This Year, 2021, the Phi Ta Khon Festival is on June 12-14th!
Phi Ta Khon in Loei is my favorite festival in Thailand. This is a great event to bring the whole family to, as it takes place in late June or July, during the Summer school break when families can travel. The local people are very friendly and there are mask painting and other classes that allow you to really learn about the festival and culture. In fact, the locals don’t mind if you wear a costume and join in the parade. There are also some great souvenirs to buy and a chance to try some exotic food. Be sure to book your hotel early or be prepared to stay in a nearby town and hire a driver.
I had been looking forward to seeing the Phi Ta Khon Festival, for almost twenty years, and I was not disappointed. It takes place in the small town of Dansai, in the province of Loei, which is located in the Northeast or Isaan area of Thailand. The parade of ghosts was very colorful, loud, somewhat casual, and yet fast-paced. The main street was lined with food vendors selling Isaan treats like fried grasshoppers, BBQ meat on a stick, fried pork skins, and souvenir stands selling t-shirts, masks, and postcards. Like most of the festivals in Isaan it rained off and on every day.
Excellent examples of Phi Ta Khon masks on parade in Loei, Thailand
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Day 1 of Phi Ta Khon
We arrived at Wat Ponchai, the temple that the festival centers around early, and walked around the grounds and the museum. There was a large stage set up and a small band was busting out some well amplified Isaan music. Inside the ubosot, Thais were merit-making, but immediately outside the small building, was a huge party. There really is not that much known about the origin of this festival or why it takes place in the otherwise sleepy town of Dansai. It seems it’s just a chance to party after the rice has been planted. We learned that the parade would start in the center of town, and end at this temple, so off we headed.
The center of town was crowded with people and a large stage was set up, as well as an area in front, that was set up for the dance contest. Bleachers and loudspeakers were clustered about, as well as more food vendors. There were speeches and speeches, and then more speeches. We started to get restless and decided to stake out some good places to take the parade photos from. I had noticed an archway, with the town’s name on it, and loved the way the fisheye lens wrapped it around the top of the frame. My wife had told me that I should try to photograph as many different kinds of ghosts as possible, which are distinguished by the design of their mask, clothes or body paint, and “weapons” that they carried.
It was raining harder as the parade started and the ghosts were walking really fast. They slowed down to be photographed every so often, but it was a real challenge to wipe off the lens and chase down the ghosts. Many of the ghosts carried large carved wooden phalli painted red, which they used to tease the girls in the crowd, who btw, didn’t seem to mind. I found the fisheye to be the perfect tool for the job, as it allowed me to work fast and really capture the whole surrounding. It surprised me that I had to get so close to the subjects, in order to fill the frame, though, and that lead to some interesting encounters, to say the least.
A Page from “THAILAND 180º (Smaller than the actual page size of 12 x 12”!)
The parade was over very quickly and after reaching the temple, many of the ghosts disappeared to rest up for the dance contest later in the day. I was shocked since I thought there would be more opportunities to photograph them, but nope, That was it, save for a few odd ghosts that wandered around the town until noon.
On the second day of the festival, the parade was even shorter. Back at the hotel, we sat down for a nervous image review. Luckily, I had managed to keep the lens clean and had captured enough different ghosts to make four pages in the book, although with all of the food vendor photos added, I could easily have made a whole book on Phi Ta Khon. Hmmmmmm.
The Phi Ta Khon Festival runs from June 12-14th this year- ! (Covid-19 Permitting) this year. You’d better already have a room if you’re planning on attending, which calls to mind a horror story from last year, but let’s try to forget about that!
Long story short, we found a room at the Phu Pha Nam Resort, a beautiful hotel with a free shuttle to and from the parade. On the resort grounds is a farm that raises deer, ostriches, Thai orchids and tea. Highly recommended!
Did I mention that they have handsome Water Buffaloes?
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About the Authors
Photographer George Edward Giunca, and his Thai wife have traveled around Thailand armed with a circular fisheye lens to create a photo essay on the rich cultural diversity, and abundant natural beauty of the Kingdom of Thailand. Fleeing from angry water buffaloes, slapping huge mosquitoes, watching exotic festivals and religious rituals, gorging on delicious spicy food, applying aloe vera cream to sunburned skin, wading through rice paddies, getting drenched to the bone by heavy monsoon rains, and gawking at breath-taking scenery; made it a journey of epic proportions! The result is the book, THAILAND 180º. Later, they traveled extensively through Myanmar, Malaysia, and India, gathering a massive collections of 180º photos. They currently live in Bangkok.
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Here’s How to Order Your Copy of THAILAND 180º Collectors EditionToday!
The Rest of the world: We are offering our book on Amazon.com, below list price and I’ll pay for the shipping within the United States! http://amzn.to/1knDPRR
This show details the origin of 180 Books, a series of art/travel books illustrated with a circular fisheye lens. By using infographics, pictures from our THAILAND 180º book, and never seen before images from our vault, we’ll demonstrate this unique lens and present our unique books.
Also, because there’s nothing to watch on TV, here’s a trailer about our book, “THAILAND 180”
Above is an interactive map of Thailand. If you click on a marker it reveals a photo from our THAILAND 180º book and a link to our blog article about the photo. Go Ahead~ Start Exploring ~Have Some Fun!
Save
Here’s How to Order Your Copy of THAILAND 180º Collectors EditionToday!
The Rest of the world: We are offering our book on Amazon.com, below list price and I’ll pay for the shipping within the United States! http://amzn.to/1knDPRR
This show details the origin of 180 Books, a series of art/travel books illustrated with a circular fisheye lens. By using infographics, pictures from our THAILAND 180º book, and never seen before images from our vault, we’ll demonstrate this unique lens and present our unique books.
Also, because there’s nothing to watch on TV, here’s a trailer about our book, “THAILAND 180”
Above is an interactive map of Thailand. If you click on a marker it reveals a photo from our THAILAND 180º book and a link to our blog article about the photo. Go Ahead~ Start Exploring ~Have Some Fun!
