Annually in Melaka we have the Wesak Day procession. This is where the many Buddhist societies (even those from the schools) parade through the streets of Melaka with their colorful and decorated floats. The path is more or less pre-defined:-
1. Start off at Seck Kia Eenh Temple at Gajah Berang.
2. Walk towards Kampung Lapan (old Great wall).
3. Go towards Fajar shopping complex.
4. Turn right, go ahead and turn left after the traffic lights.
5. Go over the new Bailey bridge (next to the old one which has been disassembled).
6. Turn right at Lim Tian Puan restaurant, march straight all the way past Renaissance hotel, Jalan Bendahara, Public Bank.
7. Turn right at the Stadhuys, over the bridge and turn left and right in to Heeren street (parallel and next to the famous Jonker street).
8. Go all the way straight past Jalan Ong Kim Wee and turn right into Gajah Berang, thus arriving once again at Seck Kia Eenh Temple.
This parade actually took place on Friday night, the eve of Wesak Day. This year, my wife and I waited at the bus stop in front of Orchid Hotel (opposite Renaissance Hotel) to watch the procession. Actually, the plan was to have a drink at the Pizza Hut at the traffic light intersection. This was when we found out the pizza joint had already closed down for some time already! Hmm, haven't been in this part of town in ages....
Well, initially, the streets were devoid of people and filled with cars as usual. But as time went by, more and more people turned up to watch. Usually, the procession will start their journey at 5.30pm or so. This year, it was exceptionally slow, as we only saw the head of the parade at around 8.00pm. It was not clear why, but their march was not smooth. There were many frequent stops and the pace was quite slow. Hmm, could be the traffic that was not blocked entirely along the path meant that progress was slow for safety's sake.
Anyway, there were at least 15~20 groups with dozens of followers (in some cases, perhaps a hundred or two). Each of them had nicely decorated float that were brightly lit by lights. Some were made quite creatively too. There were small floats that could be carried on shoulder, medium size floats that were pushed along by devotees, and huge ones that either were built on top of lorries or appeared to be powered by some motor and steering mechanism (though I doubt it was street-legal). There were also devotees going up to the crowd collecting donations, carrying incense burners and distributing sweets and gifts.
Standing there at the road side, we met some of my working colleagues who had joined in the parade as part of their own buddhist societies. Somehow, they managed to spot us first before we spotted them among the huge crowd - I wonder how...?
Compared to what I have seen in previous years, there is still a large crowd turning up (at least as large as before, if not even larger). By the time we headed for home, it was already pass 9.30pm. Next year, perhaps we will try to join the procession to get more involved in the experience.
The next morning, we proceeded to the Bukit Beruang Meditation Center (official name eludes me) for some chanting, then we popped by the Tzu Chi Center at Batu Berendam for a quick recon (the actual function will be held the next morning - everyone was busy in preparation). Finally, we went to the Seck Kia Eenh Temple itself. We parked at the Gajah Berang School and walked over to the temple. It was packed with throngs of people - more than I could remember from previous years.
On our way home, we bumped into Mok CY (our friend and wife of Lee KY, our good friend also). She too came with her family and kids to visit the temple.
For more photos, please check out my Gallery HERE.
Well, thus was the celebration of this event from my humble perspective. Like I mentioned earlier, next year will try something different and get more involved. Till 2010 then!
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