Blogs from Burma, Asia - page 137

Upon finally reaching the big city, I somehow feel tricked; for instead of springing into the modernity that metropolises often bring, it seems that I stepped back into a bygone decade. Bus videos censor through the “love scenes,” music videos depict a would-be suitor trying desperately to wrest his young love from her parents’ ever-watchful eye for an innocent handhold, the after-dusk city streets are empty save for the occasional ice cream parlor patrons making their way home. The movie theater is showcasing an American film featuring Angelina Jolie, who might find the plump, size 12 representation of herself on the hand-painted poster marquee somewhat less than flattering - but for the Burmese ideal of an attractive woman, she probably looked like heaven. Ladies of even the most modest means, in their ubiquitous ankle-length skirts and ... read more

Above all powers above all kings, above all nature, and all creative things, above all wisdom and all the ways of man, You were here before the world began. Above all kingdoms, above all thrones, above all wonders the world has ever known. Above all wealth, and treasures of the earth, there’s no way to measure what You’re worth. Crucified, laid behind a stone, You lived to die, rejected and alone, like a rose trampled on the ground, You took the fall, and thought of me, above all.- Above All: Michael W. Smith Myanmar: A country that many Americans haven’t heard of, let alone been to. Burma: a little more familiar, yet still not widely traveled by Americans. Myanmar and Burma are one in the same; Myanmar is the name that the government gave Burma when ... read more

For those readers who do not follow our adventures on a regular basis, we are still in the Bagan Archaeological Zone, and about to write about less well-known monuments. This classification is by no means meant as a qualification, we just saw too much and have too many pictures that we would like to share, so we split our Bagan impressions into two blogs. There are definitely highlights in Bagan, which no visitor must miss, but other temples are equally worth visiting and often offer positive surprises. One day we decided to cycle to several monuments situated further away from the beaten tracks, we started with the Dhammayangyi Temple from the 12th century. It is almost impossible to overlook, being the largest temple at Bagan, dominating the plains southeast of the Walled City of Old Bagan. ... read more

The night could be described as nothing less than magical…sitting on the veranda of a restaurant in Nyaungshwe after dark, I watched the town slowly come to life as each restaurant, home, and shop lit dozens of candles and paper lanterns on their streetfront sides. The chanting coming from the main pagoda in town had been going steady for the past 24 hours, and the faded sing-songy mantra gave a sense of direction to the countless bicyclists and pedestrians making their pilgrimage towards the glow coming from the lambent golden stupa. Inside the temple grounds, worshippers found the shrine dedicated to their astrological sign among the soft golden firelight and performed their rituals, first pouring water over the Buddha image to cleanse themselves from their wrongdoings before kneeling to pray. As your attention was drawn upward ... read more

Lake Inle is definitely a site of great natural beauty, anyway in its vicinity there are also several interesting cultural attractions to see. When we came from Mandalay, the taxi stopped in Pindaya, a place famous for its Buddhist caves. We did it like this because it was practical, requiring only a small detour, but most people visit Pindaya in a day trip from Lake Inle, as it is situated only at a 2hrs ride from there. Another day we chartered a taxi with Huguette and Jean-Marc that took us to the archaeological site of Kakku which turned out to be so fantastic that it consumed a whole day. When we made our extensive walk in the lake’s surroundings, we passed by the Shwe Yan Pyay monastery 2km from Nyaungshwe in direction of Heho (location of ... read more