Every province in Thailand has a hero...or a heroine (as mine does). I've heard differing opinions as to the truth of whether or not these people actually existed. However, real or not, they stand to unite the Thai people in each province. Generally, the hero is some sort of war hero that risked his or her life to hold the Thai nation and the Thai people together. Often these wars were against Cambodia, Laos or Burma.

The capital city of each province has a large monument statue of their hero. People in the province wai or honk when they drive by. On any typical day flowers are placed near the statue and people burn candles and incense to make merit for themselves and their families. I guess you could compare these people to Saints in the Catholic faith.

At any rate, this week the province of Chaiyaphum, which touches my province and is only about an hour's drive from my town, is holding a festival for their hero.

Last night, I traveled to the festival with P Noot and her family. We didn't leave our town until almost 8pm, so it made for a late night. But, here's a glimpse into the Thai festival:

We first walked to the statue of the hero in the middle of town. The family bought flowers, candles and incense to make merit at the statue.

Distributing the flowers

Then, they lit the candles and incense, wai-ed the statue and prayed.

praying and making merit

After this, the fun began. First, I bought some sugar cane for Nong Nan to feed the elephant. She was a little nervous, but really enjoyed it.

Nan feeds the elephant with help from her mom

Now.... to the games. Festival games in Thailand are very similar to those in the states. There is the dart game to pop balloons.

And the "go-fishing" game. The numbers in the little capsules indicate which prize you get. (I won a plastic cup - yippee! )

Nong Nuey goes fishing

After this, we spent a great deal of time walking through the shops and food stalls. Some of us were luckier than others during this part.

Nong Nan hitches a ride!

The food at Thai events is always interesting. Unlike the games, the snacks are generally very different from anything you might find at a carnival in the States. Take a look:

hotdogs and meatballs on a stick - with a sticky sweet dipping sauce

Grilled eggs on a stick look delicious next to the flattened and dried squid on a stick!

And of course, no festival is complete without the fried bugs.

Grasshoppers, beetles, scorpions - take your pick.

a close-up of the grasshoppers

Yes, they really do taste like potato chips.

(And yes, that does mean I've tried them...)