Go on a treasure hunt for the hidden soul of the Vegetarian Festival.
Take a short walk from Chinatown’s (soy-meat) heart of the annual festival along lanes clogged with yellow-flagged food vendors into a centuries-old community to a shrine where Chinese opera entertains visitors making merit – and eating.
This year is special as a once-in-two-centuries lunar leap month means two Vegetarian Festivals will be celebrated, the first of which runs today through Oct. 2 only to begin again Oct. 24 for another 10 days.
The busiest place to be is usually along Yaowarat Road in Chinatown, but wind toward the river a few blocks from Odeon Circle and the Chinatown Gateway to Talad Noi’s Soi Charoen Phanit.
Sitting hidden inside narrow lanes strewn with piles of engine parts and other signs of trade, the Chow Sue Kong Shrinehas been the heart of Talad Noi, an old, Chinese-rooted community for more than 200 years. Yellow flags with red lettering signifying the festival dance and wave in every direction, as does the smell of vegetarian food and incense smoke in every small soi.
At the shrine, find its vegetarian house, which serves free “je” food every day during the festival from dawn until evening. Besides praying and making merit, everybody can enjoy the free performance of Chinese Opera every night.
Original Post on Coconuts Bangkok
