pictures coming soon!
Around one year ago in Nicaragua and just five minutes after I walked into the very first hotel of the trip, I bumped into Chantal. As we were both happy-styled solo trekkers, we quickly became a travel team for a while. Now, a year later, we travel together again on the other side of the globe, in Myanmar.
Around one year ago in Nicaragua and just five minutes after I walked into the very first hotel of the trip, I bumped into Chantal. As we were both happy-styled solo trekkers, we quickly became a travel team for a while. Now, a year later, we travel together again on the other side of the globe, in Myanmar.
Isolated by a tourism boycott against its
questionable political system, former Burma only became 'Myanmar' in
2011 and raving reviews from fellow travelers made me eager to visit
this wonderful country.
Myanmar's beauty lies in its people and architecture.
It all started when I arrived in the former capital, Yangon, where I was surprised by the appearance of the women smiling at me, smothered in
yellow thanaka make-up-sunscreen.
Before meeting Chantal, I stumbled through small
alleys in the dark without feeling uneasy - even when encountering those
guys with their mouths full of blood-red juice. "It's all tradition!", I
reassured myself...
After chatting and catching up with my new buddy over some 'cold' Mandalay-beers, we headed into the country.
First
stop Bagan was a winner right away. For me and many others a potential
world wonder (where are you, UNESCO? - inside; I actually met the man
responsible for UNESCO for the whole of Asia!), Bagan and its surrounding
plain is scattered with more than 4000 temples and stupas. Many of
those conceal colorful murals and well-hidden stairways that
lead to high platforms.
At sunrise, we found ourselves in a surreal setting while we
climbed a random stupa, offering us a panorama that I will certainly
never ever forget.
Second stop, Inle Lake,
kept the magic going. A tour on the lake via floating villages, all of
them specialized in impressive crafts, from pottery baking to weaving.
For the first time I could ask the stupid question "does it hurt?" when
talking to a long-neck lady. Next day, we left on a unique 3-day trek -
totally off the beaten path via villages that never saw foreign visitors
before.
More up north, we became more adventurers than
tourists, as buses are almost non-existing and the other option -
trains - bounce slow-paced through the planes for looooooong days.
Tourists became scarce and we sometimes felt like discoverers as we walked
waving and smiling through villages, while people were staring at us as we ate, walked or even slept. Chantal can even mobilize whole families when
she's taking pictures! Traveling here is truly unique.
But is time-warped Myanmar ready to fulfill what
tourists expect it to be(come)? As we stumbled through the country, we
saw that the 'tourist highlights' were suffering: it was no exception
that all the hotels were full, that we had to wait an hour or two for
our dish or that it never showed up. English is quasi non-existing,
travel safety and health are quite questionable. There are still some
areas where tourists cannot come, and new fights were signaled in
certain areas.
And even if you just take a boat (two days, sleeping on the floor, dirty, etc.) down the river, you'll get
reminded of its military regime - we saw a 18-yr old military giving an
old man a few kicks in the face and the latter getting arrested.
But Myanmar is Myanmar - things are changing now. And a few minutes later, a young girl gave us bracelets and I got invited by some men to play
cards on the upper-deck. As the sun continues to heat up the sky, I wonder how things will go for Myanmar. I can only hope for the best. I can only hope that Obama's visit and speech today in Yangon - I actually saw him passing by in his car after waiting way too many hours - will speed up the democracy process. Go Myanmar! You're worth it.