MYANMAR: Shwedagon and other payas

The Shwedagon Paya is the most sacred Buddhist site in Yangon and it was gorgeous. Our guide told us that all Myanmar buddhists hope to visit at least once in their lifetime. 

It was very quiet as we walked around except for the sound of tinkling gold bells and your bare feet slapping the rain soaked floor. The whole place smelled like incense and ginger lilies. 

We hired our guide at the entrance clad in longyi and white shirt. He is a professor of Archaeology at the university and does tours on the weekend for extra income. 

He told us stories of the British, pointed out thousands of diamonds on the stupa, taught us about the Buddha and spoke with sadness about the political history of his country. 

He taught us about the 8 shrines surrounding the stupa. One for each day. You pray at the one when you were born. You can place your flower offerings, wash the Buddha with holy water, light your candle and pray. 

The stupas started shining as the sun set.

This is me at my Thursday shrine. 

Dr. Soe reminded us that for Myanmar people, Buddha was a real person so they don't pray to the Buddha. You wish on Buddha, but the work is your own. On his hands and knees he bowed to the Buddha 5 times to show respect for his parents, his teachers, Buddha, Buddha's teachings and himself. 5 points touching the ground - hands, feet and forehead.  

Alms beads. 

Kristie's husband, Patrick, lived in Yangon when he was a boy. He remembered the entry stairs to the pagoda the best. How they smelled, how they looked and how it made him feel. In the 80s it was much different than today. Today, the stairs were clean and beautiful and had shops selling offerings and souvenirs all along the way. 

The Shwedagon at night from our hotel. 

We also visited the Chaukhtatgyi Buddha and the Nga Htat Gy pagoda. I didn't have any pictures of at Nga Htat Gy, poor lighting and a foggy lens are not my friends. At Nga Htat Gy was a huge sitting Buddha and a peaceful atmosphere with lots of local Burmese people despite the weather. 

At Chaukhtatgyi we listened to the stories gilded into the bottom of his feet and how to be a good Buddhist while the rain pounded loudly on the tin roof. 

MYANMAR: vegetable market

We stopped at the Thiri Mingalar vegetable market to have a look around. The place was massive! 

Maybe 6 of these huge hangers where farmers bring their produce to sell. It was raining of course and as we walked around water poured through the gaps in the tarps.  

It was a busy busy place where people were surprised to see us. Mingalabar! 

The men carrying heavy loads would warn you from behind. Heavy heavy! 

So different from a farmer's market in the states. 

At one point I stopped to take a photo of the dried fish, and when I looked up I couldn't see my friends. I wandered around for a bit but didn't take the right turns. Until a few smiling people pointed me in the right direction and after another turn a few more pointed me further on. Everyone obviously knew where my friends had gone and laughingly helped me get there.



One of my helpers. You can see from his teeth that he chews betelnut like everyone else.

Little betelnut stands were everywhere in the market and in the city. They chop up areca nuts and spread lyme paste on it and then fold it up in a betel vine leaf. Its an addictive stimulus. 

These women with thanaka on their faces invited us to come eat with them too.

lanterns and mooncakes

The Mid-Autumn festival is the chinese harvest festival. Here in Singapore they celebrate with lantern walks and mooncakes. One of our favorites.

The boys and I did mooncake testing at our mall. Lotus paste and egg yolk are the traditional flavors. They also have flavors like durian and black sesame or awesome ones like oreo, mango, passionfruit and guava.

This year I genuinely liked the taste of the lotus mooncakes. They've grown on me. I've always loved how gorgeous they are, the designs on the top are amazing. But this year they actually tasted good too.

We also took a mooncake making class. The boys got to make the snowskin kind that doesn't require any baking. 

When the teacher announced the filling would be lotus paste, Noah said "yes! my favorite!" You can tell this kid has been raised in Asia. 

Another night we met up with friends for a local dinner at Glutton's Bay and the lantern walk at the Esplanade waterfront.