roombythelake's photostream

See the previous in the set for part 1.

After encouragement from companions, I decided to keep recording until the battery ran out, and to capture the sight as well. flickr limits video to 90 seconds, so see the next in the set for part 2.

I began to film the second, longer part of monk's speech, not because I could follow it but because I could sense it was significant and because of the melodious hypnotic call-and-response interplay between him and the crowd. But I thought filming might be rude, so I initially recorded in my pocket, in order to catch the audio only. This is why the video begins in darkness.

Then the largest insect I've ever seen landed right in front of me. So I had to take out the camera to catch a look. I stopped the recording right afterward because my batteries were extremely low.

Hundreds gather before dawn to make offerings to the pagoda. And yes, that's the same monk again the next morning.

A collection of strangers make magic happen.