Believe it or not, this huge stone trough was filled with donated rice every day to feed the 5000 monks of the Mahapali Refectory. There was a smaller trough nearby which was similarly filled with curry. The lay followers must have kept busy providing all that food! This photo shows our "guide," Raja Ashoka, walking with Nina. He was not an official guide and probably gave us some bad information but he knew enough about the ruins to give a reasonably good tour. We wanted to support the reconstruction, preservation and archaeological efforts but he avoided our requests to go to the ticket office where each visitor is supposed to pay $26 to enter the area. We walked with him for nearly eight hours and he got worn out earning his fee.