Land of Pagodas

Early in May I took my first solo trip to a country that isn't usually on most travelers radar. I flew to Myanmar, AKA Burma, for 6 days. I was visiting two friends I had met previously in Taiwan, who actually live and work in Burma.

Before I arrived I was given warnings of the humidity and the heat stokes that were happening to mainly foreigners who were not prepared. (It was about 114 F the entire time duration if my stay.) Myanmar is known as the land of pagodas, which are similar to temples for Buddhist practice and praying. On my first evening there, after the scorching sun went down, my friend Austin took me to the largest Pagoda in the capitol of Yangon. Shwedagon. No building in the entire city is allowed to be built taller than that pagoda, which limits them to about 30 stories. As of now it is not a problem at all. 

However, it will be interesting to see what more foreign business and tourism does to the country and that custom. Natives can come and go as they please, foreigners must pay to visit the pagodas. $1000 kyat, pronounced /cha/, is equivalent to $1.00! Extremely cheap. Burma was once under British rule and many of the British style buildings still remain downtown, withering away slowly. Since the country is opening up, companies are being hired to tear down the old buildings and rebuild something new for the now developing country.

I had a wonderful seafood dinner my first night out, lobster, and I even attempted to try a sea snail. Early the next morning, a small group of us took a road trip to Kyaikhtyo, an enormous golden rock pagoda that mysteriously sits at the edge of a giant cliff. It we as a 3+ hours drives to get there but on the way we stopped at the Memorial for Taukkyan.

 I was fascinated with the people and the land throughout the entire drive. Their cattle is much different than the kind I grew up knowing and woman carried what looked to be an unbearable amount of cargo on top of their heads without hesitation or hands. 

Before taking the crowded 45 ride in the back of a truck with 30 other Burmese, we had some authentic food. It was so delicious that I hardly noticed we were all dripping sweat within three minutes. The trucks offer to take you all the way to the top, but we decided to take it half way and walk the rest. It was hot and it was steep but the walk ended being my favorite part of my trip. 

 

I saw many children running through their villages along the mountain hike, playing something similar to soccer without a real ball. I saw a few children monks, one had even climbed at least 50 feet up into a tree. There were families of kittens, women creating and selling goods every hundreds yards or so, men chatting just as any normal day. It was an experience I never thought I would get to have, and something many people don't even think exists anymore. 

They lived their entire lives on the side of these mountains, with few walls and just a sheet of scrap metal to cover their heads. I wondered what their education was like, what technology had they ever been exposed to, do they know anything about America or the rest of the world? 

During the ride back to Yangon, I saw house that were made of mostly straw, small bridges were made over the streams out of long branches, there was a lot of trash as you got closer to the city, and I was surprised to see railroads.


The people do have fairly dark skin, most likely because the sun is so fierce. The woman and children wear na khar, a tree paste, on their faces to reduce some of the heat. 

The next day I took a five hour ride to Ngwe Saung, which lies along the coast of the Indian Ocean. After being stuck in a traffic jam the AC went out so we enjoyed a hot, windy ride along the dirt roads of the countryside. Again another beautiful ride. We saw an elephant in the back of a truck once, and twice we saw pigs stacked onto each other four layers deep. I noticed many Buddhist flags along the way, much more than the countries flags. We stayed at a beach restore that has only been opened for 2 years, because of that and the fact that Burma is still undiscovered by many, the place was secluded! Arriving just at sunset, we had dinner next to the ocean and I actually teared up when I saw just how beautiful the stars were that night. I don't think I've ever seen so many, so bright, ever in my life. 


The beach was not polluted and since not many humans use it there were a variety of crabs constantly running along the beach. 



I woke early the next morning to catch the sunrise, walk along the beach and take photos. I witnessed some men hand crafting a wooden boat, two young native boys playing in the sand, a horse running on the beach, and then a motorcycle flying by. The best part was when I laid under the straw umbrella, I fell asleep for two hours and I awoke to having the entire beach to myself. Exquisite, peaceful, unlikely to happen twice.


On our way back I learned much more about the country. Democracy has only been in the country for 2 years, the people will actually be having their first census in 20 years, this year. There is a huge mix of millionaires in the country and those who have nothing at all. There are no real driving rules, and no punishment for drinking and driving. I saw three cars completely smashed in on the side of the road, I myself had to close my eyes though some of the city driving. Many Burmese are uneducated, so in some opinions democracy is a poor choice for the people since they do not really understand what it means. The healthcare is also not very good in Burma.

That night we went to an assortment of uptown bars and I met some great people who work in Burma and have big plans for making something out of the developing country.

 
My last morning I woke up to a man playing the piano outside of my hotel window, had an intense almost painful massage, tried an array of desserts, and flew out to spend 15 hours overnight in a Vietnam airport.
Unfortunately Americans need a visa for Vietnam so I was unable to leave the airport overnight. Luckily I could get an hour massage and do some gift shopping, I was also given one free meal. But uncomfortably sleeping on a curved booth seat at one of their restaurants for 6 hours was not something I'd want to go through again. I was feeling out of body, out of mind by 8 am.

I am extremely happy I got to witness and travel through a southeast Asian country that is still so raw and natural to its aboriginal people and lifestyle. I also had some of the best food in Myanmar. Yum! It was an underdeveloped, unexpected, altering, appreciative, and awe -aspiring trip I will never forget. 


National symbol 'chinthe' mythical lion.
Population 55,746,253.

Thanks for reading! - K