ash'ventures

phuket vegetarian festival

This year's Phuket Vegetarian Festival will be held from 11 to 19 October.

This festival is an annual event held during the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar, which normally falls in late September or early October. Though the origins of the festival are unclear, it celebrates the Chinese community's belief that a strict vegetarian diet will purify the mind and body and constitute merit making.

The most popular and best-believed tale is that a wandering Chinese opera group fell ill with malaria while performing on the island. They decided to adhere to a strict vegetarian diet and pray to the Nine Emperor Gods who would ensure purification of the mind and body. After doing this, they members recovered miraculously. On recovery, the people celebrated by holding a festival that was meant to honor the gods as well as express the people's happiness at surviving a fatal illness.

The present makeover of this festival involve sacred rituals performed at all Chinese temples in Phuket followed by processions. The processions from each temple show spectacles of strict vegetarians, known as devotees, ostensibly possessed by gods, piercing their tongues, cheeks and other parts of the anatomy with sharp implements. The devotees apparently feel no pain and show no sign of real injury. This has some similarity to the Hindu festival of Thaipusam held in Singapore and Malaysia by the Tamil Hindu community.

So if you are planning to visit Phuket in October, plan a date with the devotees. Processions are held during the 9 days, along the roads of Phuket town and be armed with your camera. The last day is normally the best day to watch the procession.

For more information, visit the official website :
http://www.phuketvegetarian.com

Here is the schedule of this year's processions :
http://phuketdir.com/vegetarian/index.htm

Here, you can see some pictures and videos from previous years’ celebrations :
http://www.thailand.com/travel/festival/festivals_vegetarian.htm
http://www.phuket.net/visit-phuket/about/phuket-vegetarian.htm
http://www.phuket.com/festival/vegetarian.htm
http://www.phukettourism.org/festival/vegetarian/index.htm
http://www.phuket-tourism.com/contents/phuket_vegetarian_festival.htm
http://www.beachpatong.com/photogallery/vegfestival/

This website have some gory pictures, not for the fainted heart though !
http://www.2camels.com/photos/phuket-vegetarian-festival.php

around phuket - The Phuket Big Buddha

Two weeks ago, I was driving towards Phrompthep Cape, when I saw a Buddha like statue on top of a mountain. The sight made me curious and I asked around and came to know that a project is underway to build the world's largest meditating Buddha statue in Phuket on top of the Nak-Kued Mountain. It is accessible by road and I decided to make a visit to the site.

The Phuket Big Buddha project is undertaked by Thailand's Department of Forestry, Kata's Kitisangkaraam Temple and Phrabuddha Mingmonkol Sattha 45 Foundation and is endorsed by the Thai Royal Emblem. The project covers over 6 hectares of forest land on the top of the mountain and includes the building of 2 Pangmarnvichai Buddha images. The bigger Buddha image is built with cement and will be 25.5 meter wide, 45 meter high and 1000 tons when complete. It is touted to be the largest meditating Buddha image in the world and is being built as a 80th birthday present to his Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the Monarch of Thailand. The smaller one is a gold-alloy Buddha image which is 5.5 meter wide, 12.5 meter high and weighs 22 tons (now completed and on display for public), which is dedicated to Her Majesty Queen Sirikit.

This is at the foot of the mountain, some 6km away from the top, where the Buddha statue is being built.

At the top of the mountain, base of the Buddha statue. Work in progress.

The Royal Emblem is in place.

The vision of the project.

The finished Buddha statue will look like this. See the 2 nagas by the side of Buddha.

The finished smaller Buddha statue made of Gold

Another smaller Buddha statue in the vicinity

A Buddha shrine at the vicinity

The mountain is located between Chalong and Kata, which provides a magnificient view of Chalong Bay on one side and the other direction is the Andaman Sea. You can see the whole of Phuket and nearby island from atop the mountain. In simpler words, the mountain top is priceless and magnificient, the best view point to enjoy the beauty of the Andaman coast !

More information on the Big Buddha project can be found at the following links :

www.phuketbigbuddha.com
www.phuket.com/magazine/big-buddha.htm

until death do us apart

I remember Joseph Lawrence, the eldest son of my chemistry professor Lawrence Michael. We grew up in the same neighbourhood, went to same church, same cathecism school, and years later, same college. He was also friend of my brothers. It appears as if controversies followed Joseph lately.

He married a muslim girl amidst much controversy and he is the father of two kids. Pardon me, he was, because Joseph, his wife and 2 kids passed away last week in a road accident.

The accident was was also kind of controversial. The accident happened some 50km away from his hometown. Following the accident and eventual death, the people of the locality blocked the national highway and held the top government official of the district at ransom until the authorities promised to do something about the condition of the road. It appears as if the potholes on the national highway was the cause of the accident.

Joseph's funeral also ended up in a controversy. It seems that his wife's parents insisted on their daughter being buried in the muslim cemetry and they got what they wanted. Joseph and his two children were buried at the catholic cemetry.

When they took their wedding vows, they pledge to "be together until death do us apart". Ironically, their death happened while they were together, but their bodies cannot be together. 

Joseph, his wife and kids will unite in the "other world", free from the pressures of religion, society, norms, elders-of-the-family, etc - people who dont give a darn about you but always around to give their useless 5 cents worth to stir up shit ! 

Here is wishing you a happy life, together, from now onwards !

thai x'mas

On x'mas eve, went to the local catholic church for x'mas mass. funny mass in thai (with some english). they sing the carols in thai.

The light in the confession box was on and there was noone in the queue. On the spur of the moment, i stepped into the box and did my confession, after five years. I dunno what got hold of me, but my words kept flowing and they came straight from my heart and i went on and on ... only to realize tears are flowing non-stop. The priest was good with his words and gave me some sound advises. After doing my prayers, I took part in the mass and received holy communion. Felt so blessed, relieved and in full of peace.