Myanmar Redux, Part 4: It's a monk's life!

 

One of my favorite places that Tammy and I visited while in Mandalay was a Buddhist monastery, a space flourishing with a profusion of monks and novices. We arrived around noon when they were congregating for the second and final meal of the day. (Their first meal happens in the early morning, and there are only two meals per day at a monastery.) Many of the photos in this post I shot while at that particular monastery, but Buddhist monks and nuns are ever visible throughout the panorama of daily life in Myanmar.

Monks must live here:

The novice:

Monks and nuns out and about, living their lives:

Myanmar Redux, Part 3: Bagan to Mandalay

Tammy and I flew from Yangon to Bagan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site famous for its legion of ancient Buddhist pagodas and stupas stretching across the horizon. The pagodas and stupas are holy, and for any entrance--which usually means an ascent--one leaves footwear behind. Of course, every day life continues with those who live here, too.

After our days in Bagan, Tammy and I traveled to Mandalay by boat upon the mighty Irrawaddy. Officially these days the name of the river is Ayeyarwady, but the place names Mandalay and Irrawaddy have traipsed through my imagination for years because of poems, stories, and novels, and I wanted to witness them in the real world. The boat trip began before dawn and continued for most of the day. Here are some views of river life.

For us, the Irrawaddy River became our road to Mandalay.