I am really loving this whole Saturday Cultural Day tradition that my newbie group has started! Six months ago, I was stuck in a job that made me quite unhappy. I would spend my entire Saturday lesson planning for the following week, then Sunday was spent doing grad work. While my Sundays are still full of grad work, it makes me happy that I can spend my Saturdays adventuring with my favorite people :-)
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| #paulingallday |
This weekend's adventures in the Golden City took us to Bogyoke Market and Shwedagon Pagoda, which are two of the main attractions in Yangon. I first met my friend at a cafe for some delicious Illy cappuccino and some lunch. It has been quite a hectic start to our school year, so it was lovely to just find a place to sit and drink coffee together. We were at Bar Boon. It was a delicious little spot! After we finished our coffee, we ventured upstairs to this place called Parkson. It's like a Macy's in the States - multiple levels of clothes, cosmetics, food, housewares, etc. Downstairs, there was a tiny Marketplace grocery store that reminded me of New York City, which of course made me smile.
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| Great spot for a cup of coffee and some people watching. |
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| I love it when they add pictures to the foam of my cappuccino! |
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| View from our table at the cafe. It's times like this that I wish I had a "real" camera. |
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| Selfie at Parkson |
After strolling through the very modern department-type store, we headed around the corner to Bogyoke Market. Everyone pronounces it "Bow" as in bowtie + "Joe" as in the name, but I cannot figure out if that's the pronunciation, the butchered Americanized pronunciation, or the nickname. I'm sure time will tell. At any rate, my friend and I walked over to the Market and stopped at a stand to have some juice. She had avocado and mango, and I had orange and mango. They were freshly squeezed and very sweet. We also had a bowl of some kind of mystery noodles that were to die for. (Yes, we had just finished lunch. No judgement needed!)
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| All of this cost 3,000 kyat, which is about $2.50 USD. Yum! |
We finished our snack and started wandering. Bogyoke Market is a maze of stalls that just keeps going at every corner you turn. They sell fabric and other things to make traditional longyi (the "gy" is pronounced like a "j" in English). We will be wearing these for some events at school, but we had already been measured the day before by another tailor. There were also stalls full of wicker, jewelry, jade, trinkets and souvenirs... so many things. We met up with our other friend and continued to wander. Many merchants came up to me and even followed me for a bit, trying to sell me their items. I guess I stick out in a crowd as a foreigner, with my six-foot-tall blonde self, and that day I was dressed in a hot pink shirt. Couldn't miss me at all.
Some places in the Market have fixed prices, while others were negotiable. My friend figured out that if we tell people we are living and teaching here, they are a little more willing to negotiate. I made some exciting purchases at the Market, all under 10,000 kyats each (less than $10 USD). I really loved this Market and will definitely need to visit again and again in order to see it all.
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| One corridor of fabric stalls |
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| More stalls |
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| #justokclub (Sorry, folks. You won't get EVERY inside joke explained here!) |
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| One of the main arteries of Bogyoke Market. |
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| #pauling |
And as for my purchases, I walked away from Bogyoke Market with a new work shirt, two T-shirts, one messenger bag, two fabric bands, a charm for my travel charm bracelet, two prints for my art collection, and a couple of souvenirs for some of my family back home (not pictured, since they actually read this thing, and I want them to be surprised!).
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| New work shirt - those are little owls! I can't wait to wear this. |
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| Some kind of foot patch that works like reflexology... It says it will help me relax and sleep better, so I'm willing to try it! (I technically bought it at that small NYC-style Marketplace, but it was on the same expedition) |
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| Local swag (all this for about $10 USD) |
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| I will use this fabric to cover my ankle tattoo when I am at events with parents or other conservative occasions. Myanmar is a conservative country, and while I am not ashamed of any of my ink, I am willing to show respect when needed. And if I can still do it in an expressive way, then that's even better! |
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| I collect charms from places that I travel that are meaningful to me. The umbrella is very fitting, as we quickly found out the meaning of "monsoon season." I can't wait to add it to my bracelet! |
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| I also collect prints and/or local artwork from places that are meaningful to me. I started this tradition when I was living in Chicago. With my shipment debacle before my move to Myanmar, I was very sad that I could not find my prints to bring with me. These will be the first addition to my new Art Wall in my new home. On the left, we see monks all over the place. I especially see them out walking in lines like this when I am out running early mornings. The print on the right is Shwedagon Pagoda, which was the next stop on our expedition on Saturday. |
We left Bogyoke Market and took a cab over to Shwedagon. Our other newbie friends spent the entire day exploring the area, so we were going to join them. We didn't end up finding them until afterwards (more on that later). First, I think this cab is worth mentioning. I wish I had taken more pictures. It was the best-decorated cab I've ever seen!
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| Well done, Mr. Cab Driver! |
En route to Shwedagon, we passed a mob of people running. If I had been almost anywhere else, I would have been concerned for our safety. Just when I was about to feel concerned I noticed everyone clutching their phones. And then I realized... Pokemon Go. That's right. It's here.
Once we passed the mob of Pokemon Goers, we got out of the cab and caught our first glimpses of the pagoda. "Gorgeous" doesn't even begin to describe it. Honestly, I forgot what the entrance looked like until I went back through my pictures because it was all so overwhelming. Outside the pagoda, there were rows and rows of shops. There were also some very persistent children trying to get us to take plastic bags (I'm assuming for money) to store our shoes or something. I carried my bookbag for this very reason, but these kids do not give up easily. We finally made it to the stairs, and the kids went away.
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| The entrance to Shwedagon Pagoda. |
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| A Buddha store! (I actually heard that you are NOT supposed to buy these, but I think that's more for souvenir and tourist purposes.) |
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| Another storefront |
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| I suddenly felt small. |
We trekked up the stairs. And then up more stairs. We passed a lot of places selling toys, trinkets, souvenirs, gifts for Buddha, and many other things. Then climbed more stairs, crossed a street, climbed another set of stairs, and then a bit more. Finally we made it to the top!
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| The beginning of our trek up. |
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| Some of the things for sale along the way. The most common was a toy pony tied to a stick. They were everywhere. |
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Crossing the street...
More stairs... |
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| Almost to the top... but there were some nice views along the way! |
Once we made it to the top of the pagoda, there was an entrance fee of 8,000 kyats (a little less than $8 USD). We were reminded of proper dress at a pagoda, which means to cover knees and shoulders, and remove shoes. After we paid the entrance fee, we were given a sticker, a ticket, and a map. We took the final climb to the entrance of the pagoda.
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| "What Not To Wear" - pagoda addition! (Actually very similar to rules I had to follow when I went to see the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. I think this is just clothing your are expected to wear in many religious places.) |
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| This time I came prepared with wet wipes for our post-pagoda time! |
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| My entry sticker! (In Myanmar and much of Asia, they write the date in DAY-MONTH-YEAR format) |
I wish I could give more information about Shwedagon. There were maps, postings, guides, and plenty of informational material. But the sight of it was absolutely stunning. It was incredibly overwhelming. We immediately knew that this would not be our only trip to this pagoda. We decided to simply wander around and take it all in. My pictures do not do it justice - not even a little bit. Most of my pictures in this portion will not have a caption because there are only so many ways I can say, "IT WAS JUST SO BEAUTIFUL." I will learn more about it and return to it again one day so that I can better understand everything, but for now, simply enjoy the beauty like I did.
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| First thing we saw when we walked through the entrance |
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| View around the walkway |
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| Looking up - those clouds though! |
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| Do you see why I am pleased with my prints that I purchased at Bogyoke Market?? |
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| IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL! |
We weaved in and out of structures, past Buddhas and prayer rooms, and simply tried to take it all in. The center of the pagoda had a sign that said "Prohibited," followed by a list of items. The first item on the list: FOREIGNERS. At first I was indignant. Then my friend pointed out that we were not here to pray, that we were here to admire the beauty and take pictures. Well said, my friend. I simply did that. I wandered, I admired, I got a bit lost in all the beauty.
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| This was a room full of Buddha statues. My friend pointed out that it would be a great setting for a horror movie, as it was a bit creepy. But in a very cool way. This panorama was the best I could do... |
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| Getting ready for our family selfie! #pauling |
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| This large statue had someone pulling a rope that was attached to a giant piece of fabric above its head. I found this very interesting, as it looked like they were fanning the statue. |
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| My favorite picture of Shwedagon. The sun was starting to set, so the gold sparkled. It was stunning. |
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| I poured my five cups of water to pay tribute to Friday, the day of the week I was born. It is a tradition to honor the Buddha, his teachers, his followers, your family, and your teacher. |
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| I would love to know what they were pointing at... |
Once we did a lap around the entire pagoda, we were thoroughly exhausted. In fact, we had to stop and rest a few times during our visit. It is physically a lot of walking and mentally/emotionally a lot to take in. We were also starving, so we decided to meet up with the rest of our newbie family for dinner. After a day of culture, we were craving some comfort food. We went to a place called John Dee's, and YES, I ordered a bacon cheeseburger with french fries AND a side of macaroni and cheese. I regret none of it.
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| It was so good, I forgot to ask the wait staff to snap a family photo. The same thing happened last weekend at The Brunch Society! |
I am definitely starting to love our Cultural Saturdays and look forward to my next adventures with my newbie family. This week brings another busy schedule, with Upper Elementary School Open House tomorrow, my first volleyball game on Wednesday (their second - I missed last week's game because of the Primary Open House), followed by Secondary Open House on Thursday. Along with my usual load, it promises to be a busy week. It is a bit overwhelming doing my duties plus grad school, but I'm so happy and grateful for all the wonderful memories I am making! I also look forward to my return visits to learn more about this incredible pagoda. Until next time, friends.
