This is a typical Burmese greeting that is used for both saying Hello and Good Bye. Had a very restful evening going to sleep around 6 p.m., waking up at 11 p.m. and going back to sleep around 1 a.m. for another 5 hours. Feeling as if I have gotten fairly adjusted to the 12 hour switch in time. Really enjoyed the fantastic breakfast buffet this morning especially since I didn't eat anything (wasn't hungry last night just sleepy) after the small breakfast served on the flight from Taiwan.
Our small group (only 7 at this time) met at 8:30 this morning with our tour leader Phyo for a brief orientation of what to expect during our Myanmar portion of the tour. Went over some rules for visiting the temples ( shoes and socks off, long pants, no sleeveless tops, restricted picture areas, etc.), received maps of the country and mapped out our 7 day journey, discussed some of the transportation methods we will be utilizing, and what foods to avoid.
Traveling the streets this morning we got to observe some different places.
A monastery entrance. There are a bunch of monasteries in Yangon.
First stop today was at the Kalaywa Tawya Monastery where more than 1,000 novices (young boys/men studying to be monks) and 370 young girls (studying to be nuns) live and examine the purity of Buddhist scripture as well as complete their academic studies.
The novices go out most every day after their morning prayers and chores to collect donated food and items from the community. This is some them returning with their collections in the bowls. People give them cooked rice and other bagged foods such as nuts, crackers, chips, etc.
This is the dining hall and classroom.
Before going out to collect the donations they must put on their robe properly. Here are a couple learning how to do that.
The head monks sit at the head of the room at tables covered with blue cloths. Notice the monk sitting next to the post. He graciously agreed to speak with us and came over to answer questions about his life, what it was like to come to the monastery, the routines they follow, and the structure of the monastery. It was very enlightening and he was very open with us.
Phyo translating our questions and his answers.
The board that shows how many residents are at the monastery and which region they come from.
A garden area outside the dining hall.
We went to the nunnery next door to talk with the young girls.
That we're cooking their lunch and was moving the huge cast iron pot from the fire over to the kitchen area. I wanted to help so bad as they were really struggling but did manage to make it without spilling any.
Working in the kitchen getting ready for the meal.
The kitchen itself is on a cistern. Here is one of the students dipping out a pail of water.
The stew that was cooked. This is what they would have along with a bowl of rice.
They offered to let us taste the stew and dipped up a small bowl. Of course I was the first to volunteer for the tasting.
It was fairly spicy but I could have eaten it without any trouble.
We talked with several of the girls about where they had come from and what their dreams and aspirations are. Many want to go back to their home villages to be teachers.
A stupa which is a religious structure where Buddha relics are in shrined along with cremated remains of high ranking monks and nuns. It is a place for meditation and religious reflection.
Living quarters for the students - not fancy by any means.
School on first floor with living quarters for the nuns on upper floors.
This is the youngest student. She is 6 years old and is an orphan that was adopted by the head nun. She was so sweet. Phyo was sharing her story with us.
This young student is 16 years old and has dreams of being a physicist. She was reading an English text book but was too shy to speak English with us.
After our visit to the nunnery we went back to the monastery to observe the noon prayers and meal.
The novices lining up to go to the dining hall.
Saying their noon prayers before eating. There was no talking during the meal.
On our way to have lunch, we stopped at Inya Lake to get a shot of Aung San Suu Kyi's home from the back. She is the leader of the National League for Democracy that just won the first election to be held in Myanmar for 50 years. A major government shift is coming to the country.
We later went to the front of the house to get a picture.
This man was picking up bottles from the lake to take and sell to make some money.
We had lunch at the Green Elephant restaurant which is a chain in Myanmar. The food was really good.
Fried tofu with a fish oil and pepper sauce.
Pork, curried chicken, water chestnut and mushroom salad, rice, and a vegetable soup.
We had fried bananas, steamed bananas and fruit for dessert.
A street vendor squeezing sugar cane and making drinks.
Check out the Shwedagon Pagoda post. Too many pictures to put here.
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