Myanmar

We spent a couple of days in Mandalay and the surrounding area.  I created blog engtries for specific stops but there were a few stops that didn’t warrant their own blog entry.

There were  a series of stops in Mandalay that were tourist stops including weaving workshops, puppet making, silver making etc.  Some of it was interesting and some of it was not interesting.  At each shop there were at least a few people mumbling about wondering  what were the tour guides or Viking River Cruises commission rate?  This was one of a series of workshops and the prices weren’t that good and it was set up for tourists.  As with previous stops there were signs with “Free WiFi” but there was no internet connectivity.

The boat was docked close to a school and it was fun to watch the kids being kids.  They boys were playing soccer and the girls were either watching the boys or doing something to entertain themselves. Continue reading →

 In the afternoon, the program directors had set up a display of Burmese fruits and vegetables.  Both Nyo and Miu Miu (the tour guides) knew that this was right up my alley.

Last Miu Miu told me that Nyo parents gathered all the items from the markets and brought them to the boat by motorcycle.  These two girls really went out of their way to please us.

I love food – I love eating it and I love learning about it.  As much as I think I know a lot about food, I come to southeast Asia and realize just how little I know.  I didn’t know what to expect to see in Myanmar.  In Europe, Viking did an excellent job with the food.  Would it be the same in Myanmar who didn’t have the same infrastructure and standards as they do in Europe?  Viking didn’t disappoint.

At each meal, there was a choice of western food or there was local food.  I usually took the local food option and wondered what it would be like to be a local cook and asking to cook american food.  Probably like asking me to cook Chinese food.  I am good at eating it but wouldn’t have an idea on how to prepare it.

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This morning we headed to another village called Yandabo where we learned about terracotta pottery making.  I loved the village but did not appreciate the lecture.  I turned of my quite vox half way through it after the tour guide repeated the process for making clay pots for the fifth time.

I wasn’t the only one, most of the people in the group were doing the same thing.  It was fun to interact with the locals and there wasn’t anyone begging or selling t-shirts.  These were hard-working people.  At one point, I saw a girl turn the corner with a pot on her head and carrying two, one on each hand.  A minute later, I saw a man carrying multiple pots.

My pictures weren’t anything inspiring and as I wandered away from the group in hope sof taking some pictures, another woman from the tour group started to talk to me.  I am glad she did. Blond haired and blue-eyed, she told me her son lived in Singapore and she moved from Europe to Singapore to be with him.  I enjoyed talking to her.  How do you go from a cold european country to Singapore? That is a huge transition! Continue reading →

We went into Ohn Ne Kyaun, a village, to get a glimpse of daily life.  We had passed by a lot of villages as we floated down the Irrawaddy River.  Some are clearly larger than others but for the omst part you see the same things. The houses are primarily built with bamboo. Thatched leaves or tin is used as the roofing.  Pigs, chickens, cats and dogs seem to wander at will. Ox are regularly seen but tied to something.

There was a certain amount of electricity but we were told that it wasn’t enough to power a washer and dryer. It was typically used for lights and radios.  We didn’t see any flat screen TVs or Xboxs and no home entertainment centers.

There are bikes and sometimes motorcycles but no cars.  Kitchens were outside with meals cooked over a fire pit in clay pots and woks.  In some of the towns there wasn’t running water.  Women carried the water up from the river and gathered firewood to cook with. Continue reading →

We headed to Htilominlo Pagoda a buddhist temple.  There was the temple and around it were stalls selling various items including hand-woven longyis, paintings, Buddha statues, and T-shirts.  It was in the temple that we encountered the Ring Neck women.  The two women were sitting on the ground, one was weaving and the other was rolling balls of thread.  Both had elongated necks supported with rings.

Alma who was in our group had been busy getting the story on the women by the time I arrived.  She told me that the owner of the shop was the son of one of the women and the other woman was his aunt.  The guide explained that not all women did this, women were chosen for it and it was considered a great honor.

Burma borders on Thailand and the tribes these women came from spans the borders between the countries. Continue reading →

Khay Min Gha Phaya Temple

We headed in the morning to see a few more areas around Bagan.  Our first stop was Khay Min Gha Phaya Temple.  Bagan is amazing, everywhere you turn, you see these temples.  It is a Unesco world Heritage site.

Every direction that you look there are pagodas and stupas.  I stopped taking pictures because I thought how many pictures can you take?  There are over 2,500 stupas and pagodas and they don’t all look the same.

As we left the ship, my travel companion (Jet) talked to one of the people selling T-shirts.  When we got on the bus, I told him that he shouldn’t have engaged with her, she had him on her radar.  She stood outside the bus holding up t-shirts and waving to him. Continue reading →

In the evening we headed to an are to watch the sunset.  I am not one for heights and we were allowed to climb up a temple in order to get the best photos of the sunsets. I slowly and reluctantly went up five sets of stairs to photograph the sunset.  It was crowded and I cannot say it was a pleasant experience. I had the Japanese on the one side and the Germans behind me and the French on the other side.  It was crowded and people were pushing. I kept thinking someone was going to go over the side.  It was worth it.

Bagan is often compared to Angkor Wat.  I must admit that although Bagan is impressive with ancient stupor after ancient stupor, it isn’t quite Angkor Wat. However, it was impressive!

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I arrived in Bagan this morning.  As the ship docked a small group of young women formed selling T-shirts, post-cards, Longyi pants and other memorabilia.  We hadn’t even left the boat and they were already bargaining.  We hadn’t seen this in the other less travelled villages.

The girls had learned a few English phrases that they all said.   “What is your name?”, “My names is ……. remember me, don’t by elsewhere”,  “You think about it, you think about it later!”.

I learned long ago the best way to handle the aggressive sales people were to pretend they weren’t there.  Any sort of acknowledgement encouraged them.  I noticed on one day that the woman outside of the boat were also at our first stop and then our next one.  They were being picked up on motorcycles and following the tour bus. Continue reading →

In the afternoon, we visited a monastery.  The Yout-Saun-Kyaung Monastery built-in 1882 completely of wood. There are detailed ornate carvvings that surround the outside of the building that depict the different lessons of buddha. Continue reading →

As usual, I wake before sunrise and hurry up to get to the sun-deck to watch the sunrise.  They are as beautfiul as the sunsets.

Our first day, we were taught how to greet someone in Myanmar by saying “Mingalaba”, we hear it all the time and when we venture into the villages, the locals love it when we use it. The also taught us “Tata” which means good bye. This morning the ship put together a presentation o n Burmese Customs.  Each one of us were given a Longyi and we learned the many ways the Longyi could be used.  Both men and women wear Longyi but the patterns for the man and women are different.  I had no idea there were so many different ways a Longyi could be tied.

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