The short version: folks bring sticks (painted white) to the pagoda and toss them into a bonfire. Supposed to improve intelligence. Haven't noticed a difference, yet.
We walked to the pagoda and joined the throngs climbing its stairs
The ceremony celebrates the Tabodwe (Myanmar lunar month) moon - which cooperated by appearing.
When the throng reached the base of the stupa, we circled around it...
to reach a stairway...
down to the bonfire, where there was quite a scene.
Had to catch the faces of the stick tossers.
We were a pretty happy group...
but the fun was not over. We moved on to a temporary dinning area, where they were serving the sticky rice associated with the ceremony...
which I ate with my fingers, like the locals.
Maybe we all could have done without that.
Finally we moved on to an east-facing terrace to await the sunrise.
It was very nice...
and I took far too many pictures, of which this was my favorite (thanks to Mona for the idea).
Almost lost in the kerfuffle was the Pagoda's unique bamboo wicker Buddha...
and the elegance of the main spire with the beautiful lotus bud fixtures surrounding it.
On our way out, some venerated monks were being escorted to their monasteries with substantial gifts.
One of them (the first in the vid) touched my arm gently and said something, and I instinctively reacted by touching his arm, which is a no-no; but neither he, nor anyone else, seemed to mind.
This was all before breakfast.
I went back to the hotel where Dana had recovered from a migraine, we had breakfast, and then we caught a bus for an 8 hour ride to Yangon, followed by a 1 and 1/2 hour ride through the rush hour to the Agga Youth Hotel, where the wifi was down. But the smile stayed on my face (and inside) the whole day.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Great sunrise picture. And excellent rewards for getting up early.
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