Pics: Bizarre facial piercings at the annual vegetarian festival in Phuket, Thailand

WARNING: Graphic content
The participants at the annual vegetarian festival in Phuket, Thailand are said to abstain from meat, stimulants and sex for nine days before the event. Participants used their own faces as real-life pincushions. The festival not only features face-piercing but also spirit mediums and strict vegetarianism. It celebrates the local Chinese Taoist community's belief that abstinence from meat and stimulants during the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar will help them obtain good health and peace of mind.
More pictures after the cut