Bang Fai Rocket Tradition Being Spoiled, Critics Say

[webfact]

Rocket tradition being spoiled, critics say
Khamdee Phrommakong
The Nation



BANGKOK: -- The "Bang Fai" traditional fairs, which stem from the Northeastern belief that firing rockets off will appease local deities and ensure abundant rains, are now turning into an excuse for revellers to gamble and drink heavily, say critics.

Traditional Bang Fai rockets often reached went as high as 1,500 metres and stayed aloft for only up to a minute, but now these simple bamboo rockets are out of fashion and have been replaced by machine-built metal contraptions, filled with highly explosive potassium nitrate.

The modern rockets come in three types - "Bang Fai Meun", "Bang Fai Saen" and "Bang Fai Lan" - named after the heights to which they can climb.

A "Bang Fai Meun" is made from a 7-centimetre wide, 2.5-metre long PV pipe filled with 12 kilos of potassium nitrate. It can soar to a height of 5 kilometres.

The "Bang Fai Saen" is slightly larger - a 12cm wide, 3m-long PVC pipe filled with 120kg of potassium nitrate that can reach heights of 8 to 9km and stay in the air for up to nine minutes.

Then comes the "Bang Fai Lan" - a 20cm-wide, 4.5-metre-long PVC pipe, filled with up to a tonne of potassium nitrate. Last but not least is the "Bang Fai Sib Lan", a 30cm-wide, 6m-long PVC pipe filled with two tonnes of potassium nitrate. The craftsmen who design these rockets can make them soar up to 8 or 10km, higher than some aircraft, which in low-flying areas cruise at only 3km or so.

These new Bang Fai rockets are so large that their metal casings can pose a serious hazard. Once their fuel is spent, the casings fall to the ground at a high speed, creating a real danger for aviation as well as people's homes.

Gambling is believed to be the main reason why the Bang Fai continue to grow larger, as bets are placed on how long a particular rocket is likely to stay in the air. More and more Bang Fai gambling dens are opening up and this in turn is leading to corruption as "kickbacks" worth hundreds of thousands of baht are paid out to local bodies or senior officials to allow the dens to stay open.

Frequent punter Kla (whose real name is withheld) said the dens were known only among regulars. Regular punters include monks and even local officials. He said these punters only attended the fairs on rocket launching days, and in some areas tens of thousands of punters could turn out, resulting in a daily cash flow of up to Bt10 million, while kickbacks could reach as much as Bt1 million a day, Kla said.

While the Bang Fai festival in Yasothon's Muang district is a fun day out for many, villagers in areas that are at risk of falling rockets feel that their neighbourhoods are turning into war zones. Many leave their homes a day or two before Bang Fai fairs begin - fearing for their safety as well as possible fires. "We're relieved that fair organisers bought a insurance for the village in case a falling rocket caused damage, " said one village headman, Uthai Matleung.


-- The Nation 2013-05-17

[MaxLee]

Well at least the Pilots will be happy to safely land in the domestic airports

[cgphuket]

Yet again Thailand takes something innocent and fun and goes to the extreme of making it stupid and dangerous. Reminds me of Songkran.

[Thai at Heart]

The craftsmen who design these rockets

I think the writer is angling for a job at TAT. It's a blue plastic pipe.....

[Bellweather]

Yet again Thailand takes something innocent and fun and goes to the extreme of making it stupid and dangerous. Reminds me of Songkran.

Yes and since when did Thais need an excuse to go on the sauce ? Saying it's Songkran, New Year and various festivals etc. is only a weak excuse, believe me I stopped using that line decades ago.

[HeavyDrinker]

Step by step, the Thais are having their freedom taken away...

[Thai at Heart]

Bung failed sip laan. Has a certain wile e coyote feel to it.

[Thai at Heart]

Bung failed sip laan. Has a certain wile e coyote feel to it.

As for the insurance policy for a home made rocket falling on your house. Pull the other one.

[Tywais]

The government is missing an opportunity here. Set up government managed betting booths during that period and collect taxes on the bets.

[theajarn]

This just gets more interesting:

[geriatrickid]

Step by step, the Thais are having their freedom taken away...

Ahh the freedom to launch explosive devices that can damage an aircraft and/or land on non participants killing and maiming.

What about people's freedom to not be assaulted? You want to fire a rocket, good, then go do it in your own space and not put other people at risk.

[HeavyDrinker]

Step by step, the Thais are having their freedom taken away...

Ahh the freedom to launch explosive devices that can damage an aircraft and/or land on non participants killing and maiming.

What about people's freedom to not be assaulted? You want to fire a rocket, good, then go do it in your own space and not put other people at risk.

More the freedom to let people do what they like and not be dictated to by mealy mouthed bureaucrats or Thai Visa members making ridiculous claims....

[hellodolly]

This just gets more interesting:

I wonder how much money changed hands at the gambling parlors over that one.

[Mampara]

Traditional rocket fairs should use traditional methods of launching their missiles. not steel and modern chemicals, this takes all the fun out of these fairs. gambling has always been around, trying to stop it would be like trying to stop horse racing bets.

[KireB]

Soon they will to try to land on the moon!

[LuukKoeyKorat]

"Last but not least is the "Bang Fai Sib Lan", a 30cm-wide, 6m-long PVC
pipe filled with two tonnes of potassium nitrate. The craftsmen who
design these rockets can make them soar up to 8 or 10km, higher than
some aircraft, which in low-flying areas cruise at only 3km or so."

You start to get the impression that Thais are collaborating with the N Koreans and Iranians on a domestic medium range missile program...thats in credible...2000kg of pottassium nitrate??

[Thai at Heart]

Step by step, the Thais are having their freedom taken away...

Ahh the freedom to launch explosive devices that can damage an aircraft and/or land on non participants killing and maiming.

What about people's freedom to not be assaulted? You want to fire a rocket, good, then go do it in your own space and not put other people at risk.

More the freedom to let people do what they like and not be dictated to by mealy mouthed bureaucrats or Thai Visa members making ridiculous claims....

Well that's all good. If they have all the money available to fix my roof should one go through it, or compensate anyone they manage to hit with one of these, or maybe even money available to repay for a jet liner they may bring down, great. If not, see them in court. One person's life, private property and rights do not extend to raining schrapnel like this out of the sky. I mean, why not just buy a howitzer and fire shells off into the countryside willy nilly. These rockets are bloody heavy and have to come down somewhere. It's all sanuk until someone gets hurt. I quite fancy blasting golf balls out of my back garden, hope it doesn't hurt anyone.

50 years ago when this was going on, it was done out in the countryside and there was barely anything to hit out there anyway. Today, the world has changed, and like it or loathe it, one person does owe a duty of care to those around them.

[Thaddeus]

Traditional rocket fairs should use traditional methods of launching their missiles. not steel and modern chemicals, this takes all the fun out of these fairs.

It's like tooling up Punch & Judy with AK-47s.

[Cuban]

"....and in other news today, NASA announced that a Thai contractor has been awarded a contract to build the replacement to The Challenger Shuttle. Khun Somchai of The Coke Shack Rocket Emporium in rural Roi-ET said that he was pleased to get started on this project but needed to have a drink first to steady his nerves."

[seajae]

have to wonder when they are going to start to sacrifice virgins(if they can find any) to the gods again, makes as much sense as this garbage. Just like the aussie aboriginals saying they are allowed to kill turtles and dugongs as it is part of their heritage but they want to do it with rifles and boats with outboards(not canoes and spears) because it is easier and they can kill more. Nothing wrong with tradition but it should still be done the traditional way or it is no longer relevant.

[eddie61]

"Last but not least is the "Bang Fai Sib Lan", a 30cm-wide, 6m-long PVC

pipe filled with two tonnes of potassium nitrate. The craftsmen who

design these rockets can make them soar up to 8 or 10km, higher than

some aircraft, which in low-flying areas cruise at only 3km or so."

You start to get the impression that Thais are collaborating with the N Koreans and Iranians on a domestic medium range missile program...thats in credible...2000kg of pottassium nitrate??

OTOS..

one tambon one satellite

[GrantSmith]

Bring in the boys from Mythbusters for this one...

[chainarong]

I can sympathise with the Thai's on this little matter, back in Oz in the late fifties, they band Guy Fawkes night, (sky rockets bangbangs , penny bombs etc ),the Poms will know this one, now the reason of the ban , was too many of us young kids with eye and hand injuries , however, that to me was the making of distrust in governments and the turning point and the start of continued erosion of rights and liberty in OZ

[impulse]

http://science.discovery.com/tv-shows/ldrs/videos

LDRS Large Dangerous Rocket Ships. A hoot to watch, but not so much if one lands on someone you love...

[aboctok]

Step by step, the Thais are having their freedom taken away...

Ahh the freedom to launch explosive devices that can damage an aircraft and/or land on non participants killing and maiming.

What about people's freedom to not be assaulted? You want to fire a rocket, good, then go do it in your own space and not put other people at risk.

More the freedom to let people do what they like and not be dictated to by mealy mouthed bureaucrats or Thai Visa members making ridiculous claims....

Well that's all good. If they have all the money available to fix my roof should one go through it, or compensate anyone they manage to hit with one of these, or maybe even money available to repay for a jet liner they may bring down, great. If not, see them in court. One person's life, private property and rights do not extend to raining schrapnel like this out of the sky. I mean, why not just buy a howitzer and fire shells off into the countryside willy nilly. These rockets are bloody heavy and have to come down somewhere. It's all sanuk until someone gets hurt. I quite fancy blasting golf balls out of my back garden, hope it doesn't hurt anyone.

50 years ago when this was going on, it was done out in the countryside and there was barely anything to hit out there anyway. Today, the world has changed, and like it or loathe it, one person does owe a duty of care to those around them.

But wait. What about our rights? Don't we have a right to do what we want? For our own entertainment, I mean. I'm pretty sure our right to enjoy ourselves is more precious than other people's right to safety. Mmmm. Yep. I'm quite certain of it; I feel it in my bones. It's not that I'm more important than other people. Or at least I don't fess up to thinking that. It's just that my right to a pleasurable existence is more important than other people's.

[Thai at Heart]

I can sympathise with the Thai's on this little matter, back in Oz in the late fifties, they band Guy Fawkes night, (sky rockets bangbangs , penny bombs etc ),the Poms will know this one, now the reason of the ban , was too many of us young kids with eye and hand injuries , however, that to me was the making of distrust in governments and the turning point and the start of continued erosion of rights and liberty in OZ

I remember as a kid, "Guy Fawkes" night was great fun. There was a public safety blitz on Tv for a week before about safety, and I remember at least our firework nights going off without a hitch, but there were always the stories the next day of injuries. So then they moved to organised licensed displays, and still there were injuries, and then finally, the organisers had to get insurance.

The clincher was when a firework burnt down a warehouse if I remember.

So, we can all say how nice it is to live in Thailand becase of the happy go lucky way of life, until it directly effects you. It is at the end of the day impossible to believe that this type of rocket festival will continue as it is, because people do get hurt and property does get damaged, and who the hell is going to pay to make it right. Actions have unitended consequences, but on this type of festival, the risks are completely obvious. People can say, stay away, I do, but that doesn't make it any better for old Somchai in the village when one of these creams him on the head in a field or falls through the roof of his house.

I saw some of these rockets yesterday, double the length of a pick up truck, being transported down the highway. May be it was Bung Fai 10,0000,0000. 3 blokes happily sitting on the back of the pick up.

To say I gave it a very very wide berth is an understatement. Farang vaporised by Bung Fai truck accident is not a headline I would like to see from the pearly gates.

[Hardback]

Went to a festival in Phu Vieng (Khon Kaen) back in 2005, one of the rockets exploded and tore a guy in half. It was truly shocking. I was later informed that when these things malfunction it's usually a member of the crowd that cops it.

[XINLOI]

I know of several villages in my neighborhood, that practice this form of entertainment quite regularly. I am just glad they haven't figured out, how to build warheads and guidance mechanisms. Kinda impressive what these guys can do with almost nothing!

[fakename]

And what if someone was killed or house burnt down, do you think anyone would claim responsibility for it? We all know the answer to that. And what about hauling explosives down the highway, what happens with an accident, will someone stand up and say, "it was my fault", we all know the answer to that one also.

[Tywais]

A Kid Almost Killed By Bang Fai Accident

A 20 Kgs. firecracker fell on a tent and a boy sitting in there watching the show, got severe head injury.

SRISAKET – May 12, 2013 [PDN]; Utumpornpisai police station got notified that there was an accident of a giant firecracker swerved when slamming down on the tent and hit on a 14 years old boy’s head , caused the boy got severely injured, at the temporarily firecracker launching base, Bantungchai, Tungchai, Utumpornpisai. Right after the incident, the unlucky kid was sent to Sappasittiprasong, Ubonrachathanee, immediately.

From investigation, witnesses informed that , while the boy was sitting in the tent to watch the giant firecracker soaring into the sky, unfortunately, it fell down swerved at the tent and hit the boy’s head, caused him a severe head wound.

Initially, the police planned to inspected the crime scene, and would gathered all evidences and find the firecracker producers to be questioned and legally prosecuted.

pattayadailynews May 13, 2013