My theme this year is Burma AKA Myanmar. I used to live in Laos, so I looked forward to returning to Southeast Asia. I spent a little over three weeks exploring this country, learning a bit about its culture: its history, religion, and language. I thought others might enjoy some of what I learned and see some of what I saw.
A Sea of Stupas |
So what’s a stupa? Here’s a picture of a few. They’re solid structures and were originally created as burial mounds. Today they’re tributes created by Buddhists for positive karmic results. Destroying a stupa is equated with murder and result in extremely negative karma.
There are different kinds of stupa shapes. |
Shan State is a large section of Burma that borders Laos, China and Thailand. It’s the only place in Burma that grows garlic, and some rather pricey poppies. It’s a wealthy state and the homes as well as the people reflect that wealth.
Shan State headgear identifies what village they come from. |
Answers to what do you know about rice?