March 8 -- Yangon, Myanmar  (Rangoon  Burma)

After three days at sea, we arrived in Myanmar in the mid-afternoon for two nights in port.  Oceania offered a free overnight excursion for the World Cruisers, going to Bagan 3/9 so we took the ship's excursion to the Shwedagon Temple our first night here.

Our entry into the Yangon was interesting in that there were lines of fishing boats arrayed across our path.  They must have been working in concert, or they all knew just where to be to catch the most fish.  In some cases they were in a very straight line all the way to the horizon on both sides of the ship.

 Typical fishing boat in the line

 We had docked about 20km south of the city -- that being as far up the river as the boat would fit.  And even then we had to wait for high tide to actually get to the dock.  So it was an hour and  a half drive from the port to the temple, but nicely timed so that we arrived at the temple just as the sun was setting so we saw it in daylight and dark and in between.

We had a mini-tour of the city on the way to the temple.  We drove past the famous Strand Hotel, which is undergoing renovation so we didn't stop in for a drink.

 Sidewalk cafe


After removing shoes and socks we entered the temple area.  There is no "inside" but rather a broad marble walkway around the central spire.  There are statues of Buddha and smaller spires and shrines both to the inside and outside of the walkway.  We walked around (clockwise, as custom requires) and visited many of the shrines.  There were tourists and believers and children and monks and it was quite warm.  Brilliantly lit at night, candles in many of the shrines, LED displays in others.

 As I understood our guide, every male Buddhist spends some time as a monk, once as a child, another as an adult.  This was a group of monks-in-training, and it also gives you a feeling for the broad walkway around the central spire, with lots of other shrines and spires.

 Picture above: attempting to be discreet in my photography often results in motion blur.....c