Buddha Day

The first full moon after the Lunar New Year 14 days later is the day where devout Buddhists and followers (and me) assemble in the temples to honour their teachers, an annual event heralded by louder and longer prayer drums at 4am and continuing throughout the day with prayers and parades.

So tonight under the bright shining light of the milky white moon and under the shadow of the illuminated hilltop temple I was truly privileged to be allowed to join in the worship. Offered flowers and instructions by locals-this is the time to be happy and kind to strangers, though to me everyone is here anyway-I sat cross legged among the novice monks whilst the senior monk recited verses and chanted. Then we rose as one, holding flaming candles aloft, and followed the singing orange clad choirs around the temple walls, leaving offerings for Buddha along the way.

Tonight was what I came for, the moment that will stay with me for ever, the memory which overbalances the hardships, the stress, the fatigue. I shall never forget this evening.

I had no camera, nor did I want one, this was the time to watch, to sense, to savour and to remember.

There are pictures for today though, from the earlier part of the day-very early in fact as I started at dawn! I had booked to visit the Pak Si caves, centuries old caves now full of hundreds of Buddha statues left by worshippers over the years, and which can only be reached by river.

I had not known it was Buddha day when I booked, but this was no bad thing, as the drums which normally only last for about 10 minutes at 4am today were still continuing at 6am so I was awake anyway! Collected by tuk tuk in the chilly mountain dawn I clambered down into the ‘boat’ for the two hour trip.

‘Boat’ is not really accurate, although we did stay afloat. Three sections of previous crafts had been bolted together, each held two ancient bus seats nailed to the floor, with 6 of us on board we were inches from the rushing water. As you can see from the pictures, both boat and driver’s cockpit were very primitive…look carefully and you may spot the animal skulls hanging from the roof, and the glued on scooter mirror-not that he ever used it anyway.

The Landing Stage

Captain's cabin

The river is spectacularly low. The photos show how high the houses are in the wet season, now separated from the river by endless steps. During the dry season the villagers use the banks for temporary market gardens, living alongside their produce. Fishing farms appear on the sand banks, make shift communities live in the middle of the current on the protruding rocks.

Temporary Hut at the waters edge

Steps up the bank - its the Dry Season

This is not a journey for the faint hearted or anyone suffering motion sickness! The cave itself is also up yet more stairs carved into the rock face but worth the climb. Surprisingly moving to see hundreds of Buddha sculptures of diverse media from the size of my finger upwards, lined up in every crevice and pushed into every crack. Altars have appeared at ground level in the lower cave, as you can from the photo of me (in my newly purchased mossie protection trousers!) sitting exhausted on one!

Where's Buddha?

The boat ride back was exhilarating if exhausting! Luckily my habit of partaking in the customary siesta came in useful today as it gave me the stamina to engage with the evening parade, for which I am incredibly thankful.

And yes, Valentines Day is celebrated here too, so along with blossom offerings are red roses for love, a lucky coincidence which many young worshippers in the temple told me will make it a truly special year!