Burma Trip

A quick run down of my trip to Burma before it is too far in the past to be meaningful!

Yangon - we were here at the height of the Thingyan water festival celebrations, so it was impossible to move around without getting drenched. Hence I hardly took any photos as my phone/camera was safely wrapped up in a sealed plastic bag to prevent damage.

I did take it out to take a few shots of the Shwedagon Pagoda. (Tip for would-be visitors - much better to go early in the morning or later in the evening rather than during the heat of the day when the marble floor is scorchingly hot for one's bare feet!)

A highlight of the trip for me was visiting Aung San Suu Kyi's house. You can't actually go in, but just to be outside those historic gates was a truly moving experience.

Mandalay: we were here for the tail end of Thingyan (it goes on for days!). In Yangon, groups of mostly young men spent the days careering round the streets in open trucks getting drenched and throwing water at passers-by. They were trying the same thing in Mandalay, but there was so much traffic that they had completely snarled up the main road following the moat around the palace, with the result that no-one was going anywhere. It didn't look quite so much fun, somehow!

We didn't get to look inside the palace as it was closed for the holiday. We did go on a tour of some of the sights in the surrounding area:

The tourist attraction at one monastery that we visited was watching the monks line up for their lunch and receive food from the local people. I couldn't help wondering what they though of us all, watching them as if they were animals in a zoo!

 

It was worth the hot, sweaty climb to the top of this temple to see the view:

 

Bagan: if you like ancient temples and pagodas, Bagan is the place for you! There are over 3,000 of them. We had an excellent tour guide who took us around a selected few and gave us a fascinating insight into the history, architecture and religious symbolism.

 

 

Highlight of the entire trip for me: sitting at the top of a pagoda at the end of the day waiting for the sun to go down, discussing human rights with our tour guide and meeting a man who had been imprisoned for two years for taking part in the peaceful protests of the Saffron Revolution. Inspiring and humbling. (We never saw the sun go down - it disappeared behind a cloud first!)

Inle Lake: We were supposed to fly from Bagan to Inle, but when we got to the airport for our 9.15am flight we were told it had been rescheduled to 7.25 and had already gone. There were no more flights that day, so what should have been a 40 minute flight turned into a 7 hour road trip. This left us with only one full day at Inle, but it was a wonderfully relaxing interlude in an otherwise busy holiday. Our hotel was right on the lake and therefore only accessible by boat. We had a lovely walk in the nearby hills, and spent two very relaxing evenings watching the sun go down over the lake from the hotel veranda.

The sound of singing drew us into this little village nursery school where we were welcomed in and ended up singing along with the children. Primary school teachers - you can't take them anywhere!

Hpa An (Karen State): We had to return to Yangon and spend one more night there, before taking a bus to Hpa An, which was a six and a half hour trip. The bus was packed, by which I mean there were people sitting on little plastic chairs all down the aisle. Thankfully we had reserved seats.
The main reason for visiting Hpa An was to attend the wedding of Alice's coordinator, Pearl. It was a lovely occasion, and such a privilege to be able to share it with them.

The next day she took us on a tour of the area, showing us all the local sights of interest, including several caves which have been turned into Buddhist shrines.

We also visited the village where her mother lives and works as a community midwife. We met her at the little clinic that she runs. (Several of the villagers also came along to have a look at us, having never met foreigners before.)

The mountain scenery is spectacular:

Back to Mae Sot: We returned via road, as it is only a six hour drive from Hpa An to the border at Mae Sot. We hired a car and driver to take us. The first four hours are fine, and then the road becomes interesting as it hits the mountains. It is so narrow that traffic can only proceed in one direction, so the arrangement is that on alternate days you can travel in one direction or the other. You have to know the schedule before you can plan your journey! The road was busy, and I was amazed at the travelling conditions for most people. Most cars and trucks were jammed with people all squashed in any which way. One man was sitting astride the tailgate with one foot in the van and the other outside on the footplate. Given the bumpiness of the road I thought that can't be comfortable!! We made it back in one piece, despite our driver's rather overenthusiastic negotiation of some of the bends, with the mountainside dropping away dramatically at the road's edge.

A wonderful, inspiring trip!