While walking in the downtown area of Nan in Northern Thailand, I happened to stumble upon some sort of local parade/celebration. Not knowing exactly what was happening, I decided to follow the people as they danced - conga line style - into the nearby Wat Apha accompanied by some lively Lanna music.

Inside the complex, the focal point seemed to be a large money tree, and the participants invited me to join the festivities. Offering me food and drinks - the local whiskey, a choice of Thai beers - in addition to encouraging me to dance with them, I could not refuse their hospitality.

I inquired as to the nature of the party with some of the participants, but no one could really speak sufficient English to offer me an explanation. I kept on hearing the word Papa repeated over and over again, but of course I didn’t know what they were talking about. Walking back to my hotel, it seemed that the rest of the town was relatively quiet, so it was safe to say that the celebration was relatively limited to Wat Apha.

It was only after talking to the owner of Nan Boutique Hotel that I found out about the true nature of this celebration. What I witnessed at the local Wat is known in Thailand as the Paa Paah Festival. Celebrated during the months of October and November throughout Thailand, the Paa Paah festival is a special fund raising party for each local temple/Wat – and it is strictly a localized festival, as each temple celebrates this festival independently on different dates.

I consider myself very fortunate as an outsider to have been invited by members of the Apha Wat to join in their festivities. The people were very friendly and hospitable and they had no qualms about me taking photographs of their merriment. It also gave an opportunity to learn more about the fascinating and exotic culture of Thailand