May 5, 2012 (cont’d)
After arriving in Pindaya, and having lunch and a brief rest (while it poured down rain), we headed up to the caves. There is also a legend about the cave, recreated here at the mouth of the cave, which is that three young women would go to the lake to bathe. One time, it got dark, and they were unable to go home, so they found this cave where they could spend the night. They proceeded to talk and gossip all night, and this irritated a large spider who was trying to sleep. So to get back at them the spider blocked their exit from the cave. They yelled for help and a prince heard them yelling. He asked what they would give him in return for saving them and they offered that he could marry one of them. So he shot and killed the spider and yelled Pindaya (I got the spider), and then married the youngest of the young maidens. (here’s hoping I didn’t botch that story too bad).
Then we entered the cave with almost 9,000 Buddha images…
They were everywhere you looked..
…of all shapes and sizes..
This was a teak pillar with hundreds of Buddhas carved into all sides…
Am bummed my photos didn’t turn out better…
From the exit of the cave, you could see rows and rows of stupas along the hillside, with covered walkways where you could walk and walk among them. Too bad we didn’t have time to do more exploring.
After watching some parasols being made by hand (which was appropriate for this rainy,drizzly afternoon), we called it a day. Tomorrow I go to Inle Lake, which I’m really looking forward to seeing!
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Location:Pindaya, Myanmar
