Barefoot at the Pagoda

We arrived in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) at 4:30 PM and finally made it off the ship at 5:30 PM. We made sure we were appropriately dressed (no shoulders or knees could show), so I wore a skirt and short sleeve blouse and Michael (poor guy) wore long pants. We took a complimentary shuttle into Yangon (formerly Rangoon) – and this could be classified as an adventure ride. The coach was “air conditioned” – not. There was some air circulating, but that was about it. The weather was hazy sun, hot and humid. We were on our way to Yangon, a distance of approximately 25 miles from the commercial port where the ship docked. Drive time was about one hour. You may wonder why it takes one hour to go 25 miles – well the roads aren’t exactly what we are used to. Our goal for this evening was to see the Shwedagon Pagoda, which is spectacularly light up at night.

Upon leaving the port, we had to clear security. We then got on to the main port road, which is being generous in its description. It was more like a 1 ½ lane sorta asphalted path with ruts, potholes, dips, bumps and anything else that can shake your kishkas up (that’s your insides). It reminded me of those vibrating machines with the belts you wrapped around your butt. We were airborne a few times.

I don’t know if it is because it is the hot season, but the countryside was bleak and the poverty was staggering. We passed by “farms” with a few cows and goats. Our guide told us that they did not use mechanical equipment to hoe the crops; instead, they believed in doing it the old way – using oxen or cattle to pull the plow.

This sounds like a bunch of propaganda to me as the government knows they need to be able to feed their people. Most likely it’s just that they can’t afford the equipment. The houses were not even as nice as shacks; they were little more than hovels. The closer we got to a village, small roadside stands and cafes dotted the side of the road. Most of these were nothing more than a lean-to with tin or plastic tarps for a roof. There were kid-sized plastic chairs and tables at the cafes and food stands. Our guide told us they use the kiddy chairs because they were cheaper and the taxes were cheaper than if they had regular sized chairs. Everything looked abandoned, there was trash everywhere, and people either walked, rode bikes, or motor scooters. All secondary roads were dirt and the homes looked like hovels. Very, very depressing.

The people, both men and women, wore a tailored shirt or blouse, a sarong called a longyi, and flip-flops. The women had a yellowish powder swiped across their faces. This powder is made from the bark of the thanaka tree, and is used as a cosmetic, sunscreen, or bug repellent. We saw many Buddhist monks wearing the traditional saffron robes called pongyi.

The buildings in the outskirts of Yangon look deserted and look like they have never been maintained. There are slums and trash everywhere. In between all the decay, there will be a pagoda, all glitzy and kept up (compared to the rest of the town). There was no or very little political discussion, and I wasn’t about to ask any questions pertaining to such because I like my freedom and would not like to be detained in Myanmar. Air conditioning is virtually unknown due to the cost and during the summer season (March-May), there isn’t enough electricity to run them.

We finally arrived at the shuttle stop in the center of Yangon – a western-style hotel, where we picked up a taxi to go to the Shwedagon Pagoda. The cost for the 10 minute ride for four people was $3.



I originally thought there would be one big pagoda or spire, but the enormity of the complex was mindboggling, I’m guessing about 15 acres. Upon arrival, we had to remove our shoes and socks and walk barefooted. OMG, I could barely put my foot down on the floor, but I knew this was something I had to see and just held my breath and did it. The marble floor tiles were still very hot from the sun, and walking barefooted didn’t help my left foot any.

It is so difficult to describe the immensity of this place. It is a little like a maze, with paths leading to different shrines. The shrines were of all sizes and all contained golden buddhas; there were hundreds of them. On the wall behind many of the buddha heads was a spinning disk with color lights – it looked like something you would find in Las Vegas. People were praying in groups or individually. The main spire stands approximately 322 feet tall. The crown or umbrella, which sits atop the spire or stupa, is topped with 2,317 rubies as well as 5,448 diamonds (the largest is 76 carats). Gold leaf and more gold leaf. It was very hot and muggy and we were soaking wet. It took about 1 ½ hours to walk a circuit around the main area.

We finally found our way back to the area where we left our shoes and I headed to the bathroom to wash my feet (they were BLACK with dirt and grime – ugh!). There was a woman sitting on the floor next to a foot bath. You step into it and she dipped a bowl into fresh water and poured it over your feet. I gave her $1. I then used a sanitizing wipe to better clean my feet before putting my shoes back on.

We returned to the hotel via taxi, picked up the shuttle, and repeated the lumpy bumpy trip back to the ship. We finally arrived back at the ship at 9:30pm and to our surprise, there was a very nice buffet waiting for all of the people who missed dinner because of the tours. We had a bite to eat and then took a looooong shower before bed.