Devotees gather at the Chinese Jui Tui Shrine at sunrise ahead of a street procession marking the annual Vegetarian Festival in the southern Thai town of Phuket on October 3, 2011. During the festival, which begins on the first evening of the ninth lunar month and lasts nine days, religious devotees slash themselves with swords, pierce their cheeks with sharp objects and commit other painful acts to purify themselves, taking on the sins of the community. Photo courtesy: AFP