Dateline: February 21st 2015, Kalaw, Myanmar
What I did on my Holidays in Myanmar
What I did on my Holidays in Myanmar
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| Bagan, Myanmar. What an experience. There are supposedly 10,000+ Buddha's in this place and I feel like I've seen about 19,000 of them |
Now, Part the first
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| As ever, yes, it's winter in Toronto, again As if we weren't expecting this. Time to bugger off |
I know, France &
Switzerland (our only "real" out take of last year), don't quite cut it
for this kind of self indulgence, but Myanmar, fabled land of Kipling
and Orwell? Plus a multitude of ancient sundry royals....
Maybe
not, but you can always ignore this (as apparently the majority of folk
do), with no more commitment than a small usage of your (free) data
storage for a few minutes
Last I heard, (today being Feb
26th, this here being Nyaung Shwe, Myanmar), it was 16 below, feels
like 23 below back in Toronto. Now, today being much later, but the
picture is still much the same. Keep paying the heating bills folks
Somehow, +34 does not seem so bad (all Centigrade you non SI people)
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| My mate Hannis. We met in Jeddah, aeons ago |
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| My favourite - Bangkok street food |
Well, as most of you know,
the missus is opted out due to her endless waiting for an appointment,
prerequisite for a knee operation, and I can see this heading off into
yet another year of enforced basement and sun room renovations if I
don't just get my, our, someone's act together.
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| Bangkok. The easiest way to get around is by dragon boat |
Why Myanmar?
Haven't been there of course, its hot, its the "new place to go" (?)
Plus, my mates will be in Bangkok, some when around 13th/ 17th, February, so lets just get out of here. "SAVE YOURSELVES" was heard resounding around the local frozen environs. I've included, as my opening shot, of Canada in early February to show what I was escaping from, and as a corollary, what you guys (probably) did not
But I did
So, I'm here, Ilge is there, and her knee will be suitably biconically reincarnated on March 11th yes, this year
Haven't been there of course, its hot, its the "new place to go" (?)
Plus, my mates will be in Bangkok, some when around 13th/ 17th, February, so lets just get out of here. "SAVE YOURSELVES" was heard resounding around the local frozen environs. I've included, as my opening shot, of Canada in early February to show what I was escaping from, and as a corollary, what you guys (probably) did not
But I did
So, I'm here, Ilge is there, and her knee will be suitably biconically reincarnated on March 11th yes, this year
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| Susan and David who are visiting Susan's daughter She runs the local Shangri-La here |
So, whats not to like?
I think that most of the few folks who will actually read this, will be more interested in the pix than my random ramblings, so this time, I'll choose the pix, and run some form of related and of course, occasionally random inserts
I think that most of the few folks who will actually read this, will be more interested in the pix than my random ramblings, so this time, I'll choose the pix, and run some form of related and of course, occasionally random inserts
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| The queue for visa's at the Myanmar embassy It'd nearly 40 degrees I pay someone a few bucks to do this for me |
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| David. Bangkok is a mess. Zero planning, so 6 star hotels right next to markets and slums |
Come the revolution, I'm in Bangkok, with cash and a
local sim, ensconced in my Airbnb apartment around 1pm local time, not
quite 24 hours after I leave a bitterly cold Toronto, 12 time zones away.
Its about 30C.
I arrive in Bangkok, because I need a Burma visa, which is available super fast here.
When I arrive at the embassy in the afternoon, there's a queue around
the block. I find a (very expensive) agent to do all the queuing work
for me. This way, my mates will have to put up with me for much longer
During the winter, I've looked forward to Thai street food, so start
off with a long walk and a street made papaya salad and other sundry
street nosh. The salad is much better than mine.
Once the said mates, David and Susan arrive from Oz, we check out some tourist sites, like the ferry, and a wat or two
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| So that I can be doing this |
Once the said mates, David and Susan arrive from Oz, we check out some tourist sites, like the ferry, and a wat or two
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| We generally do some of the sites |
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| It was Valentines day, so I sent the missus a bunch or 2 of flowers through Android |
There's a pix of the steps up Wat Arun. Its about 60 degrees up the steps, and there's a party of school kids, about 12 years old climbing around. This would not happen in Canada folks
As its Valentines tomorrow, I send a pix of roses to the missus. (Cheap!)
So, I get my Visa, and come Sunday, I'm in Mandalay
Its weird. The information I had is so out of date, but it's only a few months old
For example, my information was: a Sim card costs $250 on the black market, you have to take all the money you expect to spend, including accommodation, which may be $250 per day, not just in cash, but in uncreased new style $US bills, there are only shared taxis from the airport, you can only take $20 out of an ATM machine if you can find one that works. Oh, and there's pretty well no internet, anywhere, ever
Etc
All wrong
At the airport, (I stick a knee brace on and hobble through security
in Bangkok with no problem this time) in Mandalay, I find an ATM, grab
the equivalent of $US600 over 2 cards, a Visa (cheapest way) and bank
card (more reliable, but costs more), get a $1.50 sim and 1Gb data for
$10, get on the free shuttle bus, all within 20 minutes, and check my
emails etc on the way into town
Research Is All!
Arriving at the bus stop in Mandalay, I auction my need for a motorcycle taxi guide for today and tomorrow.
There's only one taker, "Tzoo Too", but we reach a deal and I get a lift to my hotel and the afternoon of city tourist stuff all for $7.00
So, I get my Visa, and come Sunday, I'm in Mandalay
Its weird. The information I had is so out of date, but it's only a few months old
For example, my information was: a Sim card costs $250 on the black market, you have to take all the money you expect to spend, including accommodation, which may be $250 per day, not just in cash, but in uncreased new style $US bills, there are only shared taxis from the airport, you can only take $20 out of an ATM machine if you can find one that works. Oh, and there's pretty well no internet, anywhere, ever
Etc
All wrong
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| Mandalay. Myanmar was pretty esoteric until a few years ago. Lovely people, but the Monasteries are a racket |
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| On the bus from the airport I decide to hire the best driver. There's only one there |
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| There's a stupa for that Mandala is full of this kind of stuff I think this one is a mausoleum |
Research Is All!
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| An old wooden bridge. It's a tourist location too |
There's only one taker, "Tzoo Too", but we reach a deal and I get a lift to my hotel and the afternoon of city tourist stuff all for $7.00
Everyone is happy. He also doubles as my selfie pix man. I "do" the palaces, Mandalay hill, and various stupas et al and the sun sets. Its beer time!
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| I know. A Buddhist chicken? Or is it the Buddha promoting KFC? |
The hotel is pretty good for $30, and the food is great too. This and most others, booked via Agoda/ PayPal from recommendations at TripAdvisor
Next day, I get the Buddha shuffle, outside Mandalay, the "longest teak bridge in the world", (yeah, yeah, OK), and surrounding delights (which tire almost before I start): check out the guy on the golden chicken folks, hike around one of the (many) ancient capitals.
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| You need to cross a river to get to the ancient capital. Inwa |
This one, over the river by ferry, is called Inwa, and like
many others, is pretty decrepit and derelict. Masses of ancient teak
(maybe) buildings, amazingly, have survived.
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| The usual tourist transport awaits the unwary It wasn't very big, so I just walked around the place |
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| Back in town The local market and happy sellers I could not resist the shrimp |
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| So I bought a kilo of them and went across the road to a local restaurant Using my Google Translate, everyone wins |
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Mandalay Fort, Royal Palace. This up a winding staircase of a watch tower. It's all in poor repair now |
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| OK, just a different perspective |
On the way back, I'm trying to pose under a sign of the "Road to Mandalay", to no avail, so I have to settle for the "Bridge to Mandalay". OK, that works
Having data service, I try out the Google translate
from English to Myanmar. Holy crap! It works, translates my voice into
Myanmar script. This is soooooo cool and much fun
Here's an aside,
traveling here is really safe, including driving, (excellent drivers),
but very slow, so I opt for the ferry to Bagan, and get my ticket
Its a 6:30am departure.
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| The bridge containing the road to Mandalay I specifically got my Tuk driver to take me down here as a kind of homage to Ian Drury (figure that one out) |
Its a 6:30am departure.
The palace in the fort is the old "Royal Palace", and its my last tourist duty. See various shots of me in suitably sweaty and enticing poses, or is it posers?
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| My trusty bike pilot is there at 6AM and takes me to the barge |
Up at 5:30am and picked up by Tzoo Too at 6. Its actually cold on the bike
The ferry turns out to be exactly that.
The ferry turns out to be exactly that.
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| I was really quite sick here. Bring your own bog roll and local Imodium |
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| The mighty Irrawaddy river. Actually, slow and stinky Heading to Bagan |
It's about 180 kms to Bagan, takes about 10 hours, but feels like 2 days. This is the flood plains. Heading down the Ayerewaddy to Bagan is not as exciting as heading to Luang Prabang in a long tail dragon boat, nor as some of you may recall, anything like as dangerous.
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| It's an ancient place. Literally hundreds of temples and thousands of Buddha's already |
OK
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| I start out at the ancient end (it's a big place) Most of the buildings here are derelict or worse |
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| Oh yes. A lot of pilgrims at a lot of sites |
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| There's a bike repair guy everywhere. just as well. The place is full of trees with sharp spikes |
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| My guide for some of the tour. Can't remember how she came to be my guide Note the cheek paste. Every girl uses it |
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| I assume these ancient monks were quite small |
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| There's a lot of wear and tear on a lot of these buildings Certainly not up to code |
Its pretty cold on the river until about 11, and I'm in sweaters, jeans and 3 blankets till then
There is even a breakfast, of sorts, and free form tea.
Funnily enough, even though there's almost no village or habitation here, there's full phone service, so I'm sending pix to folk until they go to bed, around midday my time. but I'm glad to get off at Bagan.
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| As you can see, the plains stretch off into the haze This temple got hit badly in an earthquake a year later |
The hotel I've chosen is quite off the main tourist loop, which turns out to be a really great idea.
I take the (free) crap single speed bike, at 8am, and head off into the hardly ever visited pagodas and ruins.
Fantastic! I don't see any tourists until about 11.
Biking around under your own power, gives me, at least, a feeling of some kind of achievement, and yes, total freedom from the masses. (Yep, that certainly sounds like yours truly)
Apparently "Pagan" is a corruption of Bagan, from your friendly Brit colonisers, and it only takes a few minutes to work out just how pagan the place is, or rather was, as there's been so much make it up as you go along renovation, its been roundly condemned by various "knowing" bodies as corrupted
I take the (free) crap single speed bike, at 8am, and head off into the hardly ever visited pagodas and ruins.
Fantastic! I don't see any tourists until about 11.
Biking around under your own power, gives me, at least, a feeling of some kind of achievement, and yes, total freedom from the masses. (Yep, that certainly sounds like yours truly)
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| Starting to look all too familiar? |
Apparently "Pagan" is a corruption of Bagan, from your friendly Brit colonisers, and it only takes a few minutes to work out just how pagan the place is, or rather was, as there's been so much make it up as you go along renovation, its been roundly condemned by various "knowing" bodies as corrupted
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| They are everywhere Aficionados pray to many of them. It's a full time job |
concrete
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| The sun finally heads home and the temperature become quite enjoyable. There's a lot of western tourists here at this huge temple to watch the sunset |
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| Somewhere in the day, I head to the river for a beer |
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| Most of the temples have Buddha's and all are in good condition The temples? Not so much |
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| Yes, I needed 2 puncture fixes. This one was 3 holes |
However you slice it, the place, renovated or not, is stunning
The bike is not up to much, and falls apart. Not to worry, there are bike repairs folk everywhere. First for a pedal that falls off ($0.50), then for 4 punctures, (also $0.50).
I hide at a super up market hotel during the heat of the day, enjoy a pot of tea and a shake, then join the tourists for sunset, and of course, the wannabe Nat Geog photographer bit (to no avail)
I get back well after dark, totally knackered.
Can you believe I'm Buddhaed out?
There are about 3500 buildings, that's about 2 started every month for the 150 years this place was the capital
Eventually, it bankrupted the kingdom and it sank into obscurity until Angeline Jolie discovered the place.....
Now, just use your schooldays maths to work out how many Buddha's there are here if some places have 16 or even more.....
You get the idea.
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| This just about sums up my days in Bagan |
The bike is not up to much, and falls apart. Not to worry, there are bike repairs folk everywhere. First for a pedal that falls off ($0.50), then for 4 punctures, (also $0.50).
I hide at a super up market hotel during the heat of the day, enjoy a pot of tea and a shake, then join the tourists for sunset, and of course, the wannabe Nat Geog photographer bit (to no avail)
I get back well after dark, totally knackered.
Can you believe I'm Buddhaed out?
There are about 3500 buildings, that's about 2 started every month for the 150 years this place was the capital
Eventually, it bankrupted the kingdom and it sank into obscurity until Angeline Jolie discovered the place.....
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| Just like my dad did |
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| Yep: my dad did. India, maybe Burma about 1935 |
You get the idea.
I don't need to bore you all with the never ending Mr. Buddha in all his houses do I?
Good!
Can't even be bothered to watch the balloons take off next morning.
I'll include my artfully contrived pix of me in a topi hat, which is
skillfully set up to look like the photo of my dad taken when he was in
Burma (in the army) in 1937.
Hmmmmmm
So, next stop? Inle lake, or Kalaw, starting point for hiking: 70Kms apparently
I draw the short straw, and end up in the back seat of a mini bus
Memories of Kenyan matatus and claustrophobia.
Its about 150km, and takes all day (oh yes!, and I'm not even going on to Inle Lake)
In Kalaw, the bike taxi takes me to my fabulous guest house in the hills (for $0.50), and I luxuriate
Look out, another aside here
When I traveled overland on my own, way back in the 70's, at least I was doing my economic migrants bit of seeking a better life, somewhere, anywhere, so solo travel was a means to an economic end
Been there, achieved that
Now travel is for fun, the solo bit is a bit moot
Not sure if this works too well without a fellow traveller. Definitely something is missing doing this on my own
Bored yet?
Next part, trekking, Myanmar in depth comments etc etc, and other insights and more than enough analysis to shake a Buddhist at.
Bet you can't wait...
Oh yes, it's still 36 outside
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| Kalaw high street, and repair workers |
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| This is Kalaw. It was once a major railway depot Now? The railway is more for tourists |
Hmmmmmm
So, next stop? Inle lake, or Kalaw, starting point for hiking: 70Kms apparently
I draw the short straw, and end up in the back seat of a mini bus
Memories of Kenyan matatus and claustrophobia.
Its about 150km, and takes all day (oh yes!, and I'm not even going on to Inle Lake)
In Kalaw, the bike taxi takes me to my fabulous guest house in the hills (for $0.50), and I luxuriate
Look out, another aside here
When I traveled overland on my own, way back in the 70's, at least I was doing my economic migrants bit of seeking a better life, somewhere, anywhere, so solo travel was a means to an economic end
Been there, achieved that
Now travel is for fun, the solo bit is a bit moot
Not sure if this works too well without a fellow traveller. Definitely something is missing doing this on my own
Bored yet?
Next part, trekking, Myanmar in depth comments etc etc, and other insights and more than enough analysis to shake a Buddhist at.
Bet you can't wait...
Oh yes, it's still 36 outside
From Your Correspondent
