Phuket Vegetarian Festival

[Huck]

I'll be breezing through Thailand the last week or so of September & return home Oct 2. I assumed I'll stay in Bangkok, perhaps a couple days in Pattaya. The Vegetarian festival is going on around this same time however & I've always wanted to see it, thing is my flight leaves 3-4 days before the conclusion & I seem to recall from somewhere that the big procession is at the end of the festival. Can anyone confirm or deny this? Or at least anyone know of a site that has this kind of info? I wouldn't go down to Phuket on a short trip like this unless I was sure I was going to see some real stomach churning, off the charts, ah...spiritual practices. ::

[whosyourdaddy]

The vegitarian festival is a chinese-thai festival. Most of my students who are upper class will celebrate this, every year.. Usually around Oct, but the dates differ depending on what part of the country you are in. Just look for the yellow flags outside the restaurants and they show that they are participating. Speaking of that I smell supper burning.. oppps

[Brink15]

When I lived in Phuket I went twice. It really is pretty amazing. Even before the finale it is impressive. If you have time to get there head to some of the Chinese temples early in the day to see the participants getting ready. Incense burning and chanting. The rituals alone are very interesting. Once a parade begins break out you camera because you are sure to see some of the wildest sights you may have seen. Firecrackers and guys slitting there tongues with swords. Guys walking down the street with a spear through their cheeks and half a dozen pineapples on each end. I suggest you eat first as the food is probably the best Asian vegetarian food I've had anywhere.

 

Good luck and have fun.