24 hours in Yangon

Shwedagon Pagoda. The holiest site in the country, we made a stop on our way back to the airport, the morning of our departure. We had about twenty-four hours in the city. Not much time to do anything but eat, sleep and visit the holy site.

By far the most posh hotel we'd stayed in, the girls loved all the bells and whistles of the Chatrium. They were also giddy by the fact that Obama and Clinton stayed at the hotel when traveling to the country. We had to go through a car security check and then a luggage check before we were allowed access to the hotel. That was a first for us all.

Shwedagon Pagoda at night. We knew we had only the night and morning in Yangon. Seeing the pagoda was a priority. I had wanted to see it at night but it was late, hot and the girls were hungry. Not a good combination for getting in a car and going to a holy site. But the Creator has all things transpiring in divine order. The hotel put us in a room overlooking the spectacular, golden pagoda. This poor photo does not do it any real justice.

A dip in a fancy pool, after a long, hot taxi ride cooled down cranky moods real fast!

Shwedagon Pagoda, the holiest site in Myanmar. This was the morning view from our hotel room. It was quite hazy but the view was still breathtaking. The photo could not capture that.

Inya Lake. Viewed from our hotel room. This is where aung san suu kyi was held under house arrest as a political prisoner for many years.

Part of the roof heading up to the Shwedagon pagoda

The pagoda was under construction. We were crunched for time and did not have any more local currency, so after climbing the many (many) stairs, we were able to get a nice glimpse but did not go in. We were okay with that as we were grateful to get up close as we did. 

The view of the holy site from nearby.

It was a long, hot climb to see the pagoda. We didn't stay but a few minutes but I felt satisfied in our brief pilgrimage. I felt it was important to pay homage before we left Myanmar.