Chon buri Buffalo Races
( October 16, 2006 : At the City Hall, Chon Buri )
Chonburi Buffalo Race annually takes place on a day before the full moon of the 11th lunar month (October or November), concurrently with the end of the 3-month Buddhist Lent.
In the festival, water buffaloes and the jockeys will be decorated with colorful cloth bands, flower garlands and other ornaments before vying to win the race. Along side with the buffalo race are the buffalo fancy dressing contest, the healthy buffalo contest and Miss Farmer Pageant. The festival really makes the visitors sense of the indigenous culture of the region.
The origin of the festival was the farmers' idea to seek pleasure during the buffalo trade in the past that took place in Chonburi, the trade center of Thailand's East. Coming with the merchants were the water buffalos used for pulling cargo-carts. The buffalo race was then initiated for fun and friendship before the merchants departed back to their hometowns.
