Bird singing contest

Bird singing contest

Many times I passed this empty lot of land which clearly marked a place where there would birds singing contests. Today was the first time I've actually seen this particular piece of land being used for just that. I've seen contests all over Samui and Thailand but never had a camera at the ready.

The location is at the Ghost Road leading from Bang Rak towards Chaweng, after the crossing that also houses a 7-11 and the chicken fight arena, it's directly after the sharp curve in the road and this sign is up permanently.

Plenty of folks gather with their birds and the bird cages are hung up on some line, all in two rows.

A whistle is blown and the bird cage is made free of a cover and the birds need to sing for a while, until the whistle is blown again and the cages are covered up again.

Prices can be won by the bird owners, betting is heavy and some birds can pass hands for around a million Thai Baht, if they know how to sing properly.

You may be able to catch an event like this whilst travelling the country, it's worthwhile stopping and checking it out for a bit. If you look carefully, many Thai house holds have birds that can compete in these contests.

It wouldn't be Thailand if everything had to be as 'sabai sabai' possible, so conveniently a couple of these covered sitting areas are set up next to the battle field!

Camille