Crazy, beautiful and just plain wacky: 9 fantastic Thai festivals

Thailand loves a good party. Whether the nation is engaging in the world’s biggest water fight or watching entranced vegetarians drive swords into their faces, it seems when it comes to Thai festivals, the wackier the affair the better.

Here are our nine favorites, starting with one that began this week.

1. Ubon Ratchatani Candle Festival

When: July 1-31, 2010
Where: Unon Ratchatani, 600kms northeast of Bangkok
The term ‘candle’ is a bit of an understatement when you’re talking about the huge pieces of wax that are carved, sculpted and molded by Buddhist artisans during the annual Ubon Ratchatani Candle festival, which is on from July 1 to 31 this year.  The event is held to coincide with the beginning of Buddhist lent, when the country’s monks retreat to the temples to get away from the seasonal monsoon. When the candles -- molded to depict various religious symbols -- are complete, they're presented as Buddhist offerings and put on display for festival goers to check out.

2. Phi Ta Khon

When: June, 2011 (dates TBA)
Where: Loei, 500kms north of Bangkok
This one is not for small children. Unless you delight in seeing kids screech in fright. Phi Ta Khon, based on an ancient traditional Buddhist tale relating to Buddha’s reincarnation, involves a huge procession of dancing young men wearing very colorful, long ‘ghost’ masks worn to scare and tease the villagers. The masks are really quite distinctive as they’re made of coconut husks and can get pretty nasty looking. Scared children aside, it's a fun event filled with plenty of music and dancing and brings out a great crowd of people, tourists included. This year's Phi Ta Khon Festival was held earlier this month, so you're going to have to wait another year to experience the frights.

3. Monkey Buffet

When: November 28, 2010
Where: Lopburi, 150kms north of Bangkok
Every year on the last Sunday of November, the monkey-infested town of Lopburi treat its small but fearless long-tailed macaques to a massive monkey buffet that includes fruits, vegetables and other treats like soda and lollipops. Why spoil these thieving little trouble-makers? According to the Thai version of the Ramayana legend, Rama created the ancient city of Lopburi with the help of his friend Hanuman the Monkey King. Many of Lopburi’s residents consider the macaques descendants of Hanuman. For more on the Monkey Buffet, check out our photo gallery of highlights from last year's event.

Thai festivals

4. Bun Bang Fai Rocket festival

When: May, 2011 (dates TBA)
Where: Yasothon, 531kms northeast of Bangkok
To celebrate the beginning of the rice-planting season, every May residents in the northeastern town of Yasothon hold a huge Bun Bang Fai Rocket Festival. This explosive -- and occasionally deadly -- merry-making event involves the lighting of various sizes of rockets, some pumped up with as much as 120 kilograms of nitrate by the onsite rocket technicians. It’s actually a big party, filled with music, concerts, harvest predictions and parades featuring the decorated rockets, which are launched on the third day at the temple.

5. Sak Yant Tattoo festival

When: February, 2011 (dates TBA)
Where: Nakhon Chai Si, 60kms west of Bangkok
Every February, Thailand’s famous Wat Bang Phra hosts its annual sak yant festival to pay respect to the temple's master tattooist monks. Sak yant is the Thai term for the special tattoos that many claim bring spiritual and physical protection. Many believe that the tattoos, given by Wat Bang Phra's famous monks, have mystical powers. At the festival, some men will go into trances and act out the characteristics of the sacred animals that have been carved onto their skin. Click here to check out our photos from past Sak Yant festivals.

6. Surin Elephant Roundup

When: November 11-20, 2010
Where: Surin, 450kms northeast of Bangkok
Hundreds of elephants and thousands of people flood into Thailand’s northeastern Surin province every November for the annual three-day Surin Elephant Roundup. On each day of the festival there are special events such as a giant elephant buffet, elephant races, an elephant football game, tug of war matches between elephants and humans and war re-enactments harking to the days when elephants were used in battle. For more on the  event, check out our video highlights from the 2009 Surin Elephant Roundup.

7. Songkran

When: April 13-15, 2011
Where: Nationwide
Songkran, the Thai new year, is traditionally held as a respite from the hottest period of the already scorching summer season. Families and friends celebrate the nationwide holiday by visiting temples and splashing water on each other as an act of wishing good luck. Sounds lovely, right? Well it’s actually evolved into a no-holds-barred every man for himself street battle. Some towns just celebrate with water splashing on one day, others extend it into a full week of various ceremonies, water fights, concerts and other festivities. For some truly wild Songrkan celebrations, head north to Chiang Mai.

8. Phuket Vegetarian Festival

When: October 8-16, 2010
Where: Phuket, 860kms south of Bangkok
Body-piercing urban hipsters have got nothing on devotees at the Phuket Vegetarian Festival. During this annual religious event, when Phuket’s Thai-Chinese residents observe a 10-day vegetarian diet, entranced devotees known as 'Ma Song' take part in aesthetic displays, such as walking barefoot over hot coals, facial piercing and trips up ladders with bladed rungs. Last year we put together a photo gallery of highlights from the 2008 Phuket Vegetarian Festival, and readers were suitably shocked at the graphic images of Ma Song piercing their faces with everything from umbrella handles to swords.

9. Loy Kratong

When: November 21, 2010
Where: Nationwide
The annual Loy Krathong festival is Thailand’s great release, a day to symbolically let worries and misdeeds float away. All over the country, Thais head to their nearest body of water to release an endless stream of floating floral arrangements -- with many of the rafts carrying a wee candle, a snip of hair to release accrued badness and a 10 to 20 baht gratuity to the great river goddess. It's an incredible photo opportunity for visitors. The best place to experience a traditional Loy Kratong is in the ancient Thai capital, Sukhothai. If you're planning to celebrate Loy Krathong in Bangkok, check out our list of the best and worst places to float your raft.