Held every year from the 7th to 9th March, the festival is a vibrant celebration of island life, with many bars, restaurants, shops and hotels building a temporary site to sell food, drinks, clothes and trinkets etc.
This year however, we were rocked by the very sad death of King Bhumipol, the most beloved King Of Thailand, and we believed that the festival would be cancelled for this year.
However with only 2 weeks to go, the posters started to appear around the island and Old Town becomes the centre of activity on the island. The festival organisers decided that they would honour King Bhumipol's life and built a marquee in his honour with pictures about his life. This was a great way to remember him.
The festival is almost an all day event, starting about lunchtime, the bars, shops and restaurants open and the parade starting about sunset (6.30pm) but bands and shows can go on until late into the night. Because the road to Old Town is not well lit and there are many potholes, this year, like every other year, we organise a taxi for our guests to get to the town cheaply without the use of a motorbike.
It was great to see so many of our guests and friends celebrating our wonderful island.
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