It was only a partial eclipse ... details I could only find from this NZ website ..
Partial Lunar Eclipse Set for Sept. 7 - Yahoo! News
The next one is due March 3rd 2007.
As far as the Thai/Chinese superstition found this regarding Lao superstitions...
Laotian mythology tells of the giant frog that ate the moon. This in reality is how the Lao explain a lunar eclipse. The disappearance of the moon is taken as a bad omen, and evil spirits are present. This superstition sets the stage for bad things to happen in the land. So the Lao make a great effort of scaring the frog away from the moon. They fire their guns into the air and make as much noise as they can. The frog is frightened by the noise and it releases its grip on the moon and it is restored to its original shape. Now peace and prosperity can return to the land.
Hence the bell ringing - noise making etc.