BAGAN, Myanmar — The rising sun streaked a light
blanket of fog with pink and yellow. Suddenly, pagodas popped out from
the mist, some grand and intricate, others squat and modest, some
crumbling, others glinting with gold — a carousel of Buddhist temples
amid fields of sesame, tamarind and scrub.
If not for a monolithic red brick silo in the middle of this scene, you
could almost imagine yourself in the 11th century, when the ancient city
of Bagan was home to the first kingdom of Burma.
But the silo, with an exclusive restaurant and viewing platform, towers
above the temples in the country now called Myanmar. The structure was
built in 2003 by a crony of the generals who have run Myanmar for
decades. The modern building is a major reason the ancient temples were
denied world heritage status by the United Nations.
This is the magic and folly of Myanmar. Closed off for years by a
repressive, corrupt military reign, much of the country seems lost in
time and truly untouched by signs of globalization like fast food
chains. Women here still chalk their faces with thanaka, a paste made
from tree bark. Men wear longyi, wraparound skirts gracefully knotted at
the waist. Monks carry begging bowls through town in the early morning
ritual of seeking food.
But now that the government is opening Myanmar to the outside world,
tourists are rushing to experience the country before it changes. While
numbers remain small, they are increasing: About 260,000 arrivals from
January to October 2012 compared to 175,000 in the same period in 2011.
Tours frequently sell out and start-up airlines are sprouting up.
Foreign cell phones won’t work here and credit cards are rarely accepted
(though tourists can use Visa and MasterCard to change local currency
at private banks), but Western attire is now seen in cities and
“O’Burma” T-shirts showed up after President Obama’s recent visit.
There’s also a palpable sense of possibility and change, making it an
exciting time to visit. The Governor’s Residence hotel in Yangon
recently set up a screen on the lawn for guests to watch Luc Besson’s
“The Lady,” a film about Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize winner
and liberation heroine whom the government released in 2010 after 15
years of house arrest. The film screening would have been unheard of two
years ago.
Barbed wire still tops the wall around Suu Kyi’s home, a must drive-by
in Yangon, formerly Rangoon, which was Myanmar’s capital until the
military built a new capital two hours away.
Yangon is also home to Myanmar’s most famous temple: the 320-foot tall
(97 meters) Shwedagon Pagoda, whose golden dome is visible throughout
much of the city. Its tiers are plated in gold, studded with diamonds,
and capped by an orb bearing 4,500 diamonds, with a single 76-carat
diamond on top.
Families and pilgrims spend the day at the pagoda spreading out rugs and
meals they’ve packed, alternately worshipping and chatting — the social
equivalent of parks and malls in the United States. The temple’s
origins are said to date back some 2,500 years, but it has been rebuilt
over the centuries, and is encircled by hundreds of smaller temples,
shrines and pavilions. Halos on many Buddhas in smaller shrines bear
flashing electric lights, which are disliked by traditionalists but
appeal to the young.
While the Shwedagon is the star attraction in Yangon, Bagan and Inle
Lake are the two most entrancing areas to visit elsewhere in the
country. But Yangon’s colonial architecture is also notable. Crumbling
and neglected, the buildings nonetheless recall an era when Rangoon was a
bustling port.
They also represent one of the largest remaining examples of original
British colonial architecture. Advocates are pushing for their
restoration but critics fear they’ll be replaced by high-rises.
Downtown Yangon is also home to sidewalk stalls selling tasty street
food, fresh-rolled leaves of betel nut to chew (which stains teeth and
sidewalks red), books and phone service (not mobile phones, but land
lines you can rent to make calls). Pick up local handicrafts, a longyi,
or well-priced lacquerware and antiques at the sprawling British-era
Scott Market. Ubiquitous teahouses offer multiple choices of strength,
sweetness and milkiness. During the most heinous periods of military
rule, the teahouses served as a pipeline of communication for activists,
journalists and dissidents.
Not many Western tourists venture to Mandalay: It’s flat, dusty and
traffic-congested, despite the romance attached to its name. Even
Rudyard Kipling, who wrote the poem “On the Road to Mandalay,” never
went there. But it’s a vibrant commercial and internal transportation
hub. (Suu Kyi was recently spotted at the airport and wildly cheered.)
Mandalay also teems with monasteries and ancient culture, including the
Mahamyatmuni pagoda, which shelters the country’s second-most famous
Buddha image, an enormous seated Buddha. Here, you can watch pilgrims
applying wisp-thin sheets of gold to the Buddha (something only men are
allowed to do).
So much is applied that statues at some temples become unrecognizable
blobs of gold. As at the most-visited temples, colorful craft and
knick-knack stands line the entry halls, their owners calling out
“ming-ga-la-ba” (welcome and hello) as you pass by.
At monasteries like Mahagandayone, you can witness the morning meal
procession. Access to the monasteries is so wide open throughout the
country that visitors can stroll through and see close up how the monks
live, from meal preparation to laundry. For shoppers, Mandalay is a
center for traditional crafts, including wood carving, silverware,
gold-leafing and tapestries.
Southeast of Mandalay is Inle Lake, where members of the Intha ethnic
group use boats to tend their crops on floating gardens. Others fish in
small dugout boats, casting nets while using one leg to steer in a
Kabuki-like ballet. White egrets and birdsong are a constant, with the
occasional kingfisher, flamboyant in green and blue. Intha women, their
hair twined in scarves balanced atop their heads, sell produce in roving
markets that move among the villages. Hotels, shops and restaurants on
stilts dot the lakesides. Getting around requires a launghle, a long
motorized canoe.
How the opening up of Myanmar will affect its rich unique culture and
traditions is an issue of much discussion, and a major reason for the
current tourist stampede. “I had to come see the real Burma before it
gets spoiled,” one Australian visitor said over breakfast as his fellow
travelers nodded.
Yet experts and local tour guides point out that what little has been
done to preserve and restore the ancient temples and sites has been at
best amateurish and at worst destructive. Even Suu Kyi has spoken out
about the faulty restorations, saying last year: “One cannot just go
about restoring the temples using modern material and without adhering
to the original styles.”
A case in point: Hundreds of centuries-old, crumbling cone-shape temples
called zedi at Inndein, near Inle Lake, lean haphazardly, trees
sprouting from some. Local villagers speed their ruin by removing stones
for use elsewhere, including building new zedi.
“Every time I come here, there are fewer of them,” said San San Myint, a
tour guide with a deep love of her country’s history and traditions.
“It makes me so sad. I worry that one day they will be gone.”
If You Go...
Myanmar tours: Many travel companies offer guided tours and can make
hotel, visa, flight and other arrangements, which are difficult to
manage from outside the country. Options include Destination Asia,
http://www.destination-asia.com/myanmar/tours/ and Overseas Adventure
Travel, http://www.destination-asia.com/myanmar/tours/ , which is also launching a small cruise tour. Backroads is starting biking and hiking tours, http://www.backroads.com .
Tips:
—Learn about the military’s role in siphoning off the country’s
wealth. Ask tour companies which hotels and airlines are owned by the
government or by cronies of the military. Two noteworthy hotels not
owned by the government are The Governor’s Residence, in Yangon, a
colonial teak masterpiece in the lush embassy area, and the Villa Inle
Resort, beautifully furnished lakeside bungalows with a good restaurant.
A small chain of restaurants called The Green Elephant serves good
Burmese cuisine.
—Dress code for temple visits: No bare arms or shoulders, no shorts or
short skirts. Signs warn: “No spaghetti dresses.” You must remove your
shoes, so bring sandals or slip-ons.
—Magical dusk and dawn balloon rides over Bagan are worth the $300 cost but usually sell out, so sign up in advance.
—Few places accept credit cards. Those that do charge hefty transaction
fees. Best exchange rates are at the airport; for changing US dollars,
bring crisp $100 bills. You can often pay locally in dollars instead of
kyat (pronounced chaat).
—Foreign cell phones don’t work in Myanmar but you can rent local phones
at the airport. Larger hotels have intermittent Internet service.
—Take mosquito repellent.
—Look for indigenous handicrafts such as lacquerware, made from bamboo
or from horsehair, in Bagan. At Inle Lake, you can buy scarves made from
the silk of lotus blossoms. – AP
source: Saudi Gazette
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20130112149020
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