(Devotees of the Chinese Yokkekeng shrine carry a statue during a street procession at the annual vegetarian festival in central Phuket October 22, 2012. The festival, featuring face-piercing, spirit mediums, and strict vegetarianism, celebrates the local Chinese community’s belief that abstinence from meat and various stimulants during the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar will help them obtain good health and peace of mind. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj )
Thailand is not an easy country in which to be vegetarian. But once a year the country’s avid meat eaters lay down their spicy meat stir-fries in favour of vegetables and meat substitutes.
During the annual ten-day “Tesagin Kin Pak” vegetarian festival, yellow flags representing Buddhism and good moral conduct flutter in the wind above entire neighbourhoods, while tiny mobile street carts with a lone yellow flag advertise vegetarian-friendly food.
Glistening tofu, noodles with bean sprouts, desserts made with sesame and ginger and steaming hot vegetable broths abound.
“I give up meat to cleanse the spirit so that my family will prosper,” said Ploy Sudham, who owns an art gallery on the outskirts of Bangkok’s Chinatown.
