Phuket Island in Thailand is an extremely popular holiday destination for tourists from all over the world. It was also chosen by the citizens of Russia. Some of them specially visit this island from 18 to 26 October to see a colorful and extravagant spectacle - the festival of vegetarians. This holiday has been celebrated for almost 200 years, in memory of the miraculous rescue of the inhabitants of the island from an epidemic of an unknown disease in 1825.
If you plan to stay in Thailand for no more than a month, you do not need a visa. You just need to have a foreign passport. For a longer stay on the island, apply for a visa at the Thai consulate.
There are different ways to get to Phuket Island. For residents of the western regions of Russia, it is best to first get to the international airport in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, using the services of carriers such as Aeroflot and Transaero. And from Bangkok there are many local flights to Phuket. The duration of such a local flight is about one and a half hours, the cost is within $ 110 per person. A cheaper, albeit more time-consuming, way is by bus, departing from Bangkok's Southern Bus Terminal. Phuket Island is connected to the mainland by a bridge over which a highway is laid. The duration of the trip is about 12 hours with sanitary stops.
For residents of Eastern Siberia and the Far East, there is also an opportunity to get to Bangkok with a transfer in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other large Chinese cities. You can fly to them, for example, by aircraft of the companies S7 and Vladivostok Air, it is inexpensive. Transit passengers have the right to stay in China without a visa for 24 hours. There are many low-cost flights to Bangkok from Chinese cities. You can also first fly to Seoul (the capital of South Korea), and then to Bangkok or immediately to Phuket itself.
The most profitable option in a financial sense is if the tourist books and pays for air tickets, as well as a hotel in Phuket long before the start of the festival. This can be done through the tour operator or on your own.
Please note that faint-hearted, impressionable people, as well as those with heart problems and pregnant women, it is better to refrain from attending this festival! After all, some of his ceremonies make a very strong, even shocking impression.
Participants of the festival first pray in the temples of Phuket, putting themselves into a state that would be more correctly called "religious trance". After they reach this state, the priests begin to conduct rituals with them, which can shock the faint of heart. People pierce their cheeks, ears, lips, even tongues with various sharp objects. These rituals symbolize the victory of the spirit over the flesh and readiness for any deeds in the name of the gods.
