30,000 monks gather for alms

Picture of serenity: Monks waiting patiently for the alms-giving ceremony to begin. The event was organised by the regional government of Mandalay. — AFP

Mandalay: Thirty-thousand monks assembled in the early morning chill in Myanmar for a spectacular alms-giving event, partly organised by a controversial mega-temple under scrutiny across the border in Thailand.

With many barefoot, Buddhist monks from Myanmar and Thailand and senior religious officials from a dozen countries collected alms next to an airport in the central city of Mandalay, that is also a heartland of the faith.