Phi Ta Khon is a festival celebrated in Dan Sai village in the north of Thailand. It takes place over three days and founded in Buddhism, with prayers being made for the onset of rain. The major event in the festival is the parade of ghosts (Phi) on the second day. If you are expecting some chilling displays of evil, you will be disappointed; but for colour, good humour and an alarming collection of wooden willies, it can’t be beat.
The parade was meant to start at 10:00, with a speech by some local dignitary. Amazingly, it started dead on time, the speech was short, and off we went with the obligatory dancing. We had arrived early and I had secured a good spot with a view of the main parade ground, and I was all set to take some dancing snaps when four other photographers came and sat right in my field of view. The Thai lady next to me very kindly asked them to move; but they ignored her. Then she shouted something along the lines of “Hey! This foreigner has come all the way here to take photos, get out of the way!” They scuttled away and were never seen again. Sometime it helps to be a tourist.
I told you not to call me when I am dancing:
After the dancing, the parade started.
Some of the floats were substantial:
Then the “ghosts” arrived:
That was the standard ghost “look”, but there were variations on the theme:
There was nothing prudish about some of the ghosts. I don’t think that this lady is sporting a sporran….
And her ghost husband seems to be very pleased to see her:
Dick stick:
Doing it doggy fashion:
The mud monster was particularly to be feared (apparently). Once he has singled you out for capture….
..he will cast his net…
…and ensnare his victims (although the organisers did not seem to keen on the idea):
The event was well organised, but there was a long queue for the toilets:
And commercialism lurked in the shadows:
Apart from the wooden willies, there was little here to frighten the children, although this youngster seems a little apprehensive:
But he had nothing to worry about; underneath their masks, the ghosts were benign:
We lasted about two hours before retiring to a coffee shop; but the event was scheduled to continue all day. The ghost festival is a lot of fun, even if you don’t get to see dead people.