Monk encounter at Shwedagon Pagoda

Last night, we went to the Shwedagon Paya Buddhist Stupa after a long travel 1.5 days to Yangon (previously Rangoon), Myanmar (previously Burma). It was very majestic, although the neon lights around the Buddha images’ heads kinda sorta tarnished the whole effect.

Anyways, our hotel is about a 30-45 minute walk to the Stupa and we were all very weary from walking such a looooooong ways. Just past ¼ of the ways walking around the GIANT monument, we found some steps that looked very inviting to sit down on. A few minutes after we got settled a monk sitting very close to us said “hello”. I looked up and he was smiling and holding out his hand for me to shake it. At first, I was very nervous because a woman is not supposed to even touch a monk’s robes let alone shake his hand! But I took up the offer anyways. The next thing he said was “Where are you from?” This is a common question I have found in SE Asia and I simply told him America and his reaction was very outstanding: “Oh! An American!” he exclaimed. He was obviously very surprised by our nationality. His two buddies started to point at us and whispering to each other. It was as if we were animals at the zoo!

One of the two even asked me why I wore the glasses. I had to explain to him that they helped me see. I was actually kind of surprised that I had to explain this to him. Plenty of monks wear glasses. He related to my problem of not being able to see far and I let him try my glasses on. As soon as they were over his eyes, he took them off saying “Too much power! Too much!” We all started to laugh.

After a while, a Burmese man who had come to pay his respects to the Buddha joined in on our conversation. After that, a few more monks and a Burmese woman joined in as well. We were the main attraction at the stupa! Forget the hundreds and hundreds of Buddha images. You can talk to American children!

My dad was also very popular because of his gigantic arms. Many of the monks kept commenting on how strong he was. They said they try and try but they could not get big muscles. My dad went on and on about how if you eat protein and vegetables, it will also help.

That’s pretty much all that happened. My father regrets not asking to take a group photo. So sadly, we do not have and photographic references. It was an exceptional travel experience and one that we will all remember for a long time.

Oh and by the way, most Burmese monks wear maroon robes instead of orange ones. Just in case you were wondering…

Kenzi