Myanmar

“The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear.” 

                                                 ― Aung San Suu Kyi

What?  And where?   I have to be honest, I had never heard of this country until we moved to Singapore. Burma?  Yes I have heard of that...and it turns out they are one and the same.  The little that I did know after being overseas was that there were sanctions in place against the country and that human rights violations were rampant.

And the CIA has this to say about the country:

Burma, a resource-rich country, suffers from pervasive government controls, inefficient economic policies, corruption, and rural poverty. Despite Burma's emergence as a natural gas exporter, socio-economic conditions have deteriorated under the mismanagement of the previous regime. Approximately 32% of the population lives in poverty and Burma is the poorest country in Southeast Asia. The business climate is widely perceived as opaque, corrupt, and highly inefficient.

Myanmar was not anywhere on our bucket list of places to visit during our time in Southeast Asia, however, it is in the news every week in Singapore and the few people we know who have been there have told us "you have to go...and you need to go NOW."

It has recently opened to tourists and economic investment is pouring in quickly (particularly from China.)  The "unspoiled" nature of the country is changing day by day so we decided to pull the trigger and take a long weekend to experience Myanmar before it is forever changed.

Now, there are admittedly some logistic issues with visiting Myanmar.  Credit cards are RARELY accepted, there are no ATM's, and you must bring US dollar bills that are brand new, crisp & don't start with "CB" in the serial number (rumored to be counterfeit).  If there is the slightest crease or fold in the bill, it will NOT be accepted.  To guarantee our booking at one of the hotels I had to wire the funds!  At least the banks in Singapore seem prepared for these eventualities.  I walked into our bank there and explained where we were traveling and they immediately knew the drill...the only question was what percentage we wanted in $100's vs. $20's (you get a better exchange rate with the higher bills...but if you have leftover kyat at the end of your trip you are just stuck with it because there is no exchanging it back!)

So with all of our logistics worked out, we started our trip in Yangon (aka Rangoon) at the Nanthida jetty for our ferry to cross the Yangon River.  The girls are especially the objects of curiosity. People stare and point to them and even come up to touch them on their heads. Many want photos. I am much easier going about this now.

First moments in Yangon

One thing we immediately noticed about the people is that the women and children all wear tree bark on their faces.  The tree is "thanakha" and they grind it down on a piece of limestone with a little bit of water until it forms a light beige paste. Then they rub this on their cheeks and nose.  They consider this not only beautiful but it also serves as protection from the sun....and it is HOT and sunny there!

A boy and piece of thanakha wood

They also chew betel nuts wrapped in green leaves with limestone paste

We took a ferry across the Yangon River (which itself was a great reprieve from the 104 degree heat!) and got onto tri-shaws which were configured differently than any I have seen before. We ride single file, back-to-back.  It is a very bumpy ride and the sun is scorching hot!  We toured around the farming village of Dhala and stopped at the local market and visited a monastery which was fabulous!

Locals transporting produce from Yangon to Dhala

The Dhala jetty

Getting off the boat in Dhala as everyone scurries to find transportation

Our transportation

Novice monks collecting offerings for the day's meal

Boys in Buddhist Myanmar have a rite of passage when they enter a monastery to become a novice monk. Boys aged 7-19 go through a ritual with offerings and their family at a temple. After the ceremony, the boy goes to the monastery and piously asks the resident monk teacher to allow him to enter the monastery to learn to become a monk. The boys stay as little as a few days but some decide this is the life they want to continue with. 

We saw the boys in this monastery lining up for lunch which is their primary meal of the day.  They have to walk around the village and collect food donations (here is where the offering bowl is/was used).  They then return and all of the food is collected and lunch prepared. A bell is rung and they line up. The dogs start howling. Then a other bell is rung and they walk to the dining hall. They chant prayers of thanks and they eat in silence. After a little while the master monk comes in and is escorted to his private table where he chants a prayer and eats in silence.  These monks will not eat again until breakfast tomorrow.  Any leftover food will be shared with the dogs and homeless people.

Later in the day we explored Bogyoke market when Mike got a wild hair and decided today was the day we were going to try .... durian!  So we did.  For those who have not heard of durian, it is a very large fruit that has a most distinct awful smell.  You KNOW when it is in season and in the markets because you can smell it a mile away.  Taxis will not allow it inside and most apartment buildings will not allow it in Singapore either.  

For 2 years now we have endured the smell of durian season but have never attempted to put it in our mouths.  Well we can check that one off the list....but I don't care to ever have it again!  

Then we went to Mahawizaya temple which, although new, is a beautiful temple. We took a few photos, fed the fish and released some birds.  While Elle fed (ala...chased) the pigeons, Katie begged to go back to release some more birds.  I let her free 10 more for which she was very thankful.

Then the highlight.....Shwedagon Pagoda.  Wow, Wow, Wow...once you leave the elevator you are transferred into an unimaginable golden wonderland.  Truly remarkable and over-the-top beautiful/gaudy.

3 tons of gold on this one central pagoda - replaced every 3 years!

Golden wonderland!

An aerial view of the very top of the pagoda.  In addition to gold it is encrusted with precious gems and topped off with a 78ct diamond!

While there we saw several families performing the ritual for sending their boy into the monastery. We also saw a girl who was going through her ear piercing rite of passage.  Girls can also enter a the monastery as a nun....and we saw several of them here.

The boys being carried will shortly enter the monastery

Girls enter as nuns and wear pink & red

We learned that everyone has a "corner" around the pagoda based upon the day of the week you were born.  You have a celestial and animal association as well. And your luck number is the date you were born, adding up the digits in the date. For example, Mike and I are 9 (birthdays are the 27th) and the girls are both 3.  When you give offerings at your corner you pour an equivilant number of bowls of water over the top of Buddha's head and then the same number over your designated animal (which in my case is a rat).

I am at the "Thursday" station since I was born on a Thursday and am pouring 9 cups of water on the Buddha head

The pagoda is stunning and is so incredibly valuable that it really blows your mind. Completely covered with three tons of gold it also has hundreds of precious gems as well as a 78ct diamond on the very top. AND they replace the gold every three years!  That shocked me!  This country is SO rich with natural resources that it truly ought to have a much higher standard of living.  If it wasn't for that corruption thing....

From Yangon we took a Buddha Air flight to Bagan.  Bagan is known as the land of temples.  There are over 3,000 pagoda temples in this one area.  The pagodas are all from the 11th-12th century and were built by families or kings to "show merit." Inside each and every one of these 3,000+ pagodas is a statue of Buddha.  Pagodas were built to a size and grandeur that a family could afford. Now, the pagodas have been "adopted" by families who wish to sponsor the pagoda as a way of showing current day offering/merit. 

We set out right away and were just in awe of how many there really are....they are EVERYWHERE!  You cannot look in any direction without seeing 20-30. We pulled off to the side of thereof because we saw a cluster that we wanted to photograph. Inside one of them were remnants still of paintings that adorned the inside of the pagoda.  We also saw a family living in a small houses amongst this cluster and our guide explained that the families who own each of the pagodas in the cluster pay this family to watch over and care for the daily upkeep of the pagodas. 

Original paint

The house of the family who tends to this cluster of pagodas

Then we stopped at a tall pagoda (Thagyar Pone) and we climbed to the top for a view of the area from above.....truly spectacular.  As far as the eye can see are pagodas.  We were also fortunate with weather today because there is a nearby storm and we have benefit of the cloud cover to cut the heat index down considerably.

View from the top of Thagyar Pone pagoda

Treacherous descent

We also saw Shwezgon Pagoda which is one of the city's most important pagodas and has a beautiful gold dome.  Inside we saw monks and also a stone that some believe is a conduit for the spirits. You ask the spirits for something, then you ask them to make the stone "too heavy to lift". If the spirits are hearing your wish then you will find it very hard or impossible to lift the stone.  Then you ask the spirits to make the light.  Then it should be very easy to lift.  

Praying to make the stone easy to lift

The next stop was Ananda Pagoda, which is one of the most important in the area.  Built by a king, it is enormous and has a gigantic standing gold Buddha whose smile changes the closer you get to it.

Giant Buddha

...and giant wooden doors

While there we saw this quintessential scene and went crazy with the camera....it was beautiful

Ananda Pagoda

Did I mention anywhere that most of the time we were in Myanmar we were barefoot?  No shoes allowed in any temple or pagoda.

Then it was off for our horsecart ride through the village.  This was really a highlight in my opinion. We relaxed and took in all of the "normal" life which has become my favorite part of traveling.

Our cart ride ended at Shwesan Daw pagoda to watch the sunset.  It was a mighty steep climb to get up there but the view was well worth it.  There were still many clouds in the sky so the sunset really was quite beautiful.  Up on top we ran into a family with two girls who we had seen on our flight.  They were from Singapore and they had fun playing hand games while the parents watched the sunset.

The next day we went to Nyaung U market where we saw more "normal" life. 

Local produce

Fermented fish paste....smelled awful!

Along the way we stopped at Thame Ma See monastery and we were given a great treat of a novice ceremony for 60 boys and their families.  A wealthy couple from Mandalay had come down to sponsor these poor families and had provided a feast for them all.   We got to see them serving the monks their lunch.  The ceremony consists of the couple lifting the table, prepared with food, and then they slightly tilt it toward the monk.  They say a prayer and then leave the monk to dine on the food.  She was very kind and generous giving us oranges and fans.

The hostess along with 2 new-to-be novice monks

Offering vessels sent with the young boys

2 boys about to have their heads shaven

Traditional Burmese costume

Each family prepares a "kit" of needed items to have in the monastery

The hosts offering food to the senior monk

After this incredible treat, we drove to a very secluded little village for a delicious lunch outdoors.  It was such a beautiful setting, and the gentleman who prepared the food in his home was so kind.

Later in the day we set out for our boat ride on the Irawaddy River.  There was not much happening on the river, but it was a peaceful way of seeing the countryside.  We stopped along the way at a very old monastery built back into a cliff.  While we were inside he explained a lot of about his religion and how and when he had reached certain points in his meditative journey.

Our boat

Deep discussions with our guide on Buddhism

Family wash day

Myanmar proved to be a remarkable trip and we truly learned a lot more about Buddhism and the way it governs and guides the people of this country. It is an exciting time for the people here as they begin to see their economy change drastically.  Politics is also changing at a very fast pace...hopefully the roots of democracy can be carefully nurtured and the people of this country can reap the benefits that come with it.