Love this photo in all of its crookedness. #justokclub
Just by the way, I apparently really love taking pictures with LOVE statues with the people that I love most. I guess it's my thing.
Salzburg Reunion Summer 2009 (Philly, PA) #lovemypeople
Back in November, a couple of my friends sent a message to the group asking if anyone wanted to go to National Races Village. We thought it was some sort of museum. I almost didn't go because I wasn't feeling well (self-induced from adult decisions the previous night...), but I decided I wanted the quality time with the company of my newbie family (thanks for the guilt trip, Paul!). It was a very hot and sunny day as we headed on our adventure. After a rather lengthy cab ride, we finally got there. I was starving, so we went to one of the local food places in front of National Races Village and ordered some local Myanmar food. I got this soup thing that was really good and then this fried rice thing that was terrible (I didn't end up eating that second dish). I felt better after eating, so we set out to explore the grounds. We generally stick out when we are wandering around Yangon, but it was particularly the case on this day. There are not a lot of Westerners who visit this place. I almost felt like a zoo animal, as people were staring and pointing. They were taking video of us and would even corner us in different places to take pictures with them. It got to be rather uncomfortable, but I know that they didn't mean any harm by what they were doing. We just smiled and went along with it while we continued to lather on sunscreen and try not to melt in the Myanmar sun.
Interesting building near the table where we ate breakfast. Daniel and Stefanie were brave enough to go inside, but I decided to wait outside for them.
National Races Villages is not a museum in the sense that we Westerners were thinking. I figured it would be an indoor building with plaques that you read about the history of the peoples, and maybe some type of photo display or something like that. This "museum" is actually an outdoor space that is more like a park than anything. You have to pay to enter, and as with most places around here, there is a different (higher) fee to get in if you are foreign. We paid the fee and got our stickers (they are fans of stickers here!) and went inside. The park is stunning and very well manicured. I think it is the cleanest place I have seen thus far in Yangon. As you walk along the path, there are some signs, but they are all in Burmese script. It was fine though because the displays were very interesting. They had traditional houses and huts set up for each of the fourteen states. Inside the houses you can see how a family traditionally lives in that state. Some of them had costumes, armor, musical instruments, kitchenware, and other artifacts. Many of them had pictures of the places within the state. It was kind of like a mini tour of Myanmar, and it really made me want to explore more of this fascinating country!
Along the pathways, there were many interesting little structures and statues. Some were clearly meant for photo opps while others simply seemed decorative.
Once inside, we decided the best plan would be to climb the biggest structure first, then head to the farthest area of the park. That way, the rest would be sort of "downhill," as it were. This strategy worked out well for us, and the trees along much of the pathway helped with the heat of the day. This first structure had many steps up and looked almost like a lighthouse from the outside. The locals watched and laughed at us huff and puff our way to the top, but the views were totally worth it!
We wandered in and out of replicas of traditional houses. I actually got really excited when we got to Shan State, since it is the one place I had visited since moving the Myanmar. (Both Bagan and Kalaw are located in Shan State.) Most of the huts required us to take off our shoes, which probably helps with the upkeep. We are used to doing this because you cannot wear shoes in holy places here. Some of the little villages also had markets set up. I ended up buying a necklace for my mom and a bracelet for myself along the way.
CAROL! LOOK!
This is a replica of Golden Rock. It is fairly close to Yangon, and I very much want to visit! Legend has it that a hair of Buddha holds this golden pagoda on the edge of a cliff.
They are more adorable than Kate & Leo! #themooresprenkles
There are some native women in Central and Northern Myanmar who wear these rings around their necks like this. I do not know the entire history or reasoning behind it, but I know that there are similar practices in other regions around the world.
Some not-nice grass?
Isn't English funny? You can have the correct words, but sometimes the order really makes a difference!
Puppets are very common here. This tree was covered in them. We were unclear if they were for sale or simply for decoration. I saw them a lot in Bagan too.
#pauling
Ok, I'll get on the train and take a selife with the creepy dolls.
I've been there!
Reindeer! (It was right before Christmas when we visited.)
Look! We found a mountain in Myanmar! We didn't climb it because the mountain was a bit moldy.
As we finished our explorations, we were drawn to this sign. Everything was in Burmese, except the word MILK SHAKE. It was so hot that day, we absolutely had to have a milkshake. We figured it was close by (it wasn't) and would be delicious (WRONG). Live and learn... milk shakes mean quite a different thing here!
We followed the sign and eventually found this restaurant that was way out by the water. We walked on some questionable boards and sat on a floor that creaked like it would break at any moment from our weight.
We think this was milk with some kind of chocolatey powder. I couldn't tell if the dark stuff on the ice was from the powder or dirt. I decided not to drink this because I was worried about getting sick.
At least we tried!
I really did enjoy my outing to National Races Village. I always enjoy spending time with my newbie family and learning new things about this country. It is amazing how much I learned from visiting National Races Village, considering how little English text there was!
A couple of weekends later, I went out #pauling in our neighborhood. Yangon is divided into different neighborhoods called townships. We live in Thingangyun (the gy is a "j" sound), and we found out that there is a pagoda in our own backyard. My friend Paul asked me if I wanted to go explore it with him, and I obviously said yes. (After the scavenger hunt this weekend, I actually learned that there are FOUR pagodas in Thingangyun! More on that later...)
This was an exciting adventure for me because we usually have to take a taxi anywhere we want to go exploring. We live about 25 minutes from downtown if there is no traffic (which is VERY rare). I would equate the neighborhood where I live to be like Bayside is to Manhattan or Roger's Park is to Chicago. They are still part of the city, but they are very much separated from the hustle and bustle of the downtown, and you have to travel quite a ways to get to the action. In fact, I was shocked and a little sad at how much I noticed the noise when I went to visit NYC over Christmas Break. I never used to hear anything, as I lived in fairly busy urban areas for the past eight years. I guess a few short months of living in a quiet neighborhood has changed my urban chops! Yes, there is chanting and random animal barking/howling/meowing at night, but that is a totally different noise than the pulse of a busy street in a city.
Anyway, Paul and I set out one morning to find this pagoda. It's called Kyaik Ka San (pronounced "CHALK-KAH-SAHN") and is about a 15-minute walk from the teacher apartments by our school. When we walked up to it, we were both in awe. It is stunning, and my pictures do it absolutely no justice. On this particular day, the sun was shining and was really beautiful reflecting off of the gold.
There were turtles outside this pagoda, with a Buddha inside the structure!
Gorgeous!
These palm trees made me smile and think of a very dear friend back in the States :-)
Friday! (The day of the week that you were born is very important here.)
This was something I haven't seen on any other pagodas thus far. There were four guardians near the top of the pagoda, one facing each directions. Usually there are numerous guardian statues around the pagoda, but this was the first time I have actually seen it as a part of the structure.
There is a certain vibe in certain places, and this place had a very good feeling in it. Paul and I spent a lot of time wandering around, taking in all the beauty. I have heard so many people say, "Once you have seen one pagoda, you have seen them all." Well, no offense to those people, but I strongly disagree. Maybe it is the artist within me that notices subtle differences, or maybe I do too much yoga and believe in auras and things like that, but I find each pagoda that I visit vastly different than the others. Each has its own look and its own vibe. This is my favorite that we have visited thus far (after Shwedagon - that's like my new Empire State Building here... I love it so much!). And the fact that it is in our very own neighborhood? Just, wow. I can't believe I live here!
After we left Kyaik Ka San Pagoda, we wandered around the neighborhood and checked out some of the local shops. We got a little scared a few times because there were some really aggressive dogs. It was just after puppy season, so I think a few of them were mommies guarding her babies. Anytime we encountered a snarling dog, we took it as a sign to go in a different direction. (There are many wild dogs here, but most of them tend ignore people.)
After several hours of exploring, we got very hungry. We decided to try some local food. It was really fun to come here because no one spoke English, and they did not have English menus. The guy who escorted us inside and took our drink orders was actually a taxi driver who left after bringing our juices. When someone else came over to the table later, we literally looked around at other people and pointed at things we wanted. The food was absolutely delicious, and I definitely want to go back for more! (Did I mention it was only like $3 for an entire feast?? Most of my food is not pictured.)
I have no idea what this was, but it was DELICIOUS!
As seen on our way home. I love the randomness of this city sometimes.
After lunch, we wandered in the direction of home and stumbled upon a different sort of temple. I believe it was Hindu. It was interesting because it was almost unnoticeable from the street, but inside it was quite beautiful.
Last weekend, we attended a social with some of our coworkers. We took a sunset cruise on the river (you know they had me at "sunset"!). The dock was way downtown and ended up being right next to another pagoda that I have never seen or heard of. I don't think I can explain how beautiful this sunset was, and pictures definitely don't do it justice. I must say that it was one of my favorite sunsets I have seen since moving to this side of the world. I sat on a boat with a glass of wine and watched the sun go down. It was a lovely way to close out my first week back in Yangon.
"Foreigner" is a common label we see everywhere. Some places even have different prices for countrymen from different places. Here, it was a flat rate for foreigners.
This juice reminded me of Ecto Cooler! (Hi-C anyone??)
People were feeding the sea gulls, so they were swarming the boat!
That sunset though.
Roomies
There were some people having a BINGO tournament on the boat.
Friday night vibes.
When the sun went down, the shore lit up. It was also beautiful. The full moon was stunning as well but the pictures were all terrible. At least I have the memories!
There were lots of people in these little boats. Some appeared to be like water taxis while others appeared to be fishing.
Notice the color of the water here. It's times like this that I am reminded that I live in a developing country. I am not being critical. Just observing.
When we got off the boat, there was a night market and a street fair happening. We decided to be brave and ride the manually-operated ferris wheel and the pirate boat, neither of which had safety belts. I think the ferris wheel was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life thus far! These guys climbed to the top and then pulled the wheel down. They continued to spin it around and around, and we actually built of quite a bit of speed!
We were not low!
The view from the ferris wheel was better than just ok :-)
#pauling
See the guy up there? They literally climbed to the top and pulled it down!
No belts! But this wasn't so bad. It felt like a big swing. (It didn't go upside down like the ones at big amusement parks.)
Night out on the town with my newbie family! This is my new home screen on my phone <3
Last weekend was one of the most memorable to date. The morning after our sunset cruise and street fair adventure, we met up for brunch to celebrate someone's belated birthday. Afterwards, many of us did not have plans, so we wandered over to People's Park close by. I have wanted to visit since we moved here, and I was blown away by the park. It is also beautiful and has stunning views of Shwedagon (my favorite!). There is also an amusement park inside! A few of us braved the rollercoaster. The safety harnesses were questionable, but we survived! (Sorry, Mom. I promise I'll be safer from now on! At least this makes my skydiving adventure in the Swiss Alps look more responsible, right?)
Love.
We all got ice cream. Such a happy day. #lovemypeople
And you know how I feel about LOVE statues! (See: above.)
We rode that!
#justokclub
Finally, my last bit of playtime happened this weekend. Our school organized a scavenger hunt in Thingangyun. We split into teams and tried to find all of the things on our check list. It was such a pleasant day with good company, and more importantly, I learned how much there is to do in our backyard. I am excited to go #pauling around Thingangyun more in the near future. In the meantime, here are some of the highlights from our scavenger hunt!
#teamnobike on Butterfly Lake
(possibly a new running spot for me? I will have to explore!)
Team photo at Kyaik Ka San!
The taxi challenge.
This pagoda was beautiful. I will definitely be posting about this in the future when I go back and explore more of it!
Awkward prom photo by the banyan tree.
Obviously, I'm learning not only how to survive in Yangon, but how to LIVE. I am loving the memories I am making and the distractions they provide from my mounds of grad work that I do everyday. I may be going dark for the next few weeks, but when I come out on the other side, well, you can just call me Master.
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