Southern Thailand Events

The southern calendar mixes the national Thai festivals with Chinese and Muslim observances that belong to this region alone.

The Phuket Vegetarian Festival — September or October

Nine days in the ninth Chinese lunar month, brought by Hokkien migrants in the nineteenth century and unlike anything else in Thailand. Participants observe strict vegetarianism and abstinence, dress in white, and the shrines send processions through the streets. The part visitors remember is the ma song — spirit mediums who enter trance and pierce their cheeks with skewers, blades and improbable objects, walking through streets thick with firecracker smoke. It is a genuine religious observance rather than a performance, and photography is accepted but should be respectful.

The Full Moon Party — monthly, Ko Phangan

Held on Haad Rin beach on or near every full moon since the 1980s, drawing tens of thousands in high season. Accommodation across the island books out for several days around it and ferry services run extra crossings. Worth knowing about whether you want to attend or to avoid it.

Songkran and Loi Krathong

Both are celebrated as nationally, in April and November respectively — the water festival and the floating of candlelit offerings. Coastal towns float their krathong on the sea.

Muslim observances

Ramadan and Hari Raya are marked across the Muslim communities of the peninsula, with daytime fasting and evening celebration, and they shift through the calendar each year.

Chak Phra — October

At the end of Buddhist Lent, Surat Thani pulls decorated Buddha images on floats through the town and along the river, with long-boat races on the Tapi.