Inle Pancake Kingdom

Shwedagon Pagoda is the most sacred pagoda for the Burmese as it houses eight hairs of Gautama, the historical Buddha, as well as relics from the previous 3 Buddhas. It is said to be 2500 years old and is a 98-metre (321.5 feet) gilded stupa with valuable gems in the top. When walking around a pagoda you must go clockwise.

The current obligatory price for foreigners is US$5 or 5 FEC, (Foreign Exchange Currency). It is generally best to pay in FEC because of the exchange rate. It is best to wear slippers, as they are easy to remove. Bring a plastic bag so you can slip them in it and tuck them into your purse, otherwise you will have to pay someone to watch your shoes. It is respectful to go barefoot on sacred ground. Traditionally there is no required donation to visit temples in Myanmar, because the donation system is so ingrained in the culture. But the Shwedagon is a favorite spot for tourists, therefore you may find hustlers trying to make an easy profit hanging around here.

Those types are usually easy to avoid and most people are visiting the Shwedagon to meditate or pray. You may see people sweeping the temple grounds–they are donating their work for merit often for a departed relative. Other people can be seen pouring water over certain alters.

The Burmese have their own horoscope system, which goes by the days of the week with Wednesday counted as two days, making a total of eight days. Each day is represented by an animal. The Burmese name their children according to what day of the week they were born. This day is then their special day and often people will be vegetarian or will meditate or other rituals once a week on the day they were born. The alters you see people washing are their Birth-Day alters. You may see many other rituals and offerings taking place around the pagoda as well, and there is usually something going on every full moon night.