The nine day Vegetarian festival kicked off today in Thailand with Phuket at the heart of its world-renown revelries. My brother would love it because vegetables are nowhere to be found, abstinence from meat here simply means deep frying everything within reach (unless it happens to be a vegetable). It also means watching Ma Song men pierce their flesh with various sharp objects in the hopes of transferring evil from individuals onto themselves and bringing good luck to the community.
The stone courtyard past the entrance was slick with rain and rang with the excited giggling of young boys tossing firecrackers into a shrine and the sharp blasts from the misguided missiles exploding underfoot. Chanting from a loudspeaker was obscured by the gentle cracking of a long rope guided by priests removing the sins of locals. The sounds echoed and blurred together with the sound of rain pounding down and combined with the swaths of sweet smelling amber and sandalwood incense to create the sense of being alone and all-seeing while being jostled by unchecked shoulders blocking a clear view in any direction. The scraps of sound, scents, and sight somehow all drifted to form a complete picture out of small bits. It also helped that whenever the rain got too intense everyone except those already huddled under the priests flags crammed inside of the temple only to slowly emerge and reengage when the rain subsided.
Isaac and I drove to Phuket Town with the tank hovering on empty, aimlessly drifting through tiny streets where we’ve never been, following flapping yellow and red banners that had popped out overnight in astonishing sporific profusion. We stopped when we spotted the tiny fried dough balls in greasy paper cones that we like so much and almost immediately saw a flood of people in white carrying tall sticks wrapped in colorful fabric. We found one of the ornate Chinese temples draped in wafting clouds of incense and swarming with people but hovered hesitantly nearby, not wanting to interrupt the religious ceremonies and worship with our wide eyes and lack of knowledge about the religious facets of the festival. All we knew was that there would be abundant self- mutilation; we’d already noticed the men with deep scars around their mouths pushing through the crowds, evidence of annually pierced cheeks that never heal completely. Suddenly we realized once again how little we know about anything here. We buried our self- deprecations in deep fried food as rain began to pour, driving everyone from the streets under the tiny awnings of food stands where only your nose gets wet if you don’t mind getting close with strangers.
Isaac put on his space ranger rain gear and we made a dash (more like slow walk) through the crush of people until we found a large traditional monastery. It was painted in vivid colors and guarded by stone lions with bulging eyes and golden dragons doing headstands on the roof. Men with gold flakes spread across their faces pushed through the crowd, sending the small gold bits spiraling toward puddles to mingle with singed firecracker wrappers.
The stone courtyard past the entrance was slick with rain and rang with the excited giggling of young boys tossing firecrackers into a shrine and the sharp blasts from the misguided missiles exploding underfoot. Chanting from a loudspeaker was obscured by the gentle cracking of a long rope guided by priests removing the sins of locals. The sounds echoed and blurred together with the sound of rain pounding down and combined with the swaths of sweet smelling amber and sandalwood incense to create the sense of being alone and all-seeing while being jostled by unchecked shoulders blocking a clear view in any direction. The scraps of sound, scents, and sight somehow all drifted to form a complete picture out of small bits. It also helped that whenever the rain got too intense everyone except those already huddled under the priests flags crammed inside of the temple only to slowly emerge and reengage when the rain subsided.
MORE PHOTOS HERE: https://picasaweb.google.com/101782615335640844329/VegitarianFestivalDay1?authkey=Gv1sRgCM_buNOL3_PH1wE
Wish I could stand in the rain with you all and behold all the wonders. Thanks for bringing Phuket to NYC.
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