www.Go To The Mountain - Musings of a Potential Guru

Continued From Part One... The Schwedagon Pagoda, a most significant and prominent landmark in Yangon dominating the skyline as it is almost 100m in height. It is the most sacred Buddhist pagoda in Myanmar as it is said to contain relics of four previous Buddhas. Legend has it that it was constructed 2,600 years ago and is the oldest Buddhist stupa in the world. It is covered by tonnes of gold plates and its crown is tipped with more than 5,000 diamonds, more than 2,000 rubies and right at the very top there is a 76 carat diamond. Most Myanmarese people are Theravada buddhists. There isn't enough time, so may be next time. We came to a beautiful Italian restaurant. We were supposed to do French but it was fully booked. There is plenty to choose from. I wanted the smallest meal. I like appetisers. Never wrong with a good soup. The only time I have bacon is when I travel and during hotel breakfast and in this case the tiny bits in the soup. I d...

Yangon, Myanmar was once Rangoon, Burma. Rangoon literally means "end of strife". It is the capital of the country and used to have a population of 5 million but I was told they seemed to now have 7 million. Yangon was first founded as Dagon circa 1028-1043. Today, they say Myanmar is the last frontier in South East Asia. Here I am, in the capital of the last frontier. They were once known as the garden city of the east. At one time, their public services and  infrastructure were reported to be on par with London. I got a sense of new development as I saw some extension to the airport and a temporary car park. Welcome to Yangon, the sign says. It was busy as the roads were congested. Signs of progress. There were derelict buildings but... It has the largest number of colonial buildings in the region. Passed by a hotel that has a name that perhaps says it all. I saw a church. And more colonial buildings.   Finally a lo...