Inle Pancake Kingdom

Mei La Mu Pagoda, located near Yangon International Airport, was built for merit by a lady born out of a la-mu fruit (mangrove plant) and raised by a hermit. She bore a son by th the Celestials, who grew up to become King Okkalapa, the original donor of Shwedagon pagoda. Large plaster figures within the compound depict her story and include scenes of the various incarnations of the Lord Buddha. Children consider it a fairyland of mythical and strange beings come to life, including a concrete, walk through crocodile.

This is one of my favorite pagodas in Yangon. I attended a very enjoyable full moon festival one night at this pagoda which included various games and lots of fun. Later I was given a melted popsicle which I ate after offering incense to my special alter (born on Sunday I make offerings to the Garuda bird). As a result I contracted typhoid which is endemic in the population. The illness taught me a lot as I have described in this article The Gift of Typhoid.