Myanmar Magic

Land of countless gilded gold pagodas, friendly faces, & power outtages. Their history is brutal, but the people here have been nothing but friendly, warm, and welcoming to us as we explore different areas of the country. Our very first night we met a friend from Couch Surfing and went out for dinner. Hsu introduced us to Myanmar food and taught us a bunch of useful words and phrases! We had a great evening over some delicious food and tea with her. Hsu was a great ambassador to this fantastic culture. Note serious photobomb in back corner.

For the first couple days we were introduced to the culture in Yangon, where we explored parks and temples, and roamed the bustling streets.

Treehouse in the park..

This famous 325ft tall stupa, Shwedagon Paya, is encrusted in thousands of precious gems and is said to be the original site where two of Buddhas eight hair relics were placed when merchants brought them back from India. Interestingly, we later learned that nearly every pagoda in Myanmar boasts a Buddha hair... 

Below: top right- Meditators inside by a giant bell (one person was meditating inside the bell, which seemed like a good, albeit risky, spot for meditation). Right center - first time barefoot on an escalator (no shoes allowed and its a long way up to the temple.)

The massive stupa was being re-gilded when we visited, but it was still an impressive sight. The scaffolding was really well done. The worker below is barely visible but the shot gives you a better idea of its scale..

Top left; Devotees pour water over the Buddha statue that marks their birth day. Right; a second, smaller gold pagoda in the same complex. Bottom left; the many people that gather on a weekday.

Inside this temple were many temples with intricate designs and decorations as seen below.

Myanmar actually has good beer, it costs 60-80 cents, and it's even on tap! Below Liz sits in a local Beer Station where we were the only foreigners and Liz was one of 2 women. *Noteable: People make a loud kissy sound to get the waiter's attention, which, if anyone did to a waitress or waiter in the US, would probably earn them a slap.

Fish drying on the street:

So many birds on this power line:

More temples around Yangon.

Ever seen an overweight turtle before? 

Copper Buddha below, hadn't seen one of those before.

This is the inside view of the pagoda above - even the inside was gilded in gold and there was the (obligatory) Buddha hair enshrined inside. People threw money through a slot towards the shrine like this little girl is in the top picture. 

 We didn't see many foreigners here so people have tendency of staring and either asking or trying to secretly take photos of us. Usually we offer to take a photo with them and then ask to take one ourselves. It works out well for both of us! Notice the face paint that everyone wears, called thenakka, made from a tree bark. These little girls grabbed hold of my arm and walked with me at the market afterwards. They were talking to me the whole time in their language and poking my arm like 'what's up with your skin?!'

Some British colonial architecture from around Yangon.

If you look closely you can see the construction workers up on this part of the pagoda.

Next we headed south, so there will be a post on this shortly.

Lots of love! Elm&Mrp