believe it or not, we were able to make it down to the intersection at the Shell gas station to meet up with yet two more Fulbrights, Jane and James. Jane was also with her Dad and his girlfriend, so it was just one giant, chaotic block party. During this whole time, too, we were constantly drawing attention to ourselves as a large group of (very good looking…) white kids. We were interviewed/ asked to pose in photos with SO many Thai students who had assignments (which was crazy for Gwen and Lauren to experience, as well). We were all celebrities.

After the parade, we waited for almost 45 minutes to catch a songtaew (again, I was the ringleader as no one else knew where to go/ what to do…it was a lot of responsibility!) We got off near the Robinson’s Mall, and then walked to my favorite spa in Ubon, called “GaiJai.” Gwen and I got scrubs and then masks (she got seaweed and I got banana mania…I smelled like a banana!) The boys and some other girls got traditional Thai massages. It was great. My perspective is, in the USA it is so expensive and such a luxury to get any of these treatments, that I should soak it up as much as I can while I’m here!

For dinner, we all walked over to P’Nuan’s house (again, I felt a bit like a shepherd leading this huge group of farang around) but dinner was so NICE! P’Nuan cooked her famous sukhi, and James, Jane, and her family showed up later too. We were all stuffed haha. Hilariously, P’Nuan had each of us write a “bit about her” in her book of “friends.” I was seated next to Jane’s Dad, and he leans over to me and goes, “How do we write about her when we don’t know her?!” So funny, and so true. Gwen performed a song, and we finally headed home a good several hours later. In the morning, before Gwen and Lauren’s flight to Phuket, I took everyone to Peppers (Andrea and my favorite Ubon farang restaurant) to eat their famous blueberry pancakes and pizza. At the restaurant, we ran into Andrea with Dan and his family again (so fun! This was the second restaurant run-in for me as we also saw them Wednesday night at the Vietnamese restaurant (“Golfer House”). After breakfast, we had lost several people, so we just headed back to my apartment again and chilled with James’ ukulele and Megan played my Thai Saw-U!

Our first candle pic!

Megan, Celebrity

How unbelievable is this wax figure!

A glowing Buddha made from wax

Thursday night pre-parade group shot

(You can see how big the wax figures are)

The packed streets where the wax figures were displayed

This is blurry, but it's still cool...there were so many balloons!

Gwen wanted a shot with the police (she would haha)

I had to take a picture- dead bees floating in the sugar 

water used to make my lamud shake

So INTRICATE, magnificent really :)

I think I'll frame this picture when I get home to America

Cute!

(When I look at these pictures, even still, I

can't believe that Lauren and Gwen were in 

Ubon with me at the Candle Festival! Surreal)

Fulbright woo!

I tried to capture how detailed the carvings were,

but these pictures do not do the figures justice!

Lauren and Gwen's first tuk tuk ride!

Megan and I

Rachel and Eugene being punks outside of Boonmee

From left: Rachel Megan, Eugene, Me, Karen

Group shot!

From left: Karen, Rachel, Me, Lauren, Gwen, Eugene, Joey, Megan

Love this: I will always remember Mahh Naow backing up 

her truck down the road so that we could all pile in haha

Party in the back of the truck

The Candle Festival PARADE!

People and Umbrellas!!!

Here comes another amazing wax sculpture

Thai Dancing (and traditional attire)

We finally met up with Jane and James!

It's fun to joke around while being interviewed :)

Can you see her hair?! Lots of little twirly roses!

...Or big fake buns on their heads! 

(I really want to wear my hair like this!)

Love

A man hoses down a melting wax sculpture with water

Me and Gwen in front of a beautiful Candle float

(another framer!)

Gwen, Celebrity

Posing for pictures with Thais

My favorite ice cream that they no longer sell in 

7/11, Saveland, OR Tesco Lotus! 

I love the look on the little girl's face in the center

My former student!!!

(Of course I'm eating an ice cream haha)

Pic together in front of the Ubon Wax Festival 2012 poster

My favorite Pad See Ewe stand at the night market

Gwen got some Pad See Ewe to go!

Post-spa treatments

Karen and Gwen and my beloved Maw Mah songtaew

Sukhi dinner at P'Nuan's house!

The whole group (minus Lauren)

Lauren, Me, Gwen, and P'Nuan

(P'Nuan was in heaven haha)

P'Nuan loved James. She gave him a massage hahaha

(The other Fulbrights thought this was so uncomfortable

and wierd...ahh to be a farang man in Thailand!)

Megan, P'Nuan, Lauren

Gwen belting one out!

Gwen had all eyes and all ears :)

Now it was my turn to take a group picture...

This turned out so nicely!

Post Candle Festival pancake breakfast at Peppers

Andrea, Dan's Mom, Me, Dan's Dad, and Dan

I ADORED his family. So fun seeing them throughout

the week (starting with our flight from BKK to Ubon!)

James and Megan's musical jam!

After the music jam, I took my remaining guests on a 

nearby walk to a place I like to call the "Ubon Turkey Farm" 

(aka a yard near Huay Muang Park that has lots o' turkeys!)

Then this one male turkey saw 6 farang staring at him...

...and put on a SHOW! 

(Maybe it was to impress the choosy lady turkeys...)

The Turkey: America's Peacock

(Backside view reminds me of a Native American headdress!)

Talk about your "feathers being ruffled!"

Look at his red waddle! 

Then we walked around the park and there were some cows

Moo!

Moo back!