Thailand’s ‘Death Fest’ invites visitors to embrace mortality

NONTHABURI, Thailand (AP) — Thailand’s “Death Fest” invites people to confront mortality while also offering practical services and spiritual advice for the inevitable.

The unusual fair, now in its second year, has broached the subject that’s uncomfortable for many. It’s also one of the central teachings of Buddhism, which shapes much of Thailand’s culture, about life’s unavoidable sufferings: birth, old age, sickness and death.

Sangduan Ngamvinijaroon attended the three-day event Friday with her mother in Nonthaburi province near Bangkok. She said death used to be a difficult subject for her family, but having spent more than 20 years caring for ill family members, including her husband with a stroke and relatives with cancer, she has witnessed several deaths firsthand and now feels more at ease talking about it.

She said she liked the fair because “it’s not just about dying well. It’s also about the present moment and taking good care of our lives while we’re still here.”

The event brought together experts and organizations involved in health care, financial planning, palliative care, funeral services and memorial innovations. Activities and talks focused not only on preparing for death but also on maintaining quality of life until the final days.

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“Death involves everybody. It’s not just about you,” said Zcongklod Bangyikhan, editor-in-chief of The Cloud magazine and one of the event’s lead organizers. “Instead of wondering what dying will be like, maybe we should think about how to make things easier for the people who remain after we’re gone.”

One popular exhibit is called “Test Die.” Visitors can lie inside coffins of different sizes and styles while looking at themselves in a mirror suspended above. The experience is designed to prompt reflection rather than fear.

Office worker Phinutda Seehad said it felt calming.

“I don’t think I’m scared of death,” she said. “I also don’t want to die, but when the time comes, I don’t think it will be that frightening.”

One company displayed a biodegradable coffin made from mycelium — the rootlike fibers of fungi — which helps naturally with decomposition.

Founder Jirawan Kumsao said the design reflects a more environmentally friendly approach to burial. Although she brought a human-sized coffin to the event, her company mainly produces coffins for pets.

“It gives people comfort to know they’ve cared for their pets until the very end,” she said. “It looks like a spacecraft, a capsule, for sending them to another world.”

Noppasaward Panyajaray, founder of the online memorial platform Sharesouls, has seen a similar emotional bond. Her service allows users to store photos and share stories about loved ones, creating a digital space where friends and family can leave messages and pay their respects.

She said her original idea was for the platform to preserve memories of family members. But she was surprised to find that many users were creating memorial pages for their pets.

“Many people sent me a message to say thank you, because nowadays we don’t really have any space to store stories or memories about their pets,” she said. “Every pet is meaningful to their owners as much as a family member.”