Attractions & Events

Illuminated Boat Procession on Mekong River, Nakhon Phanom

Illuminated Boat Procession on Mekong River, Nakhon Phanom

All night, each night between 15 – 23 October 2010, a spectacular procession of illuminated boats can be seen on the Mekhong River in extreme North Eastern Thailand, at the border point with Laos. In addition to the water-borne spectacle, locals pay their respects to the Lord Buddha on the river bank with intricately decorated [...]





Chonburi Annual Water Buffalo Racing Festival

Chonburi Annual Water Buffalo Racing Festival

Water buffalo are used for ploughing fields in Thailand, but at the Chon Buri Buffalo Races they are put to a very different use. Side events include a buffalo fancy dress contest, a healthy buffalo contest, and the Miss Farmer Pageant. The annual Buffalo Race, held around the 11th lunar month -normally in October, is [...]





Phuket Vegetarian Festival & Chinese Nine Emperor Gods

Phuket Vegetarian Festival & Chinese Nine Emperor Gods

Warning: Some photos in this article may be disturbing to some readers. Thetsakan Kin Che or Tesagan Gin Je known in English as the Vegetarian Festival, is a Chinese Religious festival held annually during the 1st–9th days, 9th Chinese lunar month. Normally, but not always, this coincides with the Sart Thai festival, though in 2010 [...]





Phon Drum-beating Festival & Chak Phra Buddha-image Parade

Phon Drum-beating Festival & Chak Phra Buddha-image Parade

With the three-month Buddhist Lent two-thirds over, the temples in Thailand’s southern province of Phattalung begin preparing for the annual phon drum contest by refitting existing drums or making new ones.  In 2010, this week-long festival takes place between the 4th and 10th October, The monks, confined to their temples during the Buddhist Lent Rains [...]





Mahidol Day – Quiet Commemoration of Thai Medicine’s Father

Mahidol Day – Quiet Commemoration of Thai Medicine’s Father

Quietly held each year is Thailand’s Mahidol Day (Wan Mahidon), which commemorates, on the 24th September, the passing of Prince Father Mahidol Adulyadej, father of Thailand’s current monarch, and the moderniser of medicine in 20th Century Thailand. Mahidol Adulyadej, Prince of Songkla (Somdej Pramahitathibej Adulyadejvikrom Prabarommarajajanok – สมเด็จพระมหิตลาธิเบศรอดุลยเดชวิกรม พระบมราชชนก, Chao Fa Mahidol Adulyadej Kromma Luang [...]





Um Phra Dam Nam Festival & Sart Thai Day, Phetchabun

Um Phra Dam Nam Festival & Sart Thai Day, Phetchabun

The bathing of the Sacred Buddha in Phetchabun City is a free one day event held annually as part of the nationwide Sart Thai Buddhist Sabbath, which falls on the day of the new moon in the 10th Thai lunar month each year.  In 2010, the event occurs on 23 September (dates for the next [...]





Sart Thai – Honouring Ghosts & Ancestors Day, Thailand

Sart Thai – Honouring Ghosts & Ancestors Day, Thailand

The September 2010 10th Lunar Month New (Full) Moon falls on the 23rd of the calendar month and brings with it a bunch of Making Merit traditions, the largest of which is in the Southern Thailand province of Nakhon Si Thammarat. This traditional mid-year festival is now celebrated mostly in Thailand’s southern province of Nakhon [...]





Kamphaeng Phet Province, Sart Thai Tradition & Banana Festival

Kamphaeng Phet Province, Sart Thai Tradition & Banana Festival

Eat your hearts out FarmVille fans, this is the real deal, full bunches of bananas with real rosettes at a real farmers’ market, and a real one-crop festival. Thailand’s Kamphaeng Phet Province holds their Sart Thai Buddhist Tradition and Banana Festival in September each year. In 2009 it was during the second week of the [...]