Phuket in October 2026: Vegetarian Festival on 10-18 October and the jay fast across Thailand
From 10 to 18 October 2026 all of Thailand keeps the jay vegetarian fast, while Phuket hosts the festival's main processions. Inside: what the festival is, where to see it in Bangkok, Pattaya and the south, Phuket's day-by-day schedule and what to eat under the yellow flags.
From 10 to 18 October 2026, Thailand switches to the jay fast for nine days. This is the Vegetarian Festival, also known as the Nine Emperor Gods Festival. Across the country, yellow flags with the red word «เจ» appear on street stalls, in restaurants, in supermarkets and even in 7-Eleven. The most spectacular rituals take place in Phuket, but you will notice the festival in any city.
The festival came to Thailand with Chinese settlers, and first of all it belongs to Thai Chinese Taoists. Many Thais follow them and keep the fast too, as a way to cleanse themselves and make merit. For nine days devotees wear white, avoid meat and animal products, skip alcohol and try to keep body and mind pure. It is believed that during these days the Nine Emperor Gods, star lords of the Big Dipper, come down to earth.
For a traveller, the festival is mostly about food. Jay is stricter than ordinary vegetarianism: no meat, fish, milk or eggs, and also no garlic, onion or other strong-smelling vegetables. Under the yellow flags you will find noodles, curries, dim sum and «meat» made from tofu and soy protein that can be hard to tell from the real thing. 7-Eleven, Lotus's, Big C and Tops set up separate shelves and fridges with jay products for these days.
Where the festival is most visible:
1. Phuket - the main stage: processions, piercing and fire walking. Details below.
2. Bangkok - Yaowarat Road in Chinatown, where jay food stalls line the whole street.
3. Pattaya - the Naklua shrine, with a procession of dragons and lions and rows of vegetarian food around the shrine.
4. The south - Krabi, Phang Nga, Trang, Hat Yai and other towns with large Chinese communities. They hold processions of their own.
Phuket is considered the birthplace of the festival. According to local legend, in 1825 actors of a touring Chinese opera troupe fell ill in Kathu. They went on a strict fast, prayed to the Nine Emperor Gods and recovered. The festival has been held every year since, and the shrine in Kathu is considered its oldest site.
The central figures of Phuket's processions are spirit mediums, called «ma song» in Thai. They enter a trance, and it is believed that a deity controls their body at that moment. Pierced cheeks, fire walking and climbing a ladder of blades show the power of the god, while the medium takes on the misfortunes of the community so that good luck returns to people.
In Phuket the opening starts the day before. On the evening of 9 October the Go Teng pole is raised at the Chinese shrines, and at midnight the lanterns are lit - from that moment the festival is officially on. The poles are lowered on the evening of 19 October.
Every morning one shrine leads its own procession, and the order is the same every year:
1. 11 October - Naka Shrine
2. 12 October - Sapam
3. 13 October - Sam Kong
4. 14 October - Tha Rua
5. 15 October - Bang Neow
6. 16 October - Jui Tui
7. 17 October - Kathu
8. 18 October - Sui Boon Tong
On the first day, 10 October, there are no big processions. Processions set off between 6:00 and 8:00 am, and shrines post the exact times before the festival. In the mornings the processions close streets in Phuket Town, so if you are heading to the airport or on a tour, allow time for detours.
If you only have one morning, choose 16 or 17 October: Jui Tui Shrine and Kathu Shrine hold the biggest processions. Get to the shrine by 5:30-6:00. Mediums enter trance and pierce their cheeks in the shrine courtyard, and by seven you will only catch the parade itself.
Fire walking takes place in the evening, around 20:00, in the second half of the festival. The shrines announce the dates themselves, and it is best to arrive an hour early for these evenings.
The main night is 18 October. Processions from all over town head to Kio Thian Keng Shrine at Saphan Hin, where the Nine Emperor Gods are sent back to heaven. The main action starts close to midnight, and there are more firecrackers that night than in the whole week.
How to prepare for the processions:
1. Clothing - white, long-sleeved, with long trousers. Firecrackers are thrown straight into the crowd, and sparks burn through fabric. Better not to wear black.
2. Shoes - closed, not flip-flops.
3. Earplugs, a mask and glasses - against the noise, smoke and flying debris.
Stay to the side of the procession rather than walking alongside it. Do not touch the mediums or the objects in their cheeks. Ask permission before taking close-ups of someone in trance. If something goes wrong, call the Tourist Police on 1155.
The easiest place to eat in Phuket is Ranong Road near Jui Tui Shrine: the stalls stay there all week, and there are even more around Bang Neow and Sam Kong shrines. If you are anywhere else in Thailand these days, try eating jay for at least one day: it is the easiest way to join the festival without going out at five in the morning.
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