9 Shrines Worshipping at Samutsakorn Vegetarian Festival
The several Chinese immigrated brought the Chinese culture including shrine worshipping in Samutsakorn. This year the municipal government collaborates with TAT Samutsakorn office and Vegetarian Clubs to hold the ??9 shrines worshipping at Samutsakorn Vegetarian Festival? and also an honor to His Majesty the King.Being a vegetarian for a short period can also benefit the person who joined the vegetarian festival since you should omit meat in your meal. However, eating vegetables can give you a lot of nutrition. More people continued being vegetarian each year. They also like to go to worship the shrine and ask for blessing. That is why TAT decided to hold the ?9 shrines worshipping? activity. All of the shrines worshipped are the sacred ones that are believed to provide fortune. After worshipping in all the 9 shrines, each person can retrieve the ?Goddess of Mercy? medal for free (only 12,000 medals distributed).There is also a vegetarian food festival at the TaaCheen River Bank and many exhibitions such as an exhibition to honor the ?sufficiency economy? of His Majesty the King, an exhibition to publicize the royal duties of Princess MahaChakriSirindhorn, an exhibition to show culture and arts by the youth, and an exhibition to show the Chinese culture.
The City Pillar Shrine
The City Pillar Shrine of SamutSakhon is located in a small park near the river a centre of the heart of the fishermen in the province. There?s a big hall with a Chinese altar next to the shrine. A constant stream of visitors prays at this altar which appears to be more popular than the main shrine itself. In accordance to Thai custom, they have to pay respect and light firework in front of the city pillar shrine good fortune.
SamutSakorn Seafood Festival
The Seafood Festival is celebrated during February and March every year in front of City Pillar Shrine. SamutSakhon is known as a city of fisheries because of its high resources of producing seafood and related products. The home to one of the leading seafood around the market that is closest to Bangkok.
WatKrokKrak
WatKrokKrak, one of Thailand?s ?Unseen Destinations?, Thailand?s spectacular one and only Buddha image wearing sunglasses, named LuangPor Poo. Many people respect to Lung Por Poo because in the history conjunctivitis was spreading throughout the community of Mahachaiso they prayed to the holy Buddha gilded to the image?s eyes if the Buddha could cure the epidemic. The villagers were cured and began applying gold leaves on the eyes. The gold grew so thick that the chief monk decided to put sunglasses on the Buddha to hide the unsightly bulges, which made the Buddha look like a monster.
Ban Don Kae Dee (Benjarong Village)
The ?Benjarong? is a five-colored beautiful pottery which is a very famous and valuable handicrafs for Thai people. In SamutSakhon Province, there is an interesting Benjarong Village which specializes in producing this porcelain. The village consists of a group of five Benjarong shops in the area participating in the One Tambon One Product (OTOP) project which was started in 2001. The OTOP project is aimed at promoting the indigenous products in the various sub-districts in Thailand to boost the local economies and incomes of the communities. Tourists who visit the village can actually see the demonstration process of drawing and colouring of ?Benjarong?. To guarantee the qualities of the products there are several awards and certificates supporting its brand name and one of this is the winning award of ?The Best Product of Samutsakorn?.
Ban Pheo Agriculture Fair
The?Ban Phaeo Agriculture Fair?is organized during February or March every year to promote the agricultural produce of the farmers in Amphoe Ban Phaeo, the most well-known place in the province and the biggest one in the country for the production of fruits, flowers and agricultural products.
Wat Chong Lom
Wat Chong Lom is a beautifully decorated royal temple and at the front of the temple is enshrined a statue of King Rama V, celebrating his royal journey to ThaChalom and its establishment as the first sanitary district of Thailand. Within the temple?s area, there is a statue of KuanIm or Bodhisattra Kwan Yin created by the locals of SamutSakhon to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of His Majesty?s Accession to the Throne.
Watkhlongkhru monastery
Mahachai is also home to the Mon, who colonized to Siam during the King Rama III period. They constructed temples such as Wat Bang Yaphraek, which has attractive crematorium displaying Mon monastery architecture, and white-jade Buddha images in Myanmar style. They were displayed at WatKhlongKhru, where an annual tak bat namphung (offering honey to monks) is held on the 15th day of the waxing moon in September.