Archive for April, 2012

April 13
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Where do I start with Myanmar…

Firstly, it is, by far, THE safest country I’ve ever had the pleasure of setting foot on. Though tourism isn’t as vibrant there as say..neighboring Thailand (which I personally take as a good thing), and their infrastructure would put fear in a MetLife/Time Share vacationer’s comfort zone…it is an amazingly gorgeous country.

PS: Excuse the ripples in the sky on a lot of these images. The downsized files for downloading efficiency has it’s cons.

 

Some major sweeping going on in Shewdagon Pagoda, Yangon.

Shewdagon

The main stupa at Shewdagon is covered completely in gold with the top part blinged out with 2,000 carats of diamonds.

Shewdagon is regarded as the most sacred pagoda in all of Myanmar...

My buddy Kyaw Kyaw. If anyone's going to Bagan anytime soon, please let me know. I promised to bring him flashlights. There's no light by where he & his family lives.

Kyaw Kyaw's son & nephews.

Kyaw Kyaw's lovely neighbor.

Perhaps we can make this hair wrap this a new trend in New York? =)

Kyaw Kyaw's wife grinding up the root of a sandalwood tree to use on...

...On mini Kyaw. It's a natural sun block that is used in Myanmar. BTW, do pack sun protection if going to Myanmar, it's almost impossible to find western sunblock. I found out the hard way.

Thatbyinnyu is a pretty bad ass temple.

Maybe it's just me, but I LOVE the way the elderly looks. To me, every wrinkle has a story or a wise tale behind it.

Swag

Happy Wrinkles

This is as dangerous as it gets in Bagan...

The shepherd

Young monks taking a stroll in Bagan.

Yeah...it's a pretty magical place.

I want to stay at a monastery for a bit. No worries, I won't become a monk anytime soon.

Joined them in their morning food route the following morning. Their route must've been at least 5 miles. In bare feet...kudos.

Doing what I do best...stalking.

I'll be honest, I don't remember which temple this was...There were over 2,000 of them in a land no larger than Manhattan.

I wasn't kidding when I said 2,000...

 

Only time in my life where I saw the sun rise & set 4 days straight. Worth every cup of coffee.

Spent 4 days climbing the largest temples...I took a fall on one of them...but that's a story for another post.

Typical visitors of Myanmar: Middle aged French & German couples. Would make for an AWESOME honeymoon my American brides!

I tried desperately to get on the balloons. Got cancelled on twice because of the wind.

Betel, a popular "chew" product in Myanmar. Kinda numbs your mouth a bit. It's said to caffeinate a person, as well as remove hunger.

I love going to local markets. As Anthony Bourdain has always said: "Go to the local market to find out what their cuisine specialties are"

The local "floating" market was a bit dry...

Why..."Hello" to you too!

Nga Pha Kyaung Monastery, Inle Lake.

The famous single legged rowing fishermen in Inle Lake, Myanmar.

Like the Scottish, the Burmese also wear skirts. New trend 2013?

Spent half the day fishing in a lake FULL of fish...ended up needing to buy fish from the local fishermen. I just have the worst luck with fishing.

Brought the fish back to Maung Lay's (my boat driver) place and his mom cooked us a feast!

Maung Lay was crazy enough to let me take his boat for a spin...he had NO idea what was coming to him.

 

Spent a good time in Muang Lay's village and realized how happy everyone is in this country.