Friday, December 31, 2010

Getting the Message Across

I always like to look at the communication media in foreign countries.  It can be very telling.  We watched a little TV - pixelled out plunging necklines and thigh high slits in the Miss Universe contest were quite hilarious.  My mother would approve.  
But, needless to say, we spent the main part of our day visiting pagodas and temples - the former housed Buddha relics and the latter Buddha images - or the opposite - anyway, these were lively, vibrant places where people do lots of things and generally hang out.  So they are prime advertising spaces.  Like in the cathedrals of Europe where the teachings of the Bible are displayed in stained-glass windows and bas relief carvings, many pagodas featured the story of Buddha and his teachings in different media, mural paintings, glass mosaics (shown below), carvings, statues etc. 
 


However, there were often panels with very modern messages as well.  One in particular caught my attention as it seemed to give the rules and regs for good living.  This one is apparently 'Don't Drink'...


This one I couldn't figure out exactly, but I think the gist is 'Don't Talk Smack or you wil really annoy your neighbor'


In the street, there were other messages.  This one warns against bad driving.  I love the close up of the terrified guy.


This one was displayed in a tea house where we had lunch one day.  It was not a tourist restaurant by any stretch of the imagination, but the sign was in English, which I appreciated.  Again, good advice.



And finally, by our western standards, you would think that this is an ad for Large and Lovely clothing, but it's just a regular ad, for regular clothes with nice, plump women for models.  There were the same types for jewelry and cold relief medicine and coffee.  The message? "Plump and White is Beautiful."  Who knew?!!  


Thursday, December 30, 2010

Paleik - A Nice Surprise

This little village was a highlight for me because of its contrast with the bustling, glittering Yangon that we had just left.
 Simon, our guide in Mandalay picked us up after our flight from Yangon, and immediately proposed an off-the-beaten-track (and not on our program) visit. I was a bit weary, because the last unexpected proposal we had brought us to the saddest display of animal captivity I have ever seen - 3 white elephants chained to a cement slab - for eternity.
 He promised that it was a nice site, so on the way into town we stopped in Paleik, "The Little Bagan." Like Bagan, Myanmar's premier tourist site with hundreds of stupas dotting the plains, Paleik had a few hundred stupas to its name. However, unlike Bagan, the village was not forced to relocate to make way for the tourists.  Paleik was a historically wealthy town because of trade with China coming from the river running through it.  The stupas were built by wealthy individuals who wanted to gain Buddhist merit and show off a little of their wealth at the same time.  Some of the stupas have been renovated recently with golden spires, by some of today's wealthy villagers, but most were in a natural, beautiful state of erosion.




The village was also home to a monestary.  This is a teak temple that is used by the monks of the village. In the foreground are monks robes drying on the line.

The trees among the ruins were gorgeous and the path took us from the main road, through a forest of stupas, past the monestary and on to the village where we meandered and solicited the curiosity of the villagers.

Some of the monks lived inside the stupas. They took care of them and slept inside. Monks live off of donations by the people for food and clothing. Mandalay was a big Monk hub.  I can't remember the exact numbers, but basically that's where a good part of them live.

Here is one sitting on his front porch taking in the rays.  Behind him, notice the Italian archways on a building in the middle of Burmese stupas. Another nice contrast!

The village was a buzz with preparations for the upcoming pagoda celebrations in addition to the daily activity centered around its specialty, weaving.  Every house had a loom and they all seemed to be clattering away.  We were invited to visit one, with no pressure whatsoever to buy anything (there was no shop anyway) or even give money.  They just seemed proud to show off their workshop and have some foreigners come in.

We were surprised to see children working at the looms.  Everywhere we went, we saw children working at various jobs.  Some were in school, others were at work.  Hopefully, more and more will be in school in time.



Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

The Safran Touch

Ten percent of Myanmar's populations are monks.  Is that right?  Maybe not, but I know that it's a big percentage.  So it's alot.  In Myanmar, every boy must spend at least a little time in a Buddhist monestary at some time in their lives.  The resistance of the monks to military rule in the 80's is sometimes referred to as the "Safran Revolution," referring to the color of their robes.

Girls can be monks too, but I don't think it's as big a tradition for them.  This girl was an orphan, that is why she is at the monestary. 


The monks live off of donations of food and clothing.  Sometimes they live in temples, like the one below.  Sometimes in monestaries. 


Many of the younger monks come to the tourist spots to chat with the foreigners to help them learn foreign languages.  Antoine was often approached, and the first question was always, "Where do you come from?" the second is "How old are you?" The boy talking to Antoine in this picture is 16 years old.  He was surprised to hear that Antoine is only 12! 


We visited a Buddhist university near Myanmar. Here is a dorm room.


These guys were supposed to be studying, but it was a bit difficult with the foreigners distracting them.  They didn't seem to mind, however.



The ladies dress in pink, the silver bowls tucked under their arms are for collecting alms,
and they often had lovely umbrellas with them to protect from the sun.
This guy is taking pictures of my boys.  For some reason, there was a group of ladies that wanted to have their pictures taken with the boys, one at a time.  The monks were responsible for approaching us and asking our permission.  After the first lady had her picture taken, others lined up.  The boys were willing and patient through a few shots, but once we started gathering a crowd, they became a little uncomfortable and we moved on.  After sneaking and asking for so many shots ourselves, it was funny to have the cameras turned on us!