A Boat Racing Video and GIF

It's amazing how fast those boats were! While we were there, it was fun to see this helicopter with a giant Lao flag hanging from it.

 

Vientiane Boat Racing Festival

On Wednesday afternoon, a friend and I joined the thousands of people by the Mekong to watch the boat races. This festival signifies the end of the rainy season and the beginning of the cool*/dry** season. 

*cool = upper 70s
**dry = less than 100% humidity

Mekong Lights

One of my favorite celebrations in Laos is the night before the Boat Racing Festival. While the main downtown streets are insane with thousands of people and super loud music, the banks of the Mekong are a bit more peaceful. People light lanterns to send to the sky and candles on banana-leaf boats that they send down the river. It's such a beautiful time!

Lao New Year day 2

It was so much fun to spend time with Hong's family during the second and third days of Pi Mai. On Day 2, we split into two trucks with trashcans full of water. We rode around for about an hour and a half getting into water throwing fights with other trucks full of people as well as people having parties on the side of the road. 

I SO wish I had a waterproof camera. There were some excellent moments I wish I could have captured. Maybe next year!

After we were all tired of driving around, we walked down the beach to the Mekong river. 

We took goofy pictures...

...had a sandcastle building competition...

...and played in the water.

One of my favorite things about the Mekong is how beautiful the sunsets are.

Stay tuned for Lao New Year day 3! (Coming soon as long as the internet holds out!)

Mekong Beach Football

On Sunday night I hung out with Hong's family at the Mekong River. While we were there, a wild game of football took place. Here are some of my favorite pictures!