"People believe that the Mekhong itself was created by the Naga, and the city of Vientiane in..." "Laos was also built by the Naga." "And there're several other Naga myths." "Could you describe to us what these fireballs look like?" "." "They shoot up like balls of fire." "Previously not that high, but now some can go several hundred meters." "About twenty meters long." "7 Baht, 1 0 Baht, folks!" "." "We've got small pictures as well." "Small pictures only 20 Baht." "Come on, everyone!" "." "Big one, caught in fishing net." "This one caught by American soldiers is 20 meters long." "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen." "Come and see the Naga's footprints on the roof of the car." "Buy one as a souvenir." "Buy it for your girlfriend." "Step right up everyone." "So, Arnty how many fireballs you gonna bet this year?" "." "You little shit!" "Last year you made me lose money." "I couldn't sell anything all night." "This year, you better stay clear of me!" "The Naga is sacred." "Go away, you goof, go away." "Go rip somebody else off!" "This year, the province has joined the Tourism Authority of Thailand," "..to create this major event." "So they're man-made." "How the hell does the Naga know when Buddhist Lent is?" "." "As it gets closer to the time," "I want all of you to watch the area in the middle of the river." "Fireballs will shoot up as high as a 5-6 story-building, ...and then they will just disappear without smoke, ...without scent and without sound." "Hurry, the fireballs are about to go off." "How the hell do you know that the fireball gonna go off." "What a sight, my friends!" "If the Naga does really exist, under the river, please send fireballs for your humble servants to see again." "There, at the Wat Luang Pier, another one just shot up!" "At the Wat Jom Nang Pier, too!" "They're beautiful indeed, folks." "Well, I'll be damned, ... I've seen them with my own eyes." "Another one just went up at Wat Jom Nang Pier!" "Really beautiful, folks!" "From all of my research, ...we can certainly conclude that the Naga Fireball Phenomenon, ...is simply a natural phenomenon caused by" "Well, it's like this, maam." "Suppose this boy's head is the Sun, ...and this orange is the Earth." "Every year, this orange, this earth rotates around the sun like this." "And on the last day of Buddhist Lent it comes closest to the Sun." "And this is the moon it is here." "The forces from the Sun and the Moon suck up the methane gas, creating the fireballs." "Suck it right up, Doc?" "." "Yeah, like when your husband gives.." "...you a big hickie on your neck." "Hey, Doctor, ...why do we see fireballs only in Nong Khai?" "." "Why not in Udorn or Ubon provinces?" "." "There're plenty of dead cows there, too." "Where to, Doc?" "." "Come, I'll explain" "In order for the fireballs to go off, ...the riverbed must be sandy to allow the methane to discharge." "The riverbed around Ponpisai Temple is perfect for that." "The good doctor here is a smart man." "And on any rainy day when there's a thunder storm, ...after sunset, you'll certainly see the fireballs." "One important thing there must not be any dam or water barrier nor can there be dredging of the riverbed." "Most importantly, no water pollution in the area." "Now he's accusing my factory?" "." "Well, the Doc's assuming that your ketchup factory caused the water to be polluted." "so there haven't been any fireballs." "Maybe he's right!" "Shit!" "Were there a lot of people listening to what the doc said?" "." "When I first started this research, ... I thought it would cost me only a few thousand baht." "Now it costs me tens of thousands." "But, that's OK" "As a son of Nong Khai," "I'll do my best." "Thank you!" "I want to ask you something." "I want to know if you still adhere to the Buddhist faith?" "." "Ten days before full moon night, this year." "Oh, sorry, I just wanted to tickle you." "Hey, Kan when did you get back?" "." "Why so late this year?" "." "Don't you have a telephone?" "." "You've never called me." "Yesterday, the Good Father was looking for you." "Go, get in the house It's been raining everyday." "Is that it the air-monitor device you wrote me about?" "." "Be careful." "Aunt Awng might use it to dry fish." "Are you crazy?" "." "I was afraid of that, too, ...and that she wouldn't let us keep it here." "Why wouldn't he be able to keep it here?" "." "By the way, ... I'm sorry that I didn't come to your engagement party." "I really couldn't make it." "Don't be silly, Kan." "Here's your room." "I moved you into the small room in the front." "I painted it yesterday." "As for the old room, the Doctor wants to use it to keep his tools." "I've forgot to tell you." "Kan!" "What time did your bus come in?" "." "You are soaking, wet!" "Take some of that rainwater in the tub and rub it on your head three times, ...and you won't catch cold." "Yeah, rub it all over." "Good, just like that." "Auntie, Alice is wet as well." "What?" "." "Alice is wet, too." "Go!" "Rub her head down three times." "Hurry, that will keep the colds away." "Hurry, girl, hurry." "A new cell phone." "It's the Prime Minister's company." "When I go over and see the Good Father on the other side of the river," "I'll try to call you, OK?" "." "During school break, will you be home every day?" "." "Why do you ask?" "." "Last night, I dreamed about you." "Actually, it was the night before." "Last night, I was on the bus." "I didn't really get any sleep." "Aunt Awng is always home." "If the Good Father wants anything, just call." "Well, I'm out of here." "Good luck!" "Little Kan has grown into a young man." "You guys could've been a couple." "The way your hair is cut, you must have a girlfriend already." "The Good Father will be happy to see you." "That's a genuine American-style haircut." "Hey, Kan's here." "We haven't seen him for so long." "Yes he's here!" "How's it going?" "." "Have you graduated?" "." "Those are fancy pants." "How are you?" "." "Good Father, may I speak with you?" "." "It's about money, right?" "." "He wouldn't be here, otherwise." "That's how kids are these days." "There's a lot of ways to blow their money." "It's alright." "Look, it's gonna rain again." "Don't stand in the rain." "You'll catch cold." "Let's go talk inside." "This year we have prepared in advance, just in case." "This year, we're using a special formula to get the color even brighter." "We'll double our production, so people won't be disappointed." "Stop!" "This year, the Good Father says we'll make the event bigger than ever." "We'll produce more fireballs." "I'm just afraid that we won't make it in time cause we have fewer workers." "Don't worry about my production." "We should be more worried about placing the fireballs under the river." "Last year we made too many fireballs." "Some were bad." "We placed them under the river too late because Kan was the only one left to do it." "I've spoken with Father Lod about the incubation time for the eggs." "It takes one full day." "Like last year we started to set up the fireball eggs, ...just one day before the end of Lent." "The festival boats were out practicing till late." "Kan had to wait for them to leave before he could dive." "By the time he was done, the roosters were crowing up a storm." "Kan, the current is stronger than last year." "Be careful, son." "I heard that the Naga hunters will set up nets to catch him." "They'll be there all day." "With our bad luck, we might get snared in their nets." "Good Father, sir I think it's time we stop." "Really, it's time." "Just stop it, Father." "It's not some annual festival or township fair, Father." "Have you ever taken a good look to the other side?" "." "Look at the media, its crazy!" "Kan, can I ask just once more?" "." "Just get us past this year." "Do it to satisfy our brothers and sisters waiting in anticipation." "... people from all over." "Please don't, Father." "If we're gonna stop, let's just stop." "I think our parishioners would be furious if they knew what you did with their donations." "How do you know they'll be mad?" "." "They might be thrilled." "They'd be happy to contribute to see the fireballs." "You're talking trash." "Are you drunk?" "." "Now you're drinking in the temple?" "." "I'm not as drunk as those tourists." "They always throw their trash along the river in front of our house." "Father, have you seen what they leave behind?" "." "Father." "If what we do is really good and earns us merit, ...then why did Kem die." "when he went down with me?" "." "Kem died because he was drunk." "I told him over and over, don't drink and dive." "He died because of alcohol." "Father, do you remember his mother's face the day we cremated him?" "." "Father, someone is going to catch us!" "The news channel lTV," "I'm scared of them." "If people find out what's going on, they will lose respect in our religion." "Kan, don't be afraid." "The Sacred Naga has chosen us." "He will protect us." "Nobody can do us any harm." "On top of that, we make merit by helping people to see the fireballs." "We give them hope." "We make them believe." "What we've done, ... make them so happy as if seeing the Lord Buddha." "Father, if you're going to bring Buddha into all of this, I'd better leave." "Have you ever heard, believe in what you do, do what you believe in?" "." "If there were no fireballs, will people still pay respect to the monks?" "." "If there were more fireballs, ...will people pay more respect to our faith?" "." "So Bangkok taught you to be like this, to talk tough?" "." "So you want an old monk to beg you, do you?" "." "If yes, I'll prostrate myself before you right now." "I'm sorry, Father, but, I'm no longer a child who believes in these myths, ...these Naga, transforming into human forms." "Father, have you seen the people who say they believe in the Naga?" "." "They bet on the number of fireballs." "Now, do you still believe such belief makes merit?" "." "Stop right now!" "Don't you know that he can hear you?" "." "Mr. Aw, these days everything must be scientifically proven." "Like local folklore for instance, when a red ant carries eggs in its mouth, ... is it true that it will rain?" "." "When a gecko makes a sound, is that bad luck or just air pressure in their throat?" "." "Little Doc here was a student of mine and now he's out trying to disprove the Naga." "Headmaster, be careful." "The Doctor might hear you." "This apparatus is perfectly set up." "I got a good one ...better than ants carrying their eggs." "What?" "." "It's a way to stop a dog from taking a shit." "It's a story that an old monk once told me." "Alright, get to the point." "Well, if you see a dog about to shit in front of your house, ...get out loincloth like this and wring it out." "The dog won't be able to shit." "That's all." "Everyone seems to believe in you." "Just a second, don't hurry." "Just relax for a second." "Calm down." "I'm going to put a stainless steel spoon down in here." "In less than three minutes, those ants will march out in a single file like soldiers because they're afraid of steel spoon." "I think they're more afraid of getting whacked with the spoon." "You're a real comedian." "Alice, come down and hang these clothes for me." "It's been raining every day." "They're getting all mildewy." "Get me some of that rice broth in the kitchen." "Come, bring me some." "Is that rice broth for the dog?" "." "No!" "It's for soaking the laundry to get out ironing stains." "Yesterday, while I was ironing..." "I realized that I hadn't collected the data for Doc so I ran outside and forgot about the ironing." "Then I smelled something burning." "What a team, you and the Doc." "Come on, headmaster." "I'll just write it down like on the water meter." "If I forget to do it, I'd just make a rough guess." "You're so sarcastic, just like a woman." "Thanks a lot!" "Aunt Awng, she's something!" "I got her a washing machine because she might be tired." "How can a washing machine, really know what is dirty or not, ...or where to scrub?" "." "It's like that machine to catch the Naga or worm, or whatever." "If your mother was still alive, ...there's no way she'd let you do this." "As for your dad, the Good Father no way, right?" "." "You' re getting serious again." "Her mother and father loved the Doctor." "The Doctor loves to talk about religion with the Good Father." "Why wouldn't he let him set it up here?" "." "Alice, don't listen the Headmaster too much." "I didn't say the Doctor was a bad man." "No, Awng." "Are you afraid that we're going to find the real truth behind the Naga fireballs?" "." "You also teach science, right?" "." "Or are you afraid to discover that the fireballs are not created by the Naga?" "." "Alice, what are you saying?" "." "Hey, where are you going?" "." "Dad, what are you doing?" "." "Doctor, you're mean, laughing at that kid." "Come on, when I was a child, I was never afraid." "That kid doesn't know or what?" "." "Look, you can see legs under there clear as day." "Well, those kids really do believe it has a life of its own." "I myself believed so when I was a kid." "Alice, don't get mad." "Help me!" "Somebody help me." "See, You're not mad at me anymore, right?" "." "No, I just think you're nuts!" "Come and eat." "Come, baby." "Honey, how can you tell which one is male or female?" "." "I once saw on channel 1 1." "They said you have to spread their butts to find out, right?" "." "What are you crazy?" "." "You city kids don't know anything." "Now, watch, doctor." "If it remains still, that's a male." "But, if it shakes its feathers, that's a female." "You see, women like to make themselves up." "Doctor, I have a stomach ache." "Really, Doctor." "It happens once a month." "It must be my period." "Dear doctor." "Hey, it's a female." "A woman!" "What are you doing, doctor?" "." "I'll prescribe some medicine for you." "Now, tell me where it hurts." "Do you want me to help wash these clothes?" "." "No, no, it's a woman's work." "I can't let you do that." "Can't I help you with something else?" "." "OK, then help me correct the test papers." "I thought you'd never ask." "A long time ago when the Great Buddha came to the Mekhong River." "He stayed at Pu Luang." "Luang is an ancient word that means "Naga"." "The Buddha saw a Naga named Paya Puppalanak." "The Naga was wearing a jeweled sash." "Lord Buddha smiled, and predicted that this site would become the city of Nong Khai." "Nagas are often referred to in many teachings about Buddhism." "For example, before enlightenment, ...there was this Naga who was guarding... the Buddha's golden serving tray and the River Namanati." "when the Buddha was enlightened, he then laid down to attain Nirvana." "Once there was a heavy downpour and a Naga named Muchalin coiled himself and spread his hood to keep the rain from the Buddha." "Kan, hurry up, it's raining." "The test papers are blowing all over the place." "I'm sorry." "What?" "." "You're getting old." "Gray hairs all over your head." "That's cruel." "Let me see." "They're all over." "You can' t fool me." "I'm not afraid." "Why do we even need testing?" "." "Do you really want to know or are you just joking?" "." "I'm serious." "To measure the results of just how well one student has gone through the process of learning." "To learn whether that student believes the teacher or not, right?" "." "That's just a joke." "Actually, we do have to believe in the textbooks." "So that means that if I'm a student and I don't believe what the teacher says, I'd fail." "If that's the case, should I leave before  I fail or first fail and then leave?" "." "Where is it?" "." "Give me a little hair will, you?" "." "After it rains, it floods, you see?" "." "I'm going to burn them and turn the smoke on those centipedes." "I just went up to put up mosquito net," "I saw a huge centipede on the pillow." "I'm going to smoke it out." "It will get drunk on this smoke and crawl away." "Not just centipedes, ...even people can't stand that smoke." "Sniff it!" "Go Ahead, sniff it!" "Hey, Kan, when are you going to see the Good Father over on the other side?" "." "Not yet." "I still don't feel well." "I have a sore throat." "No big deal." "I just wanted to send that box over to him with you." "The Good Father left it for me to pack." "What it is, I don't even know." "The other day, I left it in the house, ...and that damn cat pissed on it." "One day soon I'm gonna rub his ass in the dirt." "Is something wrong, Kan?" "." "You have a problem with the Good Father?" "." "If you knew that those fireballs were the work of human hands, what would you do?" "." "Would you be angry at those who made them?" "." "I'd be angry, really angry." "I mean, that's openly deceiving the public." "If I knew, I would call the police and have them arrest the entire gang." "Why?" "." "Kan, do you know who's doing this?" "." "Are you sick, Kan?" "." "Go get yourself some medicine." "Otherwise, you're gonna get Aunt Awng's remedies." "You're sneezing." "Take this sticky rice water." "Drink the whole thing." "Drink it." "Come on." "Norati Clinic." "The Naga Fireballs of Nong Khai Mysterious." "Trails Naga's trails." "Why are you getting involved in this Naga stuff?" "." "Those villagers will be pissed at you and you're not gonna feel well." "Hey, mom, just what are the villagers saying?" "." "Judy's daughter, that Nee kid, has already been saying she won't buy anything from our shop." "She said you have disgraced our religion." "Oh, mom." "What?" "." "You want your name in National Geographic?" "." "Mom, now this is getting out of hand?" "." "How could you even listen to them, mom?" "." "Hey, mom," "... National Geographic isn't so bad, is it?" "." "After four years of research, today I can conclude that the Naga fireball phenomenon is entirely man-made." "I have something for you to look at, ladies and gentlemen." "This is the Mekhong River in the are a of Nong Khai Province." "The nature of the Mekhong riverbed is such that the current has a flow rate of 1.75 meters per second at the time this phenomenon takes place." "Which means that if I happened to be so stupid and fall into the river at that time, ...and if during such time, one of you accidentally stepped on the foot of a famous politician's son," "...before you could even pull your foot back," "I would have already floated to the other side." "Help me!" "Help Surapon, Mister Doctor!" "The characteristics of the riverbed... ..are such that there are no crevices within which decomposed materials could accumulate." "But, let's say if there were to be accumulation," "It would take 5 days of fermentation to generate methane gas." "This means the Mekhong River must take a 5 day vacation." "Hey, Professor, how do you know that there is a crevice there?" "." "The water is deep and murky like iced tea." "For methane gas to shoot up, That's my ear!" "Not a pussy." "Don't stick it in like that." "Mr." "Curious, come over here." "What else do you want me to look at?" "." "If the riverbed was cavernous, ...we would see the current spinning like this." "Yes, Professor." "For methane gas to shoot up, ...it must first ignite, which would cause a loud explosion." "I' m still OK." "Here is the important point, ...methane gas can be ignited only at 526 degrees Celsius which is impossible in the river, ...with a strong current on the last night of Buddhist Lent, during the full moon." "Not in this lifetime, not in the next!" "I almost got a hernia!" "Think about it." "Normally, boiling water, the kind our wives would use to make a spicy hot pot is only1 00 degrees Celsius." "When your wife lift up the lid, ...you get a blast of heat enough to burn your face." "Because the steam float that high." "We can see the steam, vapor." "And as the Deputy Provincial Officer said, ...the Doctor is willing to scuba dive into the river to collect soil, ...and decomposed material samples and test it in a laboratory." "To do this on the night of the fireballs" "Well, it just can' t be done." "At the depth of 1 0 meters, ...if the doctor wasn't at least as strong as an Olympic swimmer, ... he wouldn't dare risk it." "Worse than that, within the murkiness of the water during the high tide season, ...and at 526 degrees Celsius, don't you think that ...whatever the doctor had hanging inside his suit would be HARD-BOlLED?" "." "Might as well cook his balls in the spicy hot pot." "In conclusion, I am more than certain that this phenomenon is the work of human hands." "Whether those hands are Lao or Thai, well, you'll have to find out for yourselves, ladies and gentlemen." "I don't understand." "Who do they think they are?" "." "Who are they?" "." "I don't know what Naga means?" "." "And I don't understand." "Why don't people like me?" "." "Don't understand, ...Chieftain, think about it." "I was born and raised here, ...studied here." "I never sold drugs or did any dirty business." "I donate to charities, to our community." "Think about it." "I set up this factory for farmers to sell their tomatoes." "I've never cut the buying price." "Last year when market prices dropped, ... I was screwed, I mean fucking hammered." "I don't get it." "I don't get it!" "The government wants us to support Thai products, ... but expensive imported tomato juice can still sell." "But, my Made-in-Thailand is boycotted just because the fireballs don't go off in front of my factory." "They make me a disgrace to the community." "I don't get it!" "I don't get it, either." "Hey, Thee, my boy do you hear me?" "." "Tomorrow, you tell the Professor  Professor Surapon, ...tell him, to make some fireballs and set them off in front of my Jengwilai factory whatever it cost I'll pay." "We gotta let them know that we can have fireballs just like everyone else, too." "I don't get it!" "Doctor, my friend is a sacred Naga who provides us with water." "Shit!" "Goddamnit!" "What are you doing?" "." "Missing something?" "." "Looking for a dead mouse." "Maybe his spirit is here." "The doctor just came by to ask for kids to help collect data?" "." "I gave him permission." "He added two more machines." "They're out at Nong Kung and Wat Luang Pier." "He asked students there to help him collect data." "Why the hell did I help him?" "." "Why has globalization reached Nong Khai so quickly?" "." "Son-of-a-Bitch!" "Excuse me, Alice." "Actually, I don't give a damn if it's natural or created by man." "Teacher Alice, if Ponpisai has no fireballs this year, ...the doctor must be held responsible." "Kan's been gone since yesterday?" "." "Why didn't anyone tell me?" "." "No one knew, Father." "He left early in the morning." "It's hard to believe he'd think like that." "You took him in since he was little." "Without you, he'd be an orphan." "He'd be a loser." "Don't talk about gratefulness, alright?" "." "That's got nothing to do with it." "We raised him to live a life." "He can choose his own path If that's the case." "We'd better resign ourselves to it, Good Father." "Whatever is going to happen, just let it happen." "Let what just happen?" "." "It's our duty, you know, ...to help ensure that there is religion in this world." "How are we going to help?" "." "The only people left who know the nooks and crannies where the fireballs go are you and Kan." "Just the two of you Ngum has long disappeared..." "...and Kem" "I know." "I'm sure Kan will help us." "And how are you going to convince him?" "." "Religion is more than just lighting candles." "And then?" "." "Good Father, have you come... to make merit for Kem on the anniversary of his death?" "." "I've already done it." "Where is Kan?" "." "Welcome inside, Father there's no one home." "Father, I can't let go, sir." "And I can't let it go either." "Thank you." "If we could collect statistics for the density of oxygen throughout the year, we could definitely confirm that it is indeed a natural phenomenon." "For this project, ... I really appreciate the Deputy District Office." "He worked hard to raise funds to carry out the research." "So where are we at now?" "." "We're almost there." "There're a lot of obstacles to set up this equipment." "But, now, things are much easier." "Alice and Aunt Awng are helping with the data collection." "The other day they told me that Kan was also helping." "And where is Kan today?" "." "Kan?" "." "I haven't seen him." "Aunt Awng will be home soon." "You can ask her yourself, Father." "Why is it people must unlock the secrets of nature?" "." "Father you're playing with an unsolvable enigma." "We want to unlock the secrets to better understand nature." "And once we do, we'll be able to live in harmony." "The West is at opposites with the East." "The West is all about material things." "The East is about the mind, sir." "Science is for all people on the planet, Father." "A lot like your sermons." "Buddhist faith teaches us not to believe without reason." "One second in the heart of each person is not the same." "Father, you are sharp." "I can't argue." "Let's put it this way, please bless me to be successful, Father." "Believe in what you do." "Do what you believe in." "Sounds like a Johnnie Walker slogan." "That's a great line." "Do you have another one?" "." "Are we ready?" "." "1.. 2...3." "I shouldn't have gone to all this trouble." "Can you hear me?" "." "I am on the bank of the Mekhong River in Ponpisai District." "This is experiment 3/2545." "Asshole, ...hold the camera." "Straight." "I can't see shit." "We're at the place where the Naga Fireballs appear to determine what really causes them." "Is it a miracle or is it man-made." "Hold the sign straight, ...you're slithering like a snake." "Did the Naga take over your body, you lizard?" "." "These are special firecrackers a popular toy in Nontaburi." "They're made from an explosive charge and special wires." "When we ignite it, the charge will run along the wire." "If we watch them from far away, in the dark, we won't see the wires." "Most of the Naga Fireballs occur near the Lao side, ...far from here in total darkness." "Just like my firecrackers." "Except these wires are horizontal." "I will soon demonstrate." "Light the goddamned thing, will you?" "." "As for the Naga Fireballs, the trick is to run the wire vertically from beneath the water." "Let say that on the night of full moon, ... I prepared fireballs beneath the water with these wires connected all the way to the shore." "When the time is near, I'd kick back with a Lao beer." "And when it's time, I'd press the button." "What do you think?" "." "Super!" "This time, even if it's not the last day of Lent, ... it could be any day." "National Chicken Day, lnternational Dog Shit Day, ...the day we shave your mother-in-law's ass." "The day your father-in-law died." "If you have this remote control, these explosive wires, ...and specially-made firecrackers that can ignite under water you too, can have Naga Fireballs any time." "What do you think?" "." "Well, now you gotta piss it down, right?" "." "Piss it down?" "." "Piss it down?" "." "Piss it down?" "." "Piss it down?" "." "OK, hit it!" "Wow, ... not even David Beckham can shoot like this!" "Hey, what the hell happened?" "." "Hey, the real Naga Fireballs don't make a sound like this." "But these do." "Professor, you son of a bitch!" "Hey, this shouldn't have happened." "Give me a computer notebook!" "How come?" "." "When we tested it in the swamp, it worked great." "What the hell happened?" "." "Hey, you're sure you checked to see that the temperature was stable, right?" "." "Yes, definitely, professor." "But today the water was too cold and you talked a little too long." "What do you mean, too long?" "." "Let me look at that temperature chart." "How can this be?" "." "I'm fricking made this with my own hands!" "I don't believe this." "What the hell are you filming?" "." "Shut that shit off!" "Hey, my little kitty!" "You've got me working first thing in the morning." "You see, you don't even know where to piss." "You do it everywhere, even near holy stuff." "I'm gonna send your ass to some temple, Miss Kitty." "Don't look at me like that." "You'd better watch out!" "You're gonna get it," "Kitty." "Every day, I don't get any work done." "All I do is clean up your piss and shit." "Piss here, shit there!" "Piss here, shit there!" "Piss here, shit there!" "Can you remember that?" "." "Hey, Kan put it over there." "Watch out for splinters." "You've been in Bangkok too long." "Your hands have gone soft." "Don't worry about him." "He knows about getting poked by splinters." "In Bangkok, he must have done a lot of poking." "Wait a minute!" "Is this a map to your mother-in-law's treasure, or what?" "." "You sure he didn't take it out of the garbage?" "." "Looks like someone spit beetle nut juice all over it." "Listen, it's not a treasure map." "It's the plan for the regatta." "It's a bit wrinkled." "I was working on it at Jek Hua's shop." "Then, that bastard turned on the TV so loud I couldn't work." "I got into cheering the fight on TV and spilled coffee all over the damn thing." "This year, the regatta has to be bigger and better than last year, you got it?" "." "Right!" "That book." "Yes, that one." "Express mail it to me." "What, you shithead?" "." "Hello?" "." "Doctor, hurry up!" "Have something to drink and help with the boat." "There's no signal anymore." "We're cut off." "Hoi, go help the doctor." "Hurry!" "We got it, doctor." "It's toll free, 24 hours a day." "Hurry up, doctor!" "Watch this!" "I'm gonna scratch the bottom so the bottle can open." "Did you see that shit?" "." "Let's all drink until we drop drunk." "We ain't going nowhere unless they kick us out." "That guy talks too much shit." "Just looking at him pisses me off." "But who would realize that my friend is heart-broken." "That's delicious!" "What kind of salad is that?" "." "It's hotter than shit!" "Doctor, it's hot, right?" "." "I have a really cool trick." "Put your face down and stick out your tongue." "You'll start to drool." "After the third drop has fallen, you'll feel better." "That's Aunt Awng's theory." "Two drops, three." "It's not getting any better." "Can I just spit it out?" "." "Hey, if you gonna puke, go puke outside the shop." "Get out!" "OK, who am I?" "." "You're Ultraman." "Wrong, I'm the Dutch Mill logo." "Can you see my windmill?" "." "Yeah!" "Hey, all you sinners help me lift this mast up, will you?" "." "How about we lift your dick?" "." "Let's go help him lift the mast up." "Teacher Alice told me that you're a singer with a golden Adam's apple." "Not bad." "Good enough to release a CD." "I'm into country music." "Like, "Tears of a Hyena", that you just sang?" "." "I like that." "It was beautiful." "No, Doc." "It's called "Sad Dog!" by Kaew Laithong." "Do you follow football at all, doc?" "." "Yeah, Alice told me that you were a Manchester United fan." "Are you also?" "." "It hurts to admit it after they lost to Liverpool 5 games in a row." "Exactly." "And did she tell you I was addicted to soap opera?" "." "She didn't tell me that." "She only told me you liked her." "I really don't care." "It's OK." "You can like her." "You've known her since you were kids." "I've only known her for a couple of years." "You can like her, really." "It's fine." "But, if you hit on her, I'll smack you!" "No, no way." "Teacher Alice is like an older sister." "But, if I had a girlfriend, I'd go for someone like her." "Sure?" "." "Don't even think about it." "I won't, doc." "Good!" "We are the pantsmen!" "We are the pantsmen, traveling 'round the world." "Doc, dog shit!" "What's so bad about it?" "." "What has it ever done wrong?" "." "I'm really jealous of you, doc." "Ever since I've had Alice, I haven't needed anything else." "What about your experiment?" "." "Right." "Except for my experiment." "I forgot." "Doc, is it ok if I just look at her?" "." "Hey, doctor!" "Hey, Kan, wait." "Don't put that on yet." "Wait till the grill is really hot first so it won't stick to the grill..." "If my old bag found out, she'd kill me." "Kan." "They said you've seen the Naga." "Is that all a lie or what?" "." "Kan, you dickhead, if you keep talking like this we'll all be damned" "True or not, go ask the Good Father." "He's seen it, too." "These days, our hearts are tainted we can no longer make contact with the Naga." "Does that mean that in the past the Naga lived among us, ... in human form?" "." "You go and look along both sides of the Mekhong, ...in thousands of temples." "Three or four generations ago a group of artisans, ...built these temples full of Naga images." "No one knew where these artisans came from." "Once they were finished, they simply disappeared." "Kan, you dick." "You scared me." "You think this is funny?" "." "Don't make fun of what you can't see." "Damn you!" "Sorry, I was chasing the flies." "I thought you said to light 3 candles and the flies will go away." "Light candles like on that horror show on TV." "Who made this chili sauce?" "." "It's really sour!" "You asshole." "You guys ever heard about the novice Ngun?" "." "He lived in Sakon Nakorn Province, ...with an old monk." "There was a cave in the back of the temple." "The old monk told him to never enter the cave." "The novice, Ngun didn't listen to him." "One day the novice went inside the cave." "There, he met another novice." "And they went inside together." "They kept going further, endlessly for a long time." "Novice Ngun grew scared thinking the old monk would return, ...so he wanted to turn back." "As it happened, the mysterious novice simply disappeared right before Ngun's eyes then he fainted." "When he woke up, ...he found himself tied up in a villager's fishing net." "That means that cave had to be really deep, right?" "." "From Sakorn Nakorn province to the Mekhong River." "Kan, they say the naval, ...the center, of the Mekhong is at the Ahong Rapids, ...the deepest point on the entire Mekhong River!" "People who drown will float up around the rapids." "Be careful!" "Each of those fireballs costs a lot." "This is an experiment to shoot off a fake fireball in the Mekhong River." "Quickly, hurry up fatso." "Yes, you, before I kick your ass!" "Hurry up." "Dark clouds are coming in we'll lose our mark." "This time we've come really close." "These guys will plant the bamboo sheaths at the bottom of the river, ...so that the fireballs will shoot up just like during the real thing." "Who knows." "They might just be fishermen." "Whoever they are, I think they're great!" "See how strong the current is during the rainy season." "Where we're standing now is where most of the fireballs occur." "Who the hell are they?" "." "I really want to know." "Where'd they get the money to do this?" "." "Let's get them and poke their butts." "Wit, What happened?" "." "What's wrong with him?" "." "Pull him up." "Take off his oxygen line." "What happened to you Wit?" "." "Welcome to Ponpisai, the City of Naga Fireballs." "The Township Council of Chumpol." "The Tourism Authority of Thailand." "I have studied big snakes for 30-40 Pythons, ...Boa Constrictors, I've handled them all." "But, a huge black snake with a crest and red eyes that the villagers call "Naga" to be honest, ... I've never met one." "I've been to all the places where there were trails of Nagas." "But at best, I found only strange footprints like these." "Today is the same." "It's not Naga, professor?" "." "I don't know what it is." "But, around here, I've come across prints like this quite often in 1 993, ... it was a husband and his wife from Udorn." "who were driving their pickup truck to sell fruit around Wat Thai." "As it got late, they watched the Fireballs and began to talk with disrespect about the event." "When they woke up, there was a print like this." "Then the two of them just vanished." "I heard them say that this husband and wife drove home but never got there because their car went into a ditch." "Those poor souls." "This one was also found on a car hood in 1 993." "They say the owner worshipped it and made a fortune!" "Won millions at the lottery." "This is a print found in a house." "The owner had shut his house up to escape floods." "When he returned, he found prints all over." "What's more important, the whole place smelled like reptiles." "This is a print in a fishpond." "We find a lot of these!" "This is the print in a grass field on the side of a road in an area where the driver is said to have been cut off by a Naga." "I went to visit that witness last year." "The poor guy lost his marbles." "I mean, he's gone!" "Look at this one, taken by a Navy man." "He took it from the shipdock." "When he took the picture, he saw nothing special." "But, when he developed it he saw the Naga with a yellow crest." "I examined the film myself." "They didn't touch it up or anything." "I live in Ban Done." "I came here to cremate my cousin." "I took a boat." "I saw rays of light coming through water vapor spraying up from the water at the mouth of the river at Huay Done." "I thought it was the Naga." "It was!" "It was a big snake, with only one eye." "It lost an eye from dynamite set off by a fisherman." "It came up to the surface of the Mekhong over there." "Scary!" "It's the same one." "Exactly." "Usually we see it swimming back and forth across the river between the dock at Wat Jumpon and the mouth of Huay Done, in Ban Nong Kung around noon." "OK, no more beating around the bush, alright?" "." "The Naga exists only as myth." "Because if it really existed, ... I would have found it over the last thirty years." "Today, miracles occur almost every day, you believe it or not?" "." "Even as I was driving here, the story goes like this." "I stopped and bought grilled bananas, 5 bananas for 1 5 baht." "A dog cut in front of my car, I hit the brakes and things went flying." "When I picked up the bag of bananas, shit!" "There were only 4 left." "Is that a miracle or what?" "." "I'm not gonna follow your advice." "That's crazy!" "Why would I move my factory?" "." "How am I wrong?" "." "OK, if the professor is part of that Naga believer group," "I'm already screwed!" "I'll just go and catch the people who are making the fake fireballs for you to see." "I don't know." "Is nature trying to tell us something?" "." "Kem, boy," "Kem!" "You went to a whorehouse, right?" "." "All our money goes right into pussy." "Come here!" "I didn't, I told you I didn't." "I swear to you on a monk riding a rocket." "Holy shit!" "Hurry up!" "It's going to rain." "It's going to rain." "What's hanging out here?" "." "Quiet!" "Bring the clothes inside." "Take this away." "Doctor!" "What do you need?" "." "Do I have to boil water?" "." "Kan." "The Good Father isn't giving birth!" "What are you crazy?" "." "My eyes." "Could you check them for me." "Whoa, this body is burning hot." "How could you let it go like this?" "." "Tiffy Cold Medicine. 2 packs." "I'm going to give him some saline solution." "Can you find me something to hang it on?" "." "It's hot in here!" "Yeah, use saline solution." "That saves us oil." "Put everything away." "Someone's coming." "When did he sneak in?" "." "The water's just come up." "You can take the temple boat." "Be careful." "You can use the steps on the riverbank." "Next time you come, doctor, ...we will open the temple and let you pay respect to the holy images." "But today, the Father took the keys with him." "If I were to come back here all by myself" "I'd definitely get lost." "If I didn't have a meeting, I'd stay longer." "It's beautiful around here." "Doctor, the boat is here!" "What are these?" "." "Yesterday it rained All day." "Everything got soaked." "I buried some ashes here to suck up the humidity." "What got wet?" "." "Matches." "And what's this?" "." "Look at this!" "What is it, Kan?" "." "I broke the University swimming records 2 months ago." "That's great!" "It's hard to find someone to beat me now." "Good, you're on your way up." "Don't blame the Good Father." "He is really determined." "I know." "The Father believes more strongly than anyone." "The other night, a novice monk was peeking and saw the Father sitting out there in the rain because he wanted to see you." "Kan, slowly explain to him so he can understand." "At the very least, he raised you since you were little." "You!" "Burn some dried orange peel to chase away the mosquitoes." "Father, you are ill." "What are you doing out here in the dark?" "." "The goods are old, the man is aged, the light is gone." "I want to see some of those fireballs one last time before this full moon.." "...will be just an ordinary one." "I know you're angry, but I'm begging you to understand." "If you weren't a monk, you would go to Bangkok and try to live in the real world." "You would go and live as I have." "You would think like me." "You see, this world of ours today." "Let me guess." "Bangkok is truly developed now." "Everybody has lnternet." "They know everything." "There are 60 TV channels." "There is nothing the modern world can't do." "I accept your reasons." "I guess that Faith is out-of-date now." "Your world." "I'm not going." "But, in my world, I can't just throw away the Naga." "I can't just abandon them as fables, or fairy tales to be told." "If we don't do this, ...people will come to see and when there are no fireballs, ...what are they going to think?" "." "I do it for our faith." "What is wrong with that?" "." "I'm only asking the people of Nong Khai to feel good once a year." "But, anyway." "...Good or Evil, happy or sad, it's your choice to make." "Because it's a job that has no employer and even I cannot control you." "Goodness is truly in your own hands." "You can go looking for it from the sky to heaven if you like." "It's up to you." "Go home, my son." "Your world is calling you." "Go!" "Now!" "I'm telling you to go." "Kan you really think you're going to be happier in Bangkok?" "." "For how long?" "." "The day after tomorrow is the day for setting the fireballs." "If you change your mind, we will be waiting here." "Kan why are you so quiet?" "." "Hey, what's the matter?" "." "Got chili in my eye, maam." "Got chili in your eye." "Roll your pants leg up." "Salt and lick some salt off your leg." "Your eyes won't sting any more." "Really, Mr. Deputy, sir." "I saw it with my own two eyes." "Good Father Lo, Alice's father is the one making the fireballs for sure." "I've wondered for a long time." "What the hell kind of monk comes here to refill oxygen tanks." "That's true, sir." "I saw it with my own eyes." "What's this?" "." "Doctor, this is Alice." "I've been crazy trying to reach you." "The news isn't so good." "You see your oxygen measuring device was covered with pig shit last night." "We still don't know how badly damaged it is." "Shit!" "Looking at the condition, I'd say this thing is finished." "But, there's good news." "I think it's good news." "We found the suspect's watch on the ground near the fence." "We were tipped off by the dogs barking." "We got the suspect as he was breaking into professor Surapon's car." "More importantly, we found files of your data buried in the same area." "I'd like you to come down to the police station for some questioning." "Yes, OK." "But who the hell would do this?" "." "Doctor this year, those fireballs ...are they gonna shoot up on the night of the full moon?" "." "I have relatives coming from Bangkok to see it." "They will, maam." "So we can conclude that you admit to all of these charges, right." "Yeah, I really did do it." "But, don't you try to make me use the word confess." "I don't confess because I didn't do anything wrong." "Got it?" "." "It is pretty goddamn funny that I have to come and answer  my own student's questions like this." "Shit!" "Come on, teacher." "I mean this is a criminal case, sir." "Yeah, I know, I know." "Are you sure what I did here was wrong, ...and all that those crazy-ass university professors, doctors and dickheads did was right?" "." "Those scientists are just trying to show how great they are like, ...they are humankind's new gods." "This time, let's let it ride, Doctor." "If I go to prison, will you give the Naga back to the villagers?" "." "I'm so messed up today, Alice." "I'm really screwed up." "I don't know what to say." "Shit!" "Doc, don't use that kind of language in front of a lady." "You know, if the Headmaster knew just how much this machine cost, ... he'd be speechless, more speechless than me." "It's hard to believe that the Headmaster would be that serious about the whole thing." "Earlier this afternoon, his wife called me to thank me for not pressing charges." "What if most people think like the Headmaster, and we're the crazy ones." "If we can't trust in science." "I guess I can't be a doctor." "Doctor, are you going to continue your experiments?" "." "Don't do it." "It's too much of a hassle." "If you talk like this, I feel like giving up." "I'm sorry." "Doctor!" "Good Father." "How about paying some respect to the Naga!" "How does the Good Father do it?" "." "Doctor, can you not say anything bad right now?" "." "I was giving a compliment." "I was saying the Good Father is good in chemistry." "Where's Kan?" "." "Kan packed his bags earlier this afternoon." "I don't know why he was in such a hurry." "Lent isn't even over yet." "I guess that means you haven't seen him, Alice?" "." "He's leaving on tonight's bus?" "." "I heard him say he was gonna pay his respect at the Kud Kan Temple first." "I don't know why he had to go so late like this." "Three days before full moon." "That's better." "I haven't listened to the news in two days." "Don't know what's going on." "Father, forget the news." "It's time to make a decision." "Everything is ready." "So, in the end, it's just me, all alone, right?" "." "No, that's not it, Father." "This year the fireballs we made are the type that have to be set three days prior." "I don't know if Kan oh, forget him ...these have to be set before 1 1 p.m. tonight if you'd like them to go off on the full moon night after the last day of Lent." "Wait for Kan first." "And how do you know he's going to come, Father?" "." "A premonition, dammit." "Or, should we take a risk by just dumping the raw fireballs from the boat?" "." "The current is too strong." "If we drop them down, they'll just float away." "Even if one in ten goes off, we're alright." "We're lucky this year we made a lot of them." "No!" "Or how about hiring." "Song in the market to drop them for us." "He's the guy who dives for old stuff to sell." "This is a secret." "No one should know." "If the secret gets out, it will be on TV." "Wouldn't everything be ruined, then?" "." "We'll just wait for Kan." "Alright, then we'll wait." "If that's the case, put them all in the boat before Kan comes." "Look we're about to see him how are we gonna tell him?" "." "Anyway." "I think it helps." "Kan wants to speak with someone." "I think he wants to see you, Alice." "Yeah, that day, I can remember it now." "That day for sure the day Kan asked me." "Or could it be that last year's..." "Naga Fireballs were the last?" "." "Where are you going?" "." "What's up you sad dog." "We know about what's happened already." "Take me right to the police." "No, Kan, it's not like that." "You don't have to comfort me." "So the Good Father is the one." "I'm sorry." "That day," "I had no right to say anything about those people making the fire balls." "Who the hell am I, Doctor, to do damage to the fireballs?" "." "You see, it works!" "What's the matter?" "." "Did something just cut me?" "." "Yes, you're bleeding." "Father, where's the Good Father?" "." "I'm ready." "We will go and set those raw fireballs tonight." "It shouldn't really matter if the fireballs come a day or two late this year." "Don't just burn them, ...we're going diving." "Kan, the Good Father left an order that all of this should end as fate would have it, according to Karma." "Sacred Naga, I miss you so very much." "I can't wait to die, knowing that I'll get to meet you." "Everyone would want to come and meet you." "Is it not so?" "." "In just ten short years, the Naga Fireballs have grown from a miracle of nature on the banks of the Mekhong River to become a great festival." "It is now an event that all Thais and even foreigners must come and see with their own eyes at least once in their lifetime." "I don't think I have to explain what is about to happen next." "Your greatness must have the special cognizance to know that everything ends peacefully in its own way." "Last year over 1 00 fireballs." "I'm betting on 300 this year!" "Right in front of our Wat Thai Temple." "I'm betting it all this year." "Dear Great Naga, if you really do exist, ...don't release any fireballs this year as evidence of your power." "You shithead!" "You're praying like this?" "." "The villagers won't get to see anything." "Listen, asshole." "The bus fare is expensive." "If he really exists, he's got to accept this challenge." "I shouldn't have invited your sorry ass here." "I didn't want to come." "Why did you invite me?" "." "Hello, maam." "With the rain falling like this will you be earning less?" "." "It's ok." "Let it pour down even harder." "They say if rain like this, ...at night the fireballs will shoot up in droves." "What did the foreigner say?" "." "Pops, listen up." "If you're gonna DO, ...you DO, ... I DO, ...we DO." "I guess I can only do my duty for you up to this year." "Thank you, Great One, ...for donating this fair amount of time, ...full of happiness, to all of us." "Although I am not able to offer you a great Buddhist image... or build a road or a cathedral in your name," "I am sure that making these Naga Fireballs is a wonderful thing." "Why do you have to hurry back tonight?" "." "Traffic is jammed." "Why don't you leave tomorrow?" "." "It'll be a full year before you come back again." "The Good Father has passed away." "Will you come back here?" "." "If you do come back, please stay at our house, ok?" "." "I'll have a room ready for you." "Sis, as for the test," "I have an answer for you." "I choose to quit before I fail." "Hey, Kan, take a look at this." "This is what the Good Father left to be done." "We were all so busy we didn't get it done before the Good Father died." "I think this is yours, Kan." "AFor the champ of the Mekhong, be careful." "This is clay from a raw fireball." "Never wear it to go diving" "What the hell does that mean?" "." "Just hang on a bit, please Fathers, mothers, elders." "This year's fireballs are slower than previous years." "Maybe because there's so much water this year." "But don't let it get past your sight." "You have been warned!" "I think the guy who claims to have driven a boat  to the fireball factory on the other side may be telling the truth." "Then why is it the fireballs still haven't shot off?" "." "The Minister is getting upset." "Governor, the monk who made these, just died yesterday." "So, I think." "There will be no fireballs?" "." "We're screwed!" "Yes, Governor." "We are screwed!" "The fireballs in the Father's sack are all gone." "They are gone, Doc." "At last, may you the Great Sacred Naga join in praying and giving blessings to my entire team, ...especially Kan." "If you, Great Naga have further intentions, ...please make them apparent to him, as you wish." "At least I agree we must take care of our environment if they want to continue seeing the Fireballs." "Whether we believe or not, this is the life of the people who live on both sides of the Mekhong  It has been like this for hundreds of years." "We don't know if we will have them again next year or any other year for that matter." "But, you must admit the beauty and majesty of the Naga Fireballs that we have anxiously waited on since dusk." "Truly, they are well worth the wait." "This has created an atmosphere, at the end of Buddhist Lent that is wonderful." "It is an event that we humans must record in our minds, ...no matter what the true cause of this phenomenon." "P.S. For the brotherhood of old Monksand Kan, ...reading my letter here." "May the radiant light of the Naga Fireballs, ...so radiant, shooting up into the sky teach us to realize, that each of us born into this life, ...if we can do any good we should hurry and do it before the fireballs in our life are extinguished." "Believe in what you do." "Do what you believe in." "Thank you in advance to the audience for not disclosing the end of our film." "Anuchid Sapanphong" "Tidarat Chareongchaichana" "Boonchai Jailim" "Somchai Sakdikul" "Boonsri Yindee" "Surasri Pathum" "Yodson Lompadpai" "Nopadol Duengporn"