MYANMAR | Thursday, 20 November 2014 | Views [323] | View Larger Image
The sunrises over Kalaw, it's tin houses, dirt paths and aged golden Pagoda glimmering in the glow. The villages of the Shan hills awake with the rising light and the echo of the rooster. Today is a big day, the start of the summer months, and the beginning of the Novice Festival. Parents spear the boar for roast, begin to dry tea leaves, and dish up plates of soft sugary sweets. For them it's a day of celebration, but it's the children who fear this day the most. It marks the end of their childhood in some ways. For the summer, they are forced into the monastery, to learn the teachings and discipline of Burmese Buddhism.
