Khao Lak vegetarian festival

Khao Lak vegetarian Festival


Phuket is famous for it's vegetarian festival where people put swords and hooks through their faces. Apparently some people are mystics, get possessed by demons who make them do this stuff. Meanwhile everyone swears off meat for the 9 days of the festival. I don't see the connection myself. Having been a vegetarian for 9 years, the only times I've been possessed have involved Thai whiskey!








But Khao Lak does have a small festival and we have a small parade where these mystics do these feats of possession. Well, kind of. The spirits that possess them aren't nearly are powerful, or media savvy as the ones in Phuket, so they don't actually pierce themselves ...







Generally speaking they are in red, denoting the spirits, and they have helpers who keep them from wandering off into dark alleys and direct them to alters people set up in front of shop for blessings.








There are some women who do it, but for some reason they seem to not cut there faces open and mutilate themselves as much as the men do.....










And I must say that it was a nice day, because that night an atlas moth, the largest in the world, flew in and landed on Keith. This is VERY good luck and we of course took it in stride - and ran off to get our cameras!





Hopefully that sets a good tone for the season.