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Dan Sai village, Loei Province, Thailand

Phi Ta Khon, an annual festival held in the northeast, began with a somewhat structured parade of colorful, handmade masks and local beauty contest winners interspersed with pickup trucks blasting lively Thai music. However, the parade lines soon blurred as participants began mingling with bystanders, offering a dance or shot of whiskey, or just poking them with the phallic-like swords they carried. Rain-soaked and overwhelmed, I just wanted to fill my viewfinder with as much of the vibrant, crazy color that I could before those masks came off.

LS

 

Dan Sai village, Loei Province, Thailand

We jumped right into the thick of the rain-filled procession, wide-eyed and feeling blessed to be a part of such intense movement and brilliant color. The endless line of creaturely masks, fabric phallic props and body undulation surely woke up the dead, while delighting us onlookers to no end.

SBR