The Phuket Vegetarian Festival returns to Thailand’s best beach holiday destination on October 1 for nine days of purification and atonement.

The whole town will fly yellow flags to mark the beginning of this spiritual retreat.

On the eve of the festival, a large pole is raised at 40 Chinese shrines around Phuket. Nine Emperor Gods of Taoism are invited to descend from the heavens and take part in the ceremonies.

This is an intimate local affair that has its roots in the days when the island was home to Chinese immigrants and Australian miners.

The festival began 150 years ago in a small Chinese-speaking community in Phuket. People were struck down by some mysterious epidemic. They consulted an old and wise man and discovered they had failed to pay respect to the nine Emperor Gods of Taoism.

The locals then put up the temples and held a vegetarian festival to ward off any lingering bad luck. And it seemed to work. The festival has been an annual ritual ever since.

Visitors can expect parades, burning incense, vegetarian food and peaceful chants.

Peace, however, has it violent side. The festival is famous for the scary procession of self-mutilated devotees.

The festival will culminate with faithful devotees walking with their altars to the gods on October 9.

The parade of gods will march through the old town and bless the devotees before returning to heaven. As the festival comes to an end, thousands of people will throw thousands upon thousands of firecrackers into the gods’ altars.

No more piercing now. Nor any scary-looking parades. Just an enigmatic and purifying night. And, of course, the ear-splitting sound of firecrackers.

IF YOU GO

< Phuket celebrates the annual Vegetarian Festival from October 1 – 9. For more details about this holy event and its thrilling processions, call the TAT Southern Office: Region 4 at (076) 211 036, 212 213 or 217 138, or visit http://www.phuketvegetarian.com.

< There are frequent flights from Bangkok to Phuket International Airport as well as direct flights from many other airports in the region, including Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, and direct charters to Europe and Australia in the high season.