World's most bizarre annual events

Thu, 03/15/2012 - 01:00 — Anonymous by Anthea GerrieMardi Gras. Thailand's
Full Moon Parties. Rio's Carnival. It's all too easy for a traveler to have a
stash of pictures, and memories, exactly the same as a million other
travelers. So if you want an alternative story to tell, try these events for
size. 1. International Ice Festival, Israel The ugliest papier-mâché ever
created.Nyepi, the Balinese Lunar New Year, is a day of absolute silence,
contemplation and meditation preceded by 24 hours of glorious mayhem. The Day
of the Dead Moon sees locals converge on villages accompanied by huge
papier-mâché gargoyles known as the ogoh-ogoh. Music, firecrackers and
partying continue throughout the night, ending just before sunrise with the
symbolic torching of the ogoh-ogohs.  On March 22, the Como Shambhala Estate
near Ubud will stage is own noise parade, using Balinese cymbals and other
instruments to scare out evil spirits -- but as their own ogoh-oghos are
organic, they will be left to degrade in the ground instead of being
torched.read more