Phuket’s veggie fest ends with sacred send-off to the gods
Spirit mediums, rituals mark end of nine-day religious celebration
Phuket marked the final day of its annual vegetarian festival with a sacred Buddha procession through the city, drawing crowds despite rainy conditions.
The final day of the Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2025 concluded with a sacred ceremony steeped in tradition, as worshippers gathered for the revered Iu Keng ritual, a spiritual procession believed to carry away misfortune and bestow blessings on the people of Phuket.
Held this morning, October 29, the event began at Lor Rong Shrine, known to locals as Am Sui Bun Tong, with hundreds of devotees following the sacred palanquin of the deity Kiew Ong Tai Te from the shrine through Phuket Town to Saphan Hin Cape.
Despite light rain, the atmosphere was electric with reverence. Male and female spirit mediums entered trances, wielding traditional symbolic weapons and performing purification rites to cleanse the community of ill fortune. Residents and business owners along the route set up small altars and stood silently in prayer as the palanquin passed, a practice rooted in centuries-old Taoist belief.
The Iu Keng procession, symbolising the deity’s visit to the people, featured a parade of flags, banners, and sacred items, including a small palanquin (Cai Bie) and a large palanquin (Tao Lian), which housed the spiritual presence of the festival’s presiding deity. Villagers lined the route, offering silent prayers for peace and prosperity.
This year, festivities were noticeably subdued out of respect for the national mourning of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, the Queen Mother. In line with a resolution passed by the event’s organisers, shrines across Phuket toned down noise levels and requested that mediums use smaller, traditional weapons during rituals to maintain a respectful tone.
The final farewell, known as the Sending Off the Buddha ceremony, is scheduled to take place from 10pm to midnight. All participating shrines will gather at the beach near Kiew Thian Keng Shrine, where they will send the deities, including Kiew Ong Tai Te and the Jade Emperor, back to the heavens. Following this, each shrine will close its main gate and extinguish its lights in a symbolic end to the festival.
A final ceremony, the Ko Teng pole-raising ritual, will be held at 4pm tomorrow, October 30, formally concluding the 2025 festival, according to The Phuket News.
Organisers have already announced that the 2026 Phuket Vegetarian Festival will run from October 10 to 18.
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