Monday, January 23, 2012

Golden Shwedagon Pagoda, Yangon, Burma

Welcome. Thanks for coming to my blog.

The focus is Burma and the posting is dedicated to the Shwedagon Pagoda ရွှေတိဂုံ ဘုရာ also called Shwedagon Paya in Yangon. Glorious and completely over the top, I was stunned by its beauty at sunset and touched by the devotion of the people. I hope you will be too when you see the photos.

Gleaming in gold and decorated with diamonds, it is a spectacular work of Burmese temple architecture and is the holiest Buddhist shrine in Myanmar.

Legend has it that the Shwedagon Pagoda is 2,500 years old, but archaeologists estimate it was first built sometime between the 6th and 10th centuries (i.e. during the Bagan period).

This first photo is one of the 4 entrances to Shwedagon Pagoda. Next time Inlay Lake and it's local markets. See you then. Alan





















A close up from the same spot






















Beautiful pillars just inside the
southern entrance






















The Pagoda is 112 metres high
















You can see that part of it is being repaired






















Gold everywhere which gleams
in the golden sunlight of late
afternoon






















There are shrines as you walk
around the main stupa. Buddhists walk
in a clockwise direction (as do Hindus).
To do this is auspicious and perhaps
comes from the direction the planets rotate
around the sun. You are in harmony
with the energy of the universe






















Packed tightly together






















Golden and gleaming Buddha
















The large platform/terrace that supports the
great stupa contains a variety of other stupas,
prayer halls, sculptures and shrines






















Daniela with Magnolia, a Burmese
friend who showed us so much kindness






















A number of the shrines are
associated with eight "days"
(Wednesday is divided into
morning and afternoon),
based on one's day of birth.
Each has an associated planet,
direction and animal sign






















It is very important for Burmese
buddhists to know which day of the
week they are born, so they
know which shrine they should
pray at
















A rather different building. Does anyone know
what it is? A water tank comes to mind but that
can't be right!
















The gold seen on the stupa is made of genuine
gold plates, covering the brick structure and
attached by traditional rivets






















One of the many shrines
surrounding the main stupa






















The Buddha inside in shadow
and light






















Awesome!
















Myanmar people all over the country, as well
as monarchs in its history, have donated gold
to the pagoda to maintain it. The practice
continues to this day after being started in the
15th century by the Mon Queen Shin Sawbu,
who gave her weight in gold (she wasn't very
heavy, only 40 kg!)
















Gorgeous colours and lines






















All shapes and sizes!
















A cluster of prayer halls






















Talk about being in your face!






















Fabulous pavilion with images
of the Buddha
















Which way to look first!






















Bathed in gold
















The Pagoda Terrace is one of the most
amazing sights I have seen
















Bathing the Baby Buddha of your birth day
is very auspicious






















A male monk talking to two female
nuns






















It is the ambition of every
Burmese monk to visit
Shwedagon, the holiest Pagoda
in Burma






















Devotion
















Cleaning






















I love this photo






















Workers
















A forest of stupas!






















Steps for refurbishing the main
stupa. Even they seem gold!
















The crown (or umbrella) of the main stupa is
tipped with 5,448 diamonds and 2,317 rubies.
The very top, the diamond bud is tipped with
a 76 carat (15 g) diamond.............
















More shrines and........






















...........more devotion

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Walk in Yangon, Burma, part 1

Welcome and Happy New Year. This is my first posting of 2012.

We had a wonderful time in Burma. We visited Yangon, Inlay Lake and Bagan. I will be posting a lot of photos from this trip. Beautiful country and lovely people.

Yangon, the commercial capital of Burma. These photos take you on a walk, starting with the first shot taken from our room window in the Traders Hotel, on Sule Pagoda Road.
I hope you enjoy the walk

Alan















Sule Pagoda. ဆူးလေဘုရား Legend has it that it
is more than 2500 years old. A very important
religious and political structure in Yangon

















Yangon City Hall ရန်ကုန်မြို့တော်ခန်းမ; a fine
example of Burmese architecture






















Formerly the Supreme Court
of Burma
. It has been moved to
the new capital, Naypyidaw (the Court,
not the building..)
















Next to the old American Embassy. Guys playing
"keep the ball up in the air". A popular game in
S.E. Asia. Oh, and one spectator

















Burmese truck full of people














Two of the passengers
















A residential building in the same street
















Interesting architecture with the arch windows
carved into the facade
















Daddy with his princess who's wearing a 'tiara'
















Haven't seen one of these for a while. Not sure
what special power it needs? Fingertip power maybe!
















Another view of Sule Pagoda, this time from
the south






















The East Hotel on Sule Pagoda Road
dwarfed by the Hitachi tower, but
making its point! We stayed there on
our final night before returning to Singapore
















Mum feeding her baby






















A water seller. Happy, but a little
embarrassed to be photographed
















Dappled lady. Love the blouse. To protect her skin
from the sun she is wearing the traditional Thanaka
(သနပ်ခါ) paste
















Very colourful rickshaw driver being paid by his
passenger. No motorbikes are allowed in Yangon.
Too many people were injured and killed so
they were banned






















We love our ice lolly!
















Do you think she'll share it with her Mum?






















A typical street near the port












Handsome windows






















Workers perched precariously
on scaffolding repairing an
Indian temple














Children at play in the street














Cooperative effort
















The famous Bogyoke Market ဗိုလ်ချုပ်အောင်ဆန်းဈေး
formerly Scott's Market being refurbished. If you look
closely at the top right of the scaffolding on the tower
there is a man
working even more precariously. No
safety net. One advantage of this type of scaffolding
though is you can still see the building!
















Now you can see the worker clearly. I hate heights.
Just looking at him gives me the eebie jeebies!
















Inside the market. It was quiet when we were there






















When I'm a little embarrassed
I put my fingers in my mouth
















But I'm proud of my little brother so I'm not
embarrassed anymore
















Are you thinking what I'm thinking?
















Boy that was heavy!

Next time the famous and amazing Shwedagon Pagoda