The Festival Calendar (October)
October
Phuket Vegetarian Festival (Nine Emperor Gods Festival)
Phuket, Thailand
Marvel at devotees engaging in body piercing, firewalking and climbing ladders of blades to dispel evil spirits.
Bang Fai Phaya Nak (Naga Fireballs)
Nong Khai, Thailand (along the Mekong river in northern Thailand on the border with Laos)
Witness a miraculous natural phenomenon of glowing balls rising from surface of the water into the night sky.
Buffalo Racing Festival (Wing Kwai)
Chonburi, Thailand
Excitement is in the air as the crowds cheer for their favourite buffalo and jockey in this highly competitive race.
Diwali (Deepavali)
Malaysia & Singapore
Hindu communities decorate their streets in colourful festive lights for Deepavali, the Hindu "Festival of Lights".
Thimithi (Firewalking Ceremonies)
Malaysia & Singapore
Visit a Hindu Temple to see devotees walk over fiery burning coals as a sign of their faith.
Awk Pansa (End of Buddhist Lent)
Thailand, Laos, Myanmar
The end of the Buddhist Lent is celebrated in many parts of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar with candle lights or boat processions.
Thadingyut Light Festival
Myanmar
In Myanmar, the end of Buddhist Lent is celebrated as the Thadingyut Light Festival. Pagodas are illuminated, firecrackers go off on the streets and stage plays are enacted.
Lai Reua Fai
Nakhon Phanom, Thailand
Boun Lai Heua Fai
Vientiane & Luang Prabang, Laos
At Nakhon Phanom in Thailand, an illuminated boat procession takes place along the Mekong river with giant bamboo rafts elaborately lit up by countless lanterns. In Laos, villages launch beautifully decorated boats into the Mekong river, while individuals float along small banana-leaf ‘boats’ illuminated with candles.
P'chum Ben
Cambodia
The Khmer festival of the dead sees locals visiting pagodas to make offerings and light candles for ancestors.
Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda Festival
Inle Lake, Myanmar
Be dazzled by this splendid display of Buddha images carried on a gilded barge pulled by boats of one-legged rowers.
Masskara Festival
Bacolod City, Philiipines
Dancers adorning smiling masks are the face of this month-long celebration with concerts, street parties and delicious food.