"Schwedagon with Che" Top 5 Page for this destination Rangoon Travelogue by cochinjew

What does a Sunday Born do on a Sunday in Yangon? Visit the magnificent Pagodas at Shwedegon Of course…Who else to accompany me on this trip but our dear Che…
As I entered, the petite woman at the counter and the aggressive guides to be at the gates welcomed me with equal eagerness, but I was far more impressed with their enquiry.. Your Leader is Fidel Castro, No? and the girl who has not even been to University, said, I have book written by Che and I want my children to learn about him.. This is in Myanmar, my dear friends!
The half Chinese lady at the Jewelry store at Bogyoke Market had presented me with a small jade pendant of Garuda, the god for the Sunday Borns and as you can see on the picture above I was carrying a garland of sweet blossoms to offer to the Nats…

This is Yin Yin, meaning soft sounds or simple lady in Bamar who wanted her children to read and learn about CHE.. in Cuba, all children start their day by reciting Seremos como Che.. We Will be like Che..
To me, recognizing Che is a measure of the intellectual curiosity of the people. I had found it in unusual quarters in various countries.

I offered my prayers to Nats and believe it or not, one by one I remembered all my friends and family and those who needed to come to my memory came up. And once again I asked Nats for forgiveness for my bad behaviour which may hurt some people. Today is a good day to ask for forgiveness.
I lit candles at the foot of the Nat here and offered my prayers in Hebrew. Later on I repeated the same ritual at the Nat shrine at the tree at the tea shop I frequent, while the waiters eagerly stood in a row, I lit two candles, said the shema and blessed them all .. I am not a Jewish Buddhist or a confused Jew but a Jew who likes Nats and other spirits.
The prayers at first for the daughters, grateful to have them in my life and then for my dedicated sister, selfishly serving and looking after my mother who has had a relatively good life, as a young bride in Malaysia and then a relatively calm life in Brunei as unofficial head of a clan of Malayalee Speakers working in the Oilfields. Then came my family: sister Jackie, Brother Ricardo, Brother Elliott and his family and one by one my dear ones from Cuba paraded through my mind, including the little ones who wait for my return..Mari and her sister; Chinita. May the Spirits protect them. Needless to say the American Indians who have taught me so much, I prayed collectively for them.
I asked the Nats for forgiveness for things beyond my control and my erratic behaviour in Japan. I know that I should not return to Japan until I figure it out in my mind.
A new friend from Singapore came to my mind. May she find peace that she deserves in her mind, in that cauldron of inquietitude and
Materialism, but as Dalai Lama has once said.. which had been said by Krisnamurty before.. does not matter where you are, what matters is where your heart is at. I hope my new friend from Singapore has her heart at the right place and in the right direction.

After praying to the Nats I sat down on the steps to take a deep breath and enjoy the fullness of the prayers when an older man approached me and said. You are far from home so let me show you something about this Pagoda…Initially I was a bit dubious of this approach but then again, of all the people I should be the one with a liberal mind open to new things.. He turned out to be in charge of the Foreign visitors to the Pagoda and he took me to certain corners and explained various stories about the buildings and architecture

the front of the south entrance, a taxi discharged some passengers and I wanted a ride, he quoted a price which I know is twice the normal price ( for a tourist all prices quoted are twice the normal prices), he consented to my offer and off we went. I am a Hindu Budhist, sir, he said, the name on the drivers licence said U Myint, a typical Burmese name and the gentleman in question could have been from Tamil Nadu. My Hindu name is Dilip Das and my Burmese name is Myint, and I pray to both Hindu gods and I am an observant Budhist. There is some beauty in this innocence, why not? I remembered the harshness dealt me by the observant jews of Buenos Aires when I told them of my interest in Nats..

went back to the Moslem family, who wrote down all their names for me. Typical Burmese fashion, they all have typical Burmese names but they also revealed their Moslem names to me..This boy of ten, a grade six student is Thu Ya Aye Tun but his Moslem name is Usman. I spent over an hour with him and his seven year old sister, Aye Ya Da Na Tun whose Moslem name is Aisha, she is in second Grade. Usman is saving money in a piggy bank, so far 3000 kyats towards a bicycle which costs 15000 kyats. Mother laughs and says that Osman saves money while Aisha spends her little allowance on sweets.. These kids are sweet beyond belief, let me only hope that I too was like them once upon a time. Perhaps I should supplement Usman’s savings for his bicycle perhaps in time for his birthday!
I feel very comfortable in Myanmar. I do not wish to complain about the noise, the crowds, the restaurants and the heat. Many wish to do so, because they have not overcome or transcended their physical states. I am oblivious to this state of physical affairs of Myanmar because it is the emotional and spiritual state of Myanmar and Asia in general which I have transcended. I do not subscribe to the asian way of thinking about self, roles in society, but enjoy what this particular society with its very strict rules and regulation has created, an innocence beyond belief, a closeness to the original pattern of living. I look Asian but I am nowhere an Asian, neither in my heart nor in my head and most importantly I do not have any conflict about that. I happen to be an Australian Citizen who is enormously fond of Cuba and thus plugged into a latin American way of living and would be quite happy being a passionate gardener to some lord of the manor in an outlying latin American country, as long as I can have my wine and recite poems with my cronies.
A traveler looks forward to the next destination,a tourist thinks of going home. What all I ask for is an understanding travel companion now and then. Each day in Myanmar I have met some lovely person or other, a student or some one with great expectations. I don’t feel disappointed that my hours are not full of sightseeing or feasting on newer and newer edifices. I might even drop in on Australian Embassy tomorrow, go down by the river, take a boat ride.. but nothing is definite, quien sabe, who knows, a manha sera outra dia.. tomorrow is another day…

I will leave you with some observations about Burmese behaviour ..The greetings include, Nay kaung dai naw.. literally meaning I believe you are in good health, not wishing to appear nosy..
Chan Thar Bar Zai.. literally.. May you be rich.. rich here does not mean money, but takes into consideration physical and spiritual sides of the person being greeted.
The general greeting Mingalar Bar… may you be blessed with auspiciousness is truly a manifestation of the religious life of this country of deeply conscious Buddhists.. this beautiful salutation is twice blessed, to the giver who utters it and to the person who receives it..
Regarding days of week of birth, they take it pretty seriously here and from the name one can tell which day of the week you were born in .. My Burmese name is Aung Khant ( more than once I have been told that whoever chose the name, chose a very beautiful name), any one hearing this name would know that I was born on a Sunday..
For Friendships
Sunday Borns and Thursday Borns, Monday and Wed AM, Tuesdays and Friday Borns, Saturdays and Wednesdays PM
Marriage Compatibility: Sunday Borns with Fridays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, Sat with Wed AM, Mondays with Wed PM
The following do not agree with each other:
Sun and Tue; Mon and Thurs; Fri and Sat; Wed AM and PM
The following are marriage incompatible:
Sat and thurs; Fridays and Mondays, wed AN and Sundays. Tuesdays and we pm.
You can try it out on your friends and lovers. And of course prospective lovers..

It is 1 AM here in Yangon; 2 30 AM in Singapore, 3 30 am in Tokyo,
11 pm in India, 1 30 pm in Miami, 1030 am on 6/2 in Portland. 7 30 am in Spain
Our bodies are in various shapes of being tired, some are asleep, some preparing to do so, others are waking up or fully woken up. But all of us have one thing in common, a heart that we share with each other. Our heart beats, like the drum say the Indians, in unision regardless wherever we are.

Hasta la Victoria Siempre!