Blogs from Yangon, Yangon Region, Burma, Asia - page 10

Hotmail still isn't working for me . It keeps asking for my code (????).Dan if you can check that out for me I would appreciate it a great deal . I think you remeber my password. Let me know here as it is all I have right now. . At least I got through to Travelblog today . That feeling of isolation didn't help especially since I didn't know what was happening with Suzanne . YEAH !!! She will arrive on Sunday and maybe I can find out about transportation possibilities . I will book the hotel for one more night and be at the airport to greet her. Flying into Burma and Yangon was really interesting. Actually the whole flight was interesting . Southern Japan ,China ,Vietnam , Thailand , ocean ,mountains ,deltas, rice fields ... read more

Don Muang Airport, Bangkok is the second airport in Bangkok. It's an early morning Skytrain to Mo Chit and a taxi to Don Muang in plenty of time to have a leisurely breakfast before boarding our Air Asia flight to Yangon (formerly Rangoon). Immigration is slow, I think they must be use trainees on Sundays, but we clear immigration without a hitch. The money changers are open at the airport and Malcolm and I both change $100 US into Myanmar Kyets (pronounced Chets). I certainly wasn't ready for the wad of money that I received, it's a bit like post war Germany where you needed a wheelbarrow to take the money away. Then it's a taxi to our hotel, “The Windsor”. First impressions are that it is a little bit tired, but we have twin beds ... read more

The photos attached to this blog are of some of the people that asked if they could be photographed with Lorenza on our trip to Myanmar. They were taken at various locations. Lorenza joked that she felt like some kind of celebrity. Many people commented how beautiful they thought she was, especially when wearing the traditional Burmese longyi. A few times she said “Ok, today no longyi, I need a break from all this fame”. Obviously, Lorenza looked much better in a longyi than I did. It always amazed me that often the people asking for a photo with Lorenza had no camera or phone so they would never see the photo, they were just happy to pose with her. Often, once one person asked others would come over and want to pose with her also, ... read more

2am wake up for Alms Giving Theravada Buddhists observe a three month lent period, which ends on the full moon day in October. In the days leading up to and immediately following the full moon there are many festivals and ceremonies to observe. One of the ceremonies is the giving of alms to monks and nuns who, due to the end of lent are allowed to leave their monasteries. The alms giving in Yangon was a large affair, with more than 400 monks and nuns participating. We had a 2am wake up call and we bundled ourselves into the back of Auntie and Uncle’s small truck for the trip to our designated spot. Even at this time of the morning there were hundreds of monks, nuns and lay people in the streets. Gongs were sounding and ... read more

Shwe Dagon is the most important Buddhist site in Myanmar and, I discovered as I travelled around the country, the most recognisable symbol of the whole nation - in tourist shops, on pictures on the walls of guesthouses, and just decorating the walls of shops and cafes, it can be seen on postcards, tapestries, keyrings etc. The best time to go is at sunset, as the Shwe Dagon pagoda, which is entirely covered in gold plates, goes from sparkling gold to an incredible, unreal pink-gold colour. At this time it is possible to see a few monks in the traditional maroon robes climbing up the pagoda and walking around it, part of their studies and meditations. It really is a unique and astonishing site. The temple is not just the Shwe Dagon pagoda - there are ... read more