A FULL MOON FESTIVAL DAY

IMAGES ADDED THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2012 UPON ARRIVAL BACK IN RANGOON

An early morning departure brought us out onto the lake before daylight today.  The low lying fog and the mountains to the east meant, however, we were able to enjoy a succession of "dawns" as the sun broke through the fog or peeked over the mountains again and again as we sped down the lake.

Our goal was to secure a good vantage point from which to observe the Phaung Daw Oo Festival procession, an annual journey that parades four sacred Buddhist images from temple to temple around the lake over a period of one lunar month.  Since today also is recognized as a special holiday, the conclusion of Buddhist "Lent" marked by the full moon overhead, this particular segment of the serial procession promised to be even more festive than is usually the case.

We ended up descending on a two story wooden house on stilts at a spot on the canal that commanded a particularly good view up and down the procession route.  All Johnny had to do was ask, and we were immediately invited to disembark and essentially take over the best vantage posts from which to observe the thirty or so long boats rowed by residents of different villages located around the lake as they symbolically pulled the larger barges containing the sacred images along to the next temple on the procession route.

That stop turned out to be essentially right around the corner, so we were able to push our way through the crowds to visit the images once they alighted at their most recent stopover temple.  Later in the afternoon we also visited the images' home temple where a fifth image awaited the return of its four companions.

In between we visited a silk weaver, a metal smith, and a lotus thread worker before stopping for lunch.  All day the boat traffic on the lake was particularly busy with families and visitors alike out to enjoy the day to the fullest.  In the spirit of the holiday, this evening resort employees lit candles at each level of the tiered pagoda across the street, a lovely sight, indeed, and yet another special memory to tuck away in our scrapbook of travel adventures.