Myanmar Part 2 - Shwedagon (it rhymes with way-to-go) Pagoda

Tuesday afternoon we went to Shwedagon Pagoda, which is the largest Pagoda in Yangon (Yan-go). It was a very pretty place with hundreds of smaller Pagodas. The whole Pagoda compound is on the top of a hill and there is an entrance at each of the compass points. Each entrance is guarded by 40 foot tall lions and is covered all the way up the hill to the top. Natives can go to worship at any time, and the tourist entrance fee is $5 a person. (Unfolded dollars only because any bill with a fold is considered counterfeit, we found that out here.) You leave your shoes at the door and then go up to the Pagoda compound where we wondered around for 2.5 hours. It was really cool to see the Pagodas as the sun went down and the lights came on. It is hard to describe so enough of the words, on with the pictures.

View from Sakura Residence

Lions guarding the entrance to a Pagoda

Welcome to the compound, all the pillars were painted gold and the upper levels were all gold leafed

This is an offshoot of the tree under which Budda was enlightened.

If it wasn't gold or white it was mirrors.

This is the Victory Square where if you look up to the Pagoda and make a wish it will come true. If you look close you can see some bamboo scafolding on the Pagoda, it was being taken down but had extended all the way to the top, it is put up every 10 years so that the main part of the Pagoda can be regold leafed. The top of the pagoda has bells and jewels on it, it was cool to hear the bells blowing in the wind at the top. The very top contains a 70 karat diamond as a good deed offering.

Ringing the bell 3 times is a sign you have done a good deed.

If you want to see hundreds more pictures and see what Shwedagon looks like from space, paste "16.7983, 96.1496" into google earth or google maps. It looks pretty sweet.

Next up, what would you do with hundreds of huge trees that blew down in cyclone Nargis last year, and the Nar Jar glass factory.