Myanmar revealed

I stepped off of the plane and was greeted in the Yangon airport by men wearing skirts! At least this is what I initially thought until I learned that the long piece of cloth the men in Myanmar wear wrapped around their waist is called a longyi, and is a traditional dress that, thankfully, has not yet been traded in for western-style jeans. The women all had yellow-ish makeup smeared on their cheeks, which I was to learn is called thanaka, made of powdered sandalwood and used to smoothen the skin and to protect it from the sun. So many interesting cultural differences, and this was only the airport! This was excellent foreshadowing for the incredibly interesting 8 days to come.

Due in part to advice from others who had previously travelled to the country, and in part to literature we had read warning that Myanmar is not the safest country to travel in ("One of the world's six outposts of tyranny", as cited by Condoleeza Rice), we decided to travel the country through the help of an organized tour, consisting of just the two of us. Our experiences in this country of stunning geography, a strong culture and incredibly kind, generous and friendly people who prevail in the face of astonishing suppression by their government could not have been more contradictory of these warnings. Not only were we treated with utmost friendliness and helpful attitudes, but it really was a haven for female travellers - the women were so sweet and the men treated us with nothing but respect. Next time I return to this country, I am happy to say that I would be completely comfortable doing it as an independent traveller.

Although we returned from this country 5 days ago, right now I am still trying to reflect on everything, and am struggling to put it all into words. However, I will give it a shot and try and share some of the highlights.

Our first 3 days were spent in Bagan, an area that has been said to rival Angor Wat in Cambodia as one of southeast Asia's most remarkable sites. Scattered amongst the lush greenery are over 5000 temples and pagodas!! Their dazzling gold-leaf painted stupas seemingly rise out of nowhere and each one was impossibly more beautiful than the last. They all had Buddha images within and around them, with one temple containing a gold-leaf Buddha 46 feet tall, and another containing over 1000 Buddha images - incredible. We climbed up to the top of one particularly large pagoda, and were rewarded with a magical 360 degree view - the lush green plains of Bagan stretched out before us, meeting the hazy hills in the distance. In every direction I looked, the land was dotted with temples and stupas of all sizes, shapes and colors. Most were brick red in color, with a few shimmering golden stupas amongst them - incredible. I was in awe of the abundance of these spiritual sites ... I kept forgetting that people actually lived in this area, as all I could see were temples, with no house, shop, or building in site to disrupt the view. WOW. Watching the sunset over this vista was one image I will never forget. (Sidenote: If you are wondering the difference between a temple, stupa, and pagoda (as I was), a stupa or a pagoda (same thing, different name)does not have an interior room, whereas a temple does and you can go inside the structure.)

I cannot count the number of times that I felt as if I had been transported back in time 100 years, and was witnessing Heritage Park or Upper Canada Village in action. Most work is still done by hand, and at most points during our journeys by road, the traffic was comprised more of oxen carts, water buffalo, goat herds and bicycles than by vehicles. We were fortunate to observe many of the traditional handicraft methods, which are still being used - weaving by hand using wooden looms, cloth woven from the stems of lotus flowers, reducing peanuts and sesame seeds to make their respective oils using a oxen-powered wooden crushing apparatus, umbrellas made from handmade paper from the bark of trees and constructed using bamboo, and blacksmiths forging huge swords, knives and household utensils - all by hand. I kept feeling that in North America we are so wrapped up in our complex and "state-of-the-art" technology that we forget that technology can be something as simple as a piece of bamboo or a stick... and can work just as well (if not better) than our complicated solutions.

We spent 4 days in the town of Neung Shwe, which is on the beautiful Inle Lake. Our guide for this leg of the journey was just stunning; by the end of our time with her, San san was more like a mother figure to us as she was SO kind, patient and generous, and she quickly learned our travelling style (involving getting off the beaten track and to as many "non-touristy" places as possible!) Inle was spectacular - the morning haze over the water resulted in no clear distinction between land and water .. the misty lake just seemed to flow into the mountains surrounding it, with the silhouettes of fisherman in their hand carved wooden canoes dotting the calm water. Some of the highlights of our time at Inle were a HUGE limestone cave filled with 8094 Buddha images - they were EVERYwhere, on the ground with smaller ones in between, in the walls, above your head, in the crevices - everywhere you looked - golden Buddhas; the time we spent on the lake exploring the fascinating villages that are built entirely on the water; the endless floating gardens which are literally islands of soil floating right on the lake; jumping into the lake fully clothed for a refreshing swim (much to the delight and astonishment of our guide and the fisherman around us); exploring the early morning floating market with commerce occurring on the water, from boat to boat as goods and money were passed from one canoe to another (everything from fruits and vegetables to meat to necklaces and flowers); the time we spent in the Paho hill tribe village where we had tea in the house of one of our guide's friends - a house made ENTIRELY of bamboo - so interesting to see how the people really live and an experience we were really hopign to have; and the time we spent in a canoe attempting to paddle it without tipping. (This involved me sitting crosslegged on the small square part over the water, Shaina at the back of the TIPPY canoe, and only a few run-ins with plants and trees ... not bad for our first time!)

This is getting long-winded, so I am going to wrap up by saying that although the time I spent in Myanmar was short, I learned and saw more than I could have ever hoped for. The people are incredibly kind and sweet, attributes which are enhanced even more by the fact that they live under incredible suppression by their government. This is a topic I feel I need to read more about, as it was not as obvious as I had thought it would be. However, there is huge corruption, ridiculous restrictions (you can be arrested for even taking a photo of a government official) and the government ministers do whatever they please (including packing up the entire capital city one year ago and randomly moving it to an isolated place in the jungle and spontaneously changing all of the currency to include 45 and 90 kyat notes in order to appease the President's fixation with the number 9, a lucky number in Buddhism) It is appalling and disturbing that in a country of 53 million individuals, the government can put up with such random controlling bs. On a positive note, it was encouraging to hear from everyone we spoke with that they feel tourism is a positive contribution to their country, as as long as it is done with private companies, it has worked to improve the lives of many people in the country.

To conclude, Myanmar is a wonder of geographical beauty, a fascniating culture deeply rooted in Buddhism and not yet watered down by western influence, and simply incredible people. I only hope that they will one day find freedom and peace in their amazing country.

We are now continuing our adventures in Laos .... 'til next time

Take care.