The Phuket Vegetarian Festival (or Nine Emperor Gods Festival) happens once a year, during the ninth lunar month, and is one of the most auspicious events on Phuket island. For this unique occasion, a crowd of devotees assemble in every Chinese shrine around the island, followed by an even bigger horde of photographers avid to get the shot of their life. The Vegetarian Festival is an internationally known event, and while it also happens modestly in Bangkok around the same dates, it is mostly a Phuket event.
For several days, on both sides of Phuket Town streets leading to shrines, food stands display tons of vegetarian dishes in all imaginable shapes and sizes (but often have a very similar taste). Once, we even saw a full collection of fake sushi, all made of rice and tofu! See at the end of the page to read about a few popular dishes. The irony is that real vegetables are hard to find: you mostly will find noodles, deep-fried stuff, and tofu shaped like meat, but no vegetables. Also, most restaurants around Phuket TOWN will close for a week, so if, like us, you are not so attracted by deep-fried food and tofu, get ready to drive or starve.
Weeks before the Vegetarian Festival events, yellow Chinese flags bloom on every roadside and intersection, especially near Chinese temples. Stages, decorations and parade accessories gather near shrines, and hundreds of food stands are erected nearby. The whole event is usually heavily sponsored.
The events
The main festival event then starts. Many worshipers, all dressed in white or yellow, gather at Jui Tui Shrine in Phuket Town for the first event marking the ceremony’s opening: the giant bamboo pole rising to invite divinities to come down to earth. The devotees wear bright and very ornamented outfits, and then you are set for a full week of firecrackers, parades, piercings, and vegetarian food.
Each day of the Phuket Vegetarian Festival, processions start from one of the leading shrines around Phuket island. Thousands of people will pay respect to their ancestors. During this week, everyone follows ten principles, mostly wear white, do not eat meat, drink alcohol, do not have sexual activities, etc.
Principles to follow during the festival:
- Wear white clothes during the whole festival
- Do not eat meat or animal products (milk, eggs, etc.)
- Keep your body clean
- Do not drink alcohol
- Do not lie, cheat or steal
- No sexual activity during the festival
- Do not eat food with a strong smell (garlic)
- Keep and wash cooking utensils separately from those used in the event
- Mourners should not attend the festival
- Women in menstruation and pregnancy should not participate in the festival.
The purpose of the Phuket Vegetarian Festival, which seems to originate in 1800, seems to differ from the Chinese event in several South-East Asia countries. The worshipers will follow the ten principles mentioned above to cleanse their spirits. At the same time, the devotees will go in procession, self-inflicting all kinds of tortures to shift other worshipers’ evil onto themselves to bring luck back to the community.
It is to be seen once in your life, but it attracts a crowd of photographers who want their share of weird photos to take back home with such eerie views. So from early morning, worshipers will enter a trance at their favourite shrine and pierce their cheek with the most extreme object possible: from a gas nozzle to a scale warship model or a car shock absorber. Anything goes; the weirder, the better. The procession will then start, leading the devotees from one shrine to another. Along the way, local Thai of Chinese descent prepare food offerings on small tables and receive blessings.
more photos at the bottom of the page, but some may be disturbing to sensitive people!
Street processions and Chinese Shrines where events start
Day 1
- Hun Jong Aam Joh Su Kong Naka Shrine, Wichit
Day 2
- Sam Pai Kong Shine, Bang Khu
- Guan Tae Kun Shrine, Sapam
- Sang Lang Tong Shrine, Baan Muang Mai
Day 3
- Tae Kun Shrine, Baan Nabon
- Lim Hu Tai Su Shrine, Samkong Shrine
- Tai Houd Tong Shrine, Surin Beach
- Bu Sent Tong Shrine, Cherng Talay
Day 4
- Tai Seng Pud Joh Shrine, Chalong
- Jeng Ong Shrine, opposite Vachira Phuket Hospital
- Tha Rua Shrine, Tha Ruea
- Tae Koon Tai Tae, Cherng Talay
- Hun Jong Aam Joh Su Kong Naka Shrine, Wichit
- Sang Lang Tong Shrine, Muang Mai, Thalang
- Guan Tae Kun Shrine, Sapam
Day 5
- Bang Neow Shrine, Srisoonthorn
- Gim Tsu Ong Shrine, Baan Don
- Sam Ong Hu Shrine, Cherng Talay
- Jong Ngie Tong Shrine, Ton Sai Waterfall
- Tai Houd Tong Shrine, Surin Beach
Day 6
- Jui Tui Shrine, Phuket Town
- Gim Tsu Ong Shrine, Baan Don
Day 7
- Lai Too Shrine, Kathu
- Tae Gun Shrine, Ban Nabon
- Hai Yian Keng Shrine, Mai Khao
- Yok Ke Keng Shrine, Soi Pa-Niang
Day 8
- Ngoh Hian Tai Tae, Cherng Talay
- Sui Bun Tong Shrine, Phuket Town
- Sam Pai Kong Shrine, Bang Khu
Day 9
Closing of the Vegetarian Festival
Fire-walking ceremonies
Day 4
- 8:09 pm Jui Tui Shrine
- 8:09 pm Jeng Ong Shrine
- 8:30 pm Ban Tha Rua Shrine
- 8:45 pm Guan Tae Kun Shrine
- 8:45 pm Yok Ke Keng Shrine
- 9:00 pm Sui Bun Tong Shrine
- 9:00 pm Tae Gun Shrine
- 9:00 pm Hai Yian Keng Shrine
Day 5
- 9:00 pm Tai Houd Tong Shrine
- 9:00 pm Bu Sent Tong Shrine
Day 6
- 2:00 pm Kim Su Ong Shrine
- 8:00 pm Bang Neow Shrine
- 8:00 pm Tae Koon Tai Tae
- 8:09 pm Lim Hu Tai Su Shrine
- 9:09 pm Jong Ngie Tong Shrine
- 8:15 pm Sang Lang Tong Shrine
- 8:30 pm Sam Ong Hu Shrine
- 8:30 pm Tai Seng Pud Joh Shrine
Day 7
- 3:00 pm Lai Too Shrine
- 7:30 pm Sam Pai Kong Shrine
10 Vegetarian food to try during the festival
- Mee Pad Jay (หมี่ผัดเจ) fried flat rice noodles or round egg yellow noodles with kale, one of the most popular vegetarian dishes during the festival.
- Por Pia Tod Jay (ปอเปี๊ยะทอดเจ) Deep-fried spring rolls
- Yum Jay (ยำเจ) Vegetarian spicy salad
- Yen Ta Fo (เย็นตาโฟเ) is a pink-coloured soup with noodles served in a broth seasoned with fermented and pungent red bean curd. This dish comes with chicken or pork for the rest of the year.
- Khao Mok Kai (ข้าวหมกไก่เจ) A dish that looks like chicken rice, but the chicken is replaced with tofu
- Khanom Jeen Jay (ขนมจีนเจ) thin cold rice noodles served with a curry sauce and with tofu and mushrooms.
- Jee Jo (จีโจ้), a famous snack in Phuket
- Tao Hu Song Kruang (เต้าหู้ทรงเครื่อ) steamed tofu sauteed in thick Chinese sauce with baby corns and carrots
- Look Chin Sarai Tod (ลูกชิ้นสาหร่ายทอด) Deep-fried crispy seaweed balls with sweet sauce
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