Phuket Vegetarian Festival

You know how when there's a festival...you cook and eat, make a lot of noise, a parade maybe..these guys do it differently,

In Phuket, Thailand,devotees of the Chinese shrine of Samkong, pierces themselves in their cheeks during a procession of Vegetarian Festival on October. Ritual Vegetarianism in Phuket Island traces it roots back to the early 1800's. The festival begins on the first evening of the ninth lunar month and lasts for nine days. Participants in the festival perform acts of body piercing as a means of shifting evil spirits from individuals onto themselves and bring the community good luck. 

scary huh...to think I'm scared of Injections like crazy, I'd just die right there if they ever told me to practise these tasks