THAILAND

Phuket. Taoist fasting The most masochistic holiday on the planet. To prepare for the ceremony, penitents, called here God's warriors, abstain from meat, alcohol, women, cigarettes, do not lie, do not quarrel and do not kill. After this, they head to begin public mortification of the flesh in the most sophisticated ways. Piercing cheeks with hot rods, self-torture with axes and climbing ladders made of razor blades are considered childish fun, just to warm up.

KLM $1300 Auckland. There and back; departure until November 15 Lufthansa $579 Bilbao. There and back; departure until October 31 Lufthansa $750 Washington. There and back; departure until September 15 Lufthansa $575 Among the instruments of torture that the priests implant into the bodies of warriors are umbrellas, chains and chainsaw blades. After this, God's warriors begin to dance, during which they must be possessed by 9 god-emperors. The temple courtyard, where several dozen penitents dance, can be quite an entertaining sight. The warriors are then set off in a procession throughout the city, with sympathizers in the crowd inflicting a little more pain on them and themselves: small sticks of dynamite are thrown at the participants' feet, they lick razor blades, run on hot coals, and so on and so forth. In the evening, the old priest removes the spell, and the ceremony participants both

nothing had happened and they went home.

October 17-25