Burma

The news was covering the visit of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Burma last week (the military junta calls it Myanmar).  It made us think of our 2 week tour of Burma in 1993.  After checking we found that our visit was at the same time of year (2-15 Dec. 1993).  We'd been trekking in Nepal and after a couple of days resting in Bangkok we found that Burma had just increased their maximum visa permit to 2 weeks and without requiring a package tour. We were off to Rangoon and began meeting the wonderful Burmese people.  Initially we hesitated about going to a country run by military dictators, but decided that the money we spent would benefit the people and not the junta.  Rangoon was the capital of Burma but in 2006 the military junta moved the capital, lock stock and barrel, to Naypyidaw,  a new city built in farm fields in the geographical center of Burma.  It now has a population of 1 million people.  The story goes that the junta was afraid that Rangoon, on the coast, might be invaded, so they moved the capital inland.

Schwedegon, a Pagoda complex in the heart of Rangoon, at 2500 years old is the oldest in Burma.  The golden stupa is 325ft. high and is believed to have been rebuilt between the 6th and 10th century.

Rangoon, Royal Barge, with dragon boat out practicing in the foreground. Lonely Planet told us that Aung San Suu kyi was under house arrest across the lake.  She won the 1990 elections, at which time the military junta took over and arrested her.  But the Internet says her house is on a different lake. Regardless she was released from house arrest last year and is planning to run for a seat in the new Burmese Senate. Hopefully good changes are coming in Burma.

From Rangoon we traveled north, first by train, and then by bus to Inle Lake.  The ubiquitus Toyota pickup above was our bus.  This picture was taken at a tea stop. Linda is in the blue on top.  When we reloaded I counted 41 on that truck including driver. 39 small Burmese and 2 larger Americans.  It must have had a beefed up suspension but it still bottomed out on every pothole.

Inle Lake

Dinner at our Inle Lake hotel

Foot paddling boatman

The overnight ferry we took from Mandalay to Bagan down the Irrawaddy River

The scene on deck on the ferry. 

Note the "thunderbox" on the port side stern.

Gawdapalin is one of the larger of over 2000 pagodas and temples at Bagan(Pagan). Bagan was at its height in the 11th and 12th century with 5000 pagodas.  The 1975 earthquake destroyed many of them.

We were absolutely blown away by this nearly deserted city of Pagodas.  This is a view of just a few of them. The site covers 16 square miles. When we visited there were only a few small lodges but now there are dozens of hotels.  We wandered about on dirt paths encountering a few tourists and the occasional farmer and his ox cart. At that time there were no motorized vehicles allowed in the complex due to the fear of vibrations and further damage.

Bagan is beside the Irawaddy River, the major river of Burma which flows 2170km from north to south of Burma. Much of the country is in its watershed. After Rudyard Kipling's poem, it is sometimes referred to as 'The Road to Mandalay'.