Day 7 of Ampang Nine Emperor Gods Festival

One word to describe the situation at Ampang Nine Emperor Gods' temple grounds - PEOPLE! The crowd was unbelievable as night falls, probably people taking advantage of the weekend night. The temple was jam-packed with people and we ended up on the opera house.

The star and the light bulb. Both have seen some years in them, one yellowed and dim, the other wrinkled and worn out.

Waiting for my turn - an opera actor (or is it an actress) waiting for the cue to come on stage.

What's up there?? - a little girl distracted by a phone photographer whilst watching the Amoy opera at Ampang Nine Emperor Gods Festival.

There were loads of photographers there as well as people watching the opera, both young and old. Even though I could only grasp a bit of what is going on, and wasn't impressed with the show nor the story-line, the audience looked enraptured by the performers.

A Family Affair - Day 6 of Ampang Nine Emperor Gods Festival

Despite the dark clouds that loomed over KL, and the heavy downpour that ensued in the evening, the festivities at Ampang Nine Emperor Gods Festival still burns high. There were many prayer sessions, and there's the passing of offerings round and round during the evening as it was a Feeding the Heavenly Generals Day. If you want to see photos of Feeding of the Heavenly Generals during the day at Ampang, do visit Sam's blog here.

Dark rain clouds rolling into Ampang on the 6th day of the Nine Emperor Gods Festival.

The prayers saw the gathering of family members, spanning four generations coming together to pray for their family's success and well-being. It was beautiful sight, as the old and young stand for 10 or so minutes together, all with the same goal instead of checking their iPhone or playing games on their pads.

A family portrait - praying together. 

Round and round the offerings go around the temple. This is a must see event, for the coordination is unbelievable.

Right, we have the ugly sisters. Now where is Cinderella?? - the opera actors/actresses come up to participate in the ceremony.

The general crowd started coming in later at night, probably due to the traffic at KL that was a crawl, and due to work requirements. Below is a very short time-lapse clip of the round and round ceremony where offerings were passed around the altars.

Remember that Saturday evening the temple will have a Bridge Crossing Ceremony, so do come and have a look if you are interested.

Ampang Nine Emperor Gods Festival Day 1 - 3

Day 1

The number of visitors started slow, with the car park rather empty at 5.40pm. However, as night falls, the number slowly builds up, with visitors coming and going till the early hours of the second day (Oct 6). We went for a look around and due to the lower number of visitors, it was a pleasant walk around the stalls.

The parking lot at around 5.40pm. There were still many vacant lots.

Burning money, joss money that is. This is the bottom part of the joss paper burner.

Help, help, my hair is on fire - dragon joss-sticks slowly being consumed by fire. The smoke creates a smoky curtain around the area.

There were not that many people on the first day, so browsing the stalls was more comfortable.

Day 2

Day 2 sees the invitation of the Finance Minister a.k.a. Tian Fu Yuan Shuai. Surprisingly, the energy of today was really upbeat and festive, and the number of lion dance troupes and even the crowd turnout was amazing. As busy as the performers and temple staff were that day, photographers too were busy clicking away.

Day 3

With the only major event being the Feeding of the Heavenly Army, the midday of Day 3 sees more of devotees wishing to participate in the ceremony. Past 7pm, the crowds started to come in in to enjoy the festive mood of the place.