Okey doke, so I have been out of WiFi for the last 5 days so have beaucoup de bloggingtons to catch up on. Three things you need to know instantly about Myanmar:
1. The food is shit; all meat is either wobberly, knobberly or both.
2. With regards to pagodas/temples, it is definitely quantity and not quality.
3. They are the worst drivers on the planet and I will probably die out here. They used to drive on the left but changed over night to stick 2 fingers up at the Brits. Vehicles are still right hand drive and all coaches employ an extra bod to tell the driver when it's safe to overtake; they don't always get it right...
So day 1 saw us start at the Golden Stupa of Shwedagon in Yangon then take a 4 hour trip up north to the Golden Rock which is at the summit of Kyaikhto. They are the two most sacred places in the whole of Burma; my basic understanding from the guide is they were both built to house hairs plucked from Buddha's head aka very important relics.
Below pictures of the Golden Stupa...
Pagodas in Myanmar are surprisingly tacky. Check out the neon halo!!!! It's like pagoda meets fooking Blackpool Pier...
This is Buddha holding a baby boy. Couples pray here when they have had too many daughters. I think Daddio and Bobbio should have come here, still if they did there may have been no Adi lady.
I have developed a peculiar interest in photographing gnarled, old monks, this guy is my particular favourite.
Then 4 hours on a coach. The Golden Rock is on top of a mountain and I would have loved to have done the 8 hour trek but we took a rickety old truck. Very bouncy indeed.
Adi lady with Babsie, Inga and Freddie.
The views from the top are stunning... Buddhists write their wishes onto tiny bells and hang them around the sacred rock; do you think it would work for me? The rock is covered in gold leaf, menfolk pay 2000 chat (about £1.33) to buy and rub it on. As a mere woman I am not allowed the privilege, a place so sacred can not be desecrated by the likes of me. Still I managed to make my presence felt by climbing on the scaffolding to get a better pic...got a right royal Buddhist bollocking by the security (whoops).
What made me happy day 1? Below is the view from my hotel window, you all know how much I love the mountains:)
Day 2 was spent travelling to Mandalay, will try and finish that installment tonight xxx
After the 2nd World War there was a huge social change in Burma. Woman had for centuries walked 3 paces behind their husbands. This changed after WW2 and they walked 3 paces in front of their men. Loads of anthropologists and strokey bearded academics descended upon Burma to find out why such a change had occurred. The theory was that the Burmese men had acknowledged the role of women during the war and as a mark of respect had allowed them the walk in front. The Western academics quickly discovered that the place was full of land mines so the blokes made their wives walk in front. Nice....
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