Day 77 - Wednesday March 15 Yangon

Yangon photos

position at 7:30 am: N16 39.430 latitude E96 15.080 longitude, Yangon, Myanmar
temperature: 82F, 94% humidity, partly cloudy
distance since FLL: 24,652 miles

Here is the description of the tour we are taking today:
==========================================
Yangon and Shwedagon Pagoda

Duration: 5 Hours.
Walking.
Price $55 pp

Religious observances still dictate that one must remove their shoes and socks prior to entering the Shwedagon Pagoda. Your visit to this famous shrine will be timed to best avoid the congestion that can sometimes occur, due to the many pilgrims visiting. Following the visit to the pagoda, you will see how the many influences in Yangon combine to make it a most interesting city. The Portuguese, French and British were uninvited guests and did not fail to make their statements by way of architecture, some of which can be seen at the Bogyoke Aung San Park. Following the park, you will visit the Karaweik Hall which features a concrete replica of the Royal Barge, used to transport the Burmese Royal Family through the intricate river system of the country. Peering into the Royal Lake you can see a splendid reflection of the Shwedagon Pagoda. The Maha Bandoola Park is the next stop, where you will have the opportunity to view the Independence monument and the nearby Supreme Court of Burma.
A visit to the National Museum will showcase the tremendous Lion Throne of the last Burmese king. The museum also has a fine collection of weaponry and armor, all of which is bejeweled in local rubies, sapphires and diamonds.

There will be time for shopping at the conclusion of your Yangon sightseeing. Burmese lacquer ware is of exceptional quality. The woven shan bags are of particular interest and there are bargains to be had in teak carvings, dolls and wicker items. The quality of precious stones cannot be guaranteed, and it is suggested to buy only from a reputable, state-run dealer.
Please note: Cotton clothing and a light wrap for the evenings during the cool season are recommended. Do not wear shorts, inappropriate wear or sleeveless blouses when visiting temples. Footwear must be removed before entering a temple. The use of credit cards may be limited; therefore please bring US Dollars to pay for any incidental items.
==========================================

We were up early to catch breakfast in La Veranda at 6:30am so we could be on the dock at 6:50am for our 7am tour. We made it and were on bus 3 of 3 buses. We again had a police escort, but today the policeman would stay with us through the whole tour until we returned to the ship right at noon. All three buses stayed in a group through the Yangon traffic. The escort allowed us to stay on schedule. Almost without exception, the other drivers on the road obeyed the escort signal to give way.

Our first stop was the Shwedagon Pagoda. We got there around 8am in the morning. This turned out to be a good time to be there as the temperature was only in the mid 80's and the sun had not heated up the marble pavers in the courtyard surrounding the main temple, so we could walk around barefooted without burning our feet. We had heard stories on the ship from prople who were there in the afternoon the day before and they told a different story of not being able to walk on the marble. (Of course, we had the same problem yesterday at midday in the pagoda courtyard in Bago. Avoid the dark colored tiles!) Today when we left the pagoda and returned to our shoes, Debbie ducked into the ladies room because Clay had yelled too late and she had stepped in a fresh puddle of urine. They had some foot level faucets in a trough by the wall and Debbie stepped in and turned one on. No sooner had she turned around to stick a foot under the water, than a woman appeared and started washing her feet! Amazing! Then the woman turned off the faucet and put down a towel and towelled her feet dry. Debbie gratefully produced a dollar bill and thanked her, happy to slide clean feet back into her shoes. Clay stayed out by the cabinet with the shoes and the staff at the "foreign guests" foyer produced plastic chairs and disposable wet clothes for washing feet before putting shoes back on. This was a very nice touch and was much appreciated.

We took an elevator up to the height of the courtyard and then walked through a covered entrance to enter the courtyard and see the huge golden dome towering above us. There are numerous side buildings along the four sides of the huge dome. Our guide took us on a walk around all four quadrants around the dome. The whole complex was probably as large as the Royal Place in Bangkok, and was just as impressive. There was lots of gold gleaming in the sun. Along each side of the dome was a marble courtyard that held temples of all sizes and types, but each had something notable in them. We spent about an hour or so walking around the dome and looking at the surrounding altars and temples. She pointed out all the planetary posts and representative animal statues.

Next we went to an artificial lake, Royal Lake, that had a reconstruction of a royal barge on it. The barge was huge, and we were offered a orange drink inside an air conditioned hall in it. The main reason for visiting the lake is that you can see the gold dome of the Shwedagon Pagoda reflected in it, but the buses drove by the best picture site, so we had to walk back maybe 300-400 yards to take the pictures. Asta, from the Tour Desk, was with us and pointed out to the guides that they needed to stop the buses there on the way back. So we all reboarded the buses a few minutes early to go back for photos, but once again the buses blew by without stopping. The reason given was that the motorcycle cop did not stop, so the buses had to stay with him. Good thing that Clay walked back in the beginning.

Next we stopped at the National Musem to see the Lion Throne. We spent about 20 minutes there. Finally, we were driven to Scott's Market and turned loose for about 45 minutes to walk around and shop. We did. But we were happy that most of what we wanted to buy here, we had bought yesterday, because this place was huge and just went on and on and it was divided into fabrics, shoes, jewelry, etc. and it would have been difficult in 30 minutes or so to get your bearings and find what you were looking for here. While we were there, the power went out in the market. But some enterprising stalls had portable generators that they just cranked up. We left the inside and continued our shopping on the outer stalls to avoid CO poisoning. :)

Right at 11am, we boarded the buses for the trip back to the ship and got back right at noon. The local tour company had strung ribbons from the rails of the ship, so that we when pulled away, the rolls of ribbons would unfurl. It was a nice touch. They had a farewell ceremony for us at 12:30pm, but then we did not leave, so they had to stand there in the blazing sun waiting for us to leave. During this time another general appeared and his delegation and the Captain welcomed them onto the ship as the gangway was about to be removed. The gangway stayed in place until they left the ship and during the farewell ceremony and then the general and his delegation and all the local military uniformed men that had been onboard for the duration of our stay left the ship and the gangway was removed. There are really big tides here and you could watch it swooshing in against the river's current. The tide came in just about 1:00pm and we pulled away shortly thereafter.

We had lunch in Compass Rose and then took naps in the afternoon. It was a busy time here with early mornings and late nights. Debbie got up in time for 2 afternoon classes. Tighten and Tone Upper Body followed by Tighten and Tone Lower Body. Tonight was Informal and we went to Compass Rose because they had lasagna on the menu. Debbie loved that lasagna last time it was served and had been waiting for it to appear again. Disappointment. Tomorrow they are have a Tex-Mex buffet on the Pool Deck and they must have made extra ground beef filling because that was what was between the noodles, served on top of a plate with tomato sauce on one side of the plate and bechamel sauce on the other side of the plate. It was actually really bad and more than just a disappointment. Oh, well, it is not like we couldn't afford to skip a few meals.

We went to bed early. Even earlier, if you count that the clocks moved back another half hour at bedtime tonight. We have 3 lovely sea days to rest up for the next big burst of activity in India. We love cruising the Indian Ocean. Debbie says it is her favorite ocean. That we she thinks of cruising, this is what she is imagining. It is funny because on Voyager Today, Jamie said the exact same thing, that it is his favorite ocean and the perfect cruising. Too bad there are not more cruises here.
Some catching up. The virus/cold that has been burning its way through the ship is not slowing down. Many of the new arrivals have gotten it now and it seems to either be mutating or a new strain has developed/arrived because many people that were sick with it already have gotten sick a second time. A lot of people have said that the Doctor has prescribed Cipro for them and that is a new twist because when this first started, the medical office was advising that it was just a virus and to rest and wait to recover. Debbie is feeling much better and Clay's has settled into his chest and he is still fighting it. On the other hand, the ankle is lots better and he is walking a regular morning schedule now.

In other news, Jamie announced a couple of days ago that there would be a talent show on the 17th, Friday, St. Patrick's Day. We have seen a few people practicing for it and we look forward to going tomorrow. Yesterday, we saw that they have decorated Latitudes for the Taj Mahal dinners and we have our reservations for tomorrow night also. In our cabin today they delivered the latest segment's Guest Directory. There are 604 guests listed for this segment.

Yangon photos