Monday Monks in Myanmar at a Funeral

October 2014 on our way to Inle Lake in central Myanmar we stopped for a break in Kalaw.  Traffic in the town came to  a standstill as this funeral procession drove through town. 

Monday Monks in Myanmar - Pink robes and Pink Umbrella

Shades of pink or rosé as the French would say.

Monday Monks in Mandalay Myanmar

Travelling as a group, these young monks in Mandalay, sitting on top of the truck and its load, had a view, not a safe view, but a view, over the passing traffic.

Monday Monks in Myanmar

The monks in Myanmar seemed incredibly young.  

I loved this young boys with their colorful baskets in Bagan

The pots there were great and I was studying them working which would fit in my luggage when the boys passed by.

Monday Monks in Myanmar - Young Nuns at Shwedagaon

Girls and women in Myanmar often become nuns, but in lesser numbers than men becoming monks.  They shave their heads, practice meditation and take ordination vows, but they are not allowed perform ceremonies - similar to  a patriarchal  church I am a member of!

The nuns are called sila-rhan (pronounced thila-shin) which means the “keeper of morality.”

Monday Monk on the street in Mandalay in Myanmar

A common Mandalay street scene - scooters, monks, dust and squatting men.

Monks are a common sight on the streets of Mandaly.  Most men will spend some stage of their life in the monastery.  This fellow squatting and selling fuel (in plastic bottles) was probably a monk once.

Monday Monk at Bagan in Myanmar

A young monk at sunset on a temple at Bagan. Sadly there was an earthquake at Bagan last week and over 200 temples were damaged.   The site is undergoing classification to become a UNESCO World Heritage site, it is a struggle to meet the UNESCO criteria, due to mismanagement, poor or detrimental attempts at restoration  and the lack of any framework to manage, protect and develop the site. There is limited funding and expertise for restoration for Bagan or any archeological site in poverty stricken Myanmar.   Much work needs to be done to protect this truly amazing site.

This will  only be exacerbated after the Earthquake.

Monday Monks in Myanmar - with Bowls

One morning in Yangon in February 2015, I watched this line of young monks walk the streets near our hotel with their bowls gathering alms from local people.

Monday Monks from Myanmar

Mondays will be Monday Monks from Myanmar for a while.

It is a bit blurry, but I like this photo of two young (very young) novices, walking along the railway tracks in Yangon.  During my visit in February 2015 I rode the circle line train in Yangon to gain a brief, but amazing insight into the struggle of life in this developing country.

Happy Faces

These young nuns will be part of the future of Burma/Myanmar.  What that will be is largely unknown, but it is likely to be poor and bereft of human rights.

They look happy and bright in their robes, but where are their families and why have they entered a communal life at such a young age and where and for how long will they be educated???

Too many questions.

Maroon Monks' Robes

Monks in Burma/Myanmar wear maroon colored robes, whereas those in Thailand wear orange or saffron colored robes.  I am not sure why there is a difference, apparently it is only recently that Burmese monks moved to the burgundy colored robes.

I liked the color of the maroon robes hanging out to dry provided a good contrast to the green walls of this monastery in Yangon

Bamboo Scaffolding at Shwedagon Pagoda

The spire of the chedi at Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon/Rangoon was covered with this incredible bamboo scaffold.
It may be removed by now.

Yangon for the Weekend

Saturday I will be looking out over Yangon/Rangoon rooftops to the Shwedagon Pagoda.
We have a Buddha holiday on Monday, so a long weekend provides an opportunity to see Yangon properly. Due to my visa issues I missed exploring Yangon with Helen, Jenny and Julie when we visited Burma/Myanmar in October.

Back to Australia from Bagan

Helen, Jenny and Julie are now home in Australia.  we had a wonderful time in Myanmar/Burma (or Bermuda - Julie's family warned her about approaching hurricanes) and then a lovely week here in Chiang Mai.  We were a well matched travelling group, with humor, organisation, flexibility and common interests meaning we had a great time together.
It is back to reality here and I'm sure Helen, Julie and Jenny are back to the reality of work at home and missing the freedom of travel and "springers" and spice for dinner each night.
Two weeks ago we were watching the sunset over the plains and temples of Bagan.

A Burmese Lady

We met this beautiful lady sheltering from the rain, under the gateway to a temple complex at Bagan.  She was there with her friends, fellow field workers, who laughed and smiled at us as we tried to communicate with them. Very difficult when "Mingalabar", which means hello, was the only word we knew.
When the rain cleared they headed back into the field, walking past their wooden cart to cut grass (or some type of low growing green crop) with with a scythe.  Hard work - especially in the heat- but they were smiling and cheerful.

Shwedagon - A Burmese Landmark

As it is the first of the month, its time for City Daily Photo blog theme day.  For November the theme is "Landmark".  So I have chosen this image of Shwedagon Paya in Yangon.  Although the main spire is covered in bamboo scaffolding it dominated the city skyline.  The temple complex is a major landmark in the city and an important symbol for the people of Myanmar/Burma.

Friday Temple Flowers

Garlands of these gold and white flowers were on Buddha statues at Shwedagon temple in Yangon. They had a lovely perfume and were very elegant and beautiful.

Astrology seemed to be important to the Burmese. The  day of the week a person is born will determine their planetary post, eight in all as Wednesday is split in two, a.m. and p.m.
Each planetary post was marked at Shwedagon  with a small shrine with a Buddha image and a guardian angel behind it. Devotees offered  these flowers (and others)  and poured water on the flowers while praying. 

Sunrise over Bagan

A morning vista of pagodas and stupas across the plain of Bagan.
Bagan was once the capital of Burma.  Most of the temples date back to the 12th and 13th century.
As the sun rose the spires appeared through the mist.  A magical experience.