Phuket Vegetarian Festival

This last week's Phuket Veggie Festival has added colour to an otherwise pretty damp week. While driving around the island there is a good chance that you'll come across a procession of very wet worshippers dressed all in white, some with objects pierced through their faces, others in a possessed, trance like state.

First, this morning I tried to go to Phuket Immigration but was diverted by the festival:

Veggie Festival in Phuket City

Later, driving to Chalong I hit another procession:

Then just up the road from our house in Kathu, an area with a large Chinese Thai community from Phuket's tin mining days, is the Kathu shrine which is central to the festival and has had food stalls selling vegan food all week. I'm not interested in the food. Not only is it vegan, which I am not, but it is also devoid of chilli, garlic, onions and pretty much anything else tasty. It's all about spiritual cleansing apparently. I just like walking around the streets in the evening, soaking up the atmosphere but if you like deep fried tofu you'll love it.

If you want to see some good photos (including the obligatory piercing images) have a look at this excellent Phuket Photo Blog. If you want to see it for yourself you've got one more day, it finishes on 5 October.