No, this is not some celebration of masochists, though it may look like it. It is actually the Phuket Vegetarian Festival, a religious festival believed to bring blessings to all followers. The followers comprise mainly of Chinese in Phuket, Thailand, who follow a strict vegan or vegetarian diet for 10 days to gain favor with their gods and for spiritual cleansing. This is accompanied by sacred rituals at Chinese temples and shrines around the island. Stalls of vegan food are set up throughout Phuket City, and even non-vegans will be quite tempted with the sumptuous variety of vegetarian food.

Obviously the most distinct feature of this festival is the amount of ‘pain’ involved with seriously crazy and insane body piercings. And I am not just talking about needles but unthinkable objects like guns, umbrellas and saws! Not sure exactly what this is supposed to represent, but my guess is that it represents some level of self-retribution for the things they have done wrong in their lives. I have seen many crazy and painful stuff, but these pictures are probably one of the most extreme that I have seen in awhile. Careful, very graphic pictures follow.

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This is one of the world’s largest festival for bodyart or bodypainting. Held in Daegu, South Korea, this festival first started in the Austrian town of Zeeboden back in 1998. Artists from all over the world gather to show off their prowess on living moving canvases. Some look really marvelous.

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Was told that these pics were from the Russian Music Fest held in Summer although I really don’t see anything ‘music’ about it. Looks more like another excuse to play in the mud.

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Beautiful sculptures from the Ice Festival in Lake Placid. I’m an ice sculptor, last night I made a cube.

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Burning man is a festival of radical self-expression. From the 29th of August till the 5th of Septemeber thousands of people gather in the Black Rock desert, Nevada to conduct the most emphatic art-festival in the world. For a short-period a new town emerges with a population of about 50,000 people just to get burned completely after one week. No money and no transport can be used in the town, and nothing can be left to remind about the festival after it finishes. During the festival ‘citizens’ create art-installations, demonstrate their devotion to art in all possible ways, and simply drink and have fun. Enjoy the pictures from the festival to get a taste of this unique event.

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