Going to School in Myanmar

Going to a state school in Myanmar is the same no matter which state, if it's a city school or in a rural village. This is according to David's cleaning lady, shirt ironer, bill payer and translator for anything he needs help with in the local language. 

There are two shifts a day at each school. Grades 8 - 11 starts at 7am and finishes at 11.30am.

Then at 12.00 the second shift of Kindergarten to Grade 7 and they finish at 4.30pm. I can't imagine teaching in a classroom which would be shared by another teacher with an older or younger class during the other half of the day. 

Dagon School (named after the district the apartment is in) is just around around the corner. 

We think we have traffic problems at drop off and pick up times? It is nothing compared to this place where the traffic is clogged up at these times with cars, pick up trucks, taxis, vans, pedestrians, food vendors, other vendors selling toys and other items children would like. The change over time between the two shifts is the worst.  The streets in the area change from 2-way to 1-way, in which direction? 

Dagon School is on a corner. This is the main road on one side, taken from the pedestrian overpass. The other street with the pedestrian gate is more chaotic and it was too congested to get a shot of everything happening. Other side roads are just as blocked where parents park and leave their cars, or sit and wait. 

All state schools have a green and white uniform. The young girls often wear green pants with a tunic over the top and the young boys wear green pants, white shirt and green tie. 

The older children often wear the traditional long wrap around skirt, called a longyi. 

The teachers also wear the green white uniform of the green longyi and white top or shirt. 

Uniforms for sale

Longyi, but not quite regulation tops.

The teacher in uniform on the right. 

On the way to school.

Buying snacks after school. 

Shopping for snacks and toys on the way home. All these vendors set up at the beginning and end of the school day. 

Icecream Man

Fried Snacks

One long block of vendors

Peanuts or Corn?

Cheap Toys

Road side restaurant for the children.

There's security on the gates for the entire school day. The parents are allowed in to pick up the children where they meet in an undercover area the size of 2 netball courts. 

Pick up time isn't too different to ours in that it's a chance for parents to meet and chat. Some bring snacks for themselves and the children so they can stay longer while the children play in the playground. 

The covered pick up area. 

Yangon's Colonial Treasures

City Hall - a combination of British
and Burmese architecture.

Downtown Yangon has an abundance of buildings built during British colonial times. Some have been demolished, others are crumbling away from misuse, while others have been restored and renovated.

The ones that have been spruced up have had the benefit of commercial investment, private donations and overseas grants.

A Heritage Trust has been set up for conserving historic buildings. Most of them are government owned, some are religious buildings, there are many more privately owned but not listed.

There aren’t too many blocks without one of these buildings in need of protection. So with camera in hand I took myself for a walk.

The High Court

Built as a Harrod's style department store, became the Immigration Department, now renovated and operating as a bank.

The Telegraph Office

St Mary's Cathedral built in 1909.

 The Secretariat, built between 1889 and 1905 was the British seat of government for Burma. 

General Aung San and six of his colleagues were assassinated here in 1947.

Burma's first National Assembly was housed here. 



The General Post Office

The Strand Hotel opened in 1901. Rudyard Kipling, George Orwell and Somerset Maughan have all stayed here. 

 Yangon Region Court is one of the oldest buildings built around 1900. 

The Customs House still operates as the Customs House. 

Yangon General Hospital

Lokanat Gallery Building

I'm not sure what this building was built for, or what it's used for today, but I do like the look of it. 

Shwedagon Pagoda and Bahan Market

The Shwedagon Pagoda is visible from almost anywhere in Yangon and is the most sacred of Buddhist sites in Myanmar. There has been a stupa on this hill for 2,600 years and this one towers at 99 metres. The story goes, that two merchant brothers met the Buddha who gave them eight of his hairs to take back to the King of Myanmar. The King enshrined them along with relics from three former Buddhas.

Over time the stupa has been rebuilt and expanded as a result of damage done from a series of earthquakes over the centuries, many of the them, including the worst were in the 18^th century. One of the queens during the 15^th century offered her weight in gold to be beaten into gold leaf to cover the stupa. Then not to be outdone, her son-in-law offered four times his and his wife’s combined weight.

In the early-18^th century the British took the pagoda following their first war with the Burmese, then again 30 years later and the soldiers pillaged and helped themselves to precious artefacts. They remained in control for 77 years and placed cannons around the outer wall.

Some damage occurred during Cyclone Nargis in 2008 when there was major destruction of the Ayeyarwady Delta. It has also been the site of political rallies. Aung San Suu Kyi spoke to massive crowds in 1988 demanding democracy from the military regime. 42 years earlier her father gave his speech of ‘Independence Now’, from British rule and in 2007 it was the centre of the monks’ protests.  

The Shwedagon Pagoda was the centre of Yangon at one time. During British times the ruling Colonials built official buildings alongside the Yangon River, which is 5km away. The apartment is halfway between the two and I love walking in this area and seeing the shining gold spire from most roads and roundabouts.











As you approach the pagoda you climb the stairway of one of the four sweeping covered entranceways from either one of the cardinal directions. Each passageway is lined with opportunities to buy Buddhist mementos, bells, images and offerings. 

This glorious structure glows during the early morning sunrise and the setting sun. At the peak of the stupa the gold is encrusted with 5548 diamonds, 2317 rubies, sapphires and other gems. Topping it all off is a 76-carat diamond.

Of course you have to dress appropriately covering shoulders and ankles, boys included. 

In the area surrounding the pagoda is Bahan market, a bustling area with endless food stalls and vendors. There are business’ making and selling all sorts of Buddhist offerings, garments and images. There are many monks and nuns as the district has quite a few monasteries.

Novices at work

Monastic school

Monk's robes for sale

Woodcarvers at work

Cleaning the monastery walls

Bells for sale

Nun crossing the road

Temple decorations

                          

Always food for sale

Flowers for offerings

These flowers are real money.

If the Buddha is too heavy to lift, get a truck with a crane.