“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)

A boat paddles behind a fence near a plane sitting on the flooded tarmack of the closed Don Muang airport November 3, 2011 in Bangkok,Thailand. The airport was used as a domestic terminal and was formerly the International airport. Thailand is experiencing the worst flooding in over 50 years and has affected more than nine million people. Over 400 people have died in flood-related incidents since late July according to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

A model wearing a face shield poses with a Mitsubishi vehicle during the media day of the 41st Bangkok International Motor Show after the Thai government eased measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Bangkok, Thailand on July 14, 2020. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

A Thai Yoga enthusiast performs during a mass yoga exercise in Bangkok, Thailand, 16 June 2019. Hundreds of Thai and foreign Yoga enthusiasts took part in the mass Yoga exercise organized by the Indian embassy to mark the International Day of Yoga which annually celebrated on 21 June. (Photo by Rungroj Yongrit/EPA/EFE)

Malawian Saw-wa, 33, (L) and Yupin Saw-wa, 28 who lost their daughters, cry near a burnt building at the Pitakkiat Wittaya School in the northern province of Chiang Rai, Thailand, May 23, 2016. (Photo by Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)

Thailand's Patsapong Amsam-ang waits under an umbrella during a break due to heavy rains in the men's pole vault final during the 32nd Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in Phnom Penh on May 8, 2023. (Photo by Mohd Rasfan/AFP Photo)

Thailand's Lac Somruedee Pruepruk balances the ball during the sepak takraw women's match against Malaysia at the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in Hanoi on May 17, 2022. (Photo by Ye Aung Thu/AFP Photo)

A monkey grabs the face of a tourist during the Lopburi Monkey Festival on November 27, 2022 in Lop Buri, Thailand. Lopburi holds its annual Monkey Festival where local citizens and tourists gather to provide a banquet to the thousands of long-tailed macaques that live in central Lopburi. (Photo by Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images)