What about that trip to Myanmar?

When S2 and I were in Southeast Asia in late 1988 – early 1989, we were eager to go to Myanmar, a country known as Burma at that time, and a place where it was reputed to be impossible to buy a coke.  That fall there was one of the many military coups or crack-downs that included, among other things, changing the name of the country to Myanmar.  There is a long colonial – independent – democracy history to the country (best left to the Wikipedia page).  Over the years, when people have asked, “is there any country you want to go to that you haven’t been to” … Myanmar/Burma is typically the first word out of my mouth.   Suffice it to say, when the decision was made to move to Vietnam, a visit to Myanmar was high on the priority list.

A Tet break, typically at least a 10-day vacation, seemed like a perfect time.  Not to mention, leaving Vietnam during that particular break tends to be a good idea given how much the country shuts down.

While in Cuenca last summer, we become friends with Margi, a U.S. retiree doing the same thing we were doing – researching Ecuador as a retirement destination.  Margi, learning that we had at least one more year in Vietnam, asked if she could use us as a base for exploring Southeast Asia.  She timed her visit with our trip to Myanmar, so the three of us set out on a direct flight to Yangon (previously known as Rangoon).

We immediately continued our journey within Myanmar by connecting to a domestic flight to Heho, in the highlands.  The Heho airport gave new meaning to the definition of low-key as shown by 

their control tower 

 and the – uh – baggage carousel. 

Our base, on Inle Lake, near the airport, was Nyaungshwe.  The developed tourist industry was nothing like what would have been here in 1988.  Indeed, the whole visit was a collection of mind-boggling, well-developed, easy-to-access, tourist facilities and services, coordinated by incredibly kind, gracious, helpful people.

The following morning, we set off on a sunrise boat ride on the lake where we watched the traditional leg rowing fish catchers, followed by a full-day tour of the floating villages, cottage industries, religious sites, and relaxed way of life centered on this lake.  Initially, it seemed like the trips were advertised as a sunrise trip, or a sunset trip, or both.  Of course, we went with both.  The price all seemed to be the same, and at 25,000 Burmese kyat (about $17.00) per person, it seemed like a small price to pay.  

It is one of those experiences that will forever be etched in my mind as a gift.  I watched traditional silversmiths, who patiently answered all my questions.  I witnessed a paper making industry with huge sheets of gorgeous flower strewn paper all made by hand, where I was allowed to pound my heart away at the reeds being mashed to make the paper.  I marveled at weavers, boat carvers and even the women hand rolling cheroot.  There were stops at temple complexes where Buddha statues had been touched so many times, they were worn beyond recognition.  Then there was the sunset as we made our way back across the lake.  An absolutely magical day!  

 

There was some slight confusion as we settled up with the owner of the boat.  The price we were quoted was not per person … but per boat.  All of that for $17, plus the tip for the driver.

Due to the poor infrastructure in Myanmar, we continued our journey by flying to Mandalay, the second largest city in the country.  I strolled along the U Bien Bridge, wistfully watched spectators press gold leaf onto the Buddha statue at Mahamuni Temple, gasped at the noise of young men goldbeating (making gold leaf), tried to understand how the incredible detail of the teak Shwenandaw monastery could have been so easily reassembled when it was moved in 1880, and ever-so-slowly climbed Mandalay Hill for the sunset at Sataungpyei Temple.  It was here that a young monk tentatively approached me and asked if he could practice his English with me.  It was a lovely chat as I tried to coach him through pronunciation and grammar as he told me about his family and his life as a monk.  

From Mandalay, it was a boat trip down the Ayeyarwady River to Bagan.  Yes, an air-conditioned tourist boat with a roof-top restaurant and comfy seats, but a 

human-held handrail when getting on and off the boat.

Bagan is home to some 2,000 monasteries, temples, shrines and stupas from what was once an imperial capital.  It lacks UNESCO designation because since 1990 the priority appears to be “if-we-build-it-tourists-come.”  Margi and I went for the tuk-tuk driver/guide who took us to countless monasteries, temples, shrines and stupas.

It was the sunrise here that found me pondering my willingness to huddle on a small mound with 180-200 people, wrapped in hotel towels, jostling to get tripods in just the right place for the colorful sunrise as a backdrop against the exotic stupas.  I have seen an amazing number of sunrises and sunsets in some of the most amazing places in the world.  Would this one be the one that stays in my memory the longest?  Is this the scene that grabs me and holds me the hardest and the longest?  I stepped back and let others be on the front lines of the viewing.  I had this sense of passing the torch to the next generation.

From Bagan, it was an easy flight to Yangon, an easy hotel employee that escorted us to a taxi, an easy retreat to the air-conditioned room.  How did Myanmar get so easy?

We spent a day walking between sites in the city.  The most memorable for me was high tea at the Strand Hotel – oh, so colonial - and the sunset walk at Shwedagon Pagoda – the most revered place in Myanmar.  While walking through the pagado, I went on a htamein photo spree – the traditional women’s dress of Myanmar.

The final full day was spent in a taxi to Bago where I fell in love with an amazing reclining Buddha.  The camera on my phone could not capture all of him, so I focused on his amazing feet.

All in all, it was a trip that gave me more than I hoped for as well as the ability to cross off that one last country that I wanted to see.  I guess it is time to retire.