This elephant got points for style, but he wasn't very good at hitting the mark!
Over 300 elephants performed for a packed audience at the annual Surin Elephant Festival in Thailand.
Every year in late November a gathering of massive proportions takes place in the otherwise sleepy town of Surin, Thailand. Hundreds of elephants and their mahouts from all over the kingdom gather to parade, perform, and feast.
Over 300 elephants marched down the streets of Surin for the annual Elephant Festival.
A couple of train stops from our old house in Japan was Enoshima Island, a popular tourist destination for people traveling from Tokyo. We happened upon a festival honoring the god of the sea, and stayed for some miso soup and sake afterward.
Located on the western shore of the South Korean peninsula, Daecheon Beach is a beautiful spot for swimming... AND it is home to the annual Boryeong Mud Festival (http://www.worknplay.co.kr/buryeongsites/buryeong.html), which is held for two weeks every July.
On the banks of the Atlantic Ocean, one weekend in June each year is the Belmar Seafood Festival. All the local seafood restaurants show their stuff as they serve up the best is lobster, crab, shrimp, clams and local delicacies.
A Hindu man showing his dedication to Murukan with a large piercing through his mouth.
The Chinese Lantern Festival is a nightly celebration of Chinese culture in Toronto, Canada. This is the largest Chinese festival held outside of China and its a must see.
The Berbena de Sant Joan (the Feast of St. John) is a wild celebration in Spain, particularly in Barcelona--and the Catalans go all-out with a firework-filled night of reveling.