Phuket's Vegetarian Festival, which falls between late September and mid October (depending on the lunar cycle), is a lot bloodier than it sounds. Religious devotees 'purify' themselves with acts of self-mutilation – including piercing their cheeks with swords, hanging metal hooks of vegetables from the flesh of their arms, and puncturing their tongues with skewers of small fruits. Fascinating stuff, but not for the faint hearted.