Kaset Fair

I had to visit the Government Complex last week to renew my visa. Things have been good the past two years with the Thai government's very generous COVID emergency visa extensions, but all good things come to an end. As Thailand is reopening and things very slowly but steadily return to a new normal in Southeast Asia, it's nearly time for me to start having to do visa runs again. But more on that another day...

The point is, I was up super early to have my business at Immigration done quickly. I was thrilled to receive queue #1, and I was already home by 9:45! With the whole day ahead of us, Pinky and I decided to visit nearby Kasetsart University to check out the annual Kaset Fair!

spirit house at Kasetsart University

Described as "Bangkok's Biggest Food Market and Funfair", the annual Kaset Fair is a big deal, and a super popular annual community event. It's been either cancelled or very subdued the past two years, but this year it's back in a major way!

Kasetsart University

Taking up a large portion of Kasetsart University's campus, the fair consisted of 11 zones, each dedicated to selling and displaying various products - from food to plants to pet supplies.

Kaset Fair map

This year, the fair had over a thousand stalls, with more than one hundred dedicated to food from all across Thailand as well as a fun variety of Thai snack and carnival foods! We decided to start out by wandering through the food section, trying a bite here and there whenever a particular stall caught our eye.

food stalls

We started out with a piece of delicious fried chicken made in the Korean style with tons of amazing toppings. I wanted to get more, but Pinky encouraged me to wait, as there were still plenty of stalls to visit!

fried chicken and more

Next, we had some stuffed peppers (not too spicy), and some fried cheese on a stick (typical carnival food!).

grilled peppers stuffed with meat

There were also carnival games to play as well as attractions like a merry-go-round.

fun games for people to play

An entire section of the fair was set up like a traditional market, serving dishes from the north and northeast of Thailand.

more food!

In this area, visitors could sit by the university pond to eat. Even though it is still right in one of the busiest parts of Bangkok, it feels like you are way out in the Thai provinces.

northern and northeastern food at the "floating market"

food market area

The food areas were a lot of fun to explore, but Kasetsart University is primarily an agricultural sciences university, and the plants and produce on display from their various projects across the kingdom were unparalleled!

lots of plants

It seemed like even some local monks had come out to check out the beautiful flowers!

some monks visiting the fair

cacti are very popular nowadays in Thailand

We had one final snack before leaving - s'mores ice cream! A disc of cookies and cream ice cream was wrapped in a marshmallow coating, which the vendor toasted from a blowtorch. Like baked Alaska, the s'mores were warm and toasted on the outside, while the inside remained cold and frozen.

It was super fun to go out to the fair. I've missed visiting local events like this in Thailand over the past few years. Unless there's another new COVID variant, it seems like life in Thailand is finally starting to get back to normal. Fingers crossed!

s'mores ice cream