Adventures in Asia: Yangon, Myanmar

When we originally planned to come to Yangon for a couple of days, we had a little list of things to see.  However, once we learned it was Thingyan and that most things would be closed, we decided our trip to Myanmar would be about two things: 1) visiting the Shwedagon Pagoda,

and 2) experiencing Thingyan.  We've certainly been able to do both, more so than I would have imagined!

Just minutes after we got up this morning I saw nuns gathered outside our window holding metal bowls.

Minutes later they began singing, and soon after that they began filing along the street, collecting donations of rice, money, and other types of food from people lined up outside of their apartment buildings.

Today is New Years Day proper, yesterday being the final day of the water festival.  As I understand it, this means the focus shifts from partying to more seriousness, including visiting the elderly, setting captured fish and birds free (to symbolize a fresh start), and religious ceremony.

We ate our "Myanmar breakfast" downstairs on the patio of our hostel, but sadly the nuns singing had ended by then.  Breakfast included fried sweet dough with sugar on top; a spring roll in the style Westerners are used to; a banana; and sticky rice with coconut.

From breakfast we headed back to the Shwedagon Pagoda, this time by cab.  The cabbie took us for 1,500 kyat, about $1.80 Canadian.  This time, the pagoda was so packed, that the road leading up to it was jammed with taxis and other vehicles.  We ended up bailing on our cab a little ways down the hill and joined the masses walking up.

There is a pair of Burmese lions guarding each of the four main entrances (north, east, south, and west).  The entrances consist of covered staircases leading up to the hill upon which the pagoda complex sits.  Yesterday we had gone to the west entrance, but then walked around to the north and went up there.  Today we went back to the north entrance, which is the one closest to our hostel.  

Once into the entranceway everyone removes their shoes.  Yesterday we had checked our shoes in a basket, but today we had brought bags to put them in, as is the Burmese way.

In the dark last night I had not realized how beautiful the stairways themselves are.  They are decorated with paintings and carved woodwork, and are lined with little shops selling religious paraphernalia, souvenirs, toys, and fresh flowers.

Last night the staircase had been quite quiet, but now it was absolutely packed with people, almost all locals, or at least Burmese people (I saw five white tourists in total at the pagoda today).  

Once at the top, things thinned out a little, but the place was still teeming with people.

Although it was only 9:00, the sun was really bright and it was already really, really hot.  I was heartened to see the Burmese people also eagerly moving into the shade.  My shirt was entirely damp with sweat, so much so that after it dried you could see the salt stains from where sweat had been.

We circled the pagoda itself one and a half times (having circled it twice last night).  

While the pagoda and the various shrines are fascinating and amazing, today the more interesting part was actually the people.  Many of them were engaging in different types of rituals, others seemed more interested in staying aloof, and many seemed content to relax in the shade and eat meals with their families.

By 10:00 it was so hot and the sun so intense that I couldn't take it anymore and we descended, again via the north entrance.

I was hoping to buy a postcard, but despite the numerous booths both inside the entrance way and outside, I didn't find anyone selling postcards.

We did get more water, however, although we had been handed free bottles on the way into the pagoda complex (we were now into our second litre of the day and it was only late morning--and we had even cabbed instead of walked!).  We also got to see some ladies paying to take little birds from a cage and let them go.

We took a cab back to our hostel and rested there until lunch.  Because of Thingyan, almost everything's closed, so we were stuck eating lunch at a place even I was a bit uncomfortable with, and Andrea even more so.

We sat in those little red chairs at the table on the left.  I was mostly unsuccessful in communicating with the man serving us, but we ended up with plates of egg biryani and a roti type bread with sugar on it for dessert.  It all tasted just fine, and all together we paid less than $2 for the meal, but it was definitely a bit of a grungier, potentially Westerner stomach-unfriendly place.  It was nonetheless an extremely popular place with locals and certainly added to our experience of Myanmar.

After lunch we were returned to the hostel to stay cool for most of the rest of the afternoon, although we did go out once for a little walk around the neighborhood.

We found this Hindu shrine underneath a local tree:

And got a couple of cold beers to drink on our balcony:

Beer is relatively hard to find in my limited experience in Yangon.  Most convenience stores don't sell it, and I'm not quite clear what is special about the one that I've found that does, other than that it does have beer.

For dinner we found a bit of a more "upscale" place, and then after dinner, realizing we had plenty of kyat leftover (thanks to our exceptionally cheap lunch), we decided to treat ourselves to a couple of cab rides.  

We found a cabbie to take us to downtown Yangon, where the Sule Pagoda is (Yangon's second most significant Buddhist site after the Shwedagon Pagoda).  

There's a fee for foreigners to enter, and we did not have enough kyat for that, so instead we strolled the streets of downtown, passing many of the colonial era buildings before ending our walk at the famous Strand hotel.

We weren't dressed well, but being white we figured we could probably get away with wandering around, so we walked inside, and were quite astounded at how amazing it was.  It seemed like a different world from the neighborhood we were staying in.  We wandered back into a gallery area, which I guess doubles as a gift shop.

They will even make a bust for you!

Eventually I asked a man if they sold postcards, because I still hadn't found one and we leave Myanmar tomorrow.  He said they do, but that the gift shop was closed.  I thanked him anyway and we continued browsing the artwork.  A few minutes later he came back and handed me a postcard of the Strand itself.  "You can have this as a gift," he told me.  I asked if they had a stamp and he said no, but that if I gave him 500 kyat (the price of an international stamp), that he would have it mailed tomorrow.  I was very impressed with this excellent service, particularly since we weren't hotel guests, and I assume this would have been obvious to him.  

From the Strand we took a cab back to our hostel.  The cabbie took a route past the Shwedagon Pagoda, and traffic was at a standstill.  To escape, he literally turned and went the wrong direction along a street to reach a detour.  I was very impressed, and grateful, because I'm sure he saved us at least half an hour waiting in traffic.