PHUKET: With a sensational roll of firecrackers that burst on and on throughout most of the night, Phuket's Vegetarian Festival concluded as the spirits that arrive to inhabit the bodies of the possessed were driven back into the sea.
From midnight, many of the mah song sat down to chicken and pork to feast after nine days of vegetables and fruit, no alcohol, no cigarettes and no sex.
Today the holiday island of Phuket returned to normal and faced such less spiritual issues as whether or not sunbeds and umbrellas should return to the beaches.
This year, though, in a rare twist, the alignment of the stars means there are actually two Vegetarian Festivals. The second festival, lovers of firecrackers will be delighted to hear, begins on October 24 and runs to November 2.
However, exhausted by the just-completed festival, the second festival will be low-key and confined to Taoist temples in Kathu and Cherng Talay.
From midnight, many of the mah song sat down to chicken and pork to feast after nine days of vegetables and fruit, no alcohol, no cigarettes and no sex.
Today the holiday island of Phuket returned to normal and faced such less spiritual issues as whether or not sunbeds and umbrellas should return to the beaches.
This year, though, in a rare twist, the alignment of the stars means there are actually two Vegetarian Festivals. The second festival, lovers of firecrackers will be delighted to hear, begins on October 24 and runs to November 2.
However, exhausted by the just-completed festival, the second festival will be low-key and confined to Taoist temples in Kathu and Cherng Talay.
