Lauren Metzler, founder of Sydney Mermaids, prepares for a swim at Manly Cove Beach in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, May 26, 2022. There is a strong need, especially after COVID-related lockdowns, to simply play and enjoy creativity, Metzler says. (Photo by Mark Baker/AP Photo)

Kashmiri Muslim brides sit during a mass marriage of 30 couples in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, February 21, 2024. Mass weddings in India are organized by social organizations primarily to help economically weaker families who cannot afford the high ceremony costs as well as the customary dowry and expensive gifts that are still prevalent in many communities. (Photo by Mukhtar Khan/AP Photo)

This picture taken on July 25, 2014 shows people cooling off in a waterpark in Suining, southwest China's Sichuan province. Meteorological departments issued an orange alert for high temperature as a heat wave embraces Sichuan province, with temperature of most area topped 37, local media reported. (Photo by AFP Photo)

“The Nine Emperor Gods Festival is a nine-day Taoist celebration beginning on the eve of 9th lunar month of the Chinese calendar, which is observed primarily in Southeast Asian countries like Myanmar, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and also the Riau Islands. In Thailand, this festival is called Tesagan Gin Je, the Vegetarian Festival. It is celebrated throughout the entire country, but the festivities are at their height in Phuket, where about 35% of the population is Chinese. It attracts crowds of spectators because of many of the unusual religious rituals that are performed”. – Wikipedia. Photo: A devotee gest pierced at the Bang Neow shrine in Phuket. (Photo by Paula Bronstein)

Farmers arrange bunches of water lilies after harvesting them from the wetlands in Barishal, Bangladesh on March 21, 2023. Floating through 10,000 acres of canal, farmers use their little boats to fetch the flowers. (Photo by Joy Saha/Cover Images)

A woman in traditional Malaysian attire welcomes leaders to the official dinner at the venue of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia November 21, 2015. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

Russian Il-76 military transport aircrafts fly in formation during a rehearsal for the flypast, which marks the 75th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Moscow, Russia on May 4, 2020. The traditional large-scale Victory Day military parade across Red Square was postponed due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID 19). (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

A man with a cap on his face sleeps on a floor at the Mahabat Khan Mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan on March 4, 2019. (Photo by Fayaz Aziz/Reuters)