The story
Nam Khan River Festival in Luang Prabang
The Nam Khan, Luang Prabang's smaller river through the old town peninsula, hosts both the Boun Suang Heua boat races and, later in the year, the Boun Ok Phansa lighted boat festival. Village crews race long dugout canoes through the river's tighter bends, while communities and schools build illuminated floats that light up the water after dark at the close of Buddhist Lent.
The Nam Khan, the smaller of Luang Prabang's two rivers, running past the tip of the old town peninsula before joining the Mekong, hosts its own boat racing and lighted boat traditions that together make up what is loosely referred to as the Nam Khan River Festival.