PHUKET is probably at its most quirky during the Vegetarian Festival, which this year runs from October 8-16. It's loud, strange to Western eyes, yet totally compelling.
The underlying message is a healthy one: adherents are supposed to give up meat, sex and alcohol for all nine days. But at first sight, the daily street parades that mostly run through Phuket City are confronting.
Visitors are not always prepared for entranced warriors, marching along with strange objects implanted through their faces, and a team of supporters who often dab away saliva, tip water into mouths any way they can, and occasionally deal with a little blood.
As a keen-eyed long-time Phuket observer said: ''Just when you think Phuket people are perfectly normal, along comes the Vegetarian Festival.''
People who work in resorts, behind the counter in banks or serving tables in restaurants are suddenly there, behaving as though they are possessed . . . which is precisely what they are.
People marching down the street in aprons and wrapped in barbed wire becomes an everyday sight on Phuket during the Vegetarian Festival.
Meat becomes harder to find, but the festival produces plenty of facsimile versions that look just like the real thing. Unfortunately the taste is a bit of a letdown.
Just about every resident of Phuket City turns out at some stage to wait in the streets as the daily parades pass, hoping to be blessed. Lucky strangers will also be covered with twirling, symbolic fabric talisman or given a piece of blessed fruit.
The parades range from one extreme to another. All of them have elements that are noisy - there are always long strings of fireworks exploding down bamboo poles - but never violent.
Some of the possessed are women, who hand out candy. Others, possessed by juvenile spirits, suck on big pacifiers, like babies.
Every year, officials call for restraint - no large fireworks, no trees or bicycles through the cheeks this year, please - and every year the warriors ignore the message.
Adherents generally dress in white, so the whole festival has the feeling of a giant cricket tournament. If white is your favorite, then you will find stalls everywhere on Phuket at this time of the year as the festival nears.
The festival begins with a whoop and a holler on the evening of October 7, when the spirits are conjured up and carried to Phuket's Chinese temples. Check to see how they shape up a few days beforehand, and you may well find all the gods being devotedly polished.
The night that the spirits are driven back into the sea to end the festival is not to be missed. Thousands of people in white pack the streets of Phuket City as parade after parade of dancing, prancing warriors pass, leaping and twirling barefoot through a constant barrage of exploding crackers.
The parades go on for hours, with no end of noise and smoke and visual excitement on every street and corner. It's a sensational night, a reminder of everything that makes Phuket unique. Take a camera and wear your ear plugs.
The underlying message is a healthy one: adherents are supposed to give up meat, sex and alcohol for all nine days. But at first sight, the daily street parades that mostly run through Phuket City are confronting.
Visitors are not always prepared for entranced warriors, marching along with strange objects implanted through their faces, and a team of supporters who often dab away saliva, tip water into mouths any way they can, and occasionally deal with a little blood.
As a keen-eyed long-time Phuket observer said: ''Just when you think Phuket people are perfectly normal, along comes the Vegetarian Festival.''
People who work in resorts, behind the counter in banks or serving tables in restaurants are suddenly there, behaving as though they are possessed . . . which is precisely what they are.
People marching down the street in aprons and wrapped in barbed wire becomes an everyday sight on Phuket during the Vegetarian Festival.
Meat becomes harder to find, but the festival produces plenty of facsimile versions that look just like the real thing. Unfortunately the taste is a bit of a letdown.
Just about every resident of Phuket City turns out at some stage to wait in the streets as the daily parades pass, hoping to be blessed. Lucky strangers will also be covered with twirling, symbolic fabric talisman or given a piece of blessed fruit.
The parades range from one extreme to another. All of them have elements that are noisy - there are always long strings of fireworks exploding down bamboo poles - but never violent.
Some of the possessed are women, who hand out candy. Others, possessed by juvenile spirits, suck on big pacifiers, like babies.
Every year, officials call for restraint - no large fireworks, no trees or bicycles through the cheeks this year, please - and every year the warriors ignore the message.
Adherents generally dress in white, so the whole festival has the feeling of a giant cricket tournament. If white is your favorite, then you will find stalls everywhere on Phuket at this time of the year as the festival nears.
The festival begins with a whoop and a holler on the evening of October 7, when the spirits are conjured up and carried to Phuket's Chinese temples. Check to see how they shape up a few days beforehand, and you may well find all the gods being devotedly polished.
The night that the spirits are driven back into the sea to end the festival is not to be missed. Thousands of people in white pack the streets of Phuket City as parade after parade of dancing, prancing warriors pass, leaping and twirling barefoot through a constant barrage of exploding crackers.
The parades go on for hours, with no end of noise and smoke and visual excitement on every street and corner. It's a sensational night, a reminder of everything that makes Phuket unique. Take a camera and wear your ear plugs.
I can't believe I just wasted my time reading this... One of the most interesting festivals you will ever see, here's an idea, learn the history and don't focus on the negative.
Posted by Jon on September 25, 2010 11:22