Thousands celebrate Phuket veg fest finale

The final day of the festival began early yesterday morning with huge numbers turning out to join a street procession from the Sui Boon Tong Shrine, but the grand finale came later at night when the streets of Phuket Town were filled with smoke from the customary lighting of firecrackers are the various shrines led their processions towards Saphan Hin.

Those that had made the journey to Phuket Town early yesterday witnessed the final street procession of the festival which started at Sui Boon Tong Shrine and featured hundreds of Ma Song mortifying their flesh with axes and maces and parading with other metal objects inserted through cuts in their cheeks or hung by hooks from their chests or backs.

A large number of locals had set up tables in front of their home and lit firecrackers to welcome the parade and greet bid farewell to the gods for another year.

However, the grand finale of the final day’s events came at 11pm when all partaking shrines held a farewell ritual in front of the lantern poles which had stood since being raised on Sept 30 and marked ther start of the 2016 event.

After performing the rituals, the lights were turned off at the shrines and street processions left on their journey to Saphan Hin passing through Phuket Town where Ma Songs were greeted the smoke and noise of firecrakers being lit by those who lined the streets.

Although seen as the closure of the festival, yesterday’s celebrations will be followed at 4pm today (Oct 10) with the lowering of the shrine’s lantern poles which will officially mark the end of the Festival for this year.