Phuket Vegetrain festival, Thailand

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Where do I start??

Phuket and the Chinese vegetarian festival has been a great way to start my travels in Thailand, literally with a bang!! I've been to visit the 'Big Buddha' and Wat Pro temple in southern Phuket on a day trip and got fleeced by the 'taxi' man (it was my first day and getting used to the Thai money - Baht. I have also been on an amazing trip to Pnang Nga Beach where they filmed James Bond 'The man with the golden gun' which was just stunning.....and the rest of the time I have been joining the festivities and relaxing in my very homely hostel run my PiTi and his wife Tanya who are the loveliest hosts and have made me feel so at home.

So. The Chinese festival is CRAZY! Good crazy, interesting and full of spectacle! A feast for the eyes and the stomach. Both my Lonely Planet guide and PiTi have informed me a little about the traditions of brave devotees who pierce their bodies with numerous blades, walk barefoot over hot coals and become entranced when their bodies are entered by Gods to dispel evil spirits from the people and the town. Apparently the festival dates back to 1825 when a Chinese Opera came to town; when the troupe became ill they turned to a vegetarian diet along with ancient rituals; they were miraculously healed and converted to vegetarianism (now this does not make me skirm AT ALL with my recent turn to meat - oh the irony of it all....). I'm hoping i'm not bound for some bad luck as I have been chowing down on all the veggie delights and I have a flag in my possesion that PiTi tells me is for protection. This replaces my lovely bracelet a monk gave me the other day when he blessed me but which I lost 😞 but more on that later!

Back to the Thai-Chinese action. There is a permanent exciting atmosphere in town with morning, afternoon and eveningprocessions, fire walking and crowds lining the streets to be blessed by the devotees/Gods. It is all based around a dozen shrines in the town or further afield. I have visited a few of the temples and shrines and have seen people lighting incense and burning things whilst saying prayers to the Gods. They even leave drinks on the shrines as offerings....so you'll see coke cans alongside burning incense and artefacts...seems incongruent to me but quite sweet really. I wish the Christian God was so easily appeased...seems a little less strenuous than saying a handful of hail mary's! I know I'm teasing and it all comes down to faith, so I am genuinely surprised and impressed by the level of commitment that these devotees show to their Gods; I can't even get behind one fully! I know that this discipline of faith comes in many shapes and forms across different religions but I'm not going to pretend that these rituals are not more thrilling than those I've already experienced....not that I'm game or anything!

PiTi tells me that the number of devotees is growing every year and the procession tonight (the last night of the festival) will see 3-4 thousand entranced individuals in town, some who don't even speak Chinese but will, it is said and seen, be able to suddenly speak and write the Chinese language through the Gods who inhabit their bodies! It is all down to purification....that is why there is no consumption of meat or partaking in smoking, alcohol or sex. Abstinence, detox, faith...whatever it comes down to - it definitely is full of meaning for the people of Phuket who bow their heads and join their hands together as the devotees pass, shaking their heads, sticking out their tongues and dancing around the many firecrackers that are thrown at their feet (as if they didn't have enough to concentrate on, like hoping their mouth doesn't fall off with the weight of 5 swords!).

I have been working up to tonights celebrations, which promise to be a deafening, smoke filled bonanza of fun....I have been warned to take a mask, wear shoes and not to bother taking a camera, the locals dress all in white long sleeve clothes....

I have sat eating 'blow your head off' green curries, amongst the locals whilst watching the mayhem unfold. I have watched smiling as chefs cook delicious fresh ingredients with fire and large woks knowing that some of those lovely flavours are coming my way....chunks of giner, lemongrass, lime leaves, chillies all bursting with a kick on my tastebuds, eyes watering, mouth well and truly on fire and a few metres in front of me so is the street, alight with teenagers throwing fire crackers galore whilst eating noodles with their friends. Every now and then there is a much louder bang or explosion and car alarms start join in with the noise but no one in the restaurnat raises an eyebrow; they continue their chat and eating whilst the cooks raise their ladels in protest for the teenagers to move their firecracker fun from right where they are cooking. My senses are alive with it all and it makes me smile...which makes me fit in a little with the chef who cannot stop grinning at me and I say "kob kun karp" (thank you) to him over and over whilst gesticulating my satisfaction with the meal. I need to learn some more Thai....!

So tonight I will join the thousands of people who gather together to celebrate the stories of the Chinese Gods which originate from warriors who fought bravely. I will not stand by just taking photos, instead I will immerse myself in the action, the thrill and pomp. I will throw fire crackers, eat more vegetarian delights (they are very clever with their cooking of tofu like food), bow my head in respect and hope that the flags of protection and purification pass their way to me through the throng of crowds....

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Comments

[Maria]

Now I\'m hungry for Thai food!

[Faye]

Loving the blog!!