THE INITIARY
In the early morning, the water fight will break the silence with loud cheers and horns across all the streets. You can imagine hundreds of people, including Burmese and foreigners, are parading eagerly for the forth-coming Water Festival. Among are two youngsters standing on a wooden pole, trying to keep balance and hammering a bell. Following them are monks asking for temple offerings from people at the both sides of the streets.
At exactly 9.00 AM, the festival will officially kick off! Merry-makers keep throwing water on each other until a lunch break at 12.00 PM. Then, you should take time to dry or change clothes before getting soaking wet again from 15:00 PM to 18:00 PM.
IN BURMA, DO AS BURMESE DO!
Thingyan Water Festival actually starts with a ceremony called Burmese Zodiac. At the temple (one of the best places to see in Myanmar), you have to pour water on the statue of the animal representing your birth year, at the foot of a Buddha statue: nine small cups of water on the Buddha statue, then five small cups of water on the fhat statue right below the Buddha. This ceremony plays the most important role in Thingyan Festival. It is believed to protect people away from evils and offer us wealth, health and luck in the next year, which makes this become a true Myanmar luxury holiday.
9:00 AM: HERE COMES THE FIGHT!
As soon as the clock strikes nine, the whole tranquil streets totally turn into a party at the size of a town. Every corner of the street is cramped with small stages, water pools, and hosepipes. People, especially the young, throw water on anyone who passes by. There is no exception at all! You can feel this unbelievable, but a riot is really being run.
12:00 PM – 15:00 PM: TIME FOR LUNCH BREAK
At the mid-day, people will put down all of buckets, hoses,.. On their hands to get some rest. It is also time to change clothes. However, do not expect to stay dry even for some minutes. You can get wet again on walking across a corner. All you can do is to run as fast as possible and wish no child will come towards with a bucket of water. The faster, the driver. (It is advisable for you to bring 2-3 sets of clothes per day.)
15:00 PM– 18:00 PM: GOLD TIME FOR WATER PARTY
At any city in Myanmar, you can find a huge stage set up on the main road which all transport means will pass by. It is equipped with high powered water pipes, ready to soak anyone. The ideal position makes this kind of stage become the center of water fights. It welcomes all people, even drunken ones, comes and make huge crowds for soaking.
After 18:00 PM: APPEALING CONCERTS AT NIGHT
Now the main stage will become a center of live music which is televised and broadcast. You will listen to local bands singing or celebrities speaking. This is a chance to stay quite dry despite no guarantee. However, there is no denying in that this makes your Myanmar luxury holiday unforgettable.
THE END OF THINGYAN
On the third day – the last day – of Thingyan, people will welcome the evening of the lunar New Year by fighting from early morning till late night. However, there is no surprise that fewer people join the fight and they look tired after following what to do in Myanmar so hard. Those days of the festival have already taken a lot of energy from merry-makers. Luckily, your holiday ends with a countdown and fireworks lighting up the skies, celebrating a happy new year.
BONUS: STAY HUNGRY DURING THINGYAN
During three or four days of the Water Festivals, you will find it difficult to buy necessities including food. Don’t worry, generous local people will continuously offer you free food. After the festival, you can probably not forget – the Thingyan special treat. It is a kind of sweet made of sticky rice balls, flavored with coconut and filled with jagger palm sugar. At temples, these sweets are cooked quickly in boiling water by helpers.
We believe that Water Festival will make your definition of a Myanmar luxury holiday go beyond any limits of the wonderful. Book the tickets and get ready to enjoy Myanmar holidays now!
