DETOURS
The annual vegetarian festival in Phuket, Thailand, is not about healthy living, even though participants abstain from meat, alcohol, smoking and sex. In a custom believed to have started more than 150 years ago to ward off a malaria epidemic, locals seek to summon the Nine Emperor Gods to the area through a series of rituals, including firewalking, body piercing and other physical tests. If this doesn't sound like your idea of fun, then consider a getaway at the Banyan Tree Phuket. Recently voted the world's best spa resort by readers of Conde Nast Traveler, it's offering rooms at discounts of as much as 40% until the end of the month (tel. 66-76-324374 for more details).
This year's Vegetarian Festival in Phuket is from October 20-28. For more information see the Tourism Authority of Thailand website at www.tourismthailand.org/festival/oct.htm. For additional information, visit the Phuket online guide at www.phuket.com.
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October 19, 1998
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DETOURS
The annual vegetarian festival in Phuket, Thailand, is not about healthy living, even though participants abstain from meat, alcohol, smoking and sex
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