Video on location

Burmese Buddhist Temple

Check out the temple from this link: https://www.bbt.org.sg/

The Page Boy (Thu-nge-daw):
These two boys make sure all is in good order for the arrival of the king and his entourage. Page boys were young sons of lesser princes and nobles who served as errand boys in the palace. He is dressed rather like a jester, but with gold medallions and chains around his neck. He wears his hair tied in two bunches, one on either side of the head, high above the ears.

The Bell:
This bell outside the temple which is carried by two unique royal page boys is one of the master pieces for Myanmar traditional art. Devotees love to ring the bell as it is attractive and exclusive, especially for first time visitors.

The Chinthay:
The mythical lion-like creature standing in pairs at the entrance of a Burmese temple is called a Chinthe (or Chinthay). These statues function as guardians to protect the pagoda or temple from evil. While often depicted as stylized, powerful lions, they can sometimes appear as "man-lion" figures.

The pagodas:
Burmese pagodas, or paya, are sacred stupas in Myanmar that typically house Buddhist relics and act as centers for worship and meditation. They are often bell-shaped, gilded with gold leaf, and topped with a spire called a hti, featuring prominently in Myanmar's landscape, which is often called the "land of pagodas".

Chuchichu Concertina Sketchbook
Size: 650 x 210mm

Kandawgyi Lake

Kandawgyi Lake is one of the two major lakes in Yangon. Located east of the Shwedagon Pagoda, the lake is artificial, water from Inya Lake is channeled through a series of pipes to Kandawgyi Lake. It was created to provide a clean water supply to the city during the British colonial administration.

Karaweilk is a concrete replica of a Burmese royal barge built in 1972. It houses a buffet restaurant today. We were given 15 minutes to roam around so here is my sketch with nice photos taken by my colleague.

Cruise Time

We took a cruise in the evening and witnessed the beautiful sunset along the Yangon River. Just lines no washes within a short time.

Sule Pagoda

Its the Little India along Maha Bandula Road overlooking the Sule Pagoda. I sat comfortably on the overhead bridge and sketched this view while others were shopping in 20 minutes.

The tower is location for Maha Theindawgyi Monastery built in typical Burmese style.

Yangon Technological University

5 minutes on site and colours added later.

Yangon Technological University is the premier engineering university of Myanmar. Established as Department of Engineering under Rangoon University in 1924 and popular known by its former name Rangoon Institute of Technology (RIT), YTU is the country's oldest and largest engineering university, and the best engineering university in Myanmar.

Students were shot right at this front facade in 1988 that changed the course of Myanmar history.

Shwedagon Pagoda

When we arrived in the late afternoon at the UNESCO Heritage Site, it was consistently crowded and full of lives. I really enjoyed sketching Shwedagon Pagoda although it was still under renovation with all the scaffolding. But I exercised my artistic licence and ignored the scaffolding with very quick lines and washes in the short 5 to 10 minutes while students were watching behind me saying all the nice things that gave me that adrenaline rush to sketch faster.

Shwedagon Pagoda is the most sacred Buddhist pagoda in Myanmar, as it is believed to contain relics of the four previous Buddhas of the present kalpa. These relics include the staff of Kakusandha, the water filter of Koṇāgamana, a piece of the robe of Kassapa, and eight strands of hair from the head of Gautama obtained by the two merchant. They returned to Okkalapa land to be greeted by the King. From 588 BC to 14 century, the Shwedagon was maintained by 32 kings of Okkalapa dynasty and since 1372 AD by Kings Banya U, Bayayan, Bayagyadaw and others. In 1453 AD, Queen Shin Saw Pu had the pagoda raised to the present height of 99.36 metres or 326 feet.

Yangon Trip

I had just returned from Yangon accompanying 77 students with 3 other colleagues. Its a very intense and educational trip so it was really a luxury to sketch. All sketches of Yangon were done in 5 to 20 minutes max and I will post them in the next few days.