I Fancied a Cold Beer This Afternoon

Music was playing at the local temple in my small village, here in Thailand. A fair, tambon, was in progress. Decided to stop and take a look.

People gathering at a temple for a traditional Thai fair.

Thais use wats a great deal in Thailand, both to meet people and to simply enjoy themselves. It’s very much part of the traditional social fabric of Thai society. There are more than 40,000 wats in Thailand, and, together with food street markets, are where the locals gather to gossip and socialise.

Very much like old-fashioned church fêtes and fairs in the West. A shooting gallery, throwing darts for a goldfish. Kids laughing and enjoying the bouncy castle. They had a trampoline there too. That did not seem so popular.

Throwing darts at a fair. Winners get a prize.

Many food and snack stalls. No beer tent — well, it is a wat — so bought a refreshing cold chocolate drink. Later, there’ll be dancing and singing right up to midnight. Nobody I spoke to knew what the wat was celebrating by hosting a fair. Provided the karaoke machine does not blow a fuse or the stalls run out of food, I don’t think it matters.

The temple will get a donation at the end of the night from the money made by the stallholders.

A temple donation box. You’ll see these at all Thai temples.