56 
JOURNAL OF AN EMBASSY 
place of pilgrimage ; and is frequented by many 
strangers, especially Shans, during the vernal fes¬ 
tival in the month of March, when a great fair is 
held near it: it is also the only temple frequent¬ 
ed as a common place of worship by the inhabit¬ 
ants of Rangoon and its vicinity ; the others be¬ 
ing resorted to only by their own founders, or 
their relatives and descendants. 
During our occupation of Rangoon, there were 
two considerable markets in the place, which, 
after the restoration of peace, were abundantly 
supplied with fine fish, poultry, and very tolera¬ 
ble venison, besides an abundant supply of the 
necessaries of life, according to the Bur man scale 
of estimating them. 
Rangoon is the chief, and indeed almost the 
only port of foreign trade in the Burman domi¬ 
nions. Its situation is extremely convenient for 
this purpose: its distance from the sea, as already 
mentioned, is but twenty-six miles ; and although 
the navigation be somewhat intricate, the difficul¬ 
ties are not so great as not to be readily conquered 
with the assistance of tolerable pilots. Of the 
vast number of ships which frequented it during 
its occupation by the British, a period of more 
than two years and a half, one only, I believe, 
suffered shipwreck. These were of every size, up 
to twelve hundred tons burthen. With the ex¬ 
ception of that of Bassein, it is the only navigable 
branch of the Irawadi. Over this last-mentioned 
