The Thai Red Cross Fair

Last week we went to the Thai Red Cross Fair, an annual event held at Lumpini Park.

The event is run by the Red Cross, and all of the profits from the fair go to support the organization and its efforts in Thailand. 

The fair is a really big deal, and various government ministries and organizations all had booths and tents where they were running huge and elaborate games where you could win all sorts of prizes - from packs of instant noodles and bottles of fabric softener to minifridges, TVs, and even motorbikes!

The Ministry of the Interior had a game where you had to use a hook at the end of a long pole to grab a fabric butterfly from a bamboo tree. Each butterfly had a number on its back, which could be redeemed for a prize.

This game was actually a lot harder than it looks!

We bought tickets for 20 baht each and gave it a try. Eventually, both my wife and I caught a butterfly (which are now decorating our Christmas tree at home). We won fabric softener. Nothing too exciting, but it's practical!

At another tent (I don't remember which department ran this game), we had to pull down paper stars which were hanging from the ceiling. I think we won some instant noodles here.

I think the next game was run by the navy. You had to use a magnet on a fishing rod to catch plastic fish that were swirling around a big tub. Each fish had a number on it as well. 

At yet another game, we had to use a pole with a small basket to pick out a yellow disc with a picture of a Thai fruit on it.

And at another (I lost track of which ministry operated which game), we had to dig around in a tank of foam beads for little colorful scrolls of paper.

You are guaranteed to win something at every game. Most of what we got were small prizes - laundry detergent, a bottle of vegetable oil, some soy milk... but we actually won a pretty cool prize at the Army Wive's Association! At this game, we had to walk through a tunnel in which stars were hanging from the ceiling. Using scissors, we had to choose a random star, which one of the workers would open up.

We got a really nice Pikachu Yeti tumbler! I've been using it for my iced coffee every day!

There was also a lot of great snack food out at the fair. We spent a few hours enjoying the fun activities and the relatively cooler weather of the early Thai winter.