Our initial visit to Rangoon's most famous and sacred site, the Schwedagon Pagoda, took place our first day in Burma at dusk. It lasted past sunset. During that time we were able to see the complex both lit by the setting sun and illuminated by spotlights - awesome!
This morning we returned for a more leisurely look around and ended up spending three hours exploring all the Schwedagon has to offer. Even then we missed seeing some of its most well known marvels. Still and all, this time was even more amazing.
Burma is in the midst of a ten day school holiday marking the conclusion of Buddhist "Lent". Families seem to take advantage of the vacation period to visit temples and pagodas, monasteries and other sacred places throughout the country. Schwedagon today was no exception: the crowds were fulsome and festive and provided loads of "people watching" opportunities which we thoroughly enjoyed.
Folks came to worship and pray, to be sure, but also to enjoy a picnic lunch or make a donation to one of the ongoing restoration projects or just to sit and meditate or take in the changing scene while relaxing (or flirting) with family and friends.
Lee took hundreds of pictures. Here is a collage of some of his favorites, culled from the results:
And here are individual shots of his two favorite images from the entire visit, one ecstatically sacred; the second, exuberantly playful. Together they epitomize the spirit of the Schwedagon as both temple and playground.
We retreated to our (overly cool) air-conditioned hotel lobby for lunch, then ventured out later in the afternoon for High Tea at the Strand Hotel, the city's most historic hostelry, dating back to the time of the Raj when Burma was administered as part of British India. Our last stop of the day took us to an art gallery in the hotel featuring some up-and-coming Burmese artists. Both Heidi and Lee found favorite pieces among those on display, and we were allowed to capture an image of each. Can you guess who liked which?
This morning we returned for a more leisurely look around and ended up spending three hours exploring all the Schwedagon has to offer. Even then we missed seeing some of its most well known marvels. Still and all, this time was even more amazing.
Burma is in the midst of a ten day school holiday marking the conclusion of Buddhist "Lent". Families seem to take advantage of the vacation period to visit temples and pagodas, monasteries and other sacred places throughout the country. Schwedagon today was no exception: the crowds were fulsome and festive and provided loads of "people watching" opportunities which we thoroughly enjoyed.
Folks came to worship and pray, to be sure, but also to enjoy a picnic lunch or make a donation to one of the ongoing restoration projects or just to sit and meditate or take in the changing scene while relaxing (or flirting) with family and friends.
Lee took hundreds of pictures. Here is a collage of some of his favorites, culled from the results:
And here are individual shots of his two favorite images from the entire visit, one ecstatically sacred; the second, exuberantly playful. Together they epitomize the spirit of the Schwedagon as both temple and playground.
After our morning at Schwedagon we wandered around Scott's Market, Rangoon's central covered shopping complex, a massive collection of stalls selling everything one could possibly need or desire. Despite the heat, we managed to stock up on enough goodies to considerably eliminate numerous items from our holiday shopping lists!
We retreated to our (overly cool) air-conditioned hotel lobby for lunch, then ventured out later in the afternoon for High Tea at the Strand Hotel, the city's most historic hostelry, dating back to the time of the Raj when Burma was administered as part of British India. Our last stop of the day took us to an art gallery in the hotel featuring some up-and-coming Burmese artists. Both Heidi and Lee found favorite pieces among those on display, and we were allowed to capture an image of each. Can you guess who liked which? 
All in all, a very pleasurable and relaxing day -- and we didn't need a tour leader to make it all come together! Another leisurely morning lies ahead before we head off to Bangkok, our final destination, early tomorrow evening.
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