No pain, no gain!

As part of the annual Vegetarian Festival in the southern Thai town of Phuket, religious devotees inflict unimaginable on harm on themselves as a way of seeking purification.

One worshipper of the Chinese Jui Tui Shrine paraded in a street procession and was photographed on Sept. 30 with two drills piercing his cheeks.

The nine-day festival starts on the first evening of the ninth lunar month, and dozens of people critically injure themselves every year.

Some devotees skewer their cheeks with sharp objects, while others slash themselves with swords.

The gruesome display of pain doesn’t keep the tourists away.

More than 100,000 people attend the festival every year, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand.