February 2, 2013
Kidnap Capital World Tour Day Nine
Nirvana in Burma

We got into Rangoon this afternoon and the vibe at the airport was Buddhist gentle but decidely
uptight. I thought about Eastern European airports in the seventies.  That kind of uptight.The terrain here is shifting so fast that the people are still trying out figue out if they should call their country Burma or Myanmar.  Even the new flag is strange to our guides.  The Burmese flag used to be white for purity, red for bloodshed in name of Burma and blue for the various regions.  Now it is green, yelliw and red, and the guides can only vouch for the bloodshed.  We drove to Bogyyoke Aung Sun Market, formerly Scott's Market anad still called Scott's.  I found several long strands of large freshwater pearls to pick up as presents.  After checking in at Trader's Hotel, we went to Shwedagon Temple.  Google this temple--it is not to be believed.  In the center courtyard I whispered to a traveler in the group that I simply had to sit with the hundreds of people there and meditate.  It's Stanford, so they got it and left me alone for forty minutes. All around me I could vaguely hear familes chanting, the bells being rung in threes, fives, sevens and nines and I could smell the incence. After Ann came back to get me,  we walked to the stairs where we saw the purple haze in the fading light and thousands of bats flying in unison toward the sky. Later in the evening, Susan and I were having dinner at the hotel,and hundreds and upon hundreds were marching in unison in the street, all holding candles.  Aung San Suu Kyi has started something very powerful.  No one knows where this place is going.  So many more cars are on the streets now.  This city is pulling me in many directions.  I am exhausted and will post next from Saudi Arabia as Internet connectivity is difficult here.  I need to step away and think about Burma.  I am currently on a meditation high, so my thoughts ae not processing at blog speed level.