Tag 117: Tons of Gold

After sleeping in this morning, we took a taxi to the Shwedagon Pagoda. It is located a few kilometers north of the city. Since Markus was wearing shorts, he had to borrow a skirt for a small fee. Almost all men wear them here. We were impressed right from the beginning by its size, as there are even two long escalators leading up to the pagoda. Upon reaching the top, we were greeted by the golden stupa and the white marble floor. There are actually 27 tons of gold used here. We walked around and took in the sights. As we were about to take a short break by the edge, three locals approached us and asked if they could practice their English with us to improve. We spent the next few hours with the three English students. They showed us a place for lunch and taught us some Burmese during a short but heavy rain after lunch.

Originally, we had planned to visit the National Museum today, but we spent so much time with the three locals that we didn't have time for it anymore. But that was okay because they taught us so much about their country, culture, and language. Afterwards, we continued on to see a 70-meter-long reclining Buddha, but it was currently under renovation. Since it was still raining, we headed back to the hostel from there. In the evening, we went to a nice Indian restaurant for dinner.