Boun Suang Huea

There are spectacular canoe races organized in the cities (mainly Vientiane, Luang Prabang, Savannakhet, and Champassak province) and villages along the Mekong.

Also, small rafts made of bamboo and decorated with candles are launched down the streams and river.

Daily life is greatly organized around the Mekong River and its numerous tributaries.

Indeed, it was both a major means of transport and communication, but also a food source thanks to the fish.

Although today's canoe race is essentially a social, sporting and commercial event, it still remains associated with the naga, the protective river spirits of Vientiane, which, according to Lao beliefs, carry away the rice paddies and return them back to the water.