Royal Ploughing Festival

The Royal Ploughing Festival in Bangkok will take place on May 11th and is expected to be well attended once again.

This Hindu event denotes the start of the rice-growing season and will see various officials lead sacred oxen and the royal plough around Sanam Luang field, all the time interpreting omens to gauge how successful the season will be.

These predictions are often based on whether or not the oxen eat bowls of maize and grass that are put in front of them.

A greedy ox is said to ensure a positive year.

The event is attended by the Thai king, ensuring that thousands of locals also turn out.

Sanam Luang field is generally used as a large area for meeting friends and recreational activities and many fortune tellers also do the rounds here.

The site also contains a small but revered statue of the Goddess of the Earth.