Destinations

After the Palace we stopped by the Kuthodaw Pagoda aka the world’s biggest book.  It is the biggest book because there are 729 leaves and 1458 pages carved in marble.  Each of the 729 leaves are stored in its own little building making this the world’s largest book.

While in the Pagoda, I was trying to get a picture of the lotus flowers.  Someone else from the boat was standing in front of them and was trying to explain to someone how work her iPad to take her picture.  This had gone on for sometime and I decided to circle back.  The next thing I knew the woman was running after me calling my name.  She explained that it had gotten stuck on video and she fixed that but now when she went to take a picture of something the camera was facing her instead of the other way. Continue reading →

What would Disney Think? Here was Donald Duck out front of a Restaurant called the Golden Duck that specialized in duck.  I doubt Disney authorized that.

As tasteless as it was to put Donald out front, the restaurant was very good.  It was served traditional Chinese style.  I was quickly but politely reminded of Chinese etiquette – the lazy Susan is always spun clockwise – never counter-clockwise.

It was a nice meal and  I was glad to have sat with the people I had sat with.  Don’t get me wrong, the majority of the people on this trip are really nice as well as interesting.  There is one group of about 10 who claim they are from Santa Barbara but talk and act like Fran Drescher’s mom on “The Nanny” – meaning they live in Santa Barbara.  Enough said…..

Lunch was good.  They started with fried shrimp rolled in potato and fried.  A series of dishes followed including duck and other chinese style dishes.

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A full day tour of Mandalay!  We started with the Royal Palace.  The palace was built-in the 1857.  The palace was used by the last Royal family until 1885 when the British captured it along with the royal family and used it as a fort.

During the WWII, the Palace/Fort was heavily bombed destroying everything but the watch tower and the royal mint.  Part of the palace had been relocated prior to the bombing.  What we were looking at had been rebuilt in the 1990s.

Although it was not the original palace and grounds it was still interesting to see as well as to ponder what royal life must have been like.

Afterwards we made a stop to a building that had been part of the original palace grounds but had been relocated prior to the war. Continue reading →

We again ventured off the boat into Mandalay and headed to Amarapura.  Amarapura is the former capital of Burma.  Amarapura is part of Mandalay.

The U Bien Bridge was something to see.  It was built-in 1850 and it the world’s oldest and longest teak wood bridge almost a mile long.  We were taken out on lake in row boats and we crossed under the bridge and then back through.  We were then taken to an area where we could enjoy the sunset behind the bridge while we sipped champagne.

The excursion itself was well done – our tour guides brought the bartender.  Boat by boat we pulled up to them and they handed us champagne.  More importantly it was fund to watch everyone crossing the bridge.  Nuns in pink robes with shaved heads, Monks, locals and tourists all walking the bridge with the sun setting behind it. Continue reading →

We arrived in Ava in the morning. We headed out by horse and cart to visit a teak monastery.   Although the idea of travelling by horse and cart sounded like a lot of fun, it wasn’t all that comfortable.  Overall, I enjoyed it but trying to take pictures while bouncing around on a horse driven cart wasn’t easy.  I was glad when it was over!

Ava is the ancient capital of Burma dating back to the 12th century.  We visited Bagaya Kyaung, which was built in the 1800s.  The entire monastery is built of teak.  On the way to the monastery we passed by ancient city walls and a series of old structures.

Similar to other stops, there was an abundance of stupas and pagodas in every direction that I looked.  There is something about these monuments and the daily life that goes on around it.  A water buffalo standing beside it.  Here I was marveling these monuments while the locals  played soccer next to it.  Just another day for them.

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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 →