In this photo taken on May 25, 2017, Buddhist monk novices prepare to wash their alms vases at the monastery after they walked through the streets of Bagan collecting alms from devotees. Buddhist tradition in Myanmar requires everyone to spend some time in a monastery or nunnery before the age of 18 in what is viewed as an important coming of age ritual. Others, however, are there for the long-term, destined for a monastic life. / AFP PHOTO / Ye Aung THU