Thailand's vegetarian festival

The annual Thai Vegetarian Festival is now drawing to a close. This year in Pattaya it ran from the 7th- 17th October, but as it's a lunar celebration (held during the 9th lunar month of the Chinse calendar) the dates are different each year.

The festival is celebrated by Chinese communities throughout Thailand, although most of the attention is generally focused on Phuket with it's colourful parades and the vegetarian devotees, known as "Ma Song", who perform various feats of courage, such as walking on hot coals or piercing their skin with knives and other sharp objects.

Check out these guys........they are all 100% genuine and haven't been edited on photoshop!!!


Fortunately, we have not been carrying out any ritual acts of self-mutilation!! And the knitting needles were kept well away from my crown jewels, just in case the missus had any unusual urges!!!

We observed a vegan diet for the duration of the festival, that's right folks....no milk in my tea, no bacon sandwiches, no beer and that KFC had to wait too!!! But by eating only vegan food we got plenty of spiritual merit and good karma.......apparently!!!

The act of eating vegetarian is known as "kin Jay" and those who choose to strictly observe the tradition will dress in white and eat only vegetarian or vegan food. This is to cleanse themselves and bring good fortune to their households. Although it began life as solely a Chinese practice, a lot of non-Chinese Thai's now also choose to practice "kin jay".

I would like to report that I'm still alive and thankfully I haven't wasted away. Most of the food was actually very nice....not just tofu and nut roasts....which is what I associated with veganism in the UK!!!!

But....I have to admitt that I'm looking forward to an ice cold bottle of larger!!

If you're interested in learning more, the following websites provide lots of useful information about the celebrations.....

http://www.enjoythaifood.com/vegetarian-festival/index.php

http://www.phuketvegetarian.com/

http://thailand.prd.go.th/view_around_thailand.php?id=5269

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thai Logic

The theme of todays post is "Thai logic"....... But for those of you that have visited the Kingdom this may seem like a contradiction in terms, because the chances are, you have been in situations where there seems to be a lack of "logic" applied. You may think I'm being anti-Thai or trying to create an unfair cultural stereotype but this is not the case at all..... My current girlfriend is Thai as was my ex-girlfriend and I have nothing but good things to say about the majority of Thai people that I have encountered across all walks of life. I believe that the Thai's are the warmest and friendliest people you are ever likely to meet anywhere in the world....however, many lack, what we in the West would call, "common sense". Or as the late grandma Penfold might have said "some of them are as green as cabbage looking". My favourite example is when I checked into a small Bangkok hotel in Soi 4 Sukhumvit and was told the shower in my room wa
Read more

What the fuk?

Image
Before you start writing any letters of complaint or offering to wash my mouth out with soap.....a fuk, is actually a type of vegetable here in Thailand!!!! In Thai script it is written ฟัก and when pronounced, it sounds just like the English swear word. So, as you can imagine, I have had hours of fun with this in Thailand!!!! But, what on earth is a fuk, I hear you cry? It's known as a "winter melon" or "white gourd" in English and is common throughout South East Asia. For those of you, like me, who are botanically challenged, the winter melon is in the same family as honeydew melons. However, unlike the honeydew melon its flesh is not as sweet. It has a very mild flavor and is often used in soups, although I enjoy eating it when it's stir fried with chillis. They are well known for their detoxifying properties and can also be used to make vegetable juice drinks. I have also heard that it is used in China to make tea. Here are some examples of dishes made w
Read more

Book Review: Good Medicine for Thailand Fever

Image
Given that my last book review was so well received by my readers, I thought I would have another crack at this type of post. The book that I have chosen to comment upon is entitled "Good Medicine for Thailand Fever". When I first picked up this book with it's unusual title and garish yellow cover, I must admit that I was intrigued and as soon as I'd read the first few pages, I was hooked. A lot of books which deal wth the topic of Thai-Western relationships, are written by Westerners, for Westerners and tend to be full of hubris and pathos, focusing on how gullible farangs lose their hearts and life savings to devious bar girls. "Good Medicine for Thailand Fever" is a refreshing change from this staid format and far from being a skewed, one-dimensional and one-sided portrait of Thai-Western relationships, the book is bilingual guide, dealing with all aspects of cross-cultural relationships and offering advice and help to both parties. Written by an Amercian
Read more