Phuket Vegan Festival 2007 Finale Images-Pictures
Last night (Friday October 20) hosted the intense final hours of one of Phuket’s prime Chinese heritage festivals. The Siamerican and some friends headed downtown at/around the main Chinese temple-shrine to join in the masses for the final procession in the waning hours of this year’s festivities–an expected loud and hazy closure. Are you ready for Phuket charm and carnage ?
The city’s temp-vegan-turned restaurants hosted an eclectic array of last-minute seasonal treats; Popular Thai meat-dish imitations richly flavored with sweet, spice, and fire were prepared, sold, and served in mass.
The masses of white and yellow shirted laymen and women gathered in disorder at the island’s main Chinese shrines as incense smoke filled the air–the echo of firecrackers and rapid spontaneous spark painting an audio war zone ever drawing anticipation and yearn for release.
Chaos contrasted with Unity, defunct of order yet promising an unsure yet certain resolve. Somewhere hidden under all the tranced aura of Crash symbols, ash powder and tourist camera flashes remained an immense residue of cultural identity and pride.
By midnight, the procession finally was underway; Devotees lead the march carrying their 9 dieties through the line of fire and smoke–many unshielded and fearless, seemingly oblivious and apparently immune to the intensity of spark and bang, while others less entranced with the spirit world shuttered and cringed at the firecrackers threatening their sensory gateways.
Liked the pictures and info about the Phuket Vegan festival, check out these other pic and content rich blog pages of the Phuket carnage:
Matt’s blog, Jamie’s Blog, and Thaipulse’s Blog
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- Phuket Vegetarian (Vegan) Festival 2007 images: Mutilation Parade
- Phuket Vegan Fest: Known popularly as the Vegetarian Festival
- Exodus Phuket-Back up to Central Thailand: 2007’s final phase
- Laxing and Leisure in Phuket’s tourism epicenter: Patong beach town by night and day
- Teaching in Central Thailand photos: July to September, 2007, Samut Songkhram
