Entering The Temple

Observed across the kingdom, the beginning of Buddhist Lent, or Khao Pansa, on 17 July is celebrated in wildly diverse ways. While the three-month period is a solemn time for observing Buddhist precepts of restraint, Khao Pansa begins with festivals and parades as offerings are made to local temples. These include flowers in Saraburi, while devotees in Ubon Ratchathani offer larger-than-life carved wax figures. In Surin, offerings are paraded alongside live elephants. In Ayutthaya, they’re floated to the temple on boats. After the fanfare, monks withdraw to their temples and many Thais also observe the period with fasting and avoiding vices such as alcohol, meat, tobacco and gambling.