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My journey continued from Mandalay, we had an 8 hour coach drive to Kalaw, a former British Hill station situated at 1 400m above sea-level (piece of cake for me!) on the rim of the Shan Plateau in the Pineland. We were welcomed by cool, spring-like weather, pine forests, tea plantations and colourfully dressed hill tribe people who come to Kalaw for trading at the local market. The surrounding hills offer some of the best trekking in Myanmar. Kalaw has a significant population of Nepali Gurkhas and Indian Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims, who came to build the roads and railway line during the British period. It is here in this village that I relived my memories of trekking in Nepal with a plate of dahl baht (rice served with lentils and side dishes of curries) at the Everest Nepali Food Centre, a local restaurant run by a Nepali family who are originally from Pokhara. Our group went on a lovely morning trek to Shwe Oo Min Paya, a natural cave filled with an overwhelming number of golden Buddha statues. After the caves, we continued on to Hnee Pagoda home to a 500 year old gold-lacquered bamboo Buddha.
Inle Lake
We journeyed to the Shan State to Nyaungshwe near Inle Lake where we spent a relaxing 2 days. Inle Lake, the second largest natural lake in Myanmar is 20km long and 10km wide, situated 4 350 ft. above sea level with a backdrop of hazy Blue Mountains. It is hard to tell where this lake begins and ends since it is surrounded by green lush marshes. Around the lake are stilt-house villages of the Intha and floating gardens which are built upon beds of seaweed. Boats are the main means of transportation here and so we too boarded a traditional long tale boat for an insider sightseeing tour on the lake. The locals get around using traditional flat-bottomed skiffs propelled by a single wooden paddle. The Inta technique of leg rowing-where one leg is wrapped around the paddle to drive the blade through the water in a snake-like motion-is unique to say the least.
North of Nampan are these famous gardens, where the Inta farmers grow flowers, tomatoes, squash and other fruits and vegetables on long wooden trellises supported by floating mats of vegetation. Another village by Inle Lake that we visited is In Phaw Khone famous for its
weaving workshops. Although mainly a tourist stop now, the floating market of Ywama was still amazing to see. The market is held once every five days and actually becomes a traffic jam of tourist boats and vendors with only a few local farmers selling their goods to the locals.
Along the way we even managed to make one more stop at a temple. This temple, Nga Hpe Kyaung is famous for two reasons. It is known as the Jumping Cat Temple since its monks have trained cats to jump through hoops. The monks are apparently happy to put on a show if they’re not busy eating or meditating; we, however missed out on the show and just saw about ten cats doing what they usually do best - sleep. The other reason this temple is special is for its collection of ancient Buddha images housed in the large meditation hall. The images are in the Shan, Tibetan, Bagan and Inwa styles and are displayed on intricate wood and mosaic pedestals.
The Inle Lake region is also famous for an oddity, the “giraffe women” or “long-necked women", the women of Padaung, The Padaung women follow the ancient custom of
fitting young girls with brass neck rings originally intended to make them less attractive to invading men from neighbouring tribes. Nowadays the women continue the tradition in order to make them employable for the tourist trade. Many weaving shops employ the Padaung women to help attract tourists. The unfortunate aspect of this tradition is that the collar bone and upper rib cages of these women become deformed over time making it impossible for the women to carry the weight of their own heads without the support of the rings.
From Inle Lake, we travelled to Kyaikhtiyo to visit the Kyaikhtiyo Pagoda. This is the site of the Golden Rock perhaps Myanmar’s most recognized religious and tourist spot. Upon arrival at Kimpun base camp, we boarded an open truck and ascended a steep road for 11km through a tropical forest with pilgrims. A daunting trip to say the least since the driver proceeds as fast as possible and with no seat belts (or seats for that matter) and nothing to hang on to you are at the mercy of Buddha and the driver! It was exceptionally hot as usual and we were all soaked with sweat by the
time we arrived to Yathetaung camp where everyone walks the last 4km following groups of Buddhist pilgrims to the Kyaikhtiyo Pagoda site. The only other alternative was not a donkey, mule, camel of horse but four porters that carry you on a sedan chair – just like the pharaohs! I opted to walk. Yet, again I went up. It seems that I’m never descending always ascending! After a grueling hike straight up, I arrived sun and sweat drenched hotter than I have ever felt in a long time. My clothes were soaked right through but the reward once again was great. Completely covered by gold leaf and delicately balanced on the edge of a cliff was Kyaikhtiyo, the Golden Rock. This site has become a venerated shrine because it seems to hang on the side of a rocky outcrop near the mountaintop. It is here that I enjoyed yet another blissful and misty sunset over the Eastern Mountains.
On to Bago the next day for more sightseeing where we visited the Shwethalyaung reclining Buddha Image that measures 55m long and 16m high and the region’s highest Shwemawdaw Pagoda of 144m height and then finally Hinthagone Pagoda which
is the place where Bago was founded. After another 110m we were back in Yangon, the starting point.
This is where I finally said goodbye to Myanmar. Besides remembering all of the glorious sunsets, pagodas and temples and the sweltering heat, what touched me most was the friendliness of almost all of the people that I encountered in this country of gold. Almost every single person looked me in the eye and always, always had a smile and a greeting of Minglabah. If only we could look into each other’s eyes more often and simply smile, what a difference this would make in our daily lives. The people of Myanmar reminded me that is not so much how much you have in your life in terms of possessions but how much you give of yourself to your fellow man. So today, look into people's eyes as you pass them and smile and see what happens.....It's the little awesome things that make all the difference. Goodbye Myanmar and thank you Myanmar. You are truly golden.
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anonymous
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Inspiring!!!
You should be working for the tourism board of Myanmar...anyone who has read these blogs and seen these magnificent photos is instantly spellbound and captivated...I wish I had another four over five so I can go there myself...lovely message too at the end...it doesn't cost a thing to smile or be kind! Thanks for the reminders!