DirectRooms.com - Experience Makha Bucha Day 2011 in Koh Chang

Online, January 17, 2011 (Newswire.com) - The festivities are part of Makha Bucha Day which stands for the third month of the lunar calendar - Makha, and Bucha which comes from the Thai word meaning to pay respect. On the full moon of the third month Buddhists, not just in Koh Chang but all over Thailand and in neighbouring countries, come together to pay homage to the Lord Buddha.

This year it takes place on 18th February 2011 and it was on this day in history that a series of one-off events occurred. The first was the remarkable gathering of 1,250 monks who at the same time, independently of each other, came to worship the Buddha at the same place. What's also fascinating is that all of the monks had been ordained by Buddha himself.

When the monks were gathered together Lord Buddha then gave a special service where he preached some of the main teachings of Buddhism. The principles are now known as The Ovadhapatimokha and teach how people should cease doing evil, do only what is good and purify the mind.

People checked into hotels Koh Chang over the event can see services taking places at each of the temples in the area and even non-Buddhists can take part in the ceremonies.

Lek Boonlert, marketing head at DirectRooms.com commented: "Koh Chang is a busy tourist destination and hotels will quickly become filled, especially as Makha Bucha Day is also a holiday. Visitors should go online to make reservations well before arriving on the island."