Wat Chalong Fair

It is Chinese New Year. Among the many events that take place around Phuket is Wat Chalong Fair. Wat Chalong is the biggest and most important temple on the island. It is a big event with market stalls selling all kinds of stuff, games, rides, food and shows. in fact, it is so popular that if you are not going to the fair, the area is worth avoiding because the traffic can be a bit of a nightmare.

We went late afternoon to beat the main crowds. We wandered around the stalls with Ben and Jenny insisting on stopping at every toy stall, and there were lots of toy stalls. 'We'll buy something later, we'll buy something later,' all the way round.

We found our way through to the fair rides area. They are basic rides, roundabouts, trains, big wheels and bouncy castles. Nothing special but is is amazing how much pleasure Ben and Jenny can take out of circling around a train track.

There was one ride that was a bit more impressive - a little rollercoaster. It wasn't big but it crawled up to maybe 5 meters high and then did a fast circling drop. I thought it would be a bit too much for Ben and Jenny but as soon as Ben saw it he wanted a go. I thought he was over-reaching himself but we gave it a chance. I was sat in a car with Jenny while Ben sat in a different car with a young girl. I thought he would be scared when the ride started but I should have known better. He and Jenny both loved it and they just wanted to go again.

We wandered around the rest of the fair, played a few games, ate some food, bought a bit of stuff. It is a nice event and you could stay there all evening. They have a few bars with live music later and some nice little shows. However with the two kids it gets quite exhausting after a while so we headed home tired but happy.