Phuket Celebrates Vegetarian Festival

PHUKET, THAILAND - OCTOBER 26: Devotees walk in a procession amid exploding firecrackers during the Vegetarian Festival on October 26, 2025 in Phuket, Thailand. The annual Vegetarian Festival in Phuket, where devotees follow a strict vegetarian diet to celebrate the Nine Emperor Gods, marks its 200th anniversary this year and remains one of Thailand’s most popular religious events. Many devotees slash themselves with swords and pierce their skin with needles and other objects as part of a purification ritual before leading a street procession through Phuket Old Town to the Saphan Hin Shrine by the sea. (Footage by PixelPro/GRN/Getty Images)