Myanmar, the Land of Gold: #Shwedagon Pagoda..

Beberapa waktu yang lalu, saya sempat berbagi cerita tentang pengalaman mengunjungi Myanmar, salah satu anggota paling muda ASEAN.

Dan seperti biasa, banyak sekali yang ingin diceritakan. But again, baru sempat menulisnya setelah jeda sekian lama :D..tidak ada maksud lain selain sharing pengalaman berinteraksi dengan penduduk asli seraya menikmati keindahan alam di sana.

So....No excuses, I said to myself. Ayo kita menulis dan lanjuuuut kita mengunjungi Myanmar :D.

After finishing a fruitful Bilateral Dialogue between Indonesia and Myanmar at ministerial level, I finally got a chance to see more of Yangoon..

As always (hiks), I only have a very limited time and of course I managed to visit the famous Shwedagon Temple although I just got a chance to visit it at night.


Myanmar is indeed potential in terms of tourism .
And visit to Shwedagon Pagoda is indeed a must when you come to Yangon, Myanmar.
Coined as the landmark of Myanmar, the Pagoda is situated in Singuttara Hill..no wonder you can easily spot this jewel-studded pagoda even from afar...

Built firstly by King Okkalapa looong long time ago, a shrine believed to house the holy hair pieces of Buddha, has continuously  expanded into one of the holy places for Buddhists.

one of the Buddha statues in Shwedagon.... 
It is incredible.

As you stepped in, you would line up for tickets, took off your shoes and went through a 'tunnel' before welcoming yourself in a huge courtyard full of beautifully adorned temples, statues, and relics. As it is a highly sacred ground, no shoes, socks, and sandals are allowed.

It opens from 4 AM in the morning (definitely for monks and those devoted prayers) until 9 PM, but I guess the foreigners can only visit this place starting from 6 AM.

Here are some photos I took during my visit there.


lines of golden Buddha statues...



send a little prayer here...


gold gold and more gold...
everything is beautifully gold...






sleeping Buddha in one spot...

It was a great visit indeed.


Apalagi setelah tau bahwa stupa yang ada di Pagoda ternyata terbuat dari lebih dari 8000 batang emas!  Ada sekitar 10 ribu batu mulia, mulai dari berlian, safir,merah delima, giok dan topaz! Another wooow indeed. No wonder this stupa is incredibly famous for beautifully capturing the ray of the sun, particularly during sunrise and sunset... too bad I missed it.





Many people were flocking..and the Temple itself is more like a huge Buddhist  complex with so many temples with different sizes, details and adornment...as most of the temples were covered with gold (originally as well as plated :D), it was very grandeur and flashy at the same time.



locals and tourists, young and old...all gathered in Shwedagon...

Coming there with some friends, we stayed around to see people praying as well as gathering cheerfully with families..some of them even had a picnic. 

In one spot, people devotedly prayed, they burnt incense, followed the monks and chanted.


While in another corner, people were happily chatting, eating, sitting and enjoying the surroundings, spending some quality time with family, with one another.

gold...gold...and gooold....

It was a mixed feeling for me.

Knowing that this is a holy ground as well as public space where people spend time relaxing.

I myself try to observe and respect the holiness of this site, including by refraining myself from talking aloud and laughing, as well wearing modest clothes.

   
Well, as you can see in the pictures, it was quite a crowd we have here.




I was trying to communicate with local people while visiting the temple...asking here and there, trying to get more information on some details or asking for help in translating the scripts written on the wall. Well, most of them returned back to me with huge smiles and said 'no English"...some have been kind enough to talk to me in their local English..some of them were flocking near me and saying nothing but local lingo, and some even asked their friends to take pictures with me hehehe....never mind, I still enjoyed my conversations with them :D.



solemnly praying....


more Buddha....


with friends....it was an enjoyable visit indeed....


I really love the details on the roof...


one part of the roofs....


ceramic depicting the story of Buddha...


Burmese elephant :D...












































All in all, it was quite an experience.
I guess I need to go back to explore more of this ASEAN  fellow member country and enjoy  more of the beauty of Myanmar..


enjoying Thai food in Yangoon...well well....


while waiting for my flight to Yangoon :D...monks are the priorities :D...



Anybody wants to take me back there?




5 comments:

  1. And just please take me too :D
    aah jatuh cinta sama foto2nya, semoga some day bisa kesana aamiin

    ReplyDelete
  2. iya mba nurul..menarik lho menghabiskan beberapa waktu di kuil ini...banyak yang bisa dilihat dan difoto...ayoo ayoooo...mampir ;D...

    ReplyDelete
  3. mbak cantik2 sekali fotonya
    pasti udah profesional dalam jepret-jepret
    warnanya itu gemerlap kali, kuning keemasan

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mba Lisa...makasih, saya amatiran yang seneng jeprat jepret, masih harus banyak belajaar...Shwedagon memang gemerlap..temanya emas dan they do use real gold :D...

      Delete
  4. silau mbak lihat gambarnya yang warna kuning keemasan, wah profesional kali dalam jepret-jepret, hasil fotonya bagus2, gambarnya cerah2

    ReplyDelete

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