Shwedagon Pagoda is also called the Golden Pagoda or the Great Dagon Pagoda. It’s an icon of Yangon and of Burma. It is supposed to be something over 2000 years old. The main pagoda is 326 feet tall and the pagoda is built on a hill so it dominates the Yangon skyline. At least it has dominated the skyline for centuries and will until Yangon gets some more of the high-rise buildings up that are currently under construction. Mind you, when they say it is over 2000 years old, that means the original pagoda was built back then. This pagoda has seen periods of disrepair and restoration and has been through many earthquakes, most notably the big earthquake of 1768. Shwedagon Pagoda is also a primary visitation place for such dignitaries or heads of state such as Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. In contrast to visiting dignitaries, this was also the site of many student protests against the military government in recent years. So it sort of has the status of a Tiananmen Square in Beijing or a Red Square in Moscow.

Shwedagon Pagoda is more than just a pagoda, it is a pagoda complex that covers over twelve acres. In many ways, photos can’t do it justice. That’s because photos can’t give you the senses of sound and smell. The pagoda experience includes the chanting of monks, the loud music, the smell of incense and other pungent odors, the hum of tourists and visitors, and so forth. None of these things come across in these photos. But when we were there, it was a hotbed of noises, smells, and activity.

One more thing is that this pagoda undergoes a restoration every 8 to 10 years and it was undergoing one when we were here. So the main pagoda and many of the other pagodas were draped with bamboo and sometimes tarps. So we were a bit unlucky with our timing.

1. You can see the Shwedagon Pagoda dominating the first photo, despite its bamboo and tarp coverings on the lower portion. The pagoda is gold-covered and gem-studded so it’s too bad we didn’t see it in all its glory but it was still quite a site. You can see that it has the company of lots of other pagodas and shrines of greater and lesser size. Vicky is in the middle of the first photo and Pete is off to the right side. The flooring was marble so it was nice on the bare feet.

2. Again, you can see that the other pagodas and shrines populate most of the twelve acres of the complex.

3. The complex also has many temples such as the one in the third photo. Some temples in the center area of the complex had large crowds of people inside them.

4. There are planetary posts around the Shwedagon Pagoda for each day of the week. Each day is represented by an animal, has Buddha statues and a guardian angel at the back. The custom is to find the day of the week that you were born and to go to that post and pour water over the Buddha’s and the animal. I was born on a Sunday, as you can see in the fourth photo – and I was praying that I wouldn’t slip on the water spilled about on the marble floor.

5. I just couldn’t pass up taking the last photo: a monk taking a selfie.