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Published: February 9th 2018
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From Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, a short 3 hour flight to Yangon. We had a reservation at the Pickled Tea Hostel, which was highly recommended by a friend who stayed there last year. A new facility, clean, bright & friendly, we were able to secure a room for two. After a short night, we set off to see the sights. Our first intention was to familiarize ourselves with our neighborhood. It reminded me of the culture in the villages & mountain regions of China, with tables & stalls up & down the streets selling everything from fresh tuna, chickens, beef, fruit, vegetables & colorful flowers. Always Asian music playing from somewhere & happy people out & about buying for the day. The culture was very familiar to me & I felt safe & pleased with my surroundings. This is the culture that we were seeking. You see, tourism & economic advances throughout Asia, are slowly destroying old cultures. Also, TV has had a big influence on Asian countries, as they see how Westerners live & want to be like us.........Since I return to Bali each year, I observe a noticeable difference; less rice fields, more mansions built in the rice fields, more
restaurants, more high end shops & more cars, which means traffic jams & pollution. The Chinese have found Ubud & bus loads are dispersed & they crowd the streets with their umbrellas shielding them from the sun! Myanmar (Burma) is fairly new to tourism, 2010, & the culture is raw, real & old. Buddhist monks wander the streets, looking peaceful & serene as they go about their business. Perhaps they have attained a state of mind I may never know about. After walking, observing, buying & looking, we set off for the People's Park which led us to the main attraction, the awe inspiring Buddhist monument, Shwedagon Pagoda, a golden pinnacle in which everything else revolves. This Pagoda is visible from many parts of the city.
Shwedagon Pagoda is 326' high & contains the relics of four Buddhas who had attained Enlightenment. Built more than 2,600 years ago, making it the oldest stupa in the world. From 588 BC to 14th century, it was maintained by 32 kings of the Okkalapa dynasty. In 1453 AD, it was raised a height of 302' & in 1774, was raised up again to 326' (99.36 meters). It encompasses 14 acres. The main
SHWEDAGON PAGODA
2,600 year old Pagoda Pagoda has 64 smaller pagodas around it, Gold was beaten into gold leaf, which covers the entire site & reflects the sun brillantly. Around the base, 12 planetary posts conform to the days of the week & locals pray at the station that represents the day they were born.
A bit of Yangon history! In the 1920's, Rangoon was a thriving port & stopover for steamships. In 1937, Amelia Earhart stopped during the second of her attempts to fly around the world. The city was also the spawning ground for Burmese Independence, which was given to them in 1948 & was the nation's capital. In 1989, the name was changed to Yangon & so it remains today. In 2008 a cyclone hit the southern end of the country & Yangoon was declared a disaster. The city was rapidly rebuilt & modernized a bit. Many of the old homes & buildings were built by the British, they are stately & handsome. We ate at the 'House of Memories', an old colonial mansion which was over 100 years old. Was the headquarters of the Burma Independence Army during WWII & former office of General Aung San, who was responsible for bringing
about Burma's independence from British rule in 1958. We saw his office with his old typewriter & many photos of his military career. The atmosphere was lovely, the meal delicious & we felt like we were stepping back in time
We read about the railroad which circles the city & so we set out to experience it. The taxi dropped us off by a dirt path & told us it was 'over there'. We followed the locals through the train yard, over many tracks, constantly looking out for oncoming trains & eventually we located the staton house! The ticket was purchased for all of fifteen cents & off we went on another adventure. The locals were colorful & many baskets of fruits & vegetables came through the railcar for sale. The people were friendly & helpful. After an hour or so, we came into a station & a woman who we had never seen before, knocked on our window & motioned for us to get off the train. Once off, we tried to find out where we were & how to return to our original station. We were eventually told we had to change trains to get back to
where we came from. All in all, it took an hour to return to where we started; had we stayed on the train, we would have completed the circle in 3 hours. The train gave us an opportunity to travel with the locals, see the culture & how many lived along the tracks. Slowly, we're able to get a good feel for this city & country.
After 3 nights, we decided to move on & so we flew in a prop plane to Bagan, home of many temples & pagodas, which will be the next installment!
(More photos will be seen by scrolling down)
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Patricia Haggerty
non-member comment
Miramar
Hi Marilyn, I really enjoyed this blog as Jim and I visited Miramar on a tour trip through OAT. It was one of my favorite trips. We had the best tour guide that we had ever had on any other trip (Min - Min) I loved the pagoda, the other sites and the people. I hope to go back someday and see MinMin as he just got married last year. When I see you later this summer I will show you my pictures from Miramar. I located one of their sand pictures of a little girl with white tree "stuff" on their cheeks! After spotting it when I first arrived I thought to early to buy and then I could not find the same one again. MinMin found it after we left and mailed it to me. The picture is very special. I'll take a picture of it and text to you. Stay safe and healthy. I wish I was there. Love, Pat