Shwedagon Pagoda

Another difference between Bangladesh and Myanmar is religion.  While 90% of the population of Bangladesh are Muslim, in Myanmar nearly ninety percent are Buddhist.  Accordingly, our first stop after eating was to the Shwedagon Pagoda.   While Myanmar is the land of pagodas, this was the one that I personally wanted to see the most.   It is huge and literally contains “a ton of gold.”  

We had been advised that this pagoda appears different at various times of the day, but is best seen at daybreak or sunset.  We saw it at dusk and under a full moon!  Shwedagon was huge, shimmering - in a word, stunning.  

Lan is on the right

Started over 1600 years ago as a smallish stupa of 66 feet to enclose eight hairs of the Buddha, it is now 326 feet tall and decorated “with 3154 gold bells and 79,569 diamonds.”  (I loved the precision of these numbers.)  Decorated with over 1800 carats in diamonds, we were informed that the one at the top is a single 76-carat diamond. 

Queen Shin Saw Pu (1453-1472) was the first to completely gild the spire with thin sheets of beaten gold.  She applied 90 pounds, an amount equal to her weight.  The next king added four times the weight of he and his wife combined.  This tradition of covering images of Buddha with thin sheets of gold has continued to this day.  To show respect for Buddha (and to garner a better life), a person can buy a thin sheet of gold pressed between paper and apply it to a Buddha.  

Many Buddhas had neon light "halos"

I was expecting one large image of Buddha inside.  Instead, there were hundreds!  Some were jewel encrusted. Many, many had neon lights flashing behind them now. 

Some were very, very large

Lan’s Buddhist nun friend and I walked and talked about the Buddhas.  I asked her what she thought of all the neon lights behind the Buddhas.  She loved them, with the reasoning that they showcased and set Buddha off as radiant.  I said that I didn’t like the neon because the blinking lights distracted me from really seeing the representations.  We walked on and considered each others’ answers.   

I also asked her about why there were so many different images of Buddha.  Some were reclining; others upright.   Some were female in appearance, others male.  

Her answer was simple and resolute:  “There are many images, but only one Buddha.” 

A bit about pagoda etiquette:  At all pagodas, you must walk barefoot.  You leave your shoes at the entrance.  (They are always there when you return.)  In addition to walking barefoot, you dress in a modest fashion.  We were informed that most people don’t know – even Buddhists - that you are to walk clockwise around a pagoda.  In other words, whatever door you enter, turn your right shoulder to the central Buddha and then walk forward. 

One can offer jasmine to Buddha

Primarily men apply gold leaf
onto a Buddha

May my wish come true

Days of the week Buddhas.   The Burmese believe that your destiny is determined by the day of the week on which you were born.  They often place flowers, food, or candles in front of the corresponding Buddha or shrine.  Sometimes, there is a cup and a pool of water.  It is said that your wish may be granted if you pour water over the Buddha associated with your day of birth and whisper your wish (but tell it to no one else).

Half an hour time zone away lies Myanmar

Next door to Bangladesh is Myanmar, but the difference between the two countries is striking.  One thing I thought "unusual" was that their time zone is one-half hour earlier.  (I hadn’t encountered a half-hour time zone before that I recalled.)

When we arrived late afternoon on January 2, a long-time friend of ours, Lan Tran, met us at the airport in Yangon.  Several years ago, she moved from Minnesota, and we had recently reconnected only to discover that she had (surprise number 1) become a Buddhist nun in (surprise number 2) Myanmar.  So, we emailed back and forth that we were coming.  And, she and a fellow nun were waiting for us at the airport. 

We put our suitcases in the car, and drove toward our hotel.  Right away we could tell one other difference with Bangladesh - the traffic was slower paced and no one used their horn!  (I don’t think you can drive a vehicle in Bangladesh without a horn.  You beep to say “I'm behind you.”  You honk to say “I’m passing.”  Or, you blow your horn continuously just for the fun of it.)  By comparison, Myanmar traffic sounded almost eerily silent.

Point to what you want

First things first for us.  We dropped off our bags at our hotel and headed out for food!  Lan took us to a restaurant with typical Myanmar food.  We didn't recognize any names on the menu, but one thing made it easier.  We went up to the counter and just pointed at the food we wanted. 

Lan and her friend chose to not eat dinner with us as they eat only two meals a day - breakfast and lunch - as part of their Buddhist discipline.  I did have to smile, though, as both of them had ice cream cones with us at the end of our meal!

Our food...

... and drink!

Everyone's happy!

Bidding Bangladesh Fare Well

On January 2, we packed up early so that we could go out for one final lunch with Shaz, her family, Sophie and John, and Sophie and John’s host "sister" Sharmin and family before leaving.   Everyone was very relaxed, now that all the events were over.  We lingered over our kabobs.

But then it was time.  We first said our good-byes to Sophie and John, our fantastic traveling buddies.  We were already planning a reunion with them when we return to MN. Harder was saying good-bye to Mark.  He was going home from here, and we were continuing on.  Hardest still was saying good-bye to Shaz' family.  We weren't sure when we would see them again.  And, how do you ever express your appreciation for all that we had been privileged to experience? 

I was reminded of something Iqbal had told us on the city tour.  Bangladesh is the home to the philosopher/ writer/ teacher Tagore who won the very first Nobel Prize for Literature.  Iqbal said that Tagore set the tone early on for Bangladeshis’ welcoming nature.  Tagore wrote: 

            You come to our shores a stranger. 

            We invite you to our home as our guest. 

            You leave as a friend. 

Iqbal said this is what all Bangladeshis strive for.  EVERYONE certainly succeeded in our case.

Before we leave Bangladesh, I have to show a few more favorite pictures from the wedding week that didn’t make it into the earlier posts:  

Shazreh's two mothers now

Another new mother...

Can you tell they are brothers?

And a few more pictures from across Bangladesh before we move on to Myanmar:

Bus Conductor

A heavy load

Fresh fruit for sale

Washing clothes...

...clothes drying.

I wonder what she's thinking...

Vendor with the best face ever!

        ... Farewell

Tea, with a capital T

Tea is the beverage of choice in all three countries we visited – Bangladesh, Myanmar, and India.  Even when we were up super early to catch a flight, tea stalls along the streets would already be open.  Each would have a pot of water steaming on a flame, with low tables and/or a rainbow of plastic stools close by.   There would be bikes and motorbikes crowded there for their first cup of the day.  And, in the afternoon,you’d often see men (and very few women), sitting and talking together.

Because the Selhet area

Statue commemorating women tea pickers

is known for its tea, we asked if we could see the workings of a tea plantation.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t the season for harvesting tea, so they didn’t have the factories open.  But, Chandra did take us onto tea fields where men were engaged in trimming back the plants in order to stimulate new growth.  I hadn't even known how tea grew - whether it was a tree, plant, or what.  Here, there were vast fields of waist high tea bushes.

Several women were still harvesting tea.  I learned that you pick “exactly two leaves and the bud” when new sprouts first appear.  The women had large wicker or jute baskets on their backs, and a strap that ran around their foreheads to keep them balanced in place.  Chandra said on average they pick tea leaves for 10-hours for about $1/day.  But their hard labor didn’t stop several from putting down their baskets and giving us radiant smiles.

Carrying in a basket's worth each

Chandra demonstrating how you
carry a basket with your forehead

A unique specialty of the Selhet area is “seven layer tea.”  Developed in this area only, they know how to pour different teas and other “secret ingredients” to produce and retain the separate layers.  We even were served a “ten layer tea”!  

Being served 7-layer tea

We liked it!