Burma 1984
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan 2018
Burma 1984
Our penultimate day in Burma was spent on a day excursion to the old seaport of Pegu, 80 kilometres north-east of Rangoon. On the way, visits were made at the large war cemetery at Htaukkyan, containing the graves of some 27,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers. Following a stop at a small fishing village, we came across the celebrations and feast for the ordination of some young boys into the monkhood. The father of the boys extended us a warm welcome and we were honoured to participate in the music, dancing and festivities. Further on the way, we stopped at the huge block-like Kyaikpun Pagoda (actually a four-sided Buddha construction), and following lunch, brief visits were made at the 114 metre high Shwemawdaw Pagoda (impressive from a distance and reminiscent of the Shwedagon in Rangoon, but offering little Burmese life or temple architecture on the platform) and the revered 55 metre long reclining Buddha of the Shwethalyaung Temple.
Although we seemed well and truly on the “pagodas circuit” once again at this stage, I pointed out to the group an important reality of touring in Burma – that the most worthwhile scenery is not necessarily found at the destinations, but may often be found in the everyday life seen on the way to the destination.
An unscheduled visit was then made at St Joseph’s minor seminary at Pegu, where we were greeted most warmly by the priests and nuns (mainly Indian and Karen). They genuinely appreciated our thought of calling in (we were the first group of outsiders ever to do so) and they told us of the subtle pressures to which the Christian church is exposed in the seeming tolerance of Buddhist, socialist Burma. They told us of the lack of contact with the outside, and of the nationalisation of all Church schools some years ago. Despite this, they also told us of the great growth in the Christian church in Burma, with several hundred young men training for the priesthood in each of several centres in Burma. Their parting words were often repeated through our contacts with the church in Burma: “Please pray for us and the church in Burma”.
We returned to Rangoon and our accommodation at the Strand Hotel for a wash and change of clothes before going to Karaweik Hall for a banquet farewell dinner followed by an outstanding display of Burmese dancing and acrobatics.
Sunday
6 May 1984
Day 12
Rangoon and Pegu
