Blind gold

[dawnstar@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

How many rubies did they put in her bag to write this? For someone who
is supposed to see the sights, she is blind. 


TUN MYINT wrote:
> 
> Date: Thu, 16 Dec 1999 14:29:43 +0700
> From: ABSDF <caroline@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> 
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> THAI PAPERS ON DECEMBER 16, 1999
> 
> 1. BANGKOK POST: 'GOLDEN LAND' LIVES UP TO ITS NAME - TRAVEL
> 
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> 'GOLDEN LAND' LIVES UP TO ITS  NAME
> 16.12.99/BANGKOK POST
> ELKE BACKERT
> RANGOON, DPA
> 
> TREASURES OF IMMEASURABLE VALUE ARE JUST ONE MEMORABLE FEATURE OF
> HUNDREDS OF TEMPLES
> 
> "Welcome to the golden land," is how Burma greets its guests
> everywhere. Here, a lot that glitters is, in fact, gold.
> 
> For example in Mandalay, the former capital of the last
> independent Burmese kingdom, the massive body of the Mahamuni
> Buddha has swollen into an unshapely form: the people will not
> stop pressing 24-carat gold into it, gold that had been shaped by
> hand into tiny wafer-thin squares by arduous labour. There is so
> much gold that the temple guards are kept busy sweeping up the
> little leaves that have fallen off.
> 
> The Shwedagon pagoda in the metropolis of Rangoon, located in the
> fertile delta of the river with the same name, is said to be
> covered in more gold than is owned by the Bank of England.
> 
> A single day will hardly do to look at all the treasures:
> temples, pagodas and statues are grouped around the Gold-Stupa,
> which at its top is covered with thousands of diamonds, rubies
> and sapphires.
> 
> Gold and jewellery of immeasurable value are supposed to be
> hidden in the head of the reclining Buddha in Rangoon His feet
> are carved with 118 signs, all of which all have a meaning. Any
> visitor is welcome to sound the bells of the temple with heavy
> wood. That means luck, just as washing an elephant statue does.
> 
> The religious sites are not blocked off, but rather the centres
> of daily life, and the stranger is welcome to join in. Men and
> women alike wear the traditional longhyi, a cloth wrapped around
> the hips. Feet are encased in soft soles with strings, called
> "Mandalay slippers".
> 
> Looking over the temple field of Pagan - the Burmese capital
> between the second and the 13th centuries - one can hardly
> believe one's eyes. Thousands and thousands of red brick
> buildings rise from the red earth like a mirage, but they are
> real, and some can be reached via adventurously dark steps.
> 
> On the roadside, our guide, Bate, from the Arakonese tribe (Burma
> is said to have 135 tribes and 100 languages), pointed out wood
> that was said to be more than a million years old. It is supposed
> to be good against rheumatism.
> 
> Mandalay also impresses with the "largest book of the world":
> Next to the Kuthodaw pagoda, the Buddhist canon has been carved
> into 729 white marble panels.
> 
> Another lovely sight is the richly adorned teakwood palace of
> King Mindon, from the year 1857. It is a must to climb the holy
> Mandalay hill, rising 236 metres, in the evening: the climb goes
> up seemingly never-ending stairs (1,227 of them), which among
> others offer a view of a shrine holding three of Lord Buddha's
> bones, the Peshawar relics; and a golden Buddha statue.
> 
> Having finally managed the ascent, the reward is one of the most
> beautiful sunsets imaginable.
> 
> In Amarapura, a neighbouring town of Mandalay and 15 km away, a
> 200-year-old teakwood bridge crosses the Taungthaman lake at a
> length of 1,200 metres. The bridge was built when Amarapura was
> still a royal residence.
> 
> >From the Soon-U-Phonya-Shin pagoda on top of the Sagaing hill,
> which can be reached via 257 steps, again the view is of the
> "golden country" and the Irrawaddy River. The river serves every
> purpose, transporting goods as well as washing laundry and
> bathing. Oxen like to cool off in it - as do many fully dressed
> women.
> 
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>                DON'T GIVE UP - FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHTS
>                     ABSDF - DECEMBER 16, 1999
> 
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