Shwedagon-Pagoda - Yangon
First published in 2017
The Shwedagon-Pagoda is the key landmark in Yangon and one of the reasons we wanted to visit Myanmar again. Due to the travel schedule, we had the opportunity to be there multiple times.
We come to the base of the pagoda and for the first time during our vacation, we have to take off our shoes. All holy places must be entered barefoot only. We walk up the first flight of stairs, cross a small street - still barefooted - and climb ever further up, passing many, many shops offering whatever one might want to buy.
Once you have reached the top you can change money and as a foreigner, an entrance fee of 8000 Kyatt per person has to be paid. Finally, we pass the entrance and enter a totally different and wonderful world. On all our journeys we have never seen anything comparable.
The most important sanctuary of the Buddhists in Myanmar is simply beautiful. The centerpiece is a pagoda completely covered with gold. Around it are dozens of buildings, temples, and small shrines - all different and beautiful as well. There are quite a few people around. Monks, pilgrims, tourists. Again and again, believers have settled on the ground and pray or light up incense sticks. People sing, eat and laugh - a very own and wonderful atmosphere.
At the end of our journey, we want to return to the Shwedagon Pagoda once again. At five a.m. the alarm rings and at quarter past we are already on our way. It is dark, little traffic and when signing the visitors' book, we realize that today we are the first foreigners at the pagoda.
But it's anything but empty - it's almost as full as in the evening. Many believers, partly in larger groups, are already here. Although we are here for the third time, we still find new motifs. At some point, we decide to take a final round and make our way back to the hotel.
