Friday, February 17, 2012
Myanmar the Golden Land.
Early at 6am we trudged our way to the Swedagon Temple to catch the sunrise. It is the iconic and magnificent landmark in Yangon. At dawn, it was lit brightly with artificial lights which stripped away its original beauty. Surprising at this unearthly hour, the temple was already crowded. We were immediately recognised as foreigners when we set foot onto the icy marble floor, and was asked to pay 5 USD entrance fee. Fail. Because among the crowd, we were the only ones who wore t-shirt and jeans. Local costumes, being formal or informal, are always sarong with slippers. Yes, people wear long sleeves collar formal top with sarong and slippers to work.
As the sun rose, Swedagon was immediately turned into life, like a giant golden African snail. Symbolised by its conservative design of the temple yet rich in colours, it reflected back to the development of Buddhism in Myanmar people which is simplistic and from all walks of life.
On the second night we rented a van to Bagan, the pagoda desert. It was a freaking 10 hours bumpy ride throughout the night. Most of the time my head was bouncing against the seat like a basketball. It was a loooong night. Midnight, we stopped twice at the rest station. The temperature difference between day and night was incredibly huge that i was almost frozen to a rock when i peed. It was freezing cold especially my poor feet, because they were only covered with SLIPPERS. Burmese! Y U NO WEAR SHOES?
Bagan is a dry and cooling desert with numerous erected pagodas and temples. Each temple has its own story. Among all, there was one that struck me the most. Back in the ancient times, there was a king who found a ruby on this land, therefore he happily built a temple here like nobody's business. lol. I don't see a need to build so many temples on this stretch of land, as if they were meant for housing thousands of followers. The architecture was beyond my imagination. It's godlike. The walls were decorated with paintings telling tales of the ancient time. The pagoda was built of bricks that stretched all the way to the top. The interior was embraced with cool air and darkness as there were no openings to the outside world. Footwear was strictly prohibited in temples. The floor that was shaded from sunlight was icy cold. Every steps sends the chill through my spine. lol, literally. It is impossible to plod through the steep stairs, narrow tunnels, and the rocky floor without a torch. Up to the top, the view is splendid. Giving me the bird eye view, I can see ALL the temples sprouting on this beautiful golden land, with the sky painted with orange clouds and hot-air balloons. It's absolutely a feast for our eyes.
These 3 days in Bagan were basically visiting temples, temples and temples. They were more or less the same. Once we got off of our van, the villagers will flock towards you, asking you to buy souvenirs. Our arrival seemed to bring lots of hope for them to make both ends meet.
"Postcard? One for one thousand! You are handsome. You buy my postcard, I be with you."
"What about some paintings? Lookey lookey! Lookin's free! This one story of Buddha. This one lucky elephant, got 7 trunks. Which animal you like?"
It's impossible for me to buy from all of them. They were too many. And it is heart-wrenching to see lots of children not going to school but selling postcards to tourists who step-footed in this poverty stricken country. Some even followed us all the way to our van. Even with the door closed, these children were still exchanging gestures through the transparent window, asking you to buy their postcards.
At night we all stayed at Class One Hotel. A lot of Eurasians stay there. The hotel breakfast was awesome, in western style. At noon we had buffet at a local restaurant. They filled up our table with ALL the local delights and specialties until there's barely a space to put my rice bowl. Burmese food is always salty, spicy and sour. We were so happy and stuffed. The food was uniquely delicious and surprisingly cheap (1100 kyat/person). In Burmese, Pakshashimeh means "pay bill".
Mount Popoa is the last place we went before we headed back to Yangon. It is a sacred mountain that has a temple at the top, which was 777 steps of stairs away. We bought sarong and face paint before we came to disguise ourselves as villagers. Along the way, those selling souvenirs started laughing on us, as if we were the entertainment of the day. Some commented our sarong was worn wrongly. Fail. HAHA! This place is full of monkeys and monkey's shit. While climbing the stairs we can hear the footsteps of monkeys roaming on the roof. Some followed us along the way, trying to snatch our bags. The view from the top is very scenic. I can see the rainforest carpeting the horizon.
The security in Myanmar has put Malaysia into shame. I feel a lot more safer walking in Myanmar's street. People there are poor, but crime rate is astonishingly low. We left our bicycles at the road side while visiting different cultural houses in the National Park. At the end of the day, our bicycles were still there not stolen.
We watched "Underworld: The Awakening" at the cinema in Yangon. Though I had watched the movie before, this time it was a whole new experience. My attention was not entirely on the story, but the spectators. People were mumbling at their own will and the whole movie was featured with extra "background music". The movie has no subtitles, so i guess most of them could not appreciate the show. At the end of the show, when the lights were up, I was stunned. The neighbouring seats and the aisles were full of watermelon seeds, paper cups, bottles, tissue paper, you name it...I felt really sorry for the cleaners.
We visited a lot of temples, but I cannot remember which is which. We ate Burmese food everyday. We walked barefooted most of the time. We spent 20 hours in the van travelling. We braved through the icy cold shower at night when the heater was malfunctioning.
We didn't buy all the souvenirs cos the Bojio Market was closed on the Reunion Day. That's the only regret because we saved up our money for the last day so that we can ALL IN!!! A lot of spare cash left at the end of the trip. Looking back, it's really worth going to myanmar. Want to thank my Burmese friend who brought us around and let us stay at his house. Also, the van driver who not only endured the long hours driving marathon, but also told us stories of the pagodas like a tour guide. Myanmar hospitality, thumbs up!
