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Blogs from Burma, Asia - page 4
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February 1st 2013
Note: unfortunately, it seems that a big batch of photos is inaccessible on my memory card, so at this time I cannot download photos of the nats at Mount Popa. Maybe that is meant to be. I missed writing about nats, but now it is very appropriate. I witnessed the other day an unusual ritual as my driver and I headed toward the pilgrimage site of Kyaiktiyo. There was a tremendous banging on the side of the road. People were gathered under a shelter, and they were watching four women dancing. They were older women, dressed in shiny dresses of white or orange. On a platform at one end of the room were bowls of fruit and flowers. A man with a microphone sang loudly to the accompaniment of the traditional instruments of drums and gongs. ... read more
January 30th 2013
Inle Lake is perhaps best known for the fishermen who stand on the ends of their boats, casting nets and traps, slapping the water to scare the fish into the net, and paddling along with their foot wrapped around the paddle. It is a popular photo opportunity, and our group spent much time trying to get the perfect shot. We rode along in our long boats, outfitted with single wooden seats set single file one behind the other. We could get three or four people in each boat. The boats, all crammed with tourists and others with local people and their goods, zoom around the lake with remarkable speed and annoying noise. We visited all kinds of places. A temple enshrines some very famous Buddha images that are unrecongnizable as such because they are packed with ... read more
January 28th 2013
23 Jamuary 2013 Day two in Yangon and we decide to follow the colonial route. We start with coffee at the Strand and end with lunch at the Governor's Residence, and in between take advantage of the free wifi at the part Junta owned Traders hotel. It is our most expensive day in Burma! You can really lord it here if you want to. The Strand has a colourful history. It's faded glory is still visible in the marble floors in the foyers and the high ceilings. The coffee is proper and so is the milk. We are so tired of three-in-one by now that we will pay anything, even US$5 each, for a cup of decent coffee. The butter biscuits are yum too. The free wifi at Traders is definitely the best in town, and ... read more
January 28th 2013
24 January 2012 As we leave Burma we contemplate on the things that have stood out for us: Beautiful people. The Burmese are truly unspoilt. They are generous and friendly and have a wonderful sense of humour. We will miss the smiles, the home visits, the "where do you come from?" followed by the football conversation, and the prettiest girls in the world. Velvet slippers. I'm sorry I never bought a pair, I was waiting for our last day and then spent that hanging over the wc instead of shopping. Pagodas, pagodas, pagodas, pagodas and more pagodas. Everywhere you look! Thanaka painted faces. From the hastily applied cheek apple swirls to the more intricate leaf prints on faces, or just a spot on the nose or a smudge under each eye. They are all beautiful. Beautiful ... read more
January 27th 2013
We left Kalaw, high in the hills of Shan state and drove toward Inle Lake. We saw overloaded vehicles on the way to market, women in fields cutting and threshing wheat. We stopped at a colorful market. I love markets. All colors and shapes of vegetables, fruits, dried fish, skewered eels, and cigar smoking women were there. I stopped to get a smear of thannaka, the light colored paste that so many women wear on their face to keep cool. The vendors were so patient and gracious, and loved seeing their photos. This helped them get over their puzzlement at the westerners staring at the strange produce. Then we stopped at Pandaya, an absolutely incredible natural cave that is filled with thousands of Buddha images. I thought the entrance was overwhelming with Buddhas, but there was ... read more
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January 26th 2013
Our group loaded on to a ferry along with hundreds of other tourists--mostly Norwegian, French, and Danish-- and floated nearly 11 hours down the Irawaddy River to Bagan. Before we cast off, our guide, Hubert, sang a song to everyone on the boat. This was the second time we were to hear him sing a Tom Jones number, "Green Grass of Home", or something close to that title. He even did the talking part. Our group started clapping after the first verse, thinking he'd be content with that, but he went on, and finished the entire song. All the Norwegians clapped. He announced his name, and started handing out cards to the delighted crowd. On the river trip, barges and boats carried giant teak logs. There were other smaller boats, and a temple or stupa around ... read more
January 26th 2013
22 January 2013 13 hours on the overnight bus from Inle Lake to Yangon. It wasn't the worst bus trip ever and someone was managing to sleep - the snoring was majestic! Thank apple for iPods!! We arrived at the Mingalar bus station just north of Yangon at 06h30 in the morning so at least it was light already. We hadn't managed to secure lodgings in Yangon, so we asked our taxi driver to drop us at the furthest out hotel in the downtown area so that we could start walking towards the centre in search. On the very first corner I got shat on by a Yangon pigeon - lucky lucky!! But how we walked! Maha Bandoola Rd runs through the centre of Yangon downtown, and is about 5km long if you are going straight, ... read more
January 26th 2013
Our days have been so full that I have had little time to write. Monks are fascinating to westerners. With their shiny shaved heads and dark orange-red robes wrapping them up, they swish around the temples and chedis, walk along the road, ride bicycles and motorcycles, pack themselves into trucks, meditate, and take in the views from Mandalay hill, just as the locals and travelers do. It seems we want to cast them in a role. Exotic. Foreign. Unknowable. Dare I say, curious. That is why, when I see a group of touring monks holding up their cell phones and Ipads for photographs, I am startled. How could they? I thought they were leading a simple life, free of desire, free of need. Are they slipping into the technological world, as we are so accustomed to ... read more
January 23rd 2013
Well we got the wakeup call and made our way to the airport with a near miss into the taxi on a roundabout but as I said it was a near miss. The domestic terminal was a step back or two in time. The check in was all manual – the departure hall full to the brim with tourists -Oh No! Were they all making their way to Bagan? There turned out to be 4 flights waiting there and we were the last one called with the fewest amount of people- yippee! When I say called I really mean called- This was done by a steward holding the flight number up on a board and walking around. We seemed to accompany our luggage to the plane as it was wheeled out on trolleys by ground staff ... read more
