Myanmar (Burma)

I arrived at the airport in Mandalay and all the lights were out to save on electricity, I pass ox drawn carriages along the road leading into the city...I've arrived in a completely different country than anywhere I've ever been. I go out for a late night dinner and realize I'm the only lone women in the whole town, my flashlight comes in handy since they never turn on the street lights - I think maybe I shouldn't be out on my own after dark. In daylight the next morning I awake to a very "alive" city, men all wearing long skirts tied in the front (longyi) and women with ground sandalwood paste applied to their cheeks...some randomly applied, some in elaborate leaf patterns. Their hair is so long, I wonder if they women here have ever gone a haircut in their lives, they wear white flowers in their hair that contrast gloriously with their black shiny tresses, and I find myself somewhat jealous. :)

I become friends with a sweet cyclo driver who shows me around for the next 4 days, takes me to see a Myanmar movie (which was funny even though it wasn't a comedy), and shows me the best restaurants in the city. We climbed Mandalay Hill, visit the ancient cities a bit out of town, walk across the 1.2km long wooden U Bein's Bridge, and fix a few flat tires along the way. After 4 days and I'm ready to leave the next morning, he professes his love for me and asks me to stay (forever!). I must say, I never saw it coming and it took me by surprise and filled me with sadness that I had to break his very fragile heart.

I take a boat from Mandalay to Bagan, it isn't the most scenic journey but I'm happy and content in my cushioned chair that reclines. I may have tried to enjoy it more if I only knew this would be the only comfortable (and seemingly safe) journey I'd take the entire time in this country. I rented a bicycle and easily explored the many temples scattered across Bagan. Everywhere you look you can see a ridiculous number of pagodas and temples from the 10th to 12th century. The sunsets here viewed from the top of a temple are beautiful, but the dust and smoke in the air from the yearly crop-burning makes it a bit too hazy and the red sun always seems to set into the haze and disappears rather than setting into the horizon.

After about 10 days in Myanmar, I start to notice that everyone sings here. They sing at the hotel when they are serving breakfast and cleaning rooms. People sing while riding their bicycles, singe while shopping in the sense-exploding markets. Although I don't understand a word, I find it soothing to overhear. People here seem happy, but every chance they get when no one is around to overhear, their expression changes as they tell me about the "bad government", they corruption, the way they hope for a democratic future where they have freedom of speech. They never mention Aung San Suu Kyi's name, but always refer to her as "the lady" and look into your eyes and wait for your nod to make sure you understand which lady they mean. I met a man who spent 3 months in jail for posting anti-government statements on websites, I met someone who showed me a photo of "the lady" his father gave to him and carries around in his wallet. I met a restaurant owner fearful of losing his business if a German tourist reported his neighbour's dog biting her on his property to the police (after he took her to the hospital and covered all the costs). I asked myself so many questions while I traveled here. How do they all seem so happy with their government in shambles, their lack of freedom, their fear of speaking about what they believe in, their government's goal to keep them uneducated so that they will not go against the regime. They are happy, they are hopeful, they sing while riding on bicycles and making beds.

The bus journey from Bagan to Shan State was "an experience". If the bus driver started to laugh an evil laugh and look back at us all with a scary grin I would have though for sure (100%) that I was in the middle of a horror movie where we were going to be driven off a mountain at full speed by a psychotic crazy man. His eyes were locked on the road though and his hand constantly on the horn, with a foot like a brick on the gas, but I'm pretty sure he thought he was having an imaginary race against something. 11 hours - sitting sideways because there is not enough room to sit straight, a kid sleeping on my lap, 45 degrees outside but the windows are closed to not let the clouds of dirt on the road inside (and no, of course there was no A/C). There were just as many people standing in the aisle as there were people sitting in seats. Personal space is not a concept here. The road was so horrible that I think I was airborne in my seat for most of the journey (and somehow that kid still managed to sleep on my lap though it all). I almost kissed the ground when it was all over. I'm pretty sure I was not overreacting at the danger of it all since I later learned a few days after I arrived, a bus did in fact go off the side of a mountain and 18 people died. This was the start of a whole bunch of similar bus accidents I heard during my time in Myanmar (which later on in my trip, made me opt for a plane ticket to Yangon instead of taking an 18+ hour bus ride - a decision I'm still thanking myself for, even though the domestic planes go down often too..but mine didn't).

Happy to be in one spot for a while, I take a boat to explore the floating villages, farms, temples, and markets at Inle Lake. I watch in amazement at the fishermen rowing with their leg so that they have both hands free to cast their nets. I trek 3 days in Shan State, 1 day in Kalaw and 2 days near Inle, sleeping over a Pao Hill Tribe's family home at the top of a mountain. 8 hours of hiking per day, hiking up and down mountains with some of the most gorgeous scenery and through several simple yet endearing villages. We stop for food and naps in some villages along the way, they welcome my guide and I like long lost relatives and cook us way too much food. The children who have never laid eyes on a white person before are scared and hide behind their mothers. It feels like the entire village came over to watch me eat their local food and stare, the children peeking their heads around doors and windows or their parents legs. I am lucky my guide speaks Pao language so he can translate between us.

After the very quick 1 hour plane ride to Yangon, I meet a monk at a temple almost as soon as I arrive. He turned into a great guide of the city and good friend as well. I even visit his monastery to see how he lives and meet some of his friends. He is a fan of idioms and would come out with random things like "I'm over the moon" every now and then which would catch me off-guard (as he is trying to learn English). We ride on crazy local buses together, go to the markets, see some white elephants and lots of temples. His smile is contagious and he is funny as hell, even when he isn't intending to be.

It seems everyone I meet in Myanmar is baffled why I'm not married at 25 and more baffled about why I'm travelling on my own. Their look of sadness when I tell them these 2 bits of information is like they found out I had some incurable disease or something so horrific and sad that they suddenly feel like they need to take care of me. I've had (a few!) women lead me by the hand across the street to their homes for soup and a cold drink only 5 minutes after meeting them on the street. I've had people give me way too many gifts - a picture of a nat spirit (to bring good luck), a wooden carved dragon, a stone turtle, an expensive purple amethyst gem, a wooden bracelet, a Buddhist book that was 1/2 in English and 1/2 in Burmese. Their genuine kindness and friendliness is a gift in itself, making me see the goodness in people even though they are surrounded by chaos and live in a country run by a suppressive military regime. The learning on this trip of mine has never stopped for an instant. This is one of the most amazing countries I have been to on this trip and I am so happy I decided to see it now before it changes too much with Western influences. I am hopeful as well as many people in Myanmar that the political situation changes soon, I hope it comes true.