Hi everyone, sorry its been so long since i last put a postcard on but the last month has been a whirlwind so not had much time to do one. We landed in Phuket right in the middle of their annual Vegetarian festival, which was something of an eye opener to say the least. We were staying at claires house and she told us about this festival and that on the monday morning there was some sort of parade going on in Phuket town. She also told us that she was going down there with her class (Claires an art teacher). So me and Paul decided to tag along, It had nothing to do with the fact that claires class consistes of about 20 16 to 18 year old girls honest!!! We got down there just in time as the parade was just about to come past. What we saw was unbelievable. These relegious folk had got 'Possesed' in the morning and had pierced their cheeks with all sorts of items such as Knifes, garden sheers, a saxaphone and even a kids scooter. Then they paraded themselves down the streets of Phuket getting rid of all the 'demons' whilst their 'mates' cleared the little bits of blood dripping down their faces! All this happened before breakfast! We decided to stay away from anything that had tomato sauce or jam on that morning!!! After that we had a bit of a relaxing day still coming to terms with what we had witnessed that day. Anyway when Claire got home from work she told us that that night the people we had seen that morning were walking accress hot coals and suggested we should go. We obviously asked if the school girls were going but as it was after school hours they were not. We decided to go anyway. This was just as unbelievable as the parade had been. When i heard that they would be walking accross hot coals i imagined the 'holiday' program i think i saw a few years ago where Judith Charmers skipped accross this pile of coals (more like ash) and came out the other side with a massive smile on her face chuffed with herself! Well i would like to see Judith Charmers try to takle this mound of heat! It was massive and you could feel the heat coming off it from a long way back. They had to pat it down a few times first to make a solid path accross it with a long piece of metal. After patting it down a couple of times the long piece of metal was starting to melt, that was how hot it was! Then once it was ready, one by one they ran accross it! These people are absolutly crazy!!! On the last night of the festival we heard that they have some sort of 'fireworks' display. Remembering the fun nights i have previously had on november 5th up Danbury common i thought this would be quite a good night. I was right, it was a good night but Danbury common it wasnt! We arrived in Phuket town and got our place on the side of the street and there were thousands of people out to witness the 'fireworks'. We waited around for a bit then we heard some noise coming from another street around the corner. It was another parade but this time there were no piercings. As the parade got closer we realised that the 'fireworks' display wasnt quite what we were expecting. As the parade started to come past us so did the fire CRACKERS! It was like a war scene! Thousands of people throwing firecrackers at the people walking past in the parade! The smoke and the noise were unbelievable! Someone gave us some cotton wool for our ears and we covered our mouthes with our t-shirts and just watched as wave after wave of poeple came past us! I cant describe how amazing it all was, this all went on for a solid hour and half! As we left we decided we needed a beer so drove to a bar about 10 minutes away. As we got in there someone told us that the parade hadnt been past there yet and it was due to go past soon. So we went outside as a small section came past. This time though the guy who owned the pub was English and gave me and Paul a few fire crackers of our own to throw! This topped of our night perfectly, we were able to throw a couple of fire crackers at people in the street and we were not gonna get arrested, quality! Anyway that is just a small section of what happened wish i could tell you more! I will put on anpther postcard soon telling you about Koh Samui and the full moon party! Take care. Adam