Myanmar (Burma) - A country like nowhere else!

Shwedagon Paya in the heart of Yangon

The oldest women in the village outside Began

The temple at Mt Poppa, reminds us of something from the Hobbit!

Yangon.
First stop in Myanmar was Yangon. We found the city noisy, polluted, run down and dirty but the people were amazingly kind, helpful, honest and welcoming. We visited the incredible Shwedagon Paya, an overwhelming temple complex of multiple golden stupas, the largest of which is encrusted with thousands of diamonds and jewels. It’s floodlit at night and the glow can be seen all over the city. Sadly Mike got food poisoning and was so sick further exploration was limited and he had a miserable overnight bus ride to our next destination.
Bagan.
We tried to delay our travel but Myanmar has become so popular this year (especially with French tourists) we couldn’t find room in guest houses for another night. The road has been improved so our bus arrived early at 3am, so we had to pound on our guest house doors to get the night watchman to let us in! They were also full but found us a mattress and blankets so we could sleep in the lobby!
The Bagan UNESCO heritage zone covers a 26 square mile area with literally thousands of temples dating back centuries in varying states of repair. It’s similar to Cambodia’s Angkor Wat but less touristy. Many temples have ornate carvings, murals, hidden stairways leading to terraces where you can view amazing sunsets/rises. We rented bikes to explore the closer temples one day and then hired a horse drawn cart for the outlying ones. Our driver also took us to tour a local village where the way of life hasn’t changed for centuries and to a village that specializes in making lacquer ware. We also toured Mount Popa, a tower-like mountain peak topped with temples which the locals consider the sacred home of 37 “nats”. These are the spirits which were worshipped prior to the king demanding a change to Buddhism 1000 years ago. Rather like Catholic saints, there’s a nat for every occasion, including to pray to if a snake enters your home or the one for drunks.

Mandalay and area

Yes, that is a real Python!

Amarapura foot bridge

Hundreds of little Monks around Mandalay.

Amazing sunrises as we Leave Bagan

No central heating and cold in the mountain area of Pyin U Lwin.

From Began we took a 12 hour ferry up the mighty Irrawady river to Mandalay. Again we were less enthusiastic about the noise and pollution in the city, but used it as a centre for good day trips. We went to the ancient capital of Amarapura, now most famous for its pedestrian bridge made in 1849 from over 1000 teak posts, which is on the cover of the Lonely Planets guidebook! Because it was the dry season the lake it crosses was partially dry and the locals were growing crops on the lake bed.
Another day trip was to the temple in Paleik. Here 2 giant pythons have been living on the altar since 1974. Every day at 11am their custodians carry them to a special bathing pool, then tourists can hold them and/or feed them eggs before they slither back to the temple and up to each side of the altar to sleep for the next 23 hours!!!
We decided to escape the heat and humidity of Mandalay to visit the former British hill station at Pyin U Lwin. Little did we realize that once the sun went down it would get down to freezing, which is how we felt in the unheated, uninsulated guest houses! We certainly could have done with our thermal undies! But during the day it was lovely, and we rented bikes to explore the lovely botanical gardens. It’s a centre for growing fruit and veggies. Didn’t think much of the local wines but it was one place where they had excellent coffee shops.

Kalaw -Trekking centre & Inle Lake – Villages built on water!

The morning Market in Kalaw

A village elder from Trish's Trek

Tribes people selling their goods at the Train station

Traditional fishing in Inle Lake

Girls Orphanage at Inle Lake

Next stop was another hill station, Kalaw. Fortunately it was a bit warmer there at night but Mike still bought a touque! It’s a trekking centre. Mike had hurt his knee before we left so couldn’t trek but Trish set off for 2 long day hikes with a local guide. He was over 70 but had lived in the area all his life, spoke all the languages of the local hill tribes and was a wealth of non stop information. We got invited into villagers’ homes for tea and oranges and to meet the latest grandchildren. Very special! The way of life hasn’t changed for centuries. I saw villagers clearing rocks from the bullock path by building a fire over the offending boulder to weaken and crack it, then chipping at it by hand to place homemade dynamite to blow it apart. Further along the route a whole village came out to watch the first backhoe and bulldozer anyone had ever seen. A nearby gold mine was building a road near the village. Wish they could have helped the other guys out too! Kalaw had a weekly market for all the outlying villagers to bring in their produce. There were endless oxcarts and the ladies had a huge variety of clothing and headgear, depending on which tribe they came from.

Our favourite stop was Inle Lake with its villages of houses and pagodas built on stilts over the water. The local Intha people have a unique rowing style using one leg wrapped round the paddle leaving their hands free to manage their fishing nets and traps. There are very few roads so no cars or bikes. Even little kids get around in flat bottomed dugouts which are moored under every house. Fruits and veggies are grown on floating mats of reeds as well as round the houses when the water is low in dry season. We rented a boat for the day and toured the area and visited temples, silversmiths, weavers, and cigar makers. We also stopped at an orphanage and chatted with 4 of the delightful girls living there. Another day we rented bikes to explore back roads to the local villages and markets. There was great excitement amongst the villagers when hot air balloons floated by-, a new tourist venture.

A month in Malaysia

Colonial era building in George Town

Little India in George Town

Chew Jetty 19th Century Chinese water front village

Making a wish during the Chinese NY orange festival

Tradition Hindu building

Penang Malaysia-ethnic diversity
We flew back to Yangon and then Bangkok en route to Malaysia. First stop was Georgetown, another UNESCO heritage site for its mix of colonial, Chinese and Hindu buildings, not to mention the mosques. With so many cultures in a small city it has become renowned for its excellent cuisine. Oh, the delicious curry!!!! We arrived at the end of Chinese New Year celebrations and the beginning of a Hindu festival so there were lots of parades, dance displays, etc. We took the train up Penang Hill and hiked down the steep path from the top to the botanical gardens, seeing lots of monkeys along the way.



Langkawi- A holiday within our travels
We flew to the island of Langkawi, which has some of the best beaches in the area. Meant to stay 4 days but it turned into 8! We met people who’d rented a car so joined them to explore more of the island. We took the gondola up to the highest point from where there’s a skybridge to the next peak. Great views but somewhat freaky as it was windy! Enjoyed a lazy time with walks along the beach, great sunsets and new friends.

I can't stand the crowds!

A perfect sunset

Looking toward our beach in the upper left

One of the best beaches in Lankawi

The main beach in front of  our guesthouse

Cameron Highlands-Strawberries and Tea plantations
Next we all travelled to the Cameron Highlands on the mainland. There steep hillsides are terraced to grow fruit and veggies, often in hydroponic greenhouses, and it’s also famous for its tea plantations. It’s really beautiful, and a welcome respite from the heat and humidity of the coast, although it rained heavily for part of every day. And did we mention possibly the best strawberries we’ve ever tasted??!! They are so famous the town is full of strawberry themed souvenirs. Anyone for huge strawberry shaped hats, strawberries on fluffy slippers, T shirts, keyrings, you name it!!! You can tour the tea plantations and factory and learn all about tea production. Sadly the local brand is not available in Canada, except chez Vanderbeck until our supply runs out!!!

Strawberries to die for!

All veg's grown above ground

One of the major Tea plantations

Every mtn side is cultivated

Tea growing on the hillsides

Batu Ferringhi- The beach area of Penang
We returned to Penang via bus and ferry and went to the main beach area, Batu Ferringhi, about an hour’s bus ride outside Georgetown. It’s popular with tourists from the Arabic Gulf States and we were surprised to find more women on the beach in burkhas than bathing suits. (There were western tourists but they tended to stay in the very expensive resorts with pools.) Even more surprising was seeing the burkha clad women going parasailing and jetskiing! Actually it turned out that being fully covered when swimming was a good idea as we were there when they had an influx of jellyfish. We weren’t stung but it certainly discouraged more than a quick dip to cool off, especially as the water was too churned up to see them. We also explored the nearby national park from where Mike managed a hike around the coastline to a lovely beach from where we were able to hire a boat to take us back.

Parachuting in a full Burka

Monkey Beach - A 90 minute hike thru the local national park

Our own little  bit of paradise

Monkey Beach