Vegetarian treat

Thais nationwide started celebrating the nine-day Vegetarian Festival yesterday although there were many complaints over increases in the price of vegetables.
Bangkok Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra presided over the opening ceremony of the festival in Yaowarat, or Chinatown, at 2pm.
In Sri Racha, the celebration is active, with most restaurants and shops in the Chon Buri municipality joining the festival. Shops are decorated with small yellow flags with the word je (vegetarian) on them.
Many vendors interviewed by The Nation said the prices of ingredients, particularly vegetables, had doubled.
However, they said they would not increase the prices of their dishes.
Vendor Nittaya Krasaechon said she had sold vegetarian food for almost 30 years and this year the prices of the raw materials were up. “No matter how much the prices rise, I will still sell the dishes the same prices, Bt25 to Bt35. This will help me keep my customers during bad economic situations.”
Hat Yai’s Vegetarian Festival, featuring 108 shops in Songkhla province, was expected to generate at least Bt200 million as Malaysian tourists have already fully booked accommodation in the city on the weekends, said Surapol Kampalanonwat, chairman of the Tourist Business Federation of Songkhla.