Getting to know Phitsanulok, Pt. II: the city of many festivals

You have likely already heard about Thailand's notorious full moon party, but I think that you might be unaware of another Thai paradise for party lovers: Phitsanulok. We don't just party once a month; we party all month long.

This town can throw a festival like no other. There's been a festival more or less since my arrival. Skeptical? First was Loy Krathong in November, followed by bike week in early December, followed by the international food festival of late December, followed by the King Naresuan festival of early January, and the famous Wat Yai festival of late January, followed immediately by the orchid festival of early February and then the Chinese new year festivities of mid February. As far as I can tell, late February is experiencing a freakish lull in festival action.

Each festival is different--the orchid festival had an unimaginable amount of orchids, the Wat Yai festival had an official fruit that was oblong and brown and absolutely everywhere, the King Naresuan festival had great fireworks--but there are also a lot of commonalities. Mostly I think this is because a fair portion of the economy of Phitsanulok is constituted by vendors who move from festival to festival. I'm starting to recognize them: the woman who sells the old timey photographs of Phitsanulok, the woman who sells the long skirts that won't bargain cheap enough for my liking, the guy who sells actual kitchen sinks.

That's another remarkable aspect of the festivals; you'd be amazed by the breadth of product available. Power tools to teak wood beds to sticky rice to squirrels. In one day, a whole street of the town will be transformed into a combination outdoor carnival, cabaret, dollar store, and Home Depot. A typical festival will throb for anywhere from three to ten days, pulsing with people, music, lights, smoke and smells. Families, shrieking children, deeply wrinkled elderly, self-aware teens with lip gloss, young couples: all will swarm around the many stalls and stages, eating, laughing, watching, bargaining. And then, as quickly as it arrived, the entire commotion will fold up and disappear, to reappear in slightly altered form a few days later.

I haven't done proper photodocumentation of the spectacles, but here's a shot of our decorations for Chinese New year. The town, like much of Thailand, has a fairly sizable population with Chinese heritage, and also our lady Mayor's husband is Chinese.


I'm not sure if I'll make it to the "biggest party in the Thailand," but I bet if I do, I'll find that they have considerably less excellent prices on extension cords. Phitsanulok, where the festival never ends. I think I should contact the Tourist Authority here to see if they want me to write any copy for them. Who knows, maybe they're paying me to make these blog entries?

Enjoying city life,
Rebecca