Stupa This, Stupa That - Myanmar (Burma)

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Day 61- 65 Myanmar (Burma)

We have so much to report back from being in Myanmar for the past 13 days. Unfortunately, we had basically zero access to the internet while in Myanmar. The one time we actually found a cafe that had working internet, we could only afford to 15 minutes and the government blocked access to most sites like AOL, Yahoo and Hotmail. But now that we are in Laos and have recovered from the hectic schedule we've had for the past 15 days we can finally write about our time in Myanmar.

First off, it wasn't an easy decision to go to Myanmar. We originally planed on going when we first thought about traveling. But after the monk riots and the devastating cyclone, we marked it off our list. However, we have met loads of other travelers over the past two months that had nothing but the best things to say of the country. The military junta no longer requires foreigners to switch over $200 upon arrival. However, they are still an oppressive regime that despite losing the last election have yet handed over power to Aung San Su Kyi who won the majority of the votes. However, we decided to do whatever it takes to avoid putting money into the pocket of the corrupt officials via staying away from government hotels or using public transport or planes. But it is impossible to completely avoid the government. Even though we flew in via Air Asia, we still paid the airport tax that was included in the price of the ticket (and there is a $10 departure tax as well). Just using the electricity or driving on the roads is feeding into the hands of the government. But we played it as carefully as possible during our visit.

We landed in Yangoon after being delayed about an hour in Bangkok - the front of the plane was filled with orange robed Thai monks. We had heard that "The Motherland Guesthouse 2" was a good choice and when we saw a guy with a sign for that hotel we stopped him to see if they had rooms available. The rooms were only $10 a night with a fan and the ride to and from the airport was free, so we agreed and follow him to the van. Just about every Western on the plane ended up coming to MLG 2.

We met a Scottish guy - Mark on the plane who has been doing conservation work in Madagascar and Cambodian over the past 9 months or so and is now just traveling around Asia for a bit. Also in the van we met a lovely couple - Bex and Ben from Essex, England who had been travelling since July and had already been to South Africa, Indian, Sri Lanka and most of SE Asia. As we all sat around eating breakfast, we got to talking and realized that we all only had 13 days in Myanmar and were flying out the same day. Since we had heard that the roads were in dismal condition and public transport is uncomfortable, crowded and unreliable, we decided to go in together on a private minivan taxi. We bargain down to $50 a day for the van ($100 each for the 10 day road trip). We then met Zaw Zaw a Burmese man that works at the hotel and is training to be a tour guide. For him to get more experience and knowledge of the country, the hotel agreed to let him come with us for the ten days. We were more then excited to have him along as he was a fountain of knowledge and took us to tiny villages throughout Myanmar that we may have never found on our own.

Later that day Zaw Zaw took us around Yangoon. We went to the nearby market to exchange our money, but it was closed due to the Full Moon Festival. But it was a nice (but sweaty) walk through the bustling town of Yangoon. Walking the streets of Yangoon is like stepping back into time. There were a fair amount of cars but old rundown Japanese cars that were probably made in the 1970s. The bus were jammed pack with people inside, on top and hanging out the back. The sidewalks were overrun with food stalls, bar-b-que stands selling pig organs on skewers and tables selling anything from alarm clocks to jeans to car parts. Since we didn't have any Kyats (Myanmar money pronounced "just"), Zaw Zaw was kind enough to buy us some interesting and tasty street food (but don't worry we didn't try the pig organs - we were vegs the entire time in Myanmar). The sidewalks were also covered in red spit that could easily be mistaken for blood. But Zaw Zaw explained to us that it was betel nut or otherwise known as pan. It consisted of chopped nut and a paste of slaked lime wrapped in leaves. When chewed it turns in to a red consistency that must be spit out much like chewing tobacco. Not only does the betel produce red stains on the sidewalks but also leaves ones teeth and gums a deep red color. We were all curious to see what it tastes like but none of us were willing to take the risk of staining our teeth.

Later that night, he 5 of us and Zaw Zaw went to the Swedagon Pagoda via two taxis as the first one got a flat tire about 4 minutes into the ride. Usually the price to get into the pagoda is $4 but we somehow bypassed it and went it for free (and barefoot - no shoes allowed). The place was steaming with people celebrating the festival but we felt like we were the main attraction. We got tons and tons of stares, smiles and waves. Zaw Zaw said that many people make a journey to the pagoda for the festival from the countryside so that was why so many people were intrigued by us. He said some have only seen foreigners a few times in their life and for the children it might have been there first encounter with a Westerner. We even got stopped by locals and were asked to pose in pics with them. The complex itself was a magnificent sight with hundreds of different zedis, temples, shrines, and pavilions. Although the main golden stupa itself was covered with scaffolding at the top, it still was awe-inspiring sight with its over 50 tons of gold it has accumulated over the years. We eventually made our way around and as Steph was the only one in the group to know her day of the week she born on, she got to give offerings by pouring water over the statue for those born on a Friday for good luck.

The next day, we piled into our run down mini van and headed off on our road trip of Myanmar with Zaw Zaw and Alex (pronounced Elise), our driver. However, we first had to stop by the Bogyoke Market to exchange our money as there are no banks in Myanmar, Everything is done via the black market. The government exchange rate is something like 6 kyats to the dollar but in the black market its around 1,000 kyats to the dollar. Also, if you pay with a crisp new $100 bill you are likely to get a better rate. It does differ as the dollar weakens and strengthens and we were told to agree on anything lower then 1,100 kyats for $1. However, since it was a weekend and then a holiday the new rates hadn't come out yet and after checking at each stall the best deal we could get was 1,003 kyats for $1. The best thing is that the largest note in Myanmar is 1,000 kyats so we were haded these stacks of bills since we each switched over $100 (see pic of our collective stack of money btw the 5 of us. Zaw Zaw told us that most hotels charge in dollars and food and souvenirs should be bought in kyats. These is easy enough as we had dealt with two currencies before in Cambodia. However, it was extremely frustrating here because if your dollar bill had any kind of tear, rip, pen mark or even sometimes if it had a folded crease they wouldn't accept it. It was extremely frustrating since it wasn't like we could go to an ATM to get anymore money.

Its hard to go into detail on that we saw over the past ten days so below is a general over-view of our trip:

Day 1 of Road Trip

Made the 2 hour drive to Bago, northeast of Yangoon. We visited the Kyaik Pun Paya, the Shwethalyaung, a massive reclining Buddha and the Mahakalyani Sima. It was $10 to see all of them and since that money was going towards the government not the upkeep of the places we passed on the admission fee and viewed the places from outside, which did the job just fine. After lunch we piled back into the van and made our way to Taungoo. But on our way though we drove past a bustling little Indian village that had the music cranked and tons of people in the streets. It turned out to be the Indian Festival of Color - Holi.

We asked the driver, Alex to pull over so we could get a better look. Once our van came to a stop, loads of men with color pigment on their faces and stained colored clothes came rushing to us. They put the colorful pigment on our foreheads and begged for us to come out of the van. We were a bit hesitant since we didn't want to get soaked by all the water guns filled with colored water. But after a little bit coaxing we came out and snapped pictures with all the guys. It was such a great time and right them and there we knew it was a great decision to hire our own taxi as we would have never gotten to stop and experience that on public transport. However, we were stopped at the train tracks on the outskirts of the village and one jokester biked by our van and squirted the front row of van, hitting Bex, Ben and G (lucky the color came out after a few washings).

After about 5 hours of driving, a few stops for tea and one passport checkpoint at we pulled into Taungoo for the night. We all got some dinner and chatted for the better part of the night.

Day 2 of Road Trip

The next morning, after a huge breakfast that was included in our $5 a person room, we made the long 8 hour ride north to Kalaw. The first part of the trip was easy enough with decently paved roads, little traffic other then the herding cattle and beautiful landscape out or windows of green rice paddies, sunflower patches and towering hills in the distance. But the last 2 hours were painstaking as Kalaw is about 3,000 miles above sea-level, so we had to make the way up dusty, bumpy, narrow cliff-side roads. Although, we have yet to visit a Himalayan town, Kalaw was what we also pictured one to look like. It was a quaint little town and after some hard bargaining we got our $5 a person rooms at a gorgeous guest house. We met up with a local trekking guide, Than Tun who agreed to take us on a two day trek for $12 each. Unfortunately, Steph starting to fill ill after lunch so she stayed in while G, Mark, Bex and Ben took a stroll through the town and got a bite to eat. G got an amazing piece of original watercolor artwork and decided the piece was so nice she didn't even bother to bargain with the guy and just paid the $12.

Day 3 of Road Trip

The next morning, we got up bright and early set out for our 18K trek that day. Just as we got to the outskirts of town, we stopped by a cluster of houses and spotted the absolute cutest child in the whole world. All of girls and even Ben had to stop to take a look. G asked if we could take a pic and the parents nodded in excitement. G showed them the pics and everyone just smiled and giggled (well except for the baby who was clueless as to why these white strangers were ewwin and awwin about). The wife offered us "Thanakha" which is powder made of bark and is used as a sunblock, moisture and makeup by the locals, especially women. The bark of a certain type of tree is rubbed alone a stone slate and a little water is added to create a cream like substance. It is worn on the entire face but we just had it placed on our cheeks. It went on transparent but dried and became yellow and cakey. The trek was long but except for the last hour wasn't too difficult. The landscape was beautiful and held us up many times so we could snap some pictures. Than Tun wife's prepared us some veggie curry and chapati that we thoroughly enjoyed for lunch. After we ate we made our way past a minority village. The minute we walked into the village the children came puring out of their house curious to see the visitors. Most were apprehensive about us and hide behind the fence and just peaking out for a look. But there were some that came right up and interacted with us. They absolutely loved to get their picture taken and each time G or Ben snapped on they would crowd around them to see the pic on the screen. We were invited into one house for tea and bananas and a bit of a rest.Than Tun acted as a kind of traveling doctor and all the locals came to him and explained their ailments and he gave them whatever supplies we had. Since we all decided against trying betel nut our guide suggested we try a local cigar that has dried corn leaves wrapped inside banana leaves. Even though the two of us are non-smoker we decided to give it a try and it wasn't too bad. We said our thanks ("cezubeh") to the family for their hospitality and went along our way.

In the late afternoon we stopped by the train station to pick up some water and have a bit of rest. The rain came through and we got to the commotion of people getting on and off hte crowded train and the people trying to sell things via the tiny train windows. And of course we got a lot of curious stares, points and smiles.

We carried on as we had to get to monastery before night fell and walked past a few more villages until we got to the base of hill where the monastery was located. It was a few tough climb up on its own but considering we had just walked like17K, we were already so exhausted. There was a cute little dog that followed us up to the top that provided some comic relief. Just before sunset at 6PM, we reached the top of the hill. We all rested, cleaned up and sat around a fire the monk had made for us as the temperature had dropped considerably. We were provided with a delicous dinner consisting of rice, tomatoes with peanut sauce, tomatoes with egg and a veggie soup. The monks there were all very kind but more or less kept to themselves. The five of us sat around with Zaw Zaw and Than Tun and then called it a night. Our beds were basically wooden planks with a thin mattress, but we were all so tired it didn't matter. However, the dog that followed us up the mountain wanted so bad to be let into the building but the monks didn't allow it, so it just whimpered all night outside the door.

Day 4 of Road Trip

The next morning we left the monastery around 6:45AM to make our 15K back down to the outskirts of Kalaw where Alex our driver would be waiting for us. It wasn't that tough of a walk as it was all mostly downhill but we all had blisters and tired feet and G's ankle had began to act up, so it wasn't as pleasant. But as we walked though one village we spotted a little baby water buffalo that was just 3 weeks old that put a smile on all our faces. Plus the dog from the day before decided to make the 15K walk with us so he kept our minds off our ailments. We eventually made it to the van but poor G then realized she left her flip flops at the monastery but of course wasn't about to do the 30K round trip to get them back. But at least she got some karma points for donating her sandals to the monks.

We then piled into the van and made the 2 1/2 hour trip to Inle Lake. It wasn't that far away but we had to pass over numorous mountains with narrow, unpaved roads. Just as we got to the town Naungshwe, we had to pay $3 just to get into the town. We were hoping we could avoid it as the money goes directly to the government but there was no way around it. After trying a few hotels we finally found one that agreed to take the 5 of us for $5 each. We walked around the town the rest of the afternoon, meandered through the market and stopped for a drink along the river.

See next blog for Part 2 of our time in Myanmar...........

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Photos

Nap time
He was more interested in us than his nap - much to the dismay of his father

Buddha's hand
The mosaic nails were beautiful.

Reclining Buddha
This is the new one

Baby Chickens
yummmm.....yuck

Water festival
Dancing, pushing and singing in every direction.

S and Bex
Pigment pigment everywhere.

Feet
The feet - covered in pigment and water

Brokedown
It's no wonder the cars break down so often here

Full Moon Party
Myanmar style - pilgramage to the Pagoda in Yangoon

How much???
This is what $450 gets you on the black market in Yangoon

Transportation
The most common transport in the countryside.

Burmese babies
He was cute enough to make the hardest men swoon.

Thanakha
Makeup/Sunscreen made from bark

Trekking
Common bridge we encounter.

Burmese Minority
In traditional dress on our trek.

S and the locals
One of our 'medicine' stops. They loved the cameras.

Dirty
The kids looked as they hadn't showered in weeks - so did we after one day in th e dust.

Local train station
Women selling flowers through the windows of passing trains.

Comments

[JJ]

Hey girls
Hi, Glad you are safe and had a great time in Burma. I was getting worried when I didn't see any new posts. The pics are great and it must be exciting to be in parts of the world where being a westerner is an attraction. I loved the pics of the Stupa. the buddhas are unbelieveable. be safe. keep having fun. Offer still stands, if i can donate to the cause (your trip) let me know! Love you! Jenine

[momma jean]

whoa
Wow Sounds like things are a little primative there. Can sympathize with the "squat" toilet...no fun! Am leaving China and thinking of you both. Have fun and be safe.

[che]

chop chop
come on with it, part 2, hurry up.

[akash barua]

akash barua
i like thise burma buddha tempole.