TRAVEL NEWS

Phuket Vegetarian Festival

17 Oct 2006, PHUKET CITY: The annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival, complete with face-piercing spirit mediums, will be held October 22 to 30 at shrines in and around Phuket City. The traditional Chinese festival emphasizes merit making and ritual cleansing of the body.

Participants are invited to wear white clothes and abstain from meat, sex, and foods with strong odors for the duration of the festival. They are also asked to use only the traditional red, ceremonial firecrackers in strips.

A special plea was made for parents to be extra watchful of their children's actions and safety throughout the event.

A special celebration to commemorate the 60 th anniversary of His Majesty The King's accession to the throne will be held October 23. The festivities will begin at Queen Sirikit Park, on Thalang Rd, with a free vegetarian buffet at 1 pm.

At 3 pm, 7,000 free yellow T-shirts will be given away, although people are requested to wear their own if possible. At 4 pm, the procession will make its way from the park to Sapan Hin, where there will be a group prayer for HM The King to have a long and prosperous reign. The evening will conclude with a fireworks display, beginning about 7 pm.

Shrines will host daily activities during the week-long festival, with highlights including the usual fare: devotees walking on hot coals, piercing their cheeks and climbing ladders with bladed rungs.

Food stalls and restaurants will display yellow banners to indicate they are serving vegetarian fare during the festival. For more information see: www.phuketvegetarian.com For details of the routes for the daily street processions, click here.

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