Chiang Mai residents turned up at Pung Tao Gong Shrine in Mueang district on the first day of the 2026 vegetarian festival carrying tiffin carriers and food boxes, lining up for free vegetarian meals handed out by the shrine and a group of donors. One woman said she had brought four tiffin tiers, enough to feed the whole household. The free food saves her several meals’ worth of money, she