Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
We arrived in Myanmar, formally known as Burma, our first impressions were'nt great as we were dishareartened by the damp, dirty, red splattered streets of Yangon. We had fun trying to chance money and even more fun trying to arrange a bus for the next day. We trudged along the streets feeling quite sorry for ourselves being pulled from here to there but a little ray of sunshine in the way of a boy of no more than ten years old chatted away to us as he showed us around the capital and joined us for lunch. We felt like the Pied Piper at one point with a stream of children (not rats) following us around. With our bus tickets finally booked we ventured off on our own to find the market area (yes we're always drawn to those), amongst the market were little street cafes with child size stools and tables. We sat amongst the gem sellers and soaked up the atmosphere drinking chinese tea from egg cup sized cups poured from battered silver teapots.We've found whilst travelling that the best way to see how people really live is to sit down amongst the market stalls and absorb the atmosphere as locals bustle about getting on with their everyday lives. A lovely day turned into a lovely evening as on entering Yangon's central pagoda we were greeted by three young monks keen to learn English. We spent a fantastic evening visitong pagoda, learning about Buddhism and even visiting their monastary. The generosity of strangers always over whelms us.
From the betel splattered streets of Yangon we headed to the tranquil, lakeside villages of Inle lake. (just incase you wandered Betel is a red tabacco mixed with lime paste wrapped up in a leaf and chewed then spat out leaving everything red including the teeth of those who chew it- thankfully when Bridgey tried it her teeth were only slightly tinted- for a few hours!). Village life was a nice contrast to the hustle and bustle of the city, happy school children in bright green skirts rode to school on push bikes, men punted amongst the rice paddies and horses pulled tiny carts loaded with goods. The village was peaceful and quite we could only compare lifestyle in the area to that of Quakers- simple, clean and well-ordered. A day out on the vast lake opened our eyes to another side of what was quickly turning into a country of contrasts. A world that flooats was home to school children canoeing to school, homes on stilts, floating gardens and even more spectacular pagodas. Life centered around the lake with gardens fertilised with seaweed collected from the seabeds collected by men on tiny boats paddled by their feet.
As we left behind the cool tempteratures of Inle Lake we travelled through a desert like terrain to a Morrocan style sun baked town. In the twenty hour bus journey from Inle Lake to Bagan you could see the scenery change before your eyes, again we blown away by this beautiful yet simple country. One of our favourite modes of transport remained the same- horse and carts. With a day on a horse and cart and one one push bikes (we felt like we should have a bagette in our basket) we explored both new and old Bagan. It was amazing how these beautiful temples had withstood the test of time, acting as story books the art work inside the temples depicted the different cultures that have embraced this country- Mongolain, Indian and BUrmese to name but a few. After exercising both mind and body we indulge in a Shan noodle soup which consists of rice noodles in a shrimp broth with boiled egg with a bit of crispy fat on top- but boy did it taste good with a bit of chilli.
After a whirlwind trip and a ride amongst boxes of custard apples we arrived back in Yangon, where we spent an eventful last day being ushered from a temple to safety as protests flarred outside. We have to say that despite our initial dismay we have to say that if asked to choose we would both say that without a doubt Myanmar was by far our favourite country- with peaceful countryside, extravagant history and beautiful people (all be they covered in a white sunblock made from tree bark), we felt more than welcome than anywhere on our year of travels and only hope that peace will finally grace this country allowing the locals the life that they deserve and other travellers to experience the delights that this country holds.
- comments