hey there folks...if you are paying attention, you will notice i am sending update #24 out before update #23....because i feel the need to get one out about my spring break trip to myanmar....#23 is about chinese new year in shanghai...and i think i am going to send my last 2 updates from shanghai, one right after the other in the remaining 7 weeks i have...one of chinese new year and one of the things i will miss in shanghai....even though that list would be huge...we'll see what i can do...i am also headed to korea for a long weekend and hope to get something out about that trip too...too much to write in too little time....so here i go with my incredible trip to myanmar....i am sooooooooooo glad i made it here when i did....as this coutry is ready to explode with tourism....which is awesome for them...but not for me as the type of traveler i am....it was a terrific trip...and hopefully the following pictures will do it justice....enjoy :)
while in myanmar (which used to be called burma), i visited three main places - Bagan, Inle Lake and Yangon (what used to be called rangoon)....you may have heard of these places, you may have not....myanmar for a long time was ruled with a very tight, military fist, officially called the junta....which seems to have been loosened...you may also know myanmar because they kept a certain woman, aung san suu kyi, a nobel prize winner, under house arrest off and on for 21 years for being a political enemy of the state....even though she won the national election in 1991....she was released a few years back, possible for good, and is currently running the country....she is referred to as "the lady" and is held under great esteem by all people of myanmar...well, maybe not the ex-military leaders...but who really knows what they think anymore, as they have stepped out of the limelight....unfortunately, in this country, people are always waiting for the other shoe to fall...they do not feel that the military junta actually relinquished their power....i guess we'll wait and see....
when i arrived in bagan, my taxi drver aung aung was very excited for me....because we got to watch an auspicious procession to the monastery and temple...on this particular day, 10 young boys were being brought to the local monastery to become monks...all men in myanmar must become monks for a certain amount of time...many boys/teens are there for 3 years...my taxi driver was there for 3 years....but some men go for shorter, or longer if they decide to stay a monk after their training....in this procession were all of the family members of the boys, giving thanks and gifts to the monastery...it was amazing!!!!
this is not one of the boys...but i loved this shot....as this little guy has the sun block most burmese wear (there is not way to myanmar -ese....i asked!) which is made from a tree bark, yellow in color and called thannaka...they call it a method to block sun rays and cool their hot skin....and man, was it hot in maynmar, and i was not even there for the hottest times and it was over 100F/40C every day....hot i tell you...this paste is worn my most women, children and rarely men...it has a slight smell of sandalwood....
i also loved this little girl...all dolled up for the monastery...and that her shoes were huge...most of the girls were wearing make-up and dresses and were in obviously their nicest clothes...they also all carried parasols...which is quite common in myanmar...it was fun to watch this procession...
and then came the boys...as you can see on horses...some were in ox carts too...and these little guys were all made up and ready to become monks...it was a beautiful thing to watch and i kept being told how lucky i was to see this and such a large procession....i did see another, but it was not as long as the first....plus, i saw one by canoe in inle lake...that was way cool :)
throughout the procession there were dancers...men only....who were dancing to music on loudspeakers...mainly because this was a celebration...this guy up on the truck was amazing...he was doing karaoke to the songs as well...such a fun time was being had by everyone involved....i guess the boys go the monastery, there is a big meal and then the rest of the family goes home and throws a big party....
my second day in bagan i took a balloon ride....which was simply incredible....bagan has over 2000 temples in its fields...because back in the 11th century, every family built a temple to honor buddha...burmese are buddhists....and these temples are still maintained today...the larger ones are taken care of by the government, but the smaller ones are still cared for by the families...i figured a balloon ride would be the best way to see as many as possible, as they span a large chunk of ground...here you see one of the four balloons that flew that day, taking off...the bus below the balloon is how we were picked-up and taken to the lift-off site...i guess they used to be the local buses from yangon from the 70s...very cool....
here is a shot looking down from our gondola, which held 14 people and the pilot, to another of the balloons, with a temple in the showt..i have no idea how high we went...but it sure was peaceful to watch the sunrise and check out all of the temples....
and here is another shot of the other three balloons that went up the same time as us...none of them landed where we landed, but i am sure all of them had an outstanding ride as well...balloons over bagan has been flying in bagan for 15 years...and they certainly give you a ride of a lifetime....the sunrise and the temples combined is just amazing!
one last shot of temples from the air as we are starting our descent....you can tell that they differ in size and style if you look carefully...many are still used today and there are always pilgrims of burmese visiting them, as well as visitors from outside of burma...simply stunning....
i visited many temples while on the ground too...so i decided to include one of my favorite buddhas...there were so many to choose from, but i liked this one's face and lights...you can also see the offerings in front of it from the visitors that day....so peaceful....
the placed i stayed at in bagan was right along the river...so at night i would head down there to get a good shot of the sunset and have an end of the day drink...a perfect way to end a perfect day....
from bagan i flew to inle lake...the airport and flights are sooooooo small...no real gates to leave by, just a guy holding up a sign to get on a prop plane...and there are four airlines, all owned by the goverment....so if one plane is not full, they put everyone on the same plane together...and when everyone has arrived for the plane, you depart....time tables are not necessarily stuck to...my last flight back to yangon actually took-off 45 minutes early....it was wild.....inle lake is a place that is frozen in time in my opinion...women there still wear traditional clothing....men still fish the same way they have fished for 100s of years...it's about to change, but for the moment, it is frozen in time....above you can see one of the fishermen...more on them below....
in this shot you can see three canoes of fishermen....they are pretty amazing, as they fish on one leg....they stand on the platform in the front or back of the canoe on one leg, paddle the oar with their other leg and lay out nets with their hands...it is wild....and i didn't see any of them lose their balance...even the kids that were practicing....once they have the nets set out, they smack the surface of the water with their oar to scare the fish into the nets...you can see the men are doing that stage in each of the boats above....then they paddle with one leg and pull in their nets with their hands....talk about incredible balance....
while in inle, i stayed on the lake...literally....my bungalow was on the water....which meant i had a great view of other bungalows, the fishermen and other canoes as they went by and the sunset...this is one of my favorite pictures, as you can see three canoes in the water, all workers leaving where i was staying for the day....all headed home i guess....
one of my days in inle i took a "tour" of the surrounding villages and luckily the local floating market was happening....the largest one...so i got to see women selling their products dressed in traditional dress....the woman above is from the pa'o tribe...they are known for their colorful turbans and black overcoats...i would have been dying of the heat, but she seemed fine...you can see turmeric and chilies are what she is selling....yummy!!!!
i loved the tailors in the market as well...they just set up shop at the crossroads and were busy, busy, busy...they have the old style singer sewing machines, that you pump with your foot...awesome!!!!
we also saw a bunch of monks who had just taken some type of test where all of these stupas were located...i loved seeing their colorful robes in the canoes....a great contrast to the stupas behind them...they were quite happy and smiley and all waved just after i got the shot....
inle lake is also known for its floating gardens....and literally the mounds of dirt the plants are growing in are floating...i pushed one and it moved...i was then told not to do that again...but i just had to see...hence how i am like the students i teach...the big crop they were growing was tomatoes....i had some with dinner...quite tasty...
i stayed at a great place in inle lake...where they greeted all canoes of guests with music...these folks are also part of the pa'o tribe, but they wore traditional formal wear instead of rhe turbans and black overcoats....probably a bit cooler this way...the guy playing the drum at the end of the line was my guide for the day, mr. joe....he was awesome...
one day in inle i went to cooking class...the chef was actually a guy, very uncommon in myanmar...and it was just him and myself...as i was there at the end of tourist season...one of the things we did first was go to the market....here you can see some of the fruits and veggies we could buy...i had a blast with lindsey, his name...and ended up staying and chatting with him after the meal for four hours....it was great!!!!
here's a shot of all of the dishes we made...yummy!!!! he joined me for lunch, but even then we couldn't finish the meal....so luckily his family helped us out...they said i did a good job and could cook for them whenever i wanted :) it was really cool talking with him about what life was like in myanmar from when he was growing up and how things seem to have changed for the better...of course, he said that people were still wary and wondering when the junta was going to try and come back into power, but that the fear of this was starting to shrink.....it was good to see someone making it on their own with their own business...it was a terrific day :)
this last shot is when i was headed off inle lake at 6:30am...so just as the sun was rising...of course the fishermen were already out there fishing....but such a peaceful time to be on the water...it looked like glass....i really loved inle lake, and really didn't want to leave...but alas, i needed to come back to work....and had to leave the country from yangon....
but in yangon i did make it to the most famous/holiest temple site in all of myanmar....the shwedagon temple....and it is incredible....huge, covered in gold leaf and beautiful at sunset, which is when i was there....this temple houses relics from buddha and has visitors constantly...from pilgrims, to monks to people visiting myanmar from other countries....it is peaceful and serene and stunning, as you can see from this shot...a great place to sit and watch the world go by....i loved it
my trip to myanmar was a terrific last long trip here in asia...i am sooooo glad i went...i saw amazing things and met wonderful people, tasted yummy food, even cooked some myself, and just really enjoyed my time in this beautiful country....i know in the next few years the tourism will boom for this country, you can see its about to happen everywhere you turn...from saran wrapped atms in the airports, to bigger canoes and buses on the roads and waterways....so it was perfect timing for me...if you have it on your bucket list...and really, you should, i would say go there sooner rather than later....at this point you can still catch a glimpse of the past....but that is disappearing quite quickly....
so, i am hoping to get out two or three more updates before leaving china...but i am not sure its going to happen....fingers crossed....i am super busy with getting ready to leave and saying goodbye and of course ending my school year...but one can hope that i will accomplish what i want....thanks for reading through this update and feel free to send questions if you have them....hope you are all well and happy....
have a fab day :)
dani
1 comment:
Great photos and such adorable little ones. Scary looking from the gondola...fear of heights here...so fun to see all your travels. Thanks for sharing Dani. Miss you.
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