Schwedagon Pagoda, Yangon and Lunch at 999 Shan Noodle
After our Heritage Building walk and a refreshing beer in the Strand Hotel bar, Bob walked us over to where we’d decided to have lunch, a restaurant called 999 Shan Noodle at No. 130 B 34th Street. It’s not fancy, and it’s not expensive, but it certainly was delicious, and we had a nice time chatting with the owner and her nephew who was taking publicity photos of the food. They sent some of that food over to our table for us to taste. I loved the fried pillows of chickpea tofu, but really, it’s all about the noodles here.
After lunch we took a taxi to see what is arguably Yangon’s most famous tourist stop, Schwedagon Pagoda. Once there, we had to go through the tourist entrance, pay our $8 admission fee, and leave our shoes near the ticket booth. Please dress conservatively when visiting, no shorts above the knee and no bare arms (for both men and woman).
The pagoda is over 2500 years old and the stupa is covered in gold and topped with a 72 carat diamond. I suppose this befits the place where strands of the Buddha’s hair have been enshrined.
This is a very large complex and it was crowded with the faithful and monks of all ages. The day we were there it was raining and thankfully they had rubber mats covering the slick marble pavers.
The skies darkened and suddenly it began to dump rain. Everyone ran for cover.
The young monks all seem to have cell phones.
