You could hardly get bored during Thaipusam. There was just so much to see and soak in! And one of the highlight has always been the kavadi bearer. Plus I really love all the vibrant colour you can see during this festival!
You could almost mistaken that you were in India!
And to see so many people participating was really something very powerful to witness. Ah, the power of faith!
Soon the chariot was about to arrive. You would know it even before it reach. There will be signs! Like the cracking of coconuts on the road! Lots and lots of coconut! Sometimes you wonder if it will ever end. If you get frustrated waiting, feel free to go down to the road and help them!
I managed to capture some of the atmosphere of the coconut breaking in video :)
Chinese, Indian, tourist, locals, doesn't really matter! It's one of the most fun part of the festival! The other of course are the dances along the path. Most are done at night cause well, it's just so hot in the day time. Most heavier kavadi bearer also walk during the night time when it is a lot cooler. It's a long way to walk, and there are a lot of steps at the end of it before the reach their final destination.
More coconuts breaking!
Finally, the chariot arrived. The first was the gold chariot. It looked so grand glittering in the sun. It moves at super slow speed as worshipper make their offering and asking for blessing from it. The priest attend to them all. Some even hand up their babies and kid to be bless.
Close up look. So grand!
Next comes the silver chariot, which is actually the original chariot of the Penang Thaipusam. Some of the older people actually waited for this before making their grand offering. Again, non-stop cracking of coconuts on the road! Truly a magnificent sight! So too is watching the MBBP army cleaning to road after every round! Lol. It's almost like a sporting event!
Close up of the silver chariot.
I even got a video of it moving super fast to catch up to the gold chariot in front.
After watching the chariot, I was stuck in town as the buses to my home was cancelled due to road block. I was thinking maybe I have to walk home. I went to have lunch, and then proceed to walk as far as I could. I managed to walk till Burmah Road when I saw a bus approaching. I took it all the way to Gurney, and was stuck there again. I've been out since early morning, and my mobile battery was running low. I was wondering if I have to hike home from Gurney :( Bet before that, I try calling a Grab, all the while watching as my battery drain itself. If my phone goes dead, I'd have to walk home. And it was an hill hike too! Luckily, I managed to get a Grab at 12% battery life! So happy to be able to get home! I'd have love to join the night time festival near the botanical garden, but imagine how I would get home after that? Lol. I don't even know whether the bus would run at night! Maybe one day in future, perhaps not alone, perhaps with friends, I would one day join the festival at night again, just as I did long time ago as a kid :)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments