12.24.2016 Christmas, Hanukkah, Buddhist Temples, and White Privilege.

Yangon, Myanmar. Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays

I’ll try to condense a very long day into a short write up…

Headed out this morning to the Old Yangon again… but we took a different route and walked on different streets. Things were as chaotic as previously although today was a Saturday.  Meandered in and out of alleys; hotter and it seemed more humid than yesterday. I think we were also lagging more because now we knew you just had to keep walking. The area we walked through today seemed older, less tended to, and poorer than what we had seen yesterday (but it could just be my imagination).

Then we headed to Pomelo a fair trade shop we had heard about – carrying many products made by and through the clients of various NGOs such as ones that work with women with AIDS, etc.  Picked up some nice gifts and then headed to the Strand Hotel for an upscale “lunch” (at 2:30) of Burmese High Tea.  A bit like the British ones in London at fancy hotels.. but instead of little tiny sandwiches there were various Asian dishes… and lots of sweets. The Strand is an absolutely beautifully-restored hotel (that is actually located about a block or so from the tail end of the Night Market).

During the colonial period, The Strand was one of the most luxurious hotels in the British Empire… and the clientele was all White. It was sold and underwent a major renovation in 1937 and then in 1941, during WWII, following the Japanese occupation of Burma, the hotel housed Japanese troops (pretty nice digs). Then ownership changed to the old Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. In 1945, Burmese became part of the clientele of the hotel, but after Burmese independence the hotel became neglected (by post-colonial governments). After the 1988 coup, the hotel was sold and then underwent a major renovation. It is now a very very high-end hotel with teak and marble floors, mahogany furniture, etc. but unlike the other old hotels that get restored, the restoration stuck to its architectural past, so there isn’t any new addition, no swimming pool , etc. .. just elegant. While we are not staying at the Strand (although I would highly recommend it–but you will be in a White enclave), as you’ll hear in future posts, we used their services as needed!

Left High Tea and headed back to the hotel to drop off our bags of purchases from Pomelo and walked to the 2,500 year -old Schwedagon Pagoda – which is totally jaw-dropping… or as awesome as it gets.. It’s located west of the Royal Lake on a 114-acre site and is considered the most sacred and impressive Buddhist site for Myanmar people. It stands at 110 meters and is covered with hundreds of gold plates. The stupa has more than 4,000 diamonds (I’m told the largest is 72 carats). It has to be one of the wonders of the religious world. It is like a little city with hundreds colorful temples, stupas, and statues that reflect the many different eras of its 25 centuries. And the “village” has adapted in funny ways to current times – including the introduction of LEDs that flash around some of the Buddhas!  Strolling around the site you see Buddhist monks, and families, and the seriously religious as well as the gawkers.

As we entered we needed to pay (about $2 because we are foreigners; this seems to be the norm here; locals can enter free and foreigners cover the tab – which is fine by me); and we checked shoes and socks.. Then we could either use stairs or an escalator to get to the top… which is like walking within a little idyllic village with monstrous size Buddhas and reclining Buddhas and sitting Buddhas and stupas. People are congregated to just chat, to pray, to stroll. Young couples seem to come here to do what young couples do.

We expected to stay just a short time, but we stayed way longer. We had entered through the West Gate and that was where we checked our shoes, so we needed to leave by that same gate. We split up and then as we each tried to find the West Gate again we both got lost – connected only through texting — but not together. I wound up asking many people, but few spoke any English. Eventually I stumbled on one Burmese man who spoke a few words and was able to point in the direction. He also asked where I was from and when I said California he said “USA” and then said “Obama, Obama!” And I thought, how different travel will be under Trump.

We then headed back to the hotel where there was a pre-planned “Christmas Dinner”… It was sweet, held pool side with flowers and candles floating in the water. Following dinner, we made a quick change and decided to head to the cathedral to see what Midnight Mass would be like. Though not Catholic, as we’ve traveled a lot over the holidays over the years, we’ve gone to observe Midnight Mass in Vietnam, Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, and other places. So this seemed like a good idea.

As we approached the cathedral at about 11:15 pm, we were shocked. The church was totally packed; it held about 2,000 people. It was standing room only and people were sitting outside in chairs and on the grass. Catholics represent just 1% of the country’s population. But it was also like a “fair” with food stands outside and huge, bigger-than-life blow ups of Santa Clauses at the entryway of the church.. and LEDs everywhere within the church.. It was like a giant light show. We were part of the standing crowd, but at one point, as they were trying to clear the aisles, a church usher made a beeline to me and began to usher us to seats up front (I assume because we were clearly one of the very very few Whites, non-Burmese visitors). Then he stopped and asked if we were Catholic. When I said “No” he decided we should just stand.

Anyway, from 11 to midnight the choir and a children’s choir sang Christmas carols (in English – which seemed odd, since we know very few people speak English). The church was excruciatingly hot with so many bodies and no air conditioning and only very, very small fans. Anyway, at midnight the bishop (I think it was a bishop as he had a pointy hat and then a red skull cap) began his sermon, which seemed to go on and on and on. We left at about 12:30. It was a bit surprising that there wasn’t any nod to the local ethnicity and culture. Other midnight masses we’ve been to have incorporated a lot of the local flair. After doing some research we learned that there is conflict among Burmese Catholics because the church hierarchy has entertained the junta, has supposedly paid off the government, but mostly because it did not support the monks (who were fighting for the people) during the Saffron Revolution.

We walked through the throngs outside, passed more vendors selling Santa caps and more food.. and headed back to the hotel. Tomorrow is another day.

Happy Hanukah, Merry Christmas…

Fern