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| The view of Bagan in the mist |
A land peppered with pagodas and palaces: Why magical
Myanmar is THE destination for travelers in search of fresh experiences.
The country is described as a place where the pace of life has
stilled from dancing fishermen to beguiling Buddhist nuns, Myanmar revealed
Mail Online Travel explores the country which was once known as Burma.
A lithe fisherman in a straw hat performed a balletic dance
as he flung his conical net across the waters of Inle Lake, an oasis of glassy
calm in the Shan Hills of Myanmar.
Fishing for carp he balanced on one leg on the prow of his
flimsy wooden boat, the other leg wrapped round a single oar with which he
paddled and steered over a massive body of water swollen by monsoons.
The searing midday sun sparkled on the threads of his gossamer
nets as we puttered past in our long-tailed motor boat on a voyage of discovery
through the land better known as Burma.
It was like stepping back into history, where the pace of
life has stilled. The landscape of slender-tipped stupas slowly unfolded as we
travelled all morning from the towns of Nyaung Shwe to Shwe Inn Dein.
With fingers dangling in the cooling ripples, we slipped
past clumps of palest pink water hyacinths and floating gardens bearing crops
of sesame and peanuts, each plot pinioned by bamboo stakes.
On the banks more pagodas punctured the skyline with their
tiered towers and bulbous stupas flaunted glistening golden domes, rich red
brickwork and blinding whitewash.
In the World Heritage Site of Bagan alone there are more
than 2,000 temples, monasteries, stupas and pagodas built by self-aggrandising monarchs
dating back to the ninth century and a point to worship for Buddhists.
From high above we admired a green landscape studded with
stupas – you can take a hot air balloon ride for a bird’s eye view, or a dawn
climb up an observation tower will reward you for obeying that 5am wake-up
call.
Or you can visit a higgledy-piggledy collection clinging
haphazardly to a hillside at Shwe Inn Dein. Or wander inside temples as
Buddhist bells chime and families kneel before ornate effigies to offer
flowers, while worshipers- men only are allowed to embellish the Buddha with
gold leaf. “We love gold and call our country Golden Land” said our guide.
We removed shoes and socks as a mark of respect, ensuring
our feet were never pointed towards the statue. (A Brit is banged up in a
Burmese jail for depicting Buddha with a pair of headphones so disrespect at
your peril.)
The Burmese are well mannered, even the hawkers who come
alongside your boat with intricate carving or the trinket sellers in colorful
markets, are gracious if insistent.
“Happy Money” they declare as they brush your pristine US
dollars or grubby local kyats over their goods. They are also a conservative people
with strict and sometimes strange rules of etiquette, such as summoning waiters
with a kissing sound, never patting someone’s head – it’s a sacred area – or touching
a monk’s robe, and a modest dress code.
Myanmar is how you might imagine Southeast Asia before the
influx of mass tourism to countries such as Thailand and Vietnam.
It retains a certain innocence despite a troubled past. It
is still the poorest state in the region, but the easing of sanctions in 2010
has signaled record-breaking number of tourists with over three million
recorded in 2015.
City name evoke a colonial past, Mandalay, Rangoon (now the
cosmopolitan Yangon) and Katha – which George Orwell describes in his
coruscating book “Burmese Days” in which he is as vitriolic about indigenous
corruption as colonial bigotry.
He worked there for the Imperial Police Service in the days
of the British Raj. And it was Rudyard Kipling who described the Ayeyarwaddy
River, whose fertile silt enriches the paddy fields and farmland after every
monsoon, as “the road to Mandalay”.
Myanmar has suffered from endless internal conflicts and
corruption but there has been some encouraging political reform. There is now a
palpable feeling of optimism for a settled future after November 8’s national
elections if the charismatic Aung San Suu Kyi can lead the National League for
Democracy to victory against the military-backed ruling party. ( Now her party won
in 2015 election and she became the Advisor of the Country.)
Despite the embryonic state of its tourist industry with
power cuts and erratic Wi-Fi all the hotels we stayed were top-notch, ranging
from a spanking new Novotel on stilts on Inle Lake to other with old-world
charm and dark palatial furnishing.
They boasted glorious swimming pools plus plentiful and
varied menus ranging from samosa, noodles and grilled butterfish to spicy
curries, rice cakes and chocolate mousse with chilli.
And, with the exception of a grumpy barman who seemed to
take delight in announcing the end of Happy Hour just as you ordered your Bagan
Breeze cocktail, the service staffs were a delight.
Domestic flights were reliable, although for peace of mind
avoid the in-flight magazine “horror-scope”-mine threatened attack by
pick-pocket, accident to right leg, verbal confrontation, dangers and rivalries,
advising: ‘to bring good fortune clean the front of the house’.
None of which transpired, although I booked a window cleaner
as soon as I returned home.
Nyein Moe, 41, our hugely knowledgeable and enthusiastic
tour director, metaphorically held our hands throughout our odyssey, ensuring
we caught internal flights, arranging groaningly early wake-up calls and
sharing his country’s history, culture and architecture rich in fabulous
frescoes and stucco works.
As part of our journeys programme, we enjoyed off the beaten
path itineraries featuring hard to reach and lesser-visited destinations not in
the guide books.
He took us to Tha Kya Di Thar nunnery in Mandalay where
solemn, shaven-headed girls in pink robes with tansashes included us in their rituals
and chanting.
We dispensed rice and coffee – offering food is good karma –
before taking lunch with them and handing out gifts of stationary to assist
their studies. At Aung Myay Thukha monastic school, Yangon, he introduced us to
a gaggle of giggling girls and boys who we entertained with attempts at their
tongue-twisting language. “Mingalabar” being the most useful as hello with a
smile.
Nyein Moe survived our cooking at the Inle Heritage training
centre, tutored by hospitality students who will be catering for Myanmar’s
anticipated tourist boom, where we prepared fish soup and chicken curry after
picking fresh ingredients in the kitchen gardens.
He showed off the mastery of silversmiths and lacquer ware
artists – however tempted you might be to buy a model stupa be warned: they don’t
travel well.
With scores of Saturday trippers we traipsed across what is
reputedly the longest teak bridge in the world, all 1.2 km of it, across
shimmering Taung Tha Man Lake where fishermen and women, up to their armpits in
the waters, cast their nets.
The pillars of Maung Bein bridge – named after its
constructor – once supported the royal palace of Inwa and were used to connect
the capital of Myanmar to villages on the other side of the lake.
He brought us to the home of a school teacher for a jolly
evening of home-made cooking, family fun and music where everything from
politics and child care were up for robust discussion.
The up-coming election topped the agenda, with fervent hope
for change but a realism born of broken promises. Our hostess, Mrs. San Myo Ei,
told how her family were forced out of their home by the military government 25
years ago.
“About 100,000 people were moved because they wanted the
area for architectural excavations” she said. “We came here to a place where
there was no lights, no heat, no water – only fields. My father died here of a
snake bite. He was only 28. We blamed his death on the move dictated by the
military government.
“As for the elections, they will try to stop her (Aung San
Suu Kyi) winning. They will be cunning and lying. There will be violence and
protests”. San Myo Ei, a Christian, and Buddhist Nyein Moe, are united in their
hope for peaceful democracy. “We have
been through bad times, but somehow we are happy. We live in the moment,” he
said, to explain his people’s sunny disposition.
Our all too few moments in Myanmar were ending. Memories of
a land peppered with pagodas and palaces, gracefully dancing fishermen,
beguiling Buddhist nuns, a moving ceremony lighting oil lamps at the most
sacred Shwedagon Pagoda as the sun set the color of the monks’ maroon robes –
magical Myanmar and her gentle people offer so much to the jaded visitor in
search of fresh experiences.
Ref; Gill Martin for Mail Online
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| Early style of Stupa in Myanmar |
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| Golden Rock |
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| Ballooning Over Bagan |
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| The fruit shape pagoda in Bagan |
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| Inside a temple of Bagan |
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| Home of Sprits (or) Nats, Mount. Popa |
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| Ancient Wooden Monastery |
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| Lives in Bagan |
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| Fine Wood-carving |
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| Giant Unfinished Pagoda - Mingun |
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| 18th century Brick Monastery |
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| Mandalay palace |
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| World Third Largest Ringing Bell |
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| Ruin Ava or Inwa |
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| Famous Wooden Bridge - U Bein Bridge |
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| Walking on U Bein Bridge |
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| Artificial Floating Islands in Inle Lake |
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| A local fisherman in Inle Lake |
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| Wooden Monastery at the middle of the lake |
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| Mural Painting in Ruin Indein Pagoda Forest |
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| Native Tribe, Pa O people and Indein pagoda forest |
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| A leg rower |
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| A village on the lake |
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| The Unique Beauty of Traditional Fisherman |
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| Night View of Great Shwe Dagon Pagoda |
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| A Catholic Church in Yangon |
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| Colonial Heritage Buildings from Yangon |
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| The 76 carat diamond at the top of the Shwe Dagon Pagoda |
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| Minister Office Building |
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| Bird eye view of nowadays Yangon |
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| The picturesque scenery of Shan State |
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| General Aung San, National Hero and his home |
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| The friendly smile |
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| Burma Pan Cake |
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| Long Neck People |
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| Nuns |
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| Paddy gain |
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| Oxcart is still using widely in rural area |
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| Myanma Farmers |
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| A Nun and a snake at the snake temple |
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| Snake Temple |
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| Chin tribe woman |
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| A village market |
