This morning
is a sea morning as we aren’t scheduled to arrive in Yangon until about 3:00
pm. Yangon is not on the coast, but we are able to sail up the Ayeyarwady River
a bit. Apparently there is a giant sandbar in this river, so we have to wait
until high tide.
Although we
were able to sail part way up the river Yangon is still about an hour’s drive
away from the port.
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| astrological symbols on Buddha's feet |
The drive from
the port to Yangon reminded me very much of India on a smaller scale…tons of
people and traffic, no one obeying traffic rules, jam-packed busses and
open-sided tricks. Differences were – no cows, mostly ‘western’ clothing other
than most men wearing ‘longyi’ (a long wrap-type skirt that I’d be happy to
adopt as my everyday wear) instead of pants. I’ve noticed men in Myanmar are
able to wrap these so tightly (of efficiently) that they can tuck their phones
in the waistband (although there really isn’t a waist band) without them
falling out.
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| more Buddhas |
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| reclining Budda at the Chaukhtatgyi Pagoda |
Many people
also wear ‘thanaka’ on their faces (which is different from India.) This is a
whitish paste made from ground up tree bark that apparently acts as a sunscreen
– it is also used as a cosmetic.
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| another reclining Buddha |
Our first stop in Yangon is the 2,500-year-old
Shwedagon Pagoda. It is 326 feet tall and is adorned with more than 6,500 diamonds,
rubies and other precious stones. As will all pagodas and temples in Myanmar
visitors have to remove their shoes and socks. We are well aware of this and
pretty much always wear sandals in this kind of heat. Others we are with are
not as aware – although everyone should know as all of the tour info the cruise
ship gave us describes bare feet again and again. A few people on the tour with
us aren’t thrilled and it really slows down the process of getting into and
visiting the pagoda. Of course as typical when visiting any religious sites shoulders
and knees
must be covered…no problem.
Next we visit a second pagona…the Chaukhtatgyi
Pagoda. This is more like a warehouse or huge garage kind of building with the
main attraction being a huge
Reclining Buddha. The Buddha's head
reaches a height of about 2.5 stories, He is positioned resting on his right
side with toes together - apparently in the classic dying position.
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| our guide describing pagoda offerings |
Once we arrive back (around 8:300 at the boat we try for a quick dinner in
a ‘only for tonight because we are all back late’ buffet – it is a GONG SHOW,
so we quickly head to the room to change and go to the ship’s main dining room
After dinner we head back to the room for some packing and to bed early. We
have to meet tomorrow at 4:00 AM for our overnight excursion to Bagan…while I’m
looking forward to visiting Bagan, 4:00 is a bit outrageous!!
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