Mandalay (Myanmar/Burma): Marble Street
Mandalay (Myanmar/Burma) is known, among other things, for it's marble statue craft. It's "Marble Street" is lined with shops were artisans cut marble blocks and shape them into Buddha statues of all sizes and postures. A walk along the street is a fascinating display of hundreds of statues in various stages of of processing, from blocks of marble with rough cuts to final, polished, statues. It's amazing to see the artisans at work, but at the same time is heart wrenching to see them producing clouds of fine marble dust without any protection.
Inle Lake (Myanmar/Burma) Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda
Inle Lake (Myanmar/Burma). We went to Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda for the alms giving rice festival. Once a year, after the rice harvest, the local people flock to this pagoda wearing their "Sunday Best" to give thanks for the harvest and to offer alms to the hundreds of monks who come to this event from monasteries/temples from around the lake region.
The villagers build a temporary covered walkway on the plaza around the pagoda and they station themselves there with bags of rice. The monks go around and around the walkway receiving alms. When their bowl is full, they empty them into bags that are labeled with the monastery name to be taken home later, for food for the raining season, when going out for alms is difficult. While they wait for their turn on the walkway, the monks congregate inside the pagoda before going out in procession, preceded by a person holding a placard with the monastery name, so the villagers can offer more to the monks/nuns of their favorite monastery.
It's a joyous occasion, with kids running around, food vendors, and families picnicking on the plaza. The various ethnic groups come dressed in their traditional clothes. And a major traffic jam of long boats, everybody comes by boat.
This novice robes are straightened out before he goes out in the procession.
