Burma!

One of our goals this year was to visit Burma/Myanmar before it changes forever with the tourism industry. We relied on our Lonely Planet guide which advised working with a Burmese travel agency because few hotels take credit cards, and you must take crisp, clean US dollars to exchange. In addition, exchanging money was tricky and not done in banks. Upon arrival in the capital city, Yangon, we saw that our guide book was hopelessly out of date. There are ATM machines and many places accept credit cards. Of course when we tried to use one in a nice restaurant near the embassies, it didn't work. There is no black market anymore (at least that we could see), and changing money is easy. Still, it was great to have airport transfers arranged and our agent updated us on life in Yangon. We learned that the country is changing rapidly and every 6 months or so, innovations occur. We also learned that Yangon has lots of traffic!

Our first hotel room cost $100 and was located in an aging hotel with no hot water! We arrived the day after a bomb went off in a room at the most expensive hotel in town, and injured an American woman. It was part of a series of 6 bombs placed in two cities. So staying in our hotel saved us from bombs at least. There are not enough accommodations in the city, so the prices of rooms in run down hotels are sky high. The city needs a face lift, but there are surprising buildings:

Construction sites are fascinating everywhere

The sidewalk to our hotel

In one aspect, our guide book was right. You need good shoes in Yangon because the sidewalks are hazardous and in some places there are open sewers flowing by.

Near our hotel was Sule Paya, which is in the exact center of town, visible in all parts of our neighborhood.

The next day we saw the amazing Shwedagon Paya, built to house 8 strands of hair from an enlightened one. Its age is indeterminate, but it dates perhaps from the 15th century. Because of earthquake damage, the current structure is from the 18th. The stupa is gilded with gold and at the top are large amounts of jewels including rubies, emeralds, and a huge diamond, which can be seen in photos only because they're hidden and up really high. We arrived at the moment of a dense monsoon rainfall. In entering the payas one must be barefoot, and walking around them is hazardous because they use marble tiles outside--very slippery. We waited under cover for awhile, but finally just started sloshing around! 

Pouring water at the Saturday station, Allen's birth day. 

Next we flew to Bagan where there are over 4,000 Buddhist temples. The kings of that area built them over a 200 year period the landscape is remarkable.

The biggest

A little ways from the biggest

One of the smallest

Most have four large Buddhas inside

This was the only reclining one we saw

A special sight--double Buddhas

You may wonder how the statues are gilded. One way is to sell little squares of gold and the faithful (and tourists like me) plaster them on:

We visited lesser known temples where paintings had somehow been preserved:

Some temples have been restored a lot, and not always faithfully

The most visited temples have tourist souvenirs for sale and vendors trying to engage your attention

Ananda Pahto, the most beautiful

She was thrilled have some help whitewashing

Beautiful restoration

After a day of bicycling and countless temples

Riverside hotel at sunset

A special lunar holiday occurred so monks were gathering

Here we're at a monastery where 10 boys live and study

The three pictures above are taken at the archaeological museum near Salay

Another beautiful  monastery

Our driver said these children had never seen a foreigner. We're in the village of Salay where the tour groups don't go.

Burmese women paint their faces with a sort of clay that protects their skin from the sun, and they find it beautiful.

We visited a monastery famous for its grottoes. We only discovered what was there by taking pictures!

All along roads, near monasteries, and towns you see drinking water for travelers

The monk and his visitors insisted we have tea and cakes with them

We visited a village near Salay where the houses were built of bamboo

These are lacquered urns

Some modern necessities

We walked through another village outside of Bagan:

The tiger is there for the lunar festivities. The children have a special dance around it.

And, finally food! We ate some street food--delicious.

And we loved tasting Myanmar buffets: there are 2-3 curries accompanied by all sorts of small dishes of beans, hot sauces, veggies, well, I'm not sure what they all were, actually, but they were delicious! There's a big pot of rice as well. This was from $3-4 each. It's best in the afternoon, apparently because that's when it's freshly made.

I'm with our driver on the left in this tea house. Chinese tea is free, Myanmar tea and a snack cost a little.

Our last buffet and the best!

And, we loved the markets!

Fruit Drinks

Live hens for sale

Coca leaves, a mild stimulant

Like many places the rich are very rich and most everyone else is poor. We found people to be gracious and very gentle. Some attached themselves to us in Bagan, showing us special places or explaining what to do in a temple. They always quietly asked for money in return, but this is understandable. We only caught a glimpse of Burma, but we learned from several people that they have big hopes of having a democracy and supporting Aung San Suu Kyi. We didn't see places that were devastated by cyclone Nargis in 2008, but we talked about what happened with one person who gave us his opinion freely. Now some closing shots:

Public Mobile Urination Room

The British left some nice buildings

Burmese writing is beautiful