It is that time of year again in Phuket when everything gets a bit weird and mystical -- especially around the Phuket Town area. It is the Phuket Vegetarian Festival. It is a truly extraordinary festival and it is right up there with the strangest sights to be seen anywhere in the world. There is a lot of information on the net about the festival. The official website is here. There is so much going on that you could easily spend the full 10 days exploring and enjoying the events. Indeed, many people from all over the world come and do just that.
There are 9 temples spread around Phuket Town and the surrounding area where the activities are centered. There are lots of food stalls around all of them serving a wide range of very good vegetarian food. In the evenings there are displays around the temples such as walking across hot coals or climbing blade ladders. The main focal points of the festival are the processions. Each morning, a procession sets off from one of the 9 temples and marches around Phuket Town and back again. This is where you can see the famous body piercings. There are ‘mediums’ or ‘shaman’ who pierce their cheeks and other places with a bizarre assortment of objects ranging from skewers and swords to spears and bikes.
Every year, we make an effort to see at least one of the processions. We also go to a few of the temples, eat some vegetarian food and do a little ‘wai pra’ at the temple.
However, my absolute top recommendation for the festival is the final night, which this year is tomorrow – 7th October 2008. If you are only going to make one visit to the festival then this is the time to go. This is the night when they call the gods to ascend back to the heavens. The crowds start to gather around the route in Phuket Town from the early evening. They start lighting fireworks and firecrackers all around town and they keep it up all evening until it slowly builds up to an incredible crescendo. On this night, the procession comes through town at a charge. As they come through, the crowd bombard them with firecrackers. The air is full of smoke and flashing lights. It is a truly spectacular sight.
We always go to the area around the clock circle in front of the Metropole Hotel. The final procession comes charging through around 11pm until midnight. Then everybody heads to Saphan Hin for a mass celebration.
If you are free and you haven’t seen it before, you shouldn’t miss it. Ear plugs are a good idea.
There are 9 temples spread around Phuket Town and the surrounding area where the activities are centered. There are lots of food stalls around all of them serving a wide range of very good vegetarian food. In the evenings there are displays around the temples such as walking across hot coals or climbing blade ladders. The main focal points of the festival are the processions. Each morning, a procession sets off from one of the 9 temples and marches around Phuket Town and back again. This is where you can see the famous body piercings. There are ‘mediums’ or ‘shaman’ who pierce their cheeks and other places with a bizarre assortment of objects ranging from skewers and swords to spears and bikes.
Every year, we make an effort to see at least one of the processions. We also go to a few of the temples, eat some vegetarian food and do a little ‘wai pra’ at the temple.
However, my absolute top recommendation for the festival is the final night, which this year is tomorrow – 7th October 2008. If you are only going to make one visit to the festival then this is the time to go. This is the night when they call the gods to ascend back to the heavens. The crowds start to gather around the route in Phuket Town from the early evening. They start lighting fireworks and firecrackers all around town and they keep it up all evening until it slowly builds up to an incredible crescendo. On this night, the procession comes through town at a charge. As they come through, the crowd bombard them with firecrackers. The air is full of smoke and flashing lights. It is a truly spectacular sight.
We always go to the area around the clock circle in front of the Metropole Hotel. The final procession comes charging through around 11pm until midnight. Then everybody heads to Saphan Hin for a mass celebration.
If you are free and you haven’t seen it before, you shouldn’t miss it. Ear plugs are a good idea.
4 comments:
11pm a bit late for my kids! I am just updating my blog now with some photos from this morning at our "local" Kathu shrine. I totally agree, the vegetarian festival is a real buzz!
The final night is a bit too much for little kids. Apart from being late, it is also intensely noisy and it is fairly normal for them to throw firecrackers around your feet as you walk - all in good fun of course. If you are going, it is a good night to get a babysitter.
That piercing the cheek thing is just weird.
That piercing the cheek thing is just weird.
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