Myanmar

The tales of my recent trip to Myanmar (Burma)!

On an easy, direct fly from Phnom Penh to Yangon, I met Mom (who as on spring break from teaching) for 7 days of exploring. I had a few days off from work due to Cambodian New Year holidays. It also happened to be Burmese New Year or Water Festival during the same time, which proved to be both an exciting opportunity to witness the biggest holiday of the year and also an... annoyance. For the New Year, Myanmar residents take to the streets and the stage and throw water on each other, beating the heat and blessing each other for the coming new year. While fun to watch and refreshing in the heat of April, after 5 days of seemingly constant wetness at the hands, buckets, and hoses of locals, Mom and I got a bit tired of being drenched, trying desperately to protect our purses and cameras. While it was enjoyable to participate, pouring water on sellers in the market or Mom squirting a little boy with a water gun, it was rather unfortunate timing to travel to Myanmar, because most shops and markets were closed. Still, it was an amazing trip and memorable experience!

In Yangon, we met up with our friend Chris, who is Burmese (Mom met him in Long Beach), and he was able to show us around his city. It is always better to see a place through the eyes of a resident. Chris' family has a stunning home that they opened to us. In bustling Yangon, we were able to visit the famous Shwedagon pagoda. We also drove past Aung San Suu Kyi's house and former prison. Mom actually saw her going from her car to her office, although I missed that rare treat. Now officially an elected member of Myanmar's government, Aung San Suu Kyi's presence and face are everywhere. Despite being in the country during this politically exciting time, I still don't feel like I grasped a concrete understanding of how the transition of power is or will proceed. But the people sure are charged and excited.

From Yangon, we flew to Bagan, the site of approximately 4,000 ancient temples. Often compared to Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Bagan was astonishing mostly for the sheer amount of ornate and ancient temples. From higher peaks, we could see that every inch of the area seems to give was to marvelous structures. To imagine the area during it's prime is overwhelming. I feel that the comparisons to Angkor Wat are misguided for nothing truly compares to Angkor! But, Bagan was beautiful, to be sure. I wished there were more regulations--there were hawkers INSIDE the temples--but overall, the experience proved worth it all as we watching a marvelous sunset from a high temple.

At our hotel in Bagan, we saw a traditional Burmese puppet show! It is truly an art form unto itself.

Next, we flew to Inle Lake. This area, more North East and closer to Thailand and Laos, was my favorite. We stayed in a cute bungalow and, all the while soaked with the icy waters of New Year parties, enjoyed the residential town of Nyaung Shwe. We took a woodern boat on the lake and hit several lakeside destinations, most notably the Jumping Cats Monastery, which is exactly what you think it is. There, monks have famously trained their felines to leap through small hoops. Despite having become a major tourist destination, the cheesy, overt "tourist-trap" nature of the whole set up proved, to me, to only add to the charm, authenticity, and distinctly Myanmar nature of the monastery and the whole experience. The formerly sleeping cats jumped for treats for a novice monk in a t-shirt while the monk in the photograph we clipped from the "LA Times" in 2005 passed out asleep in his chair during the show. The cats were hilariously reluctant to do their "tricks" and had to be prodded by the trainer via some nudges to their butts. It was awesome but my photos don't do the event justice!

Back on our wooden boat, the setting sun against the hills, the radiant sky and the rice fields and their birds... well, like my photos, my words cannot do it justice.

The next day in Inle we took a horse-drawn-cart (yes) to some hot springs in the mountains that turned out to be pools with water "from the mountain." I think this still would have been acceptable had said water not been incredibly hot. All the other people there couldn't get in either--Mom and I weren't just being wimps! So that a was a bust. After long afternoon naps (a wonderful habit during our trip), we ate, for the second night in a row, at a cute Indian restaurant.

The next day it was back to Yangon for a final, finally water-free (the New Year had ended) night in the city.

Now, back in Phnom Penh and back at work, I feel that the trip to Myanmar came at the complete wrong time and at the complete perfect time in my life. Myanmar was complex, as were (and are) many outside situations in my life, and will take a while to fully process, much less comprehend. The place is vast and I feel like I just touched the surface. It was a lovely trip and I am thankful to my Mom for experiencing it with me.

Coming up next is a visit from my brother and hopefully an enjoyable trip within Cambodia with him during upcoming May holidays. Gotta love the constant public holidays here in Cambodia! Until next time!