Indeed, life in Burma is like a comic opera. I realized this one morning when going about simply to be amused. The market and pavements were crowded with persons of different nationalities,—the pineapple man with his tray of fruit, the Burmese girl with her pretty stall of cigars, the Hindu seller of betel, the Chinaman under his swaying burden of cooked meats and strange luxuries, the vermicelli man, the Indian confectioner with his silver-coated pyramids of sago and cream. It is of all crowds the most cosmopolitan. Here is the long-coated Persian with his air of breeding and dignity, jostled by the naked coolie with rings in his nose. The lady beauty of Japan dashes by in her jinrikisha drawn by a Chinese coolie, and the exclusive Brahman finds himself shoulder to shoulder with the laughing daughter of the soil who has never heard of caste.
Shwe Dagon: The centre of attraction in Rangoon, however, is the Shwe Dagon Pagoda, which is famous wherever the Buddhist religion prevails; it is situated on an eminence, one hundred and sixty-six feet above the sea-level and towering up three hundred and sixty-eight feet. It is a very imposing structure, exceeding in height even St. Paul's Cathedral in London. This proportion gives it an air of dignity and repose, while its gilded surface from base to finial causes it to be truly magnificent.
The structure has no interior, being built solidly of brick over a relic chamber; hence its platform with a circumference of about fourteen hundred feet is the place for worship and also for many small pagodas. The great pagoda is of conical shape and is divided into twelve parts, and of these the ti, or umbrella, valued at £60,000, is the most costly and remarkable, and was the gift of King Mindon, the next to the last king of Burma. While from its great height it is scarcely visible, it is really thirteen and one-half feet high and is hung with about fifteen hundred bells, many of them gold. When heard at night, the effect is magical.
The southern entrance has a pair of gryphons, and beyond them is the entrance arch, which is inferior to the rest of the edifice. Here may be seen venders of many kinds, selling gold leaf (which is used by pilgrims on the surface of the pagoda), books, papers, toys, and offerings to place on the altar; and the scene around the stalls is instinct with life and gayety. Brightly dressed women and children, coquettish girls, nuns, and beggars all assemble here.
There are four flights of stairs, east, west, north, and south, leading up to the platform; the southern one being mostly used, as it looks down upon the thoroughfare. The western stairs have been closed to worshippers, as the place is now a British fortress.
It is impossible to describe the many objects of interest on this immense platform. Four chapels at the foot of the pagoda are guarded by colossal figures of the sitting Buddha, and in the farthest recess, in a niche, is a small Buddha, the gilding of which is discolored by the smoke from many thousands of tapers and candles.