What happened to Shwedagon Paya

Shwedagon Paya, Yangon (Rangoon)

OK, here’s a pic of the famed Shwedagon in all it’s glory, ….bound by bamboo-scaffolding and getting cleaned and regilded. Not many people have the privilege of seeing it in this state since this happens only once every 4 years, so I should consider myself lucky right? If you wanna see it as it's shown in the tourist brochures etc, all gilded up in gold, you’d best wait for another 5 months or so.

...maybe by that time, my postcard would also have arrived.


A temple bell in Shwedagon Paya

If I'm not mistaken, this is supposed to be the 3rd largest uncracked bell in the world. Myanmar must have a thing with uncracked bells, they also have the largest and the 2nd largest. I have pics of all 3, but I figured that'll be a bell too many huh?

The God of Saturdays

A shrine in Shwedagon Paya, Yangon

Here’s a pic of devotees bathing their daily deity (I think this one’s for Saturday, since that statuette there looks like a Naga). Myanmese have a deity for each day of the week except Wednesdays. They have 2 for Wednesdays, one for the morning and one for the evening. Each deity is symbolized by a creature, mine’s a Garuda since I was born on a Sunday. What you have to do is to bathe your deity as many times as the years you were in existence (I didn’t do it coz I’d have to do it 35 times! And besides, I’m Christian hehehe), then you kneel and bow a few times and end it with some strikes to the temple bell. I guess it’s to improve your fortune, but don’t quote me.