Thao Thep Kasattri and Thao
Sisunthon Fair is held on March 13 every year to commemorate
the two great heroines who rallied the Thalang people
to repel Burmese invaders. Many activities and celebrations
are organised.
Seafood Festival, held around
May yearly, is designed to publicise the delicious seafood
of Phuket and attract visitors during the rainy season.
Activities include a Marine Tourism Resources Parade,
seafood stalls, demonstrations of regional cuisines
and cultural shows.
Vegetarian Festival is held
on the first day of the 9th lunar month (usually October).
Phuket islanders of Chinese ancestry commit themselves
to a 9-day vegetarian diet, a form of purification believed
to help make the forthcoming year “trouble-free”. The
festival is marked by several ascetic displays, including
fire-walking and ascending sharp-bladed ladders.
Phuket Travel Fair , held
on November 1, was first initiated in 1985 at Patong
to welcome in the tourist season and designed to foster
co-operation among tourism-related operators both in
the private and public sectors. Many colourful and interesting
activities are organised, such as merit-making in the
morning, water sports contests, a Miss Visitor Contest,
among others.
Phuket King ’s Cup Regatta is held in December. The Phuket Yacht Club hosts international
yachtsmen, largely from neighbouring countries who compete
in the Nai Han Beach area for royal trophies.
Laguna Phuket Triathlon is
held in each December. The triathlon (a 1,000-metre
swim, a 5-kilometre bike race and a 12-kilometre run)
attracts world-class athletes from all over the world.
Tourist Season Opening Festival , starting from November 1, is usually called the Patong
Carnival, from the place where celebrations occur. Colourful
parades, sports events, and a beauty competition for
foreign tourists are major activities.
Turtle Release Fair is held
on Songkran, the nationwide Thai water festival, on
April 13 which is also National Fisherman’s Day. Baby
turtles are released into the sea at various locations.
Chao Le (Sea Gypsy) Boat
Floating Festival falls during the middle of the
sixth and eleventh lunar months yearly. The sea gypsy
villages at Rawai and Sapam hold their ceremonies on
the 13th; Ko Si-re celebrates on the 14th; and Laem
La (east of the bridge on Phuket’s northerntip) on the
15th. Ceremonies, which centre around the setting adrift
of small boats similar to the Thai festival of Loi Krathong,
are held at night and their purpose is to drive away
evil and bring good luck.
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Phuket is Thailand ’s largest island, approximately the size
of Singapore. Phuket nestles in balmy Andaman Sea waters
on Thailand’s Indian Ocean coastline 862 kilometres
south of Bangkok.
