Blogs from Burma, Asia - page 9

See differently that ONE sky Roses are red , sky is blue Every time I see , a similar u For example , The sky is blue. is it? I mean is it only blue ?. I have seen so many colors of that one sky .I am quite sure its not same every time. Each one has given me separate feeling , sometimes a kick of energy , sometimes a deep thought , simply different colors with different emotions. And it is spontaneous too. I think that is why, It is very difficult to give an exact word to your thoughts but some times it is easy to express if you capture that thought of the moment , yes….sometimes a photograph works. Bagan, Myanmar . Bagan was formerly known as 'Pagan' was the capital of ... read more

Another early start as we leave Mandalay for Bagan. This time, there was no need to be prompt getting to the airport. We are the only people in the check in “queue”! As ever, David’s water bottles, visible on the outside of his rucksack as a decoy are confiscated at security, while the three inside Sara’s bag are not spotted on the x-ray, which could make you worry about how effective the security checks really are. It’s only a 35 minute flight to Bagan and in-flight catering consists of a boiled sweet, and we are soon on our way into town with our new guide Win Bo. After a wander round the interesting local market where a proliferation of foodstuffs are on sale, which for some reason seems to terrify the French party who have just ... read more

Day one in Mandalay. We head to the jetty to get a boat across the Irrawaddy to Mingun. The guide book had led us to believe we had to wait for a ferry, but in fact each group of tourists get their own boat. We had a fairly basic boat, but who needs more than a chair and some shade on deck, and no other passengers? The only tricky bit was getting on board. We watched with some trepidation as a narrow wooden plank was laid from boat to shore, and were relieved when the boat crew held a pole to act as a handrail. And in the muddy water below, submerged up to her waist, is a washerwoman who seems to be washing clothes for some guesthouse. She sploshes them in the muddy water, diesel ... read more

An 830am start and we are off to the Botataung Pagoda. This is down by the river front and is interesting as you can actually go inside the stupa. The passages within are lined with gold leaf in bas relief. There are some “valuable relics” in cabinets, left to the Pagoda by the wealthy seeing donation as a good deed to hasten their passage to Nirvana. Unfortunately they are all behind both rusty metal grilles and filthy glass which is all steamed up on the inside. The monks really should attend Curatorship 101 at college. The usual regilding of the rather blackened stupa is taking place outside, with a number of security men up on the bamboo scaffolding watching the workers, presumably to stop them nicking the gold rather than putting it on the stupa. In ... read more

Planning a trip to Myanmar was like opening a box of chocolates. Where to start? With so much to see, it’s deliciously daunting, even with advice from a friend who’s been living there a while, though he readily admitted, “If a place is interesting, and has an airport within two hours’ drive, then I’ve probably visited. If it doesn’t, then I haven’t.” Right there is the second challenge: logistics. Roads aren’t great (66 km/41 miles in two hours is reasonable going, I was to discover within the first week), and, despite talk of improvements, the railways don’t appear to have been updated since they were first introduced in the 1870s. (I’ve seen references to the maximum speed being 24 kph/15 mph: they’re not going to rival the Shinkansen any time soon.) Even with the best part ... read more