The Republic of the Union of Myanmar Part II

6th – 14^th March 2016

We left Bagan for Mandalay just before lunch. It was not a comfortable journey. We did have at least have air con but the road was so rough. I think they’ve just chucked the tarmac on top of the old dirt roads. The bus rattled the whole way there. We stopped for lunch at a kind of service station where I saw the driver throwing cold water on the hot brakes which got me extremely worried. At least there were no mountain roads between Bagan and Mandalay so no cliffs to fly off.

The bus dropped us off at our hostel late afternoon. Most of the things to see are a fare walk away so we didn’t explore too much. We out for dinner at an Indian place which was about 20 minutes walk from the hostel. It was run by real Indians so it wasn’t the nice Western-Indian that I’m used to.

Fat Legged Buddha

The first full day in Mandalay was as big as our first day in Yangon. We hadn’t learnt our lesson. The first stop on our epic walking tour was Mahamuni Buddha temple where there's a Buddha with really thick legs. The practice is to add a sheet of gold leaf when you visit the temple (men only, woman aren’t allowed to go near it). There is now a layer 6 inches thick of pure gold.

Big Gong

Traditional Dress

Traditional Dress

We walked around the rest of the temple complex and we saw a number of children in what we were assuming were tradtional clothes.

Moat around the Palace

We walked for about an hour back through the city to the moat that surrounds the palace. We would have got a train but the train station either didn’t exist or was just the spare bit of dirt next to the tracks. Probably the latter but we opted to walk anyway.

Mandalay had a very different feel to Yangon and Bagan. It seemed very much like the rest of Asia. We constantly harassed by “taxi taxi?” which is something I had grown used to elsewhere. They seemed a lot more used to Westerners here. They didn’t stare the same which is good because it can be a little unnerving until you realise its harmless. One of the most charming things about Myanmar is that its not touristy. The culture is very much unspoiled throughout the country. Although I think Mandalay is its first victim. This town seems to have already changed to accommodate the visiting westerners. We could be anywhere in SE Asia.

Mandalay Hill

We walked along the moat to the entrance of the palace complex. Before we went in we had some chicken fried rice at a little local restaurant on the corner.

Copy of the throne

Many big halls

Throne room

Another room

We walked around the complex looking at the thrown room, a couple of other important rooms and living quarters at the back. There were a lot of school children around on trips.

Rivendell?

I call this Rivendell Tower. This architecture must have been the inspiration for the Elven city in Lord of the Rings as it looks exactly the same except for being red not white.

The whole palace complex

While we were taking in the view from the top we got surrounded by school kids. Some wanted to take pictures of us and some wanted to practice their English. There was mostly just awkward silence but we waited there patiently until another kid was brave enough to ask another question.

Just some of the steps up Mandalay Hill

Mandalay Hill

After the palace we went to Mandalay hill which was quite a climb. There were a lot of steps and just when you think you’ve seen the end there's another set of steps up to another temple.

Not even at the top

Shiny roof

The writings on the wall

Flashy temple

Despite being much further north the temperature was the same, stinking hot, so it was hard going. Once we were at the top we sat and admired the view for a while.

Finally at the top

The top temple

A random thing about Myanmar is that they love to say ‘Hello’ to every westerner they see. In Asia this is normally followed by ‘You want to buy…?’ or something similar. Here though there's no agenda. Just the one word, ‘hello’. It’s like a game. Just yell ‘hello’ at a white person. Most of the time they are nowhere near you, they are just shouting from the other side of the street and waving.

Many marble inscriptions

Many pagodas

At the bottom of the hill there's another little temple complex that’s almost like a graveyard. It’s the teachings of Buddha on 1774 marble slabs each within its own small pagoda. There was a lot of the these mini white pagodas.

We had a very long walk back to our hostel. Well over an hour so by the time we were back we quite tired of walking. We found a good place to eat just around the corner which served local food. The weird thing about eating in the local places here is that when you order your meal it comes with three or four extra side dishes for no extra cost. It’s a great way to try some other local foods.

I'm on a boat

River life

The next day we walked to the river to get a boat up to the small town of Mingun. As we sailed upstream we saw the local villages along the bank. They looked pretty basic.

Bit of fishing

Rudimentary home

Once we were in Mingun we set off in search of big temple. Somehow we very nearly walked past this massive structure.

Mingun Temple

This is only the bottom third of what would have been in worlds biggest stupa had it been finished. Its pretty big as it is so the finish product would have been enormous. The massive crack in it was caused by an earthquake in 1838.

Big elephants

We walked up the steps to the side of it which took us to the top. There were quite a few people at the top. We were escorted round by a kid. We tried to shake him off but he was having none of it and of course he asked he asked for money at the end. I’ve been told its bad practise to give them anything as it stops them from going to school. He hadn’t been helpful in any way nor had been informative. “Mandalay is that way”, yeah I know.

Super cool

I’m not sure if this is supposed to be funny but I found it hilarious. It must be some kind of new age modern Buddha. It was in a temple next to the big one.

Mingun Bell

Inside the bell

Next to that was the worlds largest uncracked bell. Its always good to see a record breaker. You can crawl inside it and its pretty loud when someone thumps the side of it.

Traditional transport

Another temple

A bit further down the road was another temple. There was a lot of people around so it was a bit frustrating trying to walk around it. Plus I felt like I’d seen a million temples and it was getting hard to be impressed.

More temple stuff

Just as we were leaving a chain of about 5 cars rolled up a couple who were dressed very smartly got out and were escorted inside. Everyone was fussing around them like they were important in some way. We really wanted to know who they were as they are clearly a big deal. We asked our waitress when we had dinner around the corner but she didn’t have a clue what we were talking about.

We didn’t do too much on our final day in Mandalay. We had already seen everything we had wanted to see so we choose to have a break from the heat and stay indoors with the air conditioning. We took the night bus to Inle Lake in the evening. They don’t seem to travel by day in Myanmar. Maybe the roads get really busy but the only buses you can catch for long distance travel is overnight which is annoying. You might think its saves a night of accommodation but its more likely to waste a day with being super tired.

The hostel we stayed at had unique feature I liked very much. We arrived at 4am and they have a dorm room specifically for early check-ins at a third of the price for a full night. This meant we could get a few hours of decent sleep before we explored Inle Lake area.

Yet another temple

Funky Buddha

We took a couple of the free bicycles and went into town where we had some food and then set off to explore the area. I wanted to see the lake as that’s why we were here. We headed in that direction past a few temples but then the road ran out. The lake was still considerably further so we would have to wait for the next day.

The countryside

A local village

Very dry rolling hills

It was nice to back in the quite. Mandalay had been a bit crazy but here it was peaceful and the hilly countryside looked pretty nice. What was also good was the temperature. It was much more bearable high twenties rather than the high thirties we had had in the rest of the country so cycling was easy.

Found some caves

Inside the cave

We went into the hills in search of some caves. We were a little worried when we had to walk through a monastery to get to them but a nice monk showed us the way and around the cave.

Big drop

Tiny Buddha

Hidden Buddha

The were Buddha statues everywhere. In every place you could possibly fit them. The monk showed us them with his torch and guided us around the temples. We were the only ones in there. This place is an underrated tourist attraction.

Bugs!

No idea what this is but it looks quite terrifying. The monk thought it was funny to prod it so that it flew at us and we ran away. He laughed a lot at that!

Our monk guide

Cool caves

A few religious things

Huge moth

Looks like Star Wars

Once we had had our fill of the caves we donated some money to the monk before heading back. I don’t mind giving money for a service as long as they don’t ask for it. This way its more of a gift than a payment plus this guy is a monk so he’s not allowed to ask.

Can I adopt a dog?

We had a pizza at a place in town where we made a new friend. A dog had decided that underneath our table was his home and sat there whilst we ate. Kate wanted to take him home.

A day on the lake

The next day we had a fantastic experience out on the lake. We booked ourselves onto the tour operated by our hostel. This mean we didn’t have to walk down to the bank and barter on our own. We were picked up in a tuk tuk and taken to someone's house. It really was someone's house. We had to walk through the living room and kitchen to get out the back where there was a small canal. We carefully got into the boat which had a row of wooden chairs to sit on. They had cushions on so it was quite comfortable.

I'm sure there's a joke here, three monks in a boat

We sailed out of the small canal onto a larger one and then into a river. The river flowed went on for about 12km before we reached the huge lake. The first people we saw was a boat with a few young monks and I thought ‘this is the real Myanmar’.

On the lake

Posing

We moored ourselves on some weeds whilst we watched sunrise come up. Part of the attraction for tourists is to see the local fisherman who paddle their boats with one leg whilst catching the fish. As the sun came up a couple of these ‘local’ fisherman came over and started posing for photos. I took a couple of pictures but I realised that this wouldn’t be a freebie. Sure enough after they finished posing they came over and held out their hands. This is an unfortunate sign of the things to come. The locals are already ditching their customs and heritage to perform for tourists and get more money.

Earning money the proper way

A couple of girls in our boat gave them some money but I did not want to encourage this behaviour. I wanted to see an authenic fisherman doing what he did best. I found that the real fisherman were the ones in the nike or addiadas trousers and a football top. The may not have been dressed in tradiational clothes but at least they were making their money in a traditional way. They use one foot to paddle along. Its very clever

What I expected

The local villages

Not what I expected

We continued across the lakes western side through the small towns. I knew we would be visiting a couple of villages on the water so I had the expectation of a cluster of wooden shacks on stilts but when we got to the first town I was quite shocked. It was a proper town. There were multi-story buildings complete with a porch, bars, petrol stations and shops. All on stilts. They even had power lines along the different ‘streets’. This was by no means a shanty town.

Local monastery

Washing the cows

The carpark

We pulled into a market and got out of the boat. I thought we’d have no chance of finding the boat again in this melee of small boats all crammed into a little canal.

The market/barbers

The market was 50% for tourists with usual tat and 50% for the locals. I was not at all interested in the touristy part and chose instead to walk around the other half where I found all manner of different stalls. There were some with huge piles of clothes like a jumble sail, some selling fruit and veg, others selling pastry and a couple that I guess you would call a barbers.

Cutest puppy ever!

We went to the bakery place and bought something I would describe as a stretched out donut. It was very nice, I went back for more. While I was eating it I couldn’t stop watching the cutest puppy I’ve ever seen in my life. He must be weeks old and he was just wandering in circles. A bigger dog came along and he followed him for a while but then the big dog ran off leaving puppy lost again. He just seemed so confused. In the end he wrapped himself up in some tarpaulin and didn’t move. I really wanted to take him with us!

We hung around for a while unsure when we would be leaving. It turns out, whenever we wanted. We went back to the boat and the man said “We go?”

Pottery demonstration

We were on the water for a little while to get to our next stop at a pottery place. We followed this woman through a village to her place where the were a couple of wheels. There were no other tourists here so it really felt like we were off the beaten track.

Skilfully done

The things she made

Ones she made earlier

We sat there and watched her make a variety of bowls, pots and jars. After she finished each one she told us what it was before setting it aside. I liked how there was no pressure to buy anything. She barely even mentioned the display of finished pieces that were on a table next to the door. This is another thing I really hope doesn’t change. I hate being hassled by vendors to buy things.

At the locals for dinner

The next part was a real experience. We were taken to another village and into a house where we had a real Burmese meal made by a real Burmese family.

The village where we had dinner

The kitchen

The house was on stilts and it moved when people walked around it. It seemed sturdy enough but there was a definite sway as people moved. I poked my head in the kitchen and realised how basic the kitchen was. Everything was heated by a wood fire.

Dinner is served

The food was amazing. The fish in particular was really delicious despite having to pick it of the bone. It makes me hungry again just looking at it.

Meeting the kids

After dinner there was a bit of free time. They brought out pillows so we could have a nap, an option which most people took including myself. It was a bit hot after a while and most people had gone outside. I went outside too and met some of the locals.

Pose

I think the kids were as fascinated by us and as we were by them. Not many westerners have been here. We were the only tour to stop here and the tour had only been operating for a matter of weeks not months.

A local business

Our host showed us around a few of the nearby houses where we saw a few more local professions. There were a couple of old school wooden machines they use to make scarves and rugs. It’s nice to see these haven’t been replaced by machines that don’t need people. DON’T EVER CHANGE MYANMAR!

Going for a paddle

Rickety bamboo bridge

Katie rowing away

Back across the bamboo bridge we got into a few smaller boats for a row around the village. We were each given an oar and away we went. I got involved, I wasn’t going to let some small and elderly Burmese woman put more effort in than me.

Rolling cigars

It was a bit of relief when we got back. It was quite tiring although the old lady didn’t bat an eyelid! We got back into the bigger boat and went on to our next stop where we saw how they made cigars. It looked fairly simple but when one of girls had a go she failed miserably. Again, there was no pressure to buy anything. The boxes of cigars were just simply lying there if you were interested.

A bit of farming

A very long pier

It felt like we were killing time and we probably were. There’s a long time between sunrise and sunset, both of which we had been promised. We went for a cruise through some farmlands before being dropped off at a pier. We were told we had an hour but no idea what for. There didn’t seem to be anything to see.

The lake gardens

Plowing the fields

Boys and their toys

We walked along the pier past the farms on either side of us. I saw a child with an axe. The toys the kids have in Myanmar seem a bit dangerous but I shouldn’t judge! We found a shop and I suggested we buy a beer and find somewhere to sit for a while. Everyone seemed keen on the idea so that’s what we did. The engine on the boat was quite loud so this was the first time we could really socialise and get to know each other.

A swimming caterpillar!

After an hour we went back to the boat and sailed out onto the lake once again. Whilst we were waiting for sunset I saw a caterpillar swimming, yes swimming! It wiggled its way across the water between leaves. I was quite impressed!

Sunset

As the sunset I reflected back on our day on the lake. I had seen so much genuine culture of how the Burmese live. That’s also true for my whole trip in Myanmar. My time so far in Southeast Asia has been visiting places that are so tourist oriented but here was different. Here, the traditional way of doing things is still prevalent and really really hope it doesn’t change. Unfortunately, I have already seen evidence that it is.

Beautiful

That was largely the end of my time in Myanmar. The next day I caught the bus down to Yangon where I spent a night before flying back to Bangkok. Katie was spending a few more days in the north so we said our goodbyes. There was a chance we would see each other again in Vietnam but that didn’t pan out.

Myanmar has been my favourite country so far on the Asia leg of my trip and I recommend it to everyone I meet. I tell them it’s a fantastic country with such friendly people. And to go now, before its too late, before it gets ruined by tourism.