Thailand - The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Yasothon: Thailand's Party Animal You've Never Heard Of Ever wondered where Thai people go when they want to completely lose their minds for a weekend? Forget the Full Moon Party. The real action is in Yasothon, a dusty province in Northeastern Thailand that transforms once a year from "where?" to "WOOHOO!" faster than you can say "fire the homemade rocket into the sky for good luck." What Even Is Yasothon? Yasothon is essentially what happens when you take one of Thailand's poorest provinces, add scorching heat, subtract tourism, and then randomly insert one of the country's wildest festivals. Located in the heart of Isaan (Thailand's northeastern region), Yasothon spends 364 days a year being overlooked before suddenly becoming the center of attention during the annual Rocket Festival. The landscape consists primarily of rice fields, more rice fields, and the occasional water buffalo looking as confused about being there as you will...

Explosive Joy: Adventures at Thailand's Rocket Festivals When travelers visit Thailand during rocket festival season, many imagine gentle paper lanterns floating into the night sky. What a surprise awaits them! Turns out, when Thai people say "rocket festival," they mean ACTUAL ROCKETS. Not NASA-grade precision instruments, mind you, but homemade bamboo tubes packed with enough gunpowder to make your average fireworks safety inspector faint on the spot. The Bun Bang Fai festivals, as they're properly called, happen across northeastern Thailand ( Isaan region) during the pre-monsoon season. Locals launch these DIY missiles to encourage the rain gods to water their crops. Because nothing says "please send rain" like hurling explosives into the clouds. In Yasothon province, home to one of the most famous rocket festivals, visitors might notice everyone standing REALLY far back from the launch area. "Why are we standing in another postal code?" many ...