Wat Chalong Fair

[Valentine]

Some of you will have already seen that the annual temple fair at Wat Chalong is well & truly underway. Expect to see traffic delays, especially in the evenings, & if you live close by noise until the wee hours in the morning. The delays cannot be avoided as like most of Phuket there are no real secondary roads which can be used in lieu of the main arteries. Even Chao Fa East can get clogged up by traffic going to the fair.

I met a man the other night who will be leaving town for the week as his home is right near where temporary beer bars have been set up, outside the temple grounds, due to the change in sales of alcohol.

Edited February 15, 2010 by Valentine

[Atmos]

anyone living nearby has my sympathy; we went there briefly last night.

Yes i am getting old! but i simply could not handle the competing sound systems thumping out bass and not much else. How late does it run? we left before 9pm.

Thought the lack of variety was disappointing - just how many 'throw the dart and pop a balloon' stalls are needed?

Traffic was chaos, the kids in uniform (scouts? or similar) with whistles were doing their best but of course people just ignore them. Agree with op, whole area best avoided at busy times.

[steelepulse]

It goes to at least midnight. One of my daughter's teachers was saying she could hear the racket very well in Land and House.

[fiddlehead]

I guess my son and I are in the minority here.

We think it's a great festival.

I estimated between 50,000 and 80,000 people the first night.

I used to sell at a festival in the states that boasted 100,000 people a day.

Let me tell you, the traffic was much much worse at the one in Pennsylania (eastern sportsmans show)

I think they do an exellent job of getting that many people in and out to enjoy the food, rides, shopping, Thai cultural shows (amazing dancers to the left of the entrance about 100 meters in)

What makes it so much easier here is that most people arrive by motorbike which is easier to park and their traffic keeps moving.

Americans tend to come one or two people to a huge pickup truck and then need 2 spots to park it. (and of course they complain about walking)

Where would I rather go to a festival? I think it's obvious.

[stevenl]

Not my kind of thing, but my wife loves it.

he, it a week a year, get over it. Living in the area you know this will be held this time of year.

[grumpyoldman]

I guess my son and I are in the minority here.

We think it's a great festival.

I estimated between 50,000 and 80,000 people the first night.

I used to sell at a festival in the states that boasted 100,000 people a day.

Let me tell you, the traffic was much much worse at the one in Pennsylania (eastern sportsmans show)

I think they do an exellent job of getting that many people in and out to enjoy the food, rides, shopping, Thai cultural shows (amazing dancers to the left of the entrance about 100 meters in)

What makes it so much easier here is that most people arrive by motorbike which is easier to park and their traffic keeps moving.

Americans tend to come one or two people to a huge pickup truck and then need 2 spots to park it. (and of course they complain about walking)

Where would I rather go to a festival? I think it's obvious.

plus it's for a good cause, and it's only a week.

Those that are bothered by it, just go out of town for the week. That's what I do during Songkran, after a few years of it, am over it.......