We arrived the same evening in lush southern Thailand with a temperature of 85-ish.
The main open air lobby
The grounds
Our villa
Inside our villa
Our front porch views
Wild orchids growing everywhere
The beach-side pool and restaurant
Our beach front benches with Buddy enjoying the view
Enjoying an afternoon snack of grilled peanuts with garlic and lemongrass and cold drinks...
The beautiful beach
A small fishing boat
Local fisher-women...who were actually catching fish
With lovely hand made hats
We'd watch this monitor lizard cross in front of our beach benches every day coming and going...
This woman is making ice cream in the small town of Khao Lak--it was yummy
A lovely sunset
Dinner on the beach
The harbor where we boarded a speed boat to go to the Similan Islands snorkeling on Thanksgiving Day. We had much to be thankful for.
Our guide
10,673 kms is ~6,632 miles! Everyone says it's such a small world, but this makes it seem big, doesn't it?
Our speed boat which held about 40 tourists
Snorkeling out in the Similan Islands in turquoise warm waters...
Lovely beaches and water, but too many tourists for our liking and this wasn't even high season...
After our lovely week in Thailand, we flew to the intriguing neighboring country of Myanmar, formally known as Burma, once under British rule from 1824-1948. Independence was gained in 1948, and a military coup took over the country in 1962 and ruled until 2011 when a new constitution was adopted.
Myanmar is comparable in size to the state of Texas with nearly 53 million people (compared to 28M in Texas). It lies south of China, east of India and west of Thailand (in red below). Roughly 88% of the total population claim to be Buddhist, 7% claim to be Christians, 4% Muslim and 1% other.
Myanmar has had its share of conflict and to this day continues to struggle with civil war, environmental issues, genocide, human trafficking, child labor and human rights. Despite these setbacks, we found the country beautiful and fascinating and the people to be extremely friendly. We felt safe and really loved our short 1-week visit...see what you think.
We took the 1-hour flight from Bangkok, Thailand to Yangon, the capital, and met up with a good friend of Aly's who is currently working here. Together with David we toured the city...
One day, we took a walking tour visiting the downtown business district, with the Sule Pagoda (~2,600 years old) roundabout as our starting point. We learned the difference between a pagoda and a temple--a pagoda is a solid structure which cannot be entered, but a temple is a place of worship which can be entered. Many people pray and/or ask for blessings around pagodas as well as in temples. This particular pagoda is important to the Buddhist religion, as it is believed that a strand of hair of Buddha is enshrined in the structure itself.
Across the street from the Sule Pagoda is the Maha Bandula Park with lovely fountains
Yangon City Hall
Yangon Regional Court building
Independence Monument
Yangon Stock Exchange
Lovely architecture for a bank
One of the older buildings in town, mixed in with the newer more modern
A young Myanmar...the yellowish-white on his face is in fact, a paste like 'paint', derived from local trees and is called Thanaka which has been used by Myanmar women for well over 2,000 years. This 'paint' is used as not only a sunscreen, but also as a cosmetic beauty aid.
Everywhere we looked was interesting street food
All made from rice--sweet and savory
Looks like french toast to us...
Uh, no thank you...fried crickets...I'm sure high in protein, but no thanks...
Lots of kebobs
From every part of the animal...urgh....
But many vegetarian options as well...
This nice man offered us samples of every one of his tasty Indian type snacks...and so cheap...
Afternoon tea...
Fresh veggie stands were everywhere
And the beautiful fresh fruit
Local transport
Taxi-bike drivers--note their wraps...most men and women wear them, they are very colorful for women and more subtle for men. They are referred to as 'longyi'.
Downtown residential streets
Longyi for women
OMG! Ya think maybe a bit of a tap on the electrical grid?
Neighborhood shots
Cable and wifi for almost every apartment
Lovely orchids growing amongst the masses
We happened to be visiting Yangon the day the Pope came to town and these folks wore their traditional outfits adorned with heavy silver in hopes of catching a glimpse of the Catholic father
Heavy and HOT in 90 degree heat
The Shwedagon Pagoda, standing 326 feet tall is considered the most sacred Buddhist pagoda in Myanmar as history has it that relics from 4 past Buddha's are enshrined here. 2,600 years old
The city from David's apartment
A rest--atop one of the city's rooftop bars
Yangon, the night sky...
After 2 days in Yangon, we took the 1-hour flight north to the center of the country to the land of the thousands, literally, pagodas and temples, Bagan. Bagan the ancient capital of Myanmar, is today a tourist mecca and one of the richest archaeological sites in south-east Asia. Back in its heyday, between the 11th and 13th centuries, over 10,000 Buddhist temples and pagodas dotted the hillsides in the Bagan area, with over 2,200 still standing today. Take a look for yourself:
Waking up on our 1st day in Bagan, the sky was filled with hot air balloons.
After breakfast, we visited the local, very colorful market place with beautiful people...
From the market, our guide, Phyo, took us pagoda and temple sight-seeing on the e-scooters we renter...what a fabulous way to see the hundreds of sites for ~$3/scooter/day.
Shwezigon Pagoda, built in 1102
Beautiful...
With temples and pagodas even all the way across the river on the hilltops
E-scooter riders
Oxen feeding between rides with ceremonial umbrellas (as they are referred to) in the distance
Our lunch stop--Bravo restaurant
Phyo and Buddy at lunch
Yummy rice with egg and a good cold beer, cold water and hot tea...
If you don't like the e-scooter, this is an option of travel in Bagan...
Ananda Temple, one of the most famous temples in Bagan built in 1105--beautiful all around...
This woman wanted a photo with Aly--with our shoes off--as in every temple for respect
Another means of travel--oxen cart
Amongst the temples and pagodas, small working villages scattered the area
Along the banks of the Irrawaddy River
A lovely window to the Irrawaddy
Dhammayangyi Temple built between 1167-1170--the largest of all temples in Bagan
That Byin Nyu Temple built in 1150
Another horse drawn carriage means of transport
Sulamani Temple built in 1183
Lovely artisan roadside displays
With beautiful umbrellas
And puppets for sale
Dhammayangyi Temple in full sun
Lying down Buddah inside the temple
Gawdawpalin Temple built between 1211-1235
Sunset in Bagan
A wonderfully carved hippo in the lobby of our hotel, the Zfreeti...
Day 2 we drove 1 hour from Bagan to Mount Popa, an extinct volcano standing 4,981 feet above sea level. Atop the 777 steps is the Popa Taungkalat Monestary which is considered one of the most popular pilgrimage sites in all of Myanmar.
At the base of the steps is a small lively village
The stairs protected from the weather
Wares for the tourists
Lovely women with fruit for sale...
Buddy wanted to test the weight and found them to be between 60-80 lbs. We helped lighten their load by purchasing some delicious tangerines and crisp apples.
Roadside rest
These are some strong women
On the way back to Bagan, we stopped at a roadside palm sugar factory producing really strong Palm Wine and Palm alcohol and delicious sweets. Stilling alcohol.
Cooking down the palm syrup for the candy they make.
A traditional Myanmar tea/nut mid afternoon sampler--very delicious with nuts, sesame and greens.
We then stopped at a working village with women doing much of the work.
Cutting herbs for the livestock
Weaving longyi for men and women
A family affair--the well spoken daughter is shelling peanuts, her mother is spinning yarn and her auntie is smoking fresh tobacco which they grow on their land.
Our final stop was a lacquer factory, employing men and women who make delicate lacquer ware. These women are the final step in the production, hand carving and coloring the pieces for sale.
After a full day of sights out of Bagan, the light was perfect for a couple more pagoda shots.
A stop for an afternoon beer
Along the banks of the Irrawaddy...thank you Bagan...
Day 3 we returned to Yangon to spend our final night in Myanmar. One week is definitely not enough time for this amazing country. We were intrigued by not only the history and culture, but by the people themselves. Our final flight out of Yangon, returning to Bangkok, with the city and the Yangon river below.
