Search Results for: Vegetarian Festival

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Vegetarian Festival takes to the streets

    Phuket Vegetarian Festival takes to the streets

    PHUKET: Tourists and island motorists were treated to the first street procession of this year’s Phuket Vegetarian Festival when devotees from the Choor Su Gong Naka Shrine south of Phuket Town marched to Saphan Hin this morning. Scores of tourists and residents lined the streets, with many joining the procession along the way and motorists queuing up behind them waiting…

  • FoodThe Slaughter of the Veggies: A food guide for Phuket’s Vegetarian Festival [video] | Thaiger

    The Slaughter of the Veggies: A food guide for Phuket’s Vegetarian Festival [video]

    PHUKET: Phuket’s Vegetarian Festival is upon us again (story here). The unmistakable sound of popping firecrackers meant to drive away evil spirits can be heard in the distance, competing with eery Chinese prayers that play on repeat at all hours of the day. Inside the shrines, there is a quiet reverence as devotees of all ages and backgrounds make merit…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Vegetarian Festival to begin tonight

    Phuket Vegetarian Festival to begin tonight

    PHUKET: As the sun sets on Phuket tonight, all Chinese shrines taking part in the annual Vegetarian Festival will raise their go-teng poles so that the Jade Emperor, among the Nine Emperor Gods, can descend from the heavens, heralding the beginning of this year’s event. Devotees began pasting gold-leaf papers to the poles last night ahead of the festival’s precursor…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket health officials challenge Chang over Vegetarian Festival ‘beer flags’

    Phuket health officials challenge Chang over Vegetarian Festival ‘beer flags’

    PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) has filed a complaint against those responsible for emblazoning flags heralding the upcoming Vegetarian Festival with Chang Beer logos. Krit Sakulpat, deputy chief of the PPHO, led a delegation to Phuket City Police Station yesterday to lodge a formal complaint against ThaiBev, the company that produces Chang Beer, and Jui Tui Shrine for…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket first: Vegetarian Festival twice in one year

    Phuket first: Vegetarian Festival twice in one year

    PHUKET: For the first time in its history, the world famous Phuket Vegetarian Festival will occur twice in one year. This year will see twice the number of 9th lunar months in the Chinese lunar calendar and twice the number of visits from the gods. However, maybe not twice the amount of celebrating. “According to the Chinese lunar calendar there…

  • Phuket NewsDozens charged over illegal fireworks at Phuket Vegetarian Festival

    Dozens charged over illegal fireworks at Phuket Vegetarian Festival

    PHUKET: Phuket City Police arrested 21 people for setting off dangerous fireworks during the Phuket Vegetarian Festival, which drew to a close at midnight on Sunday. A further seven people were arrested for selling firecrackers without a permit. Phuket City Police chief Sermpan Sirikong said celebrants were warned before the annual festival that police would be taking a dim view…

  • Phuket NewsFive in hospital in Phuket Vegetarian Festival Shrine food scare

    Five in hospital in Phuket Vegetarian Festival Shrine food scare

    PHUKET: Five people, including a 14-year-old girl, were rushed to hospital after eating a curry dished out to over 100 participants at a Phuket Vegetarian Festival Shrine yesterday.The five affected are believed to have suffered extreme reactions to alocasia included in a curry served at the Tah Reua Shrine in Thalang, doctors told the Phuket Gazette.Alocasia is in the Araceae…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Vegetarian Festival sends hotel occupancy soaring

    Phuket Vegetarian Festival sends hotel occupancy soaring

    PHUKET: Occupancy at beach and Phuket Town hotels during the Vegetarian Festival is at 85 per cent or higher, said Governor Maitri Inthusut. As he took part in festivities at the Tha Rua shrine yesterday, the governor noted that hotels along parade routes in Phuket Town were fully booked. Even hotels not on the parade routes – those at island…

  • Phuket NewsRain fails to dampen Phuket Vegetarian Festival spirit

    Rain fails to dampen Phuket Vegetarian Festival spirit

    PHUKET: The Phuket Vegetarian Festival street processions continued yesterday under a steady drizzle and leaden skies, but the inclement weather barely dampened the enthusiastic spirit of both participants and observers. The procession by devotees from Samkong Shrine wound its way through Phuket Town in the morning rain, with some 2,000 spectators lining the route to watch ma song (spirit mediums)…

  • Phuket NewsGazette’s Full Guide to Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2013

    Gazette’s Full Guide to Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2013

    PHUKET: The annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival started at sunset last night after area shrines raised go teng poles to allow the Jade Emperor and the Nine Emperor Gods to descend to our earthly realm. The nine-day festival, which ends on October 13, attracts thousands of visitors to Phuket to witness the festivities, which include fire walking, bladed-ladder climbing, specialty foods…

  • Phuket NewsAll rise for the Phuket Vegetarian Festival

    All rise for the Phuket Vegetarian Festival

    PHUKET: Phuket folk from all over the island spent this afternoon pasting gold leaf onto Go Teng poles, hoping for good luck, before they are raised at every Chinese shrine in Phuket this afternoon at 5:09pm to mark the start of the 2013 Vegetarian Festival. “We have set up lots of places to eat in the vicinity of our shrine…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Vegetarian Festival firecrackers blamed for house fire

    Phuket Vegetarian Festival firecrackers blamed for house fire

    PHUKET: Children playing with firecrackers before the Phuket Vegetarian Festival gets underway this evening have been named as the likely cause of a home in Thalang being gutted by fire.Two teams of firefighters arrived at the house of Rungtiwa Nuansri, 29, in Thepkrasattri, at about 8pm last night to find her modest home ablaze.The firemen took about an hour to…

  • Phuket NewsStrict firework controls put in place for upcoming Vegetarian Festival

    Strict firework controls put in place for upcoming Vegetarian Festival

    PHUKET: Officials agreed on Wednesday to adapt extra measures to control the use and sale of fireworks during the Vegetarian Festival next week, with special emphasis on keeping particularly loud and quick-to-ignite pyrotechnics off the streets.The small red strings of firecrackers will be allowed, said Chaiwat Taephee, Phuket Provincial Chief Administrative Officer (Palad). But only at shrines and during parades.Officials…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Vegetarian Festival ends with a bang

    Phuket Vegetarian Festival ends with a bang

    PHUKET: Thousands of people lined the streets of Phuket Town last night as the Vegetarian Festival drew to a close with street processions arriving at Saphan Hin for the midnight finale.Devotees from all participating Chinese shrines in Phuket carried images of the Jade Emperor and the Nine Emperor Gods on palanquins as firecrackers blazed a protected path for the esteemed…

  • Phuket NewsThree dead as family car returning from Vegetarian Festival slams into tree

    Three dead as family car returning from Vegetarian Festival slams into tree

    PHUKET: Three people are dead and a mother and her two children are in hospital after the car they were traveling home in from the Phuket Vegetarian Festival slammed into a tree late yesterday afternoon.Duty officer Eakkaphob Phoothong of the Takua Thung Police in Phang Nga received a report of the accident at about 4pm.At the scene, about 500 meters…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Vegetarian Festival “ma song’ unruffled by media coverage

    Phuket Vegetarian Festival “ma song’ unruffled by media coverage

    PHUKET: Phuket native Peerapong Buapetch, 27, spends the majority of his year as a handyman for a local hotel. However, once a year he is called on to take part in one of the most important cultural events in Phuket – the Vegetarian Festival, which this year draws to a close on Tuesday. Chosen by the Chinese god Guan Yu…

  • Phuket NewsHungry Ghost compete with Phuket Vegetarian Festival

    Hungry Ghost compete with Phuket Vegetarian Festival

    PHUKET: As thousands of celebrants and devotees take part in the many Phuket Vegetarian Festival activities currently underway across the island, hundreds of people turned out yesterday to make merit for their ancestors for the Southern Thai festival Sart Duen Sib. The center of celebrations for the Sart Duen Sib was at the Wat Kajonrangsan temple, also known as Wat…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Vegetarian Festival 2012 underway

    Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2012 underway

    PHUKET: The Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2012 began officially at midnight last night as lanterns were hung at the participating Chinese shrines on the island, marking that the Jade Emperor and nine Emperor Gods had descended from the heavens. Thousands of devotees and spectators gathered at shrines across the island yesterday at sunset for the raising of the huge go teng…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Vegetarian Festival starts today

    Phuket Vegetarian Festival starts today

    PHUKET: The annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival gets underway at sunset tonight with the raising of the go teng poles for the Jade Emperor and the Nine Emperor Gods to descend to our earthly realm. Each year, the nine-day Vegetarian Festival attracts thousands of tourists to Phuket to witness the various activities held across the island. The street processions each year,…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Police ordered to boost security, safety for Vegetarian Festival

    Phuket Police ordered to boost security, safety for Vegetarian Festival

    PHUKET: Provincial Police Commander Choti Chavaviwat has ordered an island-wide boost in security for the upcoming Phuket Vegetarian Festival, which starts tonight. Maj Gen Choti told the Phuket Gazette that he was only too aware that the island attracted large numbers of tourists, both Thai and foreign during the festival, and their safety needed to be ensured. Gen Choti said…

  • Phuket NewsVegetable prices skyrocket ahead of Phuket Vegetarian Festival

    Vegetable prices skyrocket ahead of Phuket Vegetarian Festival

    PHUKET: Even a major festival such as the Phuket Vegetarian Festival is not spared commerce’s principal ethos of “supply and demand”; as demonstrated by the hike in vegetable prices this week. As has become the usual practice in previous years, with only a few days before the festival starts vegetable prices at the busy Kaset Market in Phuket Town, near…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Vegetarian Festival starts with elbow grease

    Phuket Vegetarian Festival starts with elbow grease

    PHUKET: Devotees at three shrines in Phuket began their preparation for the Vegetarian Festival with smiles and elbow grease as they gave the shrines a thorough cleaning yesterday. The cleaning started at 7am at Jui Tui Shrine, Pud Jor Shrine and Bang Neaw Shrine in Phuket Town. Students from Bang Neaw Municipality School joined other locals in cleaning the Bang…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Vegetarian Festival vendors protest over street rents

    Phuket Vegetarian Festival vendors protest over street rents

    PHUKET: Food vendors to operate stalls near the Jui Tui Shrine in Phuket Town during the upcoming Vegetarian Festival have successfully overturned the shrine committee’s decision this year to hand over the right to collect stall site rents to homeowners in the downtown area. About 30 people representing close to 100 Chinese vegetarian food vendors gathered around noon yesterday to…

  • Phuket NewsCall for blood donations ahead of Phuket Vegetarian Festival

    Call for blood donations ahead of Phuket Vegetarian Festival

    PHUKET: Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC) is calling for a boost in blood donations ahead of the upcoming Vegetarian Festival, which begins on Sunday. The PRBC’s blood stocks usually fall dramatically during the festival as demand rises and donor numbers reduce, due to the physical demands made by the festival’s purification rituals. Acting Director of PRBC Pornthip Rattajak told the…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Vegetarian Festival to generate B600mn

    Phuket Vegetarian Festival to generate B600mn

    PHUKET: Director Chanchai Doungjit of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Phuket office expects this year’s Vegetarian Festival to generate about 600 million baht in revenue for the local economy. “Many Thais, including those of Chinese origin, will visit the festival and many are likely to travel as family groups as the festival falls within the school holidays,” Director Chanchai…

  • Phuket NewsHealth officials call for a ‘safer’ Phuket Vegetarian Festival

    Health officials call for a ‘safer’ Phuket Vegetarian Festival

    PHUKET: With 70 people injured and one person dying from complications brought on by smoke inhalation during the Vegetarian Festival last year, the Phuket Health Office is calling for more stringent measures to protect celebrants from harm this year. Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) chief Dr Sak Tanchaikul called the heads of Chinese shrines taking part in the this year’s…

  • Phuket NewsGov orders crackdown on firecrackers, food prices for Vegetarian Festival

    Gov orders crackdown on firecrackers, food prices for Vegetarian Festival

    PHUKET: Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha has expressed his concern over the overzealous use of firecrackers and the skyrocketing prices of vegetables during the upcoming Phuket Vegetarian Festival, this year to be held from October 15-23. The news came at a meeting between Governor Tri and other senior officials and the Phuket Vegetarian Festival committee at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday. Among…

  • Phuket NewsLast day of 2011 Phuket Vegetarian Festival

    Last day of 2011 Phuket Vegetarian Festival

    PHUKET: Today marks the final day of the 2011 Phuket Vegetarian Festival, with the final farewells to the Nine Warrior Gods scheduled to take place amid a deafening street procession along Phuket Road this evening. This year’s festival has been one of the rainiest ever, with over 173mm of rain recorded over the first eight days of the festival at…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Vegetarian Festival blasts into 2011

    Phuket Vegetarian Festival blasts into 2011

    PHUKET: Devotees at Chinese shrines across Phuket raised their go teng poles at dusk last night and began reciting incantations to invite the Jade Emperor and Nine Emperor Gods to descend from the heavens. Among the VIPs joining Kathu Mayor Chai-anan Sutthikul in declaring the Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2011 officially open at the Kathu Shrine – the “original home” of…

  • Phuket NewsProcession routes for Phuket Vegetarian Festival

    Procession routes for Phuket Vegetarian Festival

    PHUKET: The annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival unofficially starts at sunset tonight with the raising of the go teng poles for the Jade Emperor and the Nine Emperor Gods to descend to our earthly realm. Each year, the Vegetarian Festival attracts thousands of tourists to Phuket to witness the various activities held across the island. To assist tourists and help motorists…