A new project in Myanmar meant that Justin got to spend a week in the main city, Yangon. Although it is not the capital of Myanmar, it is the biggest city with a population of about 6 million. After a full week of work, there was one day left to see some of the sights before heading back home.
I had heard all about Schwedagon Pagoda, and been told that no trip to Yangon is complete without seeing this Buddhist site which is considered the most sacred and impressive in Myanmar.
The Schwedagon Pagoda is 99m high and plated with gold. The top of the structure is set with 5448 diamonds, 2317 rubies, sapphires and other gems, and 1065 golden bells. And located at the very top is a single 76-carat diamond!
The complex is in fact not made up of just the one pagoda (called a stupa), but of multiple buildings and temples.
At the time of my visit it was also the start of the Waso Festival (beginning of Buddhist Lent). This meant that the complex was absolutely crowded and it felt as if all 6 million residents of Yangon had descended on Schwedagon Pagoda. At one stage I was standing in the middle of a crowd that was going nowhere. Half the crowd was trying to enter the complex and the other half were trying to leave. But nobody was budging and there was no way through the crowd. Because the locals are relatively short I was about a head taller than anybody else around me. This also meant that I stuck out like a sore thumb and very soon there was a policeman standing off to the side of the crowd pointing at me and telling me that I was the problem. Not sure how he got to that conclusion, but we all eventually managed to get to where we were going.
The 99m tall Golden Pagoda
One of the entrances to the complex. There are four main entrances, one each on the north, south, east and west sides. On entering the complex you have to remove your shoes, so take a bag to carry them in.
Traffic is chaotic! People honk for just about everything, and there seems to be a severe shortage of traffic lights at intersections. Most intersections seem to just be the merging of roads without any real traffic rules and it often feels like drivers only make progress when they are a bit pushy. I definitely wouldn't recommend trying to drive yourself in Yangon. However, taxis are extremely cheap. The taxis don't use a meter, so every trip starts with a negotiation about the price. From the hotel that I was staying at to the Shwedagon Pagoda, with is about 7km, cost 4,000 Kyat (pronounced 'chat'), or about US$ 3.
You may also notice that the majority of cars are right-hand drive in a country where people also drive on the right-hand side. This clearly doesn't make sense, but apparently this is because of the large number of second hand cars that were imported from Japan. This all just adds to the sense of chaos on the streets.
Buddhist monks, who are apparently more revered than rock stars in Myanmar.
Sule Pagoda, in the middle of the old town.
And, lastly, some videos from Shwedagon Pagoda...
