Today I went with a Burmese friend of Tamara’s to visit her former home town and the Buddhist temples. We rode in the car driven by Tamara’s driver. The roads were very poor, bumpy and full of pot holes. It seems that Burmese drivers are all in a mighty hurry. They drive very close together without any room to spare between cars. I wonder how they keep from running into each other. They pay little attention to pedestrians and the pedestrians find themselves darting in between cars when attempting to cross the streets. Some of the local buses are converted trucks with a bench installed on each side of the truck’s bed. People cram inside on both sides with others (usually 4 or 5) hanging on for dear life out the back end of the truck’s bed. I have to say I’m amazed that I have not seen any accidents or pedestrian deaths.
On to the temples.
They are beautiful, filled with gold Buddha statues. The first one we visited was in the middle of a river. We took a small boat out and back.
While we were touring the site, several young native girls approached me and kept pulling at my arm. I had no idea what they wanted and my friend told me that they wanted their picture taken with me. They had caused quite a commotion until we could figure out what they wanted. They were like giddy little girls after I agreed to join them for a picture. I was told that they were native Chin girls from the Chin State.
After we had toured the site, we joined the other visitors and bought popcorn balls to feed the fish. Apparently this is a tradition and most visitors stay and feed the fish before returning to their places of origin wherever that might be. The fish are very well fed and huge. I would guess that they are some form of carp.
On to the temples.
They are beautiful, filled with gold Buddha statues. The first one we visited was in the middle of a river. We took a small boat out and back.
While we were touring the site, several young native girls approached me and kept pulling at my arm. I had no idea what they wanted and my friend told me that they wanted their picture taken with me. They had caused quite a commotion until we could figure out what they wanted. They were like giddy little girls after I agreed to join them for a picture. I was told that they were native Chin girls from the Chin State.
After we had toured the site, we joined the other visitors and bought popcorn balls to feed the fish. Apparently this is a tradition and most visitors stay and feed the fish before returning to their places of origin wherever that might be. The fish are very well fed and huge. I would guess that they are some form of carp.
After we returned to shore, we traveled to see a pagoda built by a former king of Burma. It was large and beautiful. From what I understand, the Buddhists believe by building pagodas and embellishing them they will receive merit in their afterlife. That evening we went to a Burmese Cultural Show at Kandawgyi Lake Park. The building is a Karaweik reproduction of a royal barge. When it is all lit up in the evening, it is very striking with the lights reflecting off of the water. The dancers were all graceful and had beautiful gowns but the music, well I can’t say that I particularly enjoyed that. There is very little harmony in comparison to US music.
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