Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
move during the New Year celebrations, securing transport, booking hotels
and even finding a restaurant open for a meal can be tricky.
Buddha's Birthday
The full-moon day of Kason (April or May) is celebrated as Buddha's birthday, the day
of his enlightenment and the day he entered
nibbana
(nirvana). Watering ceremonies are
conducted at banyan trees within temple and monastery grounds.
Water Festival (Thingyan)
Lasting from three days to a week, depending on whether the holiday falls on a weekend,
this celebration welcomes in Myanmar's New Year.
Dawei Thingyan
Male residents of the seaside town of Dawei (Tavoy) don huge, 13ft-bamboo-frame effi-
gies and dance in the streets to the beat of the
kalakodaun
, an Indian drum.
June
Pack your raincoat and a sturdy umbrella as this month Myanmar is
doused by monsoon rains. Roads can be flooded and flights to coastal
destinations are sharply reduced.
Start of the Buddhist Rains Retreat
The full moon of Waso is the beginning of the three-month Buddhist Rains Retreat (aka
'Buddhist Lent'), when young men enter monasteries and no marriages take place. Prior
to the full-moon day, a robe-offering ceremony to monks is performed.
August
The monsoon is still in full swing so be prepared for damp days and trans-
port hitches.