The annual bung bang fai festival calls on the god Phaya Thaen to bring rain at the start of the agricultural season.
The annual bung bang fai festival calls on the god Phaya Thaen to bring rain at the start of the agricultural season.
Rocket team members celebrate as their yee sip lan (20 million) class size bung fai talai gondola rocket, the festival’s largest with a diameter of 10 meters, lifts off during the annual bun bang fai festival in Ban Kut Wa, Kalasin province, Thailand, May 17, 2026.
A man covered in mud looks to the sky while watching his team’s bung fai talai gondola rocket fly into the sky during the annual bun bang fai festival in Ban Kut Wa, Kalasin province, Thailand, May 17, 2026.
Rocket team members hold lit torches shortly before lighting their bung fai talai gondola rocket during the annual bun bang fai festival in Ban Kut Wa, Kalasin province, Thailand, May 17, 2026.
Rocket team members rejoice as their bung fai talai gondola rocket lifts off during the annual bun bang fai festival in Ban Kut Wa, Kalasin province, Thailand, May 17, 2026.
Rocket team members pose for a picture as one of them holds a large wooden phallic fertility charm during the annual bun bang fai festival in Ban Kut Wa, Kalasin province, Thailand, May 17, 2026.
Rocket team members rejoice as their bung fai talai gondola rocket lifts off during the annual bun bang fai festival in Ban Kut Wa, Kalasin province, Thailand, May 17, 2026.
A large explosion scatters debris in multiple directions after a sen (100,000) class size bung fai talai gondola rocket exploded shortly after lift off during the annual bun bang fai festival in Ban Kut Wa, Kalasin province, Thailand, May 17, 2026.
Two men smile perform traditional wai gestures as signs of respect towards Buddhist monks after being splashed with holy water during a parade through Ban Kut Wa town the day before the annual bun bang fai festival in Ban Kut Wa, Kalasin province, Thailand, May 16, 2026.
Hundreds of traditional dancers perform before the start of a parade through Ban Kut Wa town the day before the annual bun bang fai festival in Ban Kut Wa, Kalasin province, Thailand, May 16, 2026.
Festival goers gather at Wat Udom Klang after watching a parade the day before the annual bun bang fai festival in Phanom Phrai, Roi Et province, Thailand, May 31, 2026.
Rocket team members prepare their sip lan (10 million) class rocket, measuring over 5 meters long and weighing approximately 900 kilograms, before hoisting it onto a launch platform during the annual bun bang fai festival in Phanom Phrai, Roi Et province, Thailand, Jun. 1, 2026.
Rocket team members fasten their rockets onto launch platforms during the annual bun bang fai festival in Phanom Phrai, Roi Et province, Thailand, Jun. 1, 2026.
Spectators watch a rocket launch during the annual bun bang fai festival in Phanom Phrai, Roi Et province, Thailand, Jun. 1, 2026.
Women perform a traditional dance before the start of a parade through Suwwanaphum town the day before the annual bun bang fai festival in Suwwanaphum, Roi Et province, Thailand, Jun. 6, 2026.
Rocket team members pray for a successful launch during the annual bun bang fai festival in Suwwanaphum, Roi Et province, Thailand, Jun. 7, 2026.
Spectators watch a rocket launch during the annual bun bang fai festival in Suwwanaphum, Roi Et province, Thailand, Jun. 7, 2026.
A spectator shields his face from smoke while watching a rocket fly into the sky during the annual bun bang fai festival in Suwwanaphum, Roi Et province, Thailand, Jun. 7, 2026.
Spectators make their way through heavy clouds of rocket exhaust after a launch during the annual bun bang fai festival in Suwwanaphum, Roi Et province, Thailand, Jun. 7, 2026.
At the start of the rainy season a unique cultural practice takes place in northeastern Thailand and throughout Laos: the bung bang fai (merit fireworks) festival. The centuries old tradition has existed as a pre-Buddhist fertility ritual since before the 9th century CE, with the rocket element thought to have started when black powder was introduced to the region from China.
The rockets are launched to implore the god Phaya Thaen to bring rain at the start of the agricultural season. In its contemporary iteration, locals in small villages and regional cities put on numerous bun bang fai festivals in May and June as multi-day celebrations including parades and traditional music and dance performances, with the last day seeing the launching of rockets at a location near open area rice fields away from population centers.
The modern rockets are made from PVC pipes, with the different size classifications ranging from pan (1,000), muen (10,000), sen (100,000), lan (1,000,000), and the very large sip lan (10,000,000) and yii sip (20,000,000) class rockets which are usually only seen in Phanom Phrai and Ban Kut Wa due to safety concerns. The rockets are manually hoisted onto large angled launch platforms and then sent skyward by electric ignition.
In Ban Kut Wa, Kalasin province a unique version of bang fai is made: circular gondola shaped bang fai talai (firework pinwheel). Made with a central metal column filled with black powder with several holes drilled along the underside to release thrust, the rockets are ringed with bamboo and wood to create the circular outer structure. Placed onto launch stands with rotating tops, the rockets are lit with gas torches while being manually spun, resulting in a helix shaped smoke trail and oscillating roar as the rockets fly skyward.
Adryel Talamantes (b. 1986) is a photojournalist originally from the United States, based in Bangkok, Thailand since 2015. Adryel’s passion for visual media, encompassing both still photography and video, stems from his desire to share individual moments in a clear, unfiltered context. His work primarily focuses on news and documentary subject matter, and he has covered stories in Cambodia, the Hong Kong S.A.R. (China), Iraq, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and the USA.
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