2015 Dec-2016 Jan
“O the road
to Mandalay,
Where the flyin'-fishes play,
An' the dawn comes up like thunder outer China 'crost the Bay !”
Where the flyin'-fishes play,
An' the dawn comes up like thunder outer China 'crost the Bay !”
Kipling
Myanmar had been on our radar for a long
time, particularly since encountering beautiful embroidered fabrics from
Myanmar in our travels.
We were in Malaysia at the end of 2015 and decided to
make a trip to the country after finishing our business there. In this year the
elections resulted in a landslide for Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD, giving us the
sense that the country would start leaving behind the difficult times of the
previous half century, which had always
raised questions about whether it would be appropriate to visit.
So, we flew to Yangon, connecting in
Bangkok, where we had thought to store some luggage while we were in Myanmar,
since we would be returning to Bangkok to fly back to Europe before returning
home, and that this would allow us to reduce to no more than a daypack each.
However, we found that the luggage storage fees would be over USD 4000 and
decided to take everything with us (we had only hand luggage anyway).
We continued to Yangon where we stayed for
a few days, visiting the famous Shwe Dagon temple early in our stay.
We had tea
in the Strand Hotel, on the riverbank, a well-maintained remnant of colonial
times. More pagodas followed: the Sule Pagoda, Bohtahtaung Pagoda, the Shwe
Phone Pwint Pagoda, and the Shwe Dagon Pagoda, as well as the Reclining Buddha.
The Bogyoke Market was our destination more than once, and there we found some
of the beautiful fabrics we had sought.
We dined at the strange Karaweik
Palace, where a culture show gave some insight into dance and dress.
From Yangon we flew to Bagan, via
Mandalay; the experience reminding us of air travel in the sixties, with flight
departure announced by a gentlemen walking around the departure hall with a
sign on a stick. Checking in for a specific airline turned out to be odd, since
the flights were actually operated by other airlines, it seemed, apparently in
an informal cooperative process. The flights were short and comfortable, and
were a “first” for us, in that this was the first time we could recall
Christmas decorations in an aircraft.
Bagan has some temples/stupas: no one
seems to know exactly how many, however one source claims that there are more
than 2,200. From any high point in the plain it’s possible to see hundreds of
them, mostly very similar however with subtle variations, and with some having
distinctive forms. The main temples, such as Buledi temple, are visited by
numbers of tourists, not overrun, but certainly more crowded than the vast
majority, we walked through the countryside, far from Old Bagan town and then
tourist focal points, and were alone for most of the time.
We also rented electric bikes to wander further, and this was a good way to explore; we also took a boat upriver river one afternoon.
We also rented electric bikes to wander further, and this was a good way to explore; we also took a boat upriver river one afternoon.
On another day we took a car to Mount
Popa, enyoying the opportunity to appreciate the countryside as well as the
various businesses operating on the road. We then took a car, with our driver Ka
Au, to Inle Lake, experiencing the unusual nature of Myanmar’s roads – hardly
any vehicle traffic – which is just as well since the roads are almost all only
1-1/2 lanes wide. This took us through rural country, with crops being raised
and harvested in traditional manner, then only machinery involved being the
occasional “Chinese Buffalo” – a chassis with an engine and nothing much else.
At Inle Lake we stayed at a very restful
hotel on the water’s edge, taking boats to visit the local markets, and to make
our way one early morning before dawn to the opposite shore to take a balloon
over the Lake to the village of Nyaung Shwe. The flight was a marvellous way to
see fishing villagers and their residents as we cruised above the water in the
rising sun.
The markets were a rich opportunity to gain insight into local life.
At one of the markets we met the Kayan people (the “long-necked people”), comfortable in their beauty.
From Inle Lake we continued with Ka Au to Mandalay, through green hills, passing on the way 'heavy traffic"...
... and the hilltop temple at Main Ma Ye' Tha-Khin-Ma Mountain.
Mandalay itself
proved to be rich in opportunities to wander around, finding Kachin textiles,
people beating gold at the side of the street, the Mandalay Royal Palace and Shwenandaw
Kyaung Royal Monastery. We went to see the U Bein bridge, which was in use
principally by the local people simply to get from one side of the water to the
other, although there were some tourists as well.
Christmas celebrations were assisted by the presence of the festive elephant, as you can see.
Christmas celebrations were assisted by the presence of the festive elephant, as you can see.
On leaving for the airport we found what at
first appeared to be most unusual in Myanmar – a four lane expressway, however
it soon became apparent that the reason it was deserted was because the surface
was terrible – it looked fine from a distance but was so uneven that the
maximum speed possible was 40 Km/h!
Abrazos
Alan and Marce
Photos may be used for non-commercial purposes with credit to
alanymarce@gmail.com
