Many cars and motorcycles roared past us long this mountain road to get to the site of the fire balloon festival. We preferred to rest at the 22-mile stop, to eat breakfast. Pyin Oo Lwin Road, which is part of the Muse-Mandalay highway, is quite an adventure. After passing through the road with its many zigzags, we finally reached the misty Pyin Oo Lwin.
Maha Ant Htoo Kan Thar Pagoda, also known as Pyi Chit Pagoda, was crowded with pilgrims on the morning of the full moon day of Tazaungmone, which fell on Sunday (November 17). The pagoda’s compound was crowded with people enjoying the scenery and taking photos. When we arrived at Kandawgyi Botanical Garden in the afternoon, the sun was dazzling: it felt as though climate change had not even spared central Myanmar. Pyin Oo Lwin’s famous Kandawgyi, still beautiful under the bright sunlight, was also crowded with visitors from all over the country as well as foreign tourists. Everyone sprayed with water from the fountains in the middle of the lake felt refreshed.
“We came to Kandawgyi to rest while having our lunch. Kandawgyi has abundant water and many good shady spots, so we stayed here a bit longer,” said a lecturer from Meiktila University of Economics.
“It is very crowded in Kandawgyi today. It’s more crowded than during the Thingyan Water Festival. The problem is that there aren’t many trashcans in the park, even though it has many places to rest. We wanted to throw away our take-out containers but couldn’t find a trash can so we had to pile them down in a suitable place. We saw a lot of litter on the ground, all over the place, because visitors can’t find trashcans. It’s too bad. Putting up signs that warn people not to litter is not enough. Trash cans need to be put in many places.”
The professor added that there weren’t enough restrooms, either; that the only one was located at the top of the hill. “That’s not convenient when it is crowded, and the restaurants don’t have good restrooms. There should be more restrooms in Kandawgyi.”
After the sky turned cloudy, the heat faded and we could feel the cool air arise from the lake.
“I brought two foreigners with me as they wanted to visit [Nanmyint] Tower. But we weren’t allowed to go up the tower because of singer Lin Lin’s concert. The foreigners were very disappointed,” said a tour guide. “I didn’t know how to handle it. It took us an hour and a half to reach Nanmyint Tower from the entrance gate. The foreigners were pretty pissed off when they found out that they could only visit the tower after the concert was over. This shouldn’t happen.”
After the tour guide finished speaking, one of the foreigners said it was a waste of time for him.
As it was a crowded, full moon day and many vehicles were parked inside the garden, it took us an hour and a half to reach the entrance gate on our way out. I saw some foreigners among the crowd in the entrance gate to Maha Ant Htoo Kan Thar Fire Balloon Field.
“This year’s Fire Balloon Festival in Pyin Oo Lwin is very crowded. Visitors come to Pyin Oo Lwin because it’s too crowded in Taunggyi. The prices have risen during the festival. I had to pay Ks 3,000 (US$ 3) for the parking fee. At first I was planning to go to Taunggyi, but I came to Pyin Oo Lwin instead because of the bomb alerts and too many crowds at the Taunggyi Tazaungdaine Festival,” said Ko Moe, a vendor from Zeycho market in Mandalay.
After I arrived at the fire balloon field, I sat down with some people who were leisurely watching the fire balloons released into the sky. Some fire balloons were successfully released into the hazy night sky, while a few others burned down and fizzled out just near the ground. The weather turned quite chilly as the hours passed by.
As one has to go home in the end, I said my goodbyes as the midnight mist enveloped the famous Pyin Oo Lwin. The full moon continued to shine brightly as it guided us on our way back home.
source: Eleven Myanmar
No comments:
Post a Comment