Villagers of Noen Kum, Phitsanulok Province, continue the tradition of the Bun Duan Sip festival by applying gold leaf to Luang Pho Pan and watching the land boat race, a local sport that has been held continuously for more than 60 years.

The atmosphere of the traditional festival of the tenth lunar month, ‘Putting gold leaf on Luang Por Pan, competing in a land boat race, and tasting fried glutinous rice cakes’ at Wat Noen Kum, Village 4, Noen Kum Subdistrict, Bang Krathum District, Phitsanulok Province, was filled with locals who came to enjoy the fun and create unity among the community, especially the land boat race, which has been continuously organized for over 60 years and is considered the only local sport in Thailand.

Land boat racing has a long history. In the past, the villagers of Noen Kum would compete in small rowboats and local boats in the Noen Kum canal, which is behind Noen Kum temple. However, recently, the canal has become shallow and boat racing could not be organized. In 1957, during
the time of Ajarn Chaliao, the abbot at that time, the land boat racing was invented to replace the water boat racing, which could not be organized. The rules were the same as for boat racing, and the temple grounds were used as the competition venue. The main equipment was a 4-meter or 8-cubit long stick. There were 9 competitors using the same rules as for water boat racing. The winner was 2 out of 3 rounds, and if the land boat fell first, it was considered a loser in that round.

For this year’s land boat race, the course is 100 meters long. The organizers brought water to the area, making the ground muddy and muddy. If the runners do not run together, they will trip and fall down before reaching the finish line. Any team that falls will be considered an immediate loser. This year, there are more than 52 teams competing, more than every year. There are fans sitting and standing on both sides of the field cheering for their favorite teams. It is considered a local sport that unites, the only one in Thailan
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Tourists who attended the event also joined in applying gold leaf to Luang Por Pan and ate the original fried khao mao of Wat Noen Kum, which prepares hundreds of kilograms of bananas and khao mao flour and deep-fries them in hot oil and sells them for 30 baht per raft. The money raised will be used to maintain the temple. This year, the response to the fried khao mao has been very good, with sales of 40,000-50,000 baht per day. Normally, sales average 20,000 baht per day. Villagers have already sold 12,000 rafts, or 336,360 baht.

Source: Thai News Agency