The illuminated boat procession normally took place at night. a crowd would gather along the banks of the mekhong river to celebrate the festival. The boat would then be lit and let free to float gently down the river and out of sight. Along the way, the people in the next village along would pull the boats to the side and collect their contents.
Unfortunately,lai ruea fai was discontinued in 1975 following a political upheaval in laos, the impact of which overflowed into thailand.
However, in 1983, the provincial goverment of nakhon phanom revived the festival and organized a competition for the best-decorated boat so as to encourage people to take an interest in the festival again after 8 years of neglect. Happily, the festival and boat decoration competition are now held annually and it has become one of the most eagerly awaited festivals in nakhon phanom, attracting huge numbers of locals and tourists alike. Which only goes to show that, despite 8 year full, the people of nakhon phanom,both young and old,have not forgotten the festival's importance and continue to enjoy it, not because it is their ancestors'special way of celebrating ok phansa day.