We had passed this icon of Yangon as we flew into the old capital of Burma. The gold glinted in the setting sun and It looked quite magical. Nothing could prepare one for the visit though!
Take the Royal Palace in Bangkok, double it, then take away the scanners, rogues, thieves and tourists and you are new then close to the Shwedgon Pagoda. It is absolutely awesome. Visible right across Rangoon it is the one temple you MUST visit if you are in Asia.
I spent the whole afternoon there, wandering, sitting, chatting to the many monks, I even had a small snooze In one of the many small pagodas around the massive Stupa. The Burmese revere it, but Rudyard Kipling is perhaps responsible for the most evocative of descriptions.
' A beautiful winking wonder that blazed in the sun, of a shape that was neither Muslim dome nor Hindu temple spire..... The golden temple said, 'This is Burma, and it is quite unlike any land that one knows about'
For just $5, nice crisp, unfolded one if you please, I had two returned' another one please' you get a sticker and you are free to wander. The entrance is via a huge covered staircase, splendid and thriving with shops selling trinkets and offerings to Buddha. You need to remove your shoes as you enter the bottom of the staircase, this is the custom in most of the Pagoda's. Beware, if you are visiting in the heat you will likely amuse the locals by doing an impression of Dudley Moore
in '10' as the tiled floors throughout the complex are very very hot!!!
I saw just one westerner the whole afternoon. Without a doubt this is a 'must see' destination if you are in Yangon . I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of the afternoon...pictures to follow..
Yesterday I had inquired about a trip to Bagan' the plain of 4000 temples, if I am not temples out by now' I am soon going to be. As I was leaving for my morning walk the hostel manager gave me the options. Given my limited time I have elected to fly and stay in Bagan for two nights. He gave me a rough idea of the costs. I left him with $200 to sort it out.
Before the visit to Shwedagon Pagoda I had done a bit of walking around the Market areas. Once agin it was steaming hot, you really struggle to sightsee if you don't have regular 'fluid stops' in an effort to check on mail and facebook I stopped at the favourite 'Tokyo Donut' on my way there I passed a huge number of police vans and riot police parked outside a rather splendid building. To be fair, most of the police were asleep in the back of the vans but the ominous riot shields stuck on the outside of the vans suggested that there was a strong possibility of something kicking off. I'm not sure if the Internet was not working of I was being targeted, but every time I got a signal it dropped. Looking around, none of the locals appears to be having the same issue....
In the end I gave in, finished my refreshing drink and headed in search for an Internet cafe where I could at least people know I was alive. The fact that there is no cellphone coverage at all for foreigners is quite foreign!
I did find one, eventually and sent a few mails. 600kyat of 90 mins. That's about 60p
There are a couple of interesting things about Yangon. There are hundreds of Monks. Indeed, they have been the centre of a number of rebellions in recent years. Spitting is a national pastime, not ordinary spitting, gobbing after chewing on beetle nuts . This gives a huge red, very unattractive gob!!!
Letter boxes. In the crumbling tenement buildings, I guess to save posties legs they consist of bulldog clips on the end of pieces of string, attached to a bell. Your post is simply clipped on and pulled....
I was sorted for Bagan, leave at 6:00 in the morning. Flight with Air KBZ. Their motto is 'Flying beyond Expectations' I'm really not sure what that exactly means!!!!
In the afternoon I had a wander down town to the Shu Pagdoda. By ths time I was templed out, wandered back, had an early dinner and a couple of beers and an early night.
Yangon is sticky, busy and steamy. I will be pleased to get out into the countryside.
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