We visited Yangon, Myanmar (Burma) without knowing what to expect. What we found was a culture of community, as well as deeply religious beliefs ingrained into everyday life.
The streets of Yangon
Our hotel was in the middle of downtown Yangon, and the activity was vibrant both day and night. Simple food stalls with small plastic tables lined the streets; always busy with hungry customers. Buddhist monks — adults and children — walked along multiple times a day chanting through loudspeakers for all to hear and accepting donations as they went.
We also saw a celebration along the street with two people in a bull costume with others collecting money donations and taping them to the bulls horns.
A third street procession came from a Muslim group. This group was pushing decorated carts and chanting. We were told by multiple people that Buddhists and Muslims live together peacefully in the city.
The most incredible religious ritual we happened upon was at a small courtyard up the street from our hotel where we heard chanting and looked in to see some Muslim men hitting themselves on the back with metal to make it bleed. Younger boys were pounding their chests that had been painted red to make it look like blood. After a little research, it appears to be the Mourning of Muharram ritual by Sunni Muslims.
Aside from the continual food stalls that line many of the downtown streets, we also passed through street markets filled with vegetables, fruit and meat.
Village life
After a short walk from our hotel to see the river, we met someone who offered to help us explore the villages across the Yangon River. Our first stop was to buy ferry tickets.
In the ticket office, one of the workers immediately pulled Paxton over and started a conversation with him; this is a common experience for him while we travel the world. Luckily, he’s a very outgoing kid and is happy to talk with people.
We hired a tuk-tuk to take us to the village market and some other sights. Here are some of the views along the way.
At the entrance to the village market, we saw a man selling wood for making Thanaka, a cosmetic paste made from grinding the bark of the wood. Also used for skincare and protection against sun, we saw it on almost all of the women’s faces, and many men too.
In the picture below, you can see Thanaka on various people’s cheeks.
Also near the entrance was a basket full of areca nuts, which are part of Myanmar’s popular betel quids. Betel quids contain these areca nuts, lime and tobacco wrapped in a betel leaf. They chew them, which gives them a buzz, but long term use stains their teeth red and can cause oral cancer.
After the market, we headed to a small village that had been devastated by a tsunami that hit the area.
Upon our arrival, these two kids flocked to Paxton. The boy on the right grabbed his hand and wouldn’t let go the entire time we were there.
So many graves remain as a testament to the many people who lost their lives in a tsunami. There were orphaned kids as a result.
It was explained to us that when people want to help these villagers and kids they usually offer money, but cash money does them no good. Instead, people who want to help are encouraged to make donations of rice or food. We had gotten some food at the market that we hadn’t eaten it yet and decided to offer it to the children, which they gleefully accepted and ran off.
When we walked back over to the tuk-tuk, we saw that the two boys had taken the food to share with the rest of the kids.
After leaving the village, we stopped at a nearby rice warehouse, where we bought some rice to donate to the village.
We continued our ride through the villages and came across some joyful kids walking down the road, some of whom were dancing and singing.
We arrived at a fishing village situated along a smaller river that led to the large Yangon river.
Villagers walk along the path to buy fresh seafood from the fishermen.
Buddhist temples
The last stop in the village area was a Buddhist temple — the first one of several that we visited while in Yangon. The temples are large and ornately decorated.
Sule Pagoda
The Sule Pagoda is located in downtown Yangon, surrounded by buildings and a park.
At the entrance to the Sule Pagoda were women selling small birds. We read that they are purchased only to then be released in prayer for good luck.
On the perimeter of the pagoda were some fortune tellers. Bill decided to give one a try.
Shwedagon Pagoda
The towering Shwedagon Pagoda is a sight to behold, and is considered to be the most sacred in Myanmar. It is a huge complex of buildings and shrines where many visitors sit in prayer.
Special shrines dedicated to the day you were born surround the main stupa. In this case, those born on Monday would give a specific offering here.
There were several trees in the complex that are symbolic of the sacred Bodi tree where Buddha attained enlightenment.
We thought it was very interesting that many people become a monk for just two years, sometimes multiple times. What a wonderful way to follow and participate in an incredible way of life.
The map indicated a statue of Buddha holding a baby, where those who wanted luck for conceiving go and pray.
Additional sights around Yangon
Halloween occurred while we were in Yangon. While there were many Halloween parties advertised for adults, we were unable to find any Halloween festivities geared toward kids other than in international schools during their school day. As a result, we decided to buy some candy for Paxton and hide them throughout our hotel room for him to find. Here he is in the costume (pajamas) we were able to find in a local clothing store.
While we were in Yangon, Bill decided to get some new tattoos from the best tattoo artist in Myanmar. He got a Burmese dragon on his left hand and a lotus flower on his right hand. Both at the same time!!
Yangon zoo
You can buy bananas to give to the monkeys and other animals.
Rhinos trying to stay cool on a very hot day.
