One of Phuket's more bizarre festival offerings, the annual Vegetarian Festival grew from a 19th century Chinese opera troupe who brought worship of the Nine Emperor Gods to Thailand.

Although traditional vegetarian dishes and menus are present, the real main course is the various self-mutilation and devotion practices. Participants, known as mah song (roughly translated as “horseback riding”), are considered to be mediums (the horse) who invite the gods (the riders) to enter and possess them while in a trance brought on by the ritual piercing, flaying, and mutilation.

How about a side of facial piercings with those vegetables?