Chon Buri Buffalo Races
October 1, 2001
City Hall, Chon Buri
The water buffalo has always played a significant role in agriculture in Thailand, In this yearly event, the creatures are seen in more unusual and entertaining ways than ploughing fields. They take part in buffalo races and contests pitting buffalo against man. Beauty pageants and various other fun-filled activities are part of the attractions presented.

Chak Phra & Thot Phapa Festival
October 1 - 4, 2001
Tapi River Bank, Surat Thani
Chak Phra and Thot Phapa are two religious merit-making ceremonies that occur on the same day at the end of Buddhist Lent. "Thot Phapa" refers to the land and water-borne processions which take place at sunrise. Buddha images are placed on elaborately decorated carriages which are then pulled by local residents. Following the procession, saffron robes are offered to monks and donations are made to the temples in a ritual known as "Chak Phra". These events are accompanied by cultural performances and traditional music.

Phon Drum-Beating Contest & Buddha Image Procession
October 19 - 21, 2001
Provincial Hall and Saensuklampam Beach, Phatthalung
Each year, celebrations are held in this southern city and its environs. These include exhilarating drum beating and elaborately decorative boat competitions, as well as a meritorious ritual known as "Tak Bat Devo".  

5000 - Year Ban Chiang Civilisation Celebrations
October 22 - 24, 2001
Ban Chiang World Heritage Site, Udon Thani
Considered as one of the oldest archaeological sites in Thailand and also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Ban Chiang is the location of a major celebration that includes exotic art and cultural processions and performances, local handicraft demonstrations and displays, international and local sports events, and dazzling light and sound presentations.

Lanna Boat Races
October 14 - 15, 2001
Northern Development Bridge area (Saphan Phattana Phak Nuea), Nan
These impressive long-boat races held on the Nan river are made all the more spectacular by the brightly-colored Nan boats. The event accompanies the annual "Kathin" season in which devotees wishing to gain merit present new robes to monks at the local temples.

Thai Beer Festival
October - December, 2001
Citywide, Bangkok
Thai breweries get together to organize an annual Thai Beer Festival featuring barbecued food, exotic Thai cuisine and freshly-brewed beer. Music and cultural performances provide the evening's entertainment. In addition to the centrally-located World Trade Centre where one of the city's largest beer gardens is found, numerous beer gardens are dotted around Bangkok.

Trang Vegetarian Festival
October 17 - 26, 2001
Kio Ong la and Chao Pho Muen Ram, Chinese Shrines,Trang
The Trang vegetarian festival is believed to have originated in the 19th century with the local residents of Chinese descent observing a strict ten-day vegetarian diet. The key elements of the festival consist of merit-making rituals performed at local Chinese temples and processions of ascetics undertaking extraordinary feats.

Phuket Vegetarian Festival
October 17 - 25, 2001
Amphoe Kathu,Amphoe Muang & Amphoe Thalang,Phuket
It is not known for certain when the first Vegetarian Festival was first observed in Phuket. It is assumed that the custom started during the time of the Governor of Thalang in 1825 when a number of Chinese came to work in tin mines in Ban Get Hoe in Phuket, a settlement in which break-outs of malaria prevailed.
Legend has it that when a Chinese drama troupe on tour in Phuket succumbed to a malarial attack, they resorted to a strict vegetarian diet in the belief that by doing so good health would be restored. Followers abstain from meat, alcohol and sex during the nine days and nights that they pay homage to the Nine Emperor Gods (The Star Deities). The Chinese community subsequently sent an emissary to South China to learn more about the vegetarian ritual.
During the festival, which generally falls on the first nine days of the ninth Chinese lunar month, thousands of participants adopt a strict vegetarian diet to purify both body and mind in order to be able to take part in sacred rituals. Aesthetic displays performed by the participants include piercing of the body and face with sharp objects and walking barefooted on hot charcoal, all in the belief that good health and spiritual peace will be attained.

Illuminated Boat Procession
October 28 – November 2, 2001
The Mekong River, Nakhon Phanom
This dazzling event on the mighty Mekong River marks the end of the Ok Phansa (Buddhist Lent). Elaborately-adorned boats, each containing assorted offerings, are set adrift on the river when night falls. A colorful street procession and cultural performances add to the highlights of the event which is held annually.

Tak Loi Krathong Sai
October 31, 2001
Tak Municipality Office, Tak
Loi Krathong, the elegantly beautiful annual Festival of Light, is held on the full moon in November. The Loi Krathong Sai is unique to Tak. Local residents thread their banana-leaf boats or krathong together and then launch the floats simultaneously so they appear as glowing necklaces on the Ping River.

Northern Lantern Festival & Yipeng Loi Krathong
October 31 – November 1, 2001
Chiang Mai Municipality Office and citywide, Chiang Mai
Loi Krathong, the elegantly beautiful annual Festival of Light, is held on the full moon in November. The Loi Krathong Sai is unique to Tak. Local residents thread their banana-leaf boats or krathong together and then launch the floats simultaneously so they appear as glowing necklaces on the Ping River.

Bang Sai Loi Krathong (Festival of Lights)
October 31 – November 1, 2001
The Bang Sai Royal Arts & Crafts Centre, Ayutthaya
This event held during the full-moon in November features the launching of traditional floats (Krathongs), demonstrations and exhibits of local handicrafts, as well as a range of other interesting activities.