Early Morning at Kathu Shrine

I always try to visit my "local" shrine in the morning when they are doing their street procession as part of the Phuket vegetarian festival. Kathu is (so the history books say) where the festival originated and the local community take a lot of pride in the festival and their history. I already blogged about our visit to the shrine on the 7th for the opening ceremonies of the festival. I also headed to Kathu a couple of times during the week for...

Read More

Bang Neow Shrine - Street Procession in Phuket Town

October 13th was the day for devotees from Bang Neow shrine to strut their stuff. Bang Neow and Jui Tui shrines have the 2 largest processions. I had been to the Jui Tui procession last year, which was huge, and very crowded around the shrine. The weather thus far in the festival had not been great. I'd been along to 2 shrines (see previous blog entry) in the morning of the 10th and 11th under grey skies, and when I woke at 6am on the 13th, the sky...

Read More

2010 Vegetarian Festival (Part 1)

Well, that's all done for another year. One of the craziest times of year in Phuket.. come to think of it, certainly the craziest. Some people hate the vegetarian festival or are bored by it, or just moan that the street processions disrupt traffic around Phuket Town. Some people hardly notice the festival, as it really only affects Phuket Town and small communities with a Chinese-Thai background like Kathu, Sapam or Tha Reua. If you sit on the beach...

Read More

Old Phuket Town Tour with Phuket Heritage Trails

Phuket to many people means beaches, family holidays, nightlife, luxury resorts, shopping, maybe diving, snorkeling, sailing, golf, elephant rides, tours and of course the famous smile :) A lot of the reason for this blog is to highlight the other Phuket, the history, the festivals and local life, local restaurants and things to do that might not be so obvious. Visitors may not realise that Phuket has a rich and varied history, although you can't...

Read More