Heat stroke might be overstating things a bit, but perhaps not. The heat was intense on my trip to the beautiful Shwedagon Pagoda, and the sunlight bouncing off the white stone tiles was so bright that it was difficult to even keep my eyes open at times. The stone was raised to such a temperature that it burned my feet, and it was difficult to walk around unless I dashed from shady spot to shady spot. Add to all of that the happy throngs of the Thingyan water festival, and, well, it was hot enough to bring on moments of feeling faint and needing to sit down before falling over.

Also because of the heat and the bright sun, there was not a lot of commentary about the history of the two-and-a-half-thousand-year-old pagoda. I was given a detailed brochure and map (and a sticker!) for my 10,000-kyats entrance fee, but there was no reasonable way to read it and absorb what it said and explore the pagoda in-depth. In fact, even on a cooler day, it might not have been possible. The pagoda complex was far larger and contained far more buildings than I expected, and it would have taken many hours to see it all.

Even so, my trip to Shwedagon Pagoda was a fascinating experience beginning with the bus trip to get there and ending with the long walk down the stairs into the even more crowded local market.