India, March 15 -- 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 on 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 witne...