Yangon

I never would have thought of visiting Myanmar (Burma) if my friend Alex hadn’t raved about her first trip there. The place really made an impression on her, and her photos were stunning. So when we were planning a trip to Thailand last fall and she suggested tacking on some time in Myanmar, I said “Why not?”

Myanmar is the first place I’ve experienced legit culture shock, but after a few days I adjusted, more or less. Though its sights and sounds were so utterly unfamiliar, I never once felt unwelcome or uncomfortable. I arrived in the country expecting to find little Internet, cell phone connectivity, or acceptance of credit cards – but was proven wrong on all counts. (Things had changed quite a bit on the technology front since Alex had been there.) My tourist SIM card was a better deal than I have here in Canada!

While my last post about the trip focussed on its markets and food, this one collects some of my other images from Mandalay, Bagan, and Yangon. Our time on Inle Lake was an experience unto itself, and with 600 photos to go through, it’ll get its own post.

Mandalay

We didn’t spend much time in Mandalay, and it poured rain. Our hotel was an entirely analogue world replete with 1970s decor, and felt like stepping back in time – not necessarily in a bad way. We watched gold leaf being made by hand and visited Kuthodaw Pagoda, home to “the world’s largest book,” consisting of 729 marble slabs inscribed with text, each housed in its own kyauksa gu (stone-inscription caves). It was a marvel to see, even in the rain.

Bagan

From Mandalay, we had a very leisurely boat ride up the Irrawaddy River to Bagan, which took all day. The route of this boat ride is also the main reason I opted to take the recommended anti-malaria meds – fortunately, no side effects.

The ancient city of Bagan boasts a unique landscape, dotted with the remains of 2,200 Buddhist temples and pagodas. We explored many of them, and I will confess I started to feel a certain pagoda fatigue after a while. But boy, did they make for some gorgeous vistas.

You may be more familiar with the old colonial name for this city, Rangoon. Myanmar’s largest city and former capital, Yangon is a bustling metropolis – a complete contrast to Bagan, where horse and carriage was a common mode of transport, and cars went about 20 km/hr due to poor road conditions. Crossing the street in Yangon was terrifying, so I would grab my petite guide’s hand without hesitation and fully put my trust in her ability to get us safely and expertly to the other side. I have no idea how she did it.