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More sights to see through the open windows - a man plowing the fields with his oxen...View image, more people selling food and water in big jugs always balanced perfectly on their heads...View image....it seemed as if the train stopped hundreds of times.
By now, those wooden seats (with perhaps their half-inch of padding) were creating major pain and agony. There was NO comfortable way to sit so we amused ourselves the best we could. Kent dug out his hat purchase and posed...
Continue reading "Training from Mandalay to Rangoon: Are We There Yet? Burma (Now Myanmar)" »
Up, ready, packed, and "ex-Marine" wore a new pair of beige trousers in honor of this "Upper Class" journey.
It was pitch black, inside and outside, at the train station with people sleeping on the platform floor. The train pulled into Mandalay station on time, but there were no light in the cars. Since it was the "Daylight Express," why would anyone need lights? Burmese reasoning. Rose used candles and flashlights to light our way on to the dark train and help find our seats. Our "Upper Class" seats had a cushion on the hard wood seats and backs...other than that, there was no difference between "Upper Class" and steerage. Save up to $200 on Vacation Packages!
Continue reading ""Daylight Express" Train from Mandalay to Rangoon, Burma (Now Myanmar)" »
The City of Mandalay lies almost at the foot of the hill that gave the City its name. It is approximately 800' high with several temples, the famous temple lions ...View image... and an impressive standing Buddha are located. ...View image... Unfortunately, we didn't have the time to climb the 1,000 steps to the top.
The Kuthodaw has 729 monoliths of white marble on which Buddhist texts have been inscribed (Tripitaka Texts) and are unique in the Buddhist world. You have probably seen photographs of them in every article about Mandalay without knowing what they are...we certainly didn't.
Buddhist textbooks
Continue reading "Mandalay Hill and Sagaing, Burma (Now Mandalay)" »
Another early morning, this time at the Pagan Airport and, would you believe it, the shattered toilet pieces were still scattered all over the floor? Just amazing!
A half-hour flight, group hummed a few bars of "On The Road to Mandalay," (the "road" is actually the Irrawadddy River) and were met by "Rose," our new local guide. Mandalay was considered the center of Burmese culture and known as the Golden City, built in the 19th century. Ultimate anniversary ideas from Orient-Express Hotels, Trains & Cruises. Book online.
Heading to the Zegyo Market in the center, we were struck by the contrasts in transportation. Vintage Chevys, Olds, Buicks - jeeps and buses left by the Allies, and the most common form of transport - bicycles.
Continue reading "On The Road to Mandalay, Burma (Now Myanmar)" »
Pagan is usually everyone's number one reason for visiting Burma. It certainly lived up to our expectations and was an immensely visual delight. ...View image... Each temple had distinct features that surrounding ones did not have. ...View image... They were built as tributes to the Buddha by kings and merchants to gain merit and resembled castles, fortresses and were easily reached and climbed.
I understand that it is different now. Some have been reconstructed and put "off limits" but all these ruins, on this dusty plain next to the Irrawaddy River was an unforgetable experience.
Continue reading "The Temples of Pagan, Burma (Now Myanmar)" »
It was back to the airport for our flight to Pagan. Landing in Pagan, there was the Prime Minister's brightly colored plane...not a good sign for us.
Waiting in the arrival hall for our Tourist Burma Pagan guide, we ladies decided to use the bathroom. All of a sudden, there was this huge, awful explosion. When Diana (in our group) flushed the toilet which had an old-fashioned overhead porcelain tank, the entire tank came crashing down, missing her head by inches, and smashing into a 1,000 pieces! Guards ran from all over the airport and Diana didn't know whether or not to cry, or laugh hysterically. Fortunately, this incident that could have been tragic ended up extremely funny.
Win, our Pagan guide, showed up about then and we started touring in another dilapidated bus. ...View image... Pagan was the first capital of a united Burma, and its peak was during the 11th through 13th centuries. It was the center of Buddhism in this part of the world and may have had any as many as 50,000 temples. Due to time, neglect and natural disasters, less than 2,000 remain.
Continue reading "Pagan's Buddhist Initiates, Day Two in Burma (Now Myanmar)" »
Shwedagon Pagoda is most definitely the star of Rangoon. It is built on one the the few hills and has many steps up to the Pagoda that you must climb barefoot (even have to take socks off). The interior passages are crowded with merchants selling handicrafts, incense, kalagas (intricate cloth, beaded, sequined depictions of Burmese lore), flowers, offerings to Buddha, a riot of color. ...View image... I couldn't wait for the return down and a chance to look at some of the wares.
But that was just for starters. We came into the temple complex and were stunned into silence..."Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore...." A big golden stupa (spire) in the center rising 324 feet above the base (more than 2,500 years old), surrounded by smaller temples and statuary, ...View image...each one different. Color.. and gold..and people, oh my! ...View image
Continue reading "Shwedagon Pagoda, Burma (Now Myanmar)" »
We were ready to power-tour Rangoon, but first, Mary led us to a small bus with 18 seats, most without padding or springs and drove us to the Thamada Hotel. ...View image... The Thamada had an elevator, inoperative, so we schlepped our bags up to the third floor. Dingy, dirty and dark, with a single air-conditioning unit hanging by a wire directly over our bed. Most of the wires and coils just hung down from it...probably in preparation for decapitation once we actually got into the bed!
Continue reading "Touring Rangoon, Burma (now Myanmar)" »
Our 15-person group of 8 Americans, 5 Brits and 2 French met up in front of a hotel in Bangkok and were transferred to the airport. Our Thai Tour Leader, from Diethelm Travel, had an unpronounceable Thai name, and asked us to call him "Charlie." Charlie suggested buying a carton of 7-7 Cigarettes and a bottle of Scotch for our personal trading, and then collected a kitty to buy ample supplies for "greasing" our way in and out of Burma. Our stash of cigarettes and scotch would give us enough money when traded on the black/grey market for the entire 5-day stay.
Burma Airways was a twin-engine jet (a dilapidated, old piece of junk) missing most of the seat-back tables (those that remained were cracked or broken), who knows when the cabin was last cleaned, cockroaches crawled on the seats while flies and mosquitoes buzzed around! Burma Airways wasn't a member of IATA which meant they weren't required to maintain "normal" standards. All I cared about was taking off and landing safely...and hoped the cockroaches wouldn't crawl on me.
Continue reading "Day One, Arrival in Burma" »
Burma, in 1988, was strictly regimented by the Government who controlled the itineraries. There was either a 5-day or 7-day itinerary to choose from, you had to travel as a group, and you could only enter through the airport at Rangoon on Burmese Airways, and leave the same way. There were no road, sea or rail entries permitted. Only air.
Kipling, the words from "On The Road to Mandalay," photos of Shwedagon Pagoda and the ancient city of Pagan, and even a brochure from Banana Republic convinced me that this was a place we had to go...never mind the potential inconveniences. How did Banana Republic (yes, the clothing chain) get into this equation? In 1988, Banana Republic only dealt in adventure travel clothing and the owners published booklets with illustrations of clothing along with information about different countries. The booklet I read went into detail on Burma and suggested bringing old jeans, t-shirts, makeup and other items for bartering! The Burmese then took these items to the black market for some much needed cash.
Continue reading "Highlights of Burma in 5 Short Days" »
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