April 23rd Buddha Walk

Pelling Buddha walk

Mother and Child

One of the great attractions of Pelling is the 50 ft high Buddha Statue. It sits on top of the hill 2 km outside of town. This is purely a tourist attraction so we joined the throngs, paid our money and walked up the 178 steps. The statue and park are all new so the painting is all fresh and the landscaping is still going on. We walked the 3 km back to our hotel.

In the afternoon I walked through the lanes behind the main road. Again the first person I met, a ten year old girl, asked me where I was going. I answered and then I asked if I could take her picture. She ran into her house and then came out and invited me in. I accepted and entered. There were 3 women and 2 babies and a puppy inside. The dog bit me, but the toddler played nicely with me. I accepted a cup of tea and we made small talk – very small since only the 10 year old spoke English. I found out that they owned 2 cows. I owned none. After tea they let me photograph and then I left.