Me, Myself and Myanmar: Timelessness of Faith and Love

 

An evening spent strolling though the grounds of Shwegadon Pagoda was an evening that just left me speechless.  This is one of those places where you can feel the timelessness of faith and love with your heart and with your hands.  If we all came together to create a world heat map of spirituality and prayer, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar would certainly be a pulsing spot of red.

Me, Myself and Myanmar: Changes

Shwegadon Pagoda

I arrived in Myanmar along with my trusted bag of almond/macadamia nut mix a few weeks after the country's historic elections, the first democratic elections after 25 years of military rule.

In my pre-trip research, I had read many reviews suggesting that travelers to the region bring necessary cash to cover their entire itinerary in the country as ATMS are scarce. What I found in less than 24 hours was entirely the opposite. What I witnessed was rapid change. There are ATMs everywhere, SIM cards everywhere, T-Pain ring tones, monks taking selfies, Aung San Suu Kyi in transition talks with the new president and army chief. Oh, and in case you're wondering there's wifi at Shwegadon Pagoda and it's free.

Win Sein Taw Ya - Reclining Buddha near Mawlamyine

Near Mawlamyine

Inside the Reclining Buddha near Mawlamyine - Win Sein Taw Ya

大阪: 好きな食べ物は。。。

Okonomiyaki

Sometimes things got out of control during my time in Osaka. Imagine if you had a friend sign you up for some sort of underfunded camp where the recreational theme is food, where you begin to wonder if this friend may be in on a conspiracy with your parents to encourage your weight gain before the holidays. It was like that, and not only on Tuesdays, but what I mean is this went on every single day.

What follows is just a small sampling of my favorite foods consumed while in Osaka.

Taiyaki shaped like fish

....more okonomiyaki 

Washoku

Takoyaki

This pizza, which I believe was delivered from Heaven, is deserving of its own special mention.  Ready?  

Ingredients were as follows -

Side A: Corn, Ika (Squid), Roe Cream, Mochi, Potato and Bacon
Side B: Corn, Tuna Mayo, Onions, Anchovies

Uh huh....yaaaas :-)

This.

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Made it to....Osaka!!

With Ai-san at Kiyomizu-dera 

A few short hours on the Shinkansen (bullet train) and I arrived in Osaka.  After several days in the share house, staying in a friend's flat allowed me the space for morning yoga and pranayama exercises.  I had an opportunity to visit Kiyomizu-dera temple in neighboring Kyoto, a place possessing gardens that reflect an expression of the transitory nature of human life.

It's always fantastic for me to return to Japan, but what I find every single time is that it is also very hard for me to leave. Most of the friends that I visit when I'm here are lovely people that I met when I was living here; people that I met on project volunteering in the Tohoku region after the earthquake/tsunami; people that I slept next to in the ashram dorm during my yoga teacher training in south India...all very life transforming, yet traumatic experiences and expressions of personal growth.

My heart is so full of gratitude to be here, yet already alongside gratitude is a longing for this place and the people that I will inevitably have to leave.

Fall Leaves in the Kansai Region

The Tokyo Share-house that Could

I had planned to stay in a shared guesthouse for several reasons. For one, I'm traveling solo and figured that a shared guesthouse setting would be a great way to connect with other travelers. I've come to cherish the many friendships that I've made while I'm out and about in the world, so staying in a share-house in Tokyo was going to be perfect.

Teddy, a permanent resident of our share-house

I arrived at my share-house at 11:00 am and was directed to the room where I would be staying for a week and a day; a room with four beds, 3 of which were occupied by other guests. Right now, if you're guessing that the other occupants were 3 guys completely passed out, you would be correct. My immediate reaction was that the whole set up really wasn't going to work for me. However by the second day, I managed to connect with some travelers from very diverse corners of the world, which made for interesting conversation over oden and morning coffee in the main space. My schedule had been pretty full with visiting many friends in the Tokyo area, but I was quite happy to come and go from the share-house as I pleased.

Sivanande Center, Tokyo

By the 3rd evening, I began to find that I craved my alone time, my solitude. There really is something very precious and sacred to me about solo travel. While I enjoyed interacting with the other guests, I didn't have an easy space for my daily yoga and breathing exercises. My solution was to make visits to the Sivananda Center in Tokyo, the lineage with which I studied for my yoga teacher training a few years ago. It's always great to connect with fellow yogis, especially when you've studied with the same lineage.

Meiji Jingu Shrine near Harajuku

I was booked at my Tokyo guesthouse for a total of 8 days. In the end, I did have a very pleasant time staying there. However, I also possess a JR Rail Pass, which translates to abundant amounts of freedom.  After 5 nights in my shared guesthouse, I naturally took the shinkansen south to Osaka for a couple of days. 

Tokkaido Shinkansen, bound for Shin Osaka

Hello Kansai!!  :-))

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