Embarking on the "Road to Mandalay"
Date: 26 June 2011
Location: My apartment
Nothing gives me butterflies more than the annual adventure abroad, and after surviving the physical and emotional roller-coaster of my first year as a PhD student, I can surely exclaim that an adventure is in dire need. Coming up with a destination this year was a bit tricky, given that I just finished paying off my share of last summer’s
East Africa Safari and Arabian road trip, last winter’s
Christmas in South America, and also the fact that I'll be starting work in a few weeks at a new lab. Something should be said for just getting hired and finishing the interview with "By the way, I can't start until a month from now, after I'm done playing Indiana Jones". Cheap destinations (at least concerning airfare) are still proving to be difficult to come by these days. Nevertheless, it suddenly occurred to me that I’m running out of affordable last-minute destinations, and I simply can’t bring myself to visit the same place twice given the amazing diversity of our world. Keeping it varied and narrowing it down by continent, I realized that I had three regional options to choose from: Europe, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. Considering I was in Peru only 6 months ago, Latin America was out. Europe didn’t seem to speak to me this year, as I was looking for somewhere a little more “rough around the edges”. After all, as a fully initiated doctoral student now, this might be my last great voyage for a while (although I’m praying otherwise). That left Southeast Asia in the running. The only places I haven’t been to in Southeast Asia are the Philippines, Laos, and Burma. Judging from previous conversations with friends, half of you are probably Googling that last place as I write. No offense to my Filipino friends, but the Philippines isn’t a priority for me. So that left either the easy, relaxing, and colorful Laos, or the dark, exotic, and relatively unknown Burma.
You guys know me too well…
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| View from a temple on Mandalay Hill overlooking an ancient spiritual landscape |
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| Old Buddhist monk at Shwedagon |
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| Shwedagon, the most sacred temple in Burma |
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| Dried fish at a village market near Inle |
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| Delectable Shan street foods |
Burma, aka Myanmar, is truly a forbidden place. Tourism has only just arisen within less than a decade in this country, likely in light of the nation’s highly “sketchy” track record. An ancient (and almost mythical) nation with a history spanning more than three thousand years, Burma has seen some of the greatest human rights atrocities of the later part of the 20th century. The end of democracy from the 1962 coup d’etat from a socialist military junta forced the nation into complete isolation from the rest of the world, as well as leaving hundreds of thousands either dead or in exile. The massacres of 1988, as well as the most recent one in 2008, have essentially left the Burmese government completely shunned by the international community. This same military government was responsible for the imprisonment of the famed democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner,
Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as the complete abandonment of the traditional capital at Yangon for a new capital in the middle of the jungle, literally overnight. It has even been said that the paranoid, superstitious regime still relies on astrologers to make key political decisions. Nevertheless, this form of government has resulted in Burma being one of the poorest and most forgotten nations in the world.
Looking with a small glimpse of optimism, Burma’s isolation has essentially helped it to retain its ancient ways, untainted by foreign influences and modernization like neighboring Thailand and China. Burma is so uniquely behind that it's likely one of the few places left where one can get a glimpse of 19th century life. This is a land where ATMs don’t exist, credit cards are seen simply as pieces of plastic, the alignment of the planets is used for setting important dates, and spirits are still held responsible for good or bad that happens. This is what I’ve sought to experience. And while many would question my ethical principles for visiting this place, I still feel that the people would be worse off without my support. So I am actually partially encouraging tourism in Burma (as long as you limit how much of your patronage actually goes back to the government).
As with my travels through other politically controversial places like
Tibet and East Turkestan, traveling through Burma is not without difficulty. Applying for a visa was a lengthy and confusing ordeal (that’s another story) and by government order, I am not allowed to travel to certain regions or states, or even off of certain roads without obtaining special permits. I’ve also been prohibited from entering the Golden Triangle region, so for all of you that requested opium and hash souvenirs, sorry but no luck. Doing anything to upset the government or even making them suspicious of you results in immediate deportation. I can only use hard cash in Burma as a means of payment and they will not take bills that:
- Have been folded, in any way or form
- Have any markings/blemishes/wrinkles
- Have a serial number starting with CB
- Have the older, smaller portraits of the presidents
On top of all that, as of a week ago, there has been a Kachin ethnic uprising in the north of the country, and as of last week, three bombs have been detonated near the main markets in three major towns - towns I intend to visit this week. I'm really praying that my vacation doesn't end up being front row seats at a possible civil war. But all in all, I anticipate a relatively peaceful trip, seeing amazing marvels such as the great golden stupa of Shwedagon, the legendary valley of 2000 temples at Bagan, and the tribal peoples of the Shan Hills. I’m not sure what the internet situation will be like over there, and whether or not Facebook will be banned, but I hope to keep you all informed.
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| Outside the Bogyoke Market, Yangon |
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| Scene from a Burmese train, "first class" |
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| The golden temples of Sagaing Hill, on the Irrawady river near Mandalay |
Bouncing Through Burma, Local-Style
Date: 9 July 2011
Location: Internet cafe near the Royal Palace, Mandalay
After seven hours off-roading through the jungle in the
back of a pickup truck crammed with chickens, coconuts, and 27 other
villagers (not even exaggerating), we finally arrived in the fabled
city of Mandalay. Apart from the misery of local travel in this country, a whole other experience in itself, the past several days have been
absolutely divine. From Rangoon, we headed 200 miles north and another
100 miles east into the rural Shan Hills near the Thai border, a foothill region of astounding beauty. The
highlight of making such a arduous journey was undoubtedly the pristine
Inle Lake, roughly the size of Tahoe, which boasts some of the most
spectacular mountain village life in the whole of Southeast Asia. The
tiny village of Nyaungshwe, where we resided in a small, almost "tropical
island" paradise of small bungalows complete with a pool and gardens, was
an inviting relief from the dilapidated squalor of the former capital city. Life in this region is unbelievably nonchalant, as well as pleasantly personal after several days of cruising the local market and waving to
familiar local faces. Our first adventure involved going on a half-day
trek into the gorgeously scenic mountains, passing villages of bamboo
huts on stilts and rolling plantations of rice, corn, cheroot, and
mangoes. Every so often, a large golden temple and its shimmering spires would shoot up from among
the trees, where chanting monks could be heard murmuring in an ancient
language echoing off the surrounding hills. The narrow trails hugging
the edges of the earthen terraces provided a variety of sounds and
smells, from chirping insects and frogs to the sweet scent of lei
flowers and papaya fruit. Butterflies of radiant neon colors swooped in and out (and occasionally into your face) as we climbed over and around emerald terraces. The highlight of the trek was having lunch in the raised hut
of an old woman of the Pa-Oh people, a stir-fried egg noodle medley with soy-sauced vegetables
and green tea, cooked right on the spot in a wok over coals in the outdoor
kitchen. While digesting a simple meal with complex flavor, we spent the afternoon admiring the small, yet prized collection of family photos, proudly posted by being laced into the hut's hand-woven bamboo walls. It was a sentimental experience, to be so far from the familiar and in such a dramatically foreign lifestyle... and yet feel as if I had never actually left home.
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| Like a living painting, a quiet afternoon in Nyaungshwe |
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| A truck made from wood brings produce to a village market in Inle |
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| A Pa-Oh hut graces the side of emerald corn fields in the Golden Triangle |
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| Family photos and school achievement awards proudly decorate the walls of a hut |
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| Lunch in a humble Pa-Oh residence |
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| Textiles woven from lotus flower fibers |
The second
highlight of the Inle region was cruising over the lake itself, which has
blossomed over the past thousand years into a vibrant network of floating
villages and gardens, all drifting and gently bouncing on the lake's undulating
current. For mere dollars, we hired a guide with a long-boat canoe to take us out and around to various
parts of the lake, where we docked at occasional floating huts to observe
local craftsmen and artisans perfect their trades, including textile-weaving, silver-smithing, and cigar-making. We were also fortunate to see the vast
tomato fields on the "floating farms", where women would paddle canoes
up and down the narrow rows of lush crops, gradually filling baskets with
their rich harvest. However, the true gem of this trip was being granted the opportunity to meet the
tribal people of the region. Venturing to the Phaung Daw temple, we were fortunate in timing to catch the 5-day traveling market - a medley of hill tribe
people in colorful costumes selling everything from fish and fruits to
handicrafts and toothpaste. Some of the tribes included the Pa-Oh,
Taung-Yo, Shan, and the most amazing of them all - the
Padaung-Kayan. Many Padaung were driven into exile from Burma into Northern Thailand as a result of persistent persecution. Naturally, I squealed with glee at the thought of visiting what small community of these gentle people still remains, in their native land. Known as
the "giraffe-women" or "long-necks" in the West, the Padaung women are
instantly recognizable for their use of heavy brass rings as
neck ornamentation, which weigh their shoulders down and elongate the neck to
baffling lengths. Like falling into a scene from National Geographic, seeing the
Padaung in person has been a life-long goal for me, and I'm proud to
have been able to witness this slowly dying tradition.
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| An Intha fisherman sets out his net and uses a special "leg-rowing" technique |
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| One of the many floating villages on Inle Lake |
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| A Padaung girl |
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| A Pa-Oh woman |
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| Sharing the "magic" of the DSLR |
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| Social hour at the floating market |
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| Locals greet us in excitement |
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| Our little boat-man exhausted after a full day of navigating |
As of now,
after an entire day of completely local travel involving walking, an auto-rickshaw, a pickup, and a train with wooden benches, we are
in the old imperial capital of Mandalay. Each form of travel was a savage experience, particularly the train. Burmese trains have acquired in the travel sphere an extreme notoriety for imitating 7.0 earthquakes and literally flinging passengers out of their seats, sometimes out of windows if you're standing, all while constantly on the verge of derailing. And that's in addition to the infestations of scurrying mice, flying roaches, and dangling spiders, none of which seem to faze anyone aboard. It's like a real-life version of the Disneyland "Indiana Jones" ride, but 5 hours long and at a fraction of the cost. We are planning to
explore the ancient royal palace tomorrow, as well as make a pilgrimage to the sacred Mahamuni
temple that boasts a 13 foot high Buddha covered in a 6 inch layer
of solid gold. Until the next shitty internet
connection...
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| The pickup we took, photo taken after five additional people just got off |
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| Still in good spirits, despite looking and feeling like a train wreck |
Biking Through 2000 Ancient Temples
Date: 14 July 2011
Location: Roadside shack with computer, somewhere between Nyaung Shwe and Old Bagan
After an excruciatingly meandering 14 hour boat ride down the Irrawady River from Mandalay,
stopping every half hour since 6am at riverside villages of men steering ox carts and women
sporting baskets of fruit on their heads, we finally docked at the provincial port of Nyaung Shwe. This village is little known to the
outside, for perfectly understandable reasons, yet it indirectly serves as the entry point to one of the 100 wonders
of the ancient world - the
Valley of 2000 Temples at Bagan. It was almost 9pm, nearly 3 hours later than we were told we'd arrive, with a full moon shining soothingly over the quiet, dark, dirt-road town. Hopping yet
again into the bed of a pick up, we bounced 10 miles towards the south through isolated countryside,
passing the deep black silhouettes of hundreds of monolithic temples, their
spires and towers soaring high above the grassland into a bespeckled starry sky. Describing it as
"mysterious" would be an injustice in this part of the country,
whose enigmatic history extends more than 2000 years to the era of the prodigious Bagan kings. These monarchs, who ruled a vast kingdom from the 9th to the
12th centuries here, were insanely devout, as each king attempted to surpass the previous one by building larger and great numbers of temples to the Buddha
(karma kudo points). The result - a plain the size of Manhattan with
over 4000 brick and stone temples spouting from the earth like the bristles of a continental hairbrush. Despite the
passing of a thousand years, more than 2000 structures still stand to this day,
leaving the traveler in a state of shock and awe on the level of Angkor
in Cambodia or Petra in Jordan. This is pure Indiana Jones territory, and my internal adventure sensors will certainly need to be re-calibrated after this experience. The
number of temples, shrines, and stupas is beyond comprehension, a
baffling and beautiful scene to witness from the top of one of the
larger monasteries out on the open meadow. We took a traditional horse cart along
dusty trails to these beautifully erected monuments, nearly all
completely void of tourists (actually, the entire country has been pretty empty), giving us a sense that the entirety of this ancient
land was ours. However, nothing can compare in terms of pioneering thrill to purchasing some street snacks, packing a camera, and hitting up the temples - by bike. Literally for a dollar a piece, we were able to rent a few rickety pairs of wheels (helmet not included, or rather nonexistent) for the entire day. After initially confronting rusty bike skills and a number of near-miss encounters on the road with motorbikes, herds of livestock, and overloaded pick-ups, riding eventually transformed into the most beautiful and completely natural means of seeing Bagan. As the vast plain is criss-crossed with dirt roads and hidden trails, having a bike not only allowed access to the more remote and unvisited temple complexes, but also contributed to the mystical feeling of vintage exploration. The experience of physically peddling (not simply being shuttled) around woodsy bends and through dense vegetation, ultimately to come upon an unexpected compound of overgrown ruins, is nothing short of phenomenal. Yet simultaneously, the thrilling sensation of pure liberation is almost entirely indescribable. I doubt I will ever again encounter a sunset as rich, warm, and fully encompassing as one witnessed from the roof of a vacant temple, sharing the moment with but a silent Buddha and an orchestra of chirping cicadas.
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| Irrawady ferries at 5 am, loading with produce and villagers for the 14-hour journey down river |
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| Snacks of fresh fruit and fried goods on the boat |
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| Vendors hoping to make a sale at each village stop |
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| Looking out over just one side of the Bagan plain and its massive temples at dusk |
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| Early morning view of another side of the Bagan plain... and more temples |
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| Biking is the best way to reach some of the more remote temple complexes |
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| Local life in villages surrounding the temples |
Burma has been
utterly amazing, even in spite of the utter poverty, lack of
infrastructure, inefficient local transportation, and absence of decent eateries (almost everything here is a roadside shack of questionable sanitary conditions). Don't get me wrong, I never said those were necessarily
bad things. There have been times where we honestly felt like
we're the only foreign visitors in the entire nation, a rare and most exquisite feeling for wanderlusters. But the country would be nothing without its proud people, who are downright the most hospitable and generous people I have ever met in the world (and I'd assume its safe to say I've seen a
good share of people). They are constantly showering us with humble gifts despite their
lack of necessities and always looking out for our comfort and
enjoyment. I will never forget how I cut myself in Mandalay and suddenly witnessed the entire market place rummaging through their wares and goods in search of a bandage to freely give. And walking down any street, whether in a city or village, you'll find
yourself being bombarded with bright smiles, warm greetings, and
questions such as "Where are you going?", "Where are you from?", and
"Are you happy in my land?". It has been a pleasure since first entering
and I truly wish I could just give everyone a parting hug here.
We'll be heading
back to Bangkok, Thailand, in a couple days to do some cheap shopping and intensive eating. I'm
also excited to be visiting Uncle Santi after 12 long years. I pray everyone's
doing well back at home. I'll be sure to leave an offering in your name
at the Dhammayangyi temple tomorrow.
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| Decaying colonial buildings are an architectural highlight in the port city of Yangon |
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| Massive Buddha at the Ananda Temple, Bagan |
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| A mango vendor ready to make a sale |
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| A Burmese village school bus |
