Temple preparation for the Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2014

The Chinese Temples are all carefully prepared before the Festival begins and this involves the Public were invited to clean all of the Deity Figures before the Festival began - next time?

Phuket Gazette photo

Now I understand why it is all so clean.

THe public also began visiting the Chinese Shrines to lay gold-leaf paper on the Go-Teng pole for making merit and inviting good luck.

Then I visited the Shrine and I did not know why these gods were blindfolded like this?

ศาลเจาจอสกง นาคา - Choor Su Gong Naka was the Chinese Temple that I visited in the morning to take some rice to donate to the kitchens which will be cooking food for all of the people helping in the Chinese Shrine during the Festival.

There are a number of stall outside - so many that they close one side of the road to allow them to set up outside. It was preparing the Shrine and the smaller ones around it.

The focus of attention though was on the Go-Teng pole which would be raised later in the day - 5:09pm to be exact. 

The recently cut bamboo pole had been attached to the larger pole with lots of coloured strings wrapped around it.

The top of the pole was the bamboo pole where visitors to the Shrine were attaching Gold Leaf to every part of the pole.

Firecrackers were being let off by children playing with a firecracker.

Or dancing with a string of firecrackers.

These are the Mah Song of tomorrow?

The bags of rice arrived and I took one of them - they are heavier than i imagined.

There is a coloured sedan near to the Shrine and it has a tent over it.

There is also a row out the front and they look like they are ready to be part of the Festival!

Thank you to Choor Su Gong Naka for being so welcoming - see you later for the hot water bathing ritual on September the 27th...

View Chinese Shrines in Phuket in a larger map