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Religious

Ork Phansaวันออกพรรษา

The end of the rains retreat — boat races on the Mekong, alms at dawn, and the naga fireballs at Nong Khai

Next
15 October 2027
15 October 2027
Where
Nationwide, Nong Khai, Phon Phisai, Uthai Thani, Chiang Mai
Public holiday
No
Alcohol sales
Banned

In short

Ork Phansa closes the three-month monastic retreat. In the north-east it is the biggest date of the year after Songkran: longboat racing on the Mekong and its tributaries, the Tak Bat Devo procession in which monks descend a temple stairway to receive alms, and the naga fireballs — glowing orbs that rise from the river at Phon Phisai and draw tens of thousands of spectators. It is a statutory dry day but not a public holiday.

The ruined brick chedi of Wat Chedi Luang in Chiang Mai rising in stepped tiers against a clear blue sky, with a naga-flanked stairway climbing its flank, small coloured flags along the base and the white and gold eaves of the viharn at the right of frame.
Vyacheslav Argenberg / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

Go if

  • The Mekong at Phon Phisai and Rattanawapi in Nong Khai province, for the fireballs
  • Longboat racing, which runs across Isaan and central Thailand through October and November
  • Tak Bat Devo at Wat Sangkat Rattana Khiri in Uthai Thani, the most photographed version of the alms procession
  • The kathin season that follows, when temples receive new robes and communities fundraise

Be aware

  • Not a public holiday. Banks and offices open, but alcohol sales are banned for the day
  • Nong Khai accommodation for the fireball night sells out months ahead and prices triple
  • The fireballs are a natural phenomenon on an unpredictable schedule; a large crowd sometimes sees very little
  • Riverbank viewing areas in Phon Phisai are ticketed and heavily policed for crowd control

Dates

The full moon of the eleventh lunar month, three lunar months after Khao Phansa — normally October. The kathin robe-offering season runs for the month that follows.

  • 26 October 2026Monday. The Koh Phangan full moon party was pushed to the 27th as a result.
  • 15 October 2027Friday.

Sources

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