A few months ago, I set out to go to Myanmar for a couple of weeks with my husband, at a very short notice and without any planning. Major elements about this trip made me cringe.
First of all, I am not a fan of short travel trips. It always feels rushed and superficial, more than often it’s not giving the opportunity to connect with locals and get off the beaten track. In my idealised first trip to Myanmar, we would have spent 3 months at minimum, spending extended periods of time in silent retreats in monasteries. Alas, we did not have time and the human world is not perfecting itself these days. By allowing enough time there, I also had a wish to understand the current Rohingya crisis from the people’s standpoint outside the conflict zone. What do they think of it, what are their feelings, as human beings but foremost as buddhists, about the horrific treatment of the Rohingya people by the military. Getting to know people’s view on that would be very challenging in 2 week’s time. These are not questions to be asked out of the blue if you want to get honest answers.
The other element bothering me was actually to unknowingly and unwillingly supporting the military by visiting the country and participating in the tourism economy. Avoiding internal flights was one thing (all airlines have a link or another with the military) – but what about all these fees for “archeological zones” and the likes, what were we funding really? Having my humanitarian friend Alexa sharing dire reports from the Kutupalong refugee camp situation on the other side of the border made me feel even more queasy [Read Alexa’s account of the situation at the camp]. Shall we really go there to tour the country given the situation? I thought about the beautiful ancient buddhist tradition of the Burmese people. All the Loving Kindness Burmese yogis who had nothing to do with the wrongdoings being committed, and all the normal people across the country surely living their lives the best they could. And so we went…Here are below a few of the pictures that I believe capture a tiny bit of the essence of this otherwise amazing country.
The feelings of peace and tranquility emanating from these shall not take you away from the atrocities committed in the Rakhine state against the Rohingya people. If you don’t know what’s happening over there, read this run down by National Geographic. There are plenty of organisations you can donate to support relief and political pressure efforts.
Action against hunger – focus: nutrition, health, sanitation and hygiene
Donate to Amnesty International – focus: human rights
Donate to Doctors without borders – focus: health
Adventure. Inle Lake is a freshwater lake located 880 meters above sea level in Shan State, Myanmar. Fishermen and taxi boats roam its 116 km2 area and live in wooden houses on poles on the edge of the lake itself, only accessible by boat. I took this picture while on a mountain bike trip, going across the lake instead to avoid circumventing it completely. It was the best feeling in the world, going out of the little village on poles to reach the lake open waters at high speeds!
Cat nap with the monks at the wooden temple. — As I was visiting this temple in a small village near Inle Lake, a Monk was silently teaching young novices and writing on a black board, a kitten peacefully sleeping in the morning sun coming through the majestic round windows which unveiled the leafy surrounds. I took this shot from a distance as to not disturb this magical moment, not including the children in the frame to respect their privacy as I would not want to disturb to ask their permission. It is generally discouraged to ask monks for pictures in Myanmar.
Little Buddha. In this temple near Inle lake, dozens of little Buddhas that have been donated are sitting quietly in their mini caves in the walls. The names of the donators are carefully written below the statues
Beauty is often in the details, we have to pay attention. This one comes from an old wooden Monastery wall in the Inle region.
Light shining through old stones always seems so mysterious. They are estimated to be over 2000 years old.
Old man at his workshop
Hot air balloon and sunrises are a famous combo in Bagan but are very expensive and operated by British pilots. While breathtaking, seemed way too touristy for us.
Contemplative Monkey at Mount Poppa
Between the 11th and 13th centuries, over 10,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries were constructed in the Bagan plains alone, of which the remains of over 2,200 temples and pagodas still survive to the present day. Every Pagoda has at least 1 if not 4 Buddha statues – that is an enormous number of Buddhas sitting there 🤔😯
Myanmar is famous for its lacquerware craftsmanship. It takes many layers of lacquer (the sap of the lacquer tree) and many days to wait until each one of them dry to make a final product. The more layers the better quality, up to 20 layers can sometimes be applied.
Plastic waste is at every corner of the world and Myanmar is no exception. The opening to the Western culture of disposables items and the lack of garbage and recycling infrastructure make things worst or rather, more visible.
The biggest fishes of the whole market. Fresh water fishes and poultry are commonly used in traditional Burmese cuisine.
The poetry of a hot air balloon passing across the rising sun. At Old Bagan.
Light shining through old stones always seems so mysterious.
Candle lights at Shwedagon pagoda in Yangoon.
Buddha statue in one of the many temples in Old Bagan
Because of boycotts against the previous military government, the Bagan region’s tourism infrastructure is still quite modest by international standards. We went with a local fisherman to grab views of the sunset on the Irrawaddy river.
Morning market
Sisterhood
Friendship
Crows are ubiquitous in Yangoon, especially when there is trash to scavenge. In the background, the Pagoda’s silhouette.
The city has developed rapidly since the country opened for tourism again, with run down buildings as the witnesses of it all.
Proud young Myanmar girls are excited to have their photo taken.
Beautiful strangers make the best models
We were naively surprised to discover that buddhist people of Myanmar were absolutely not vegetarians, at all. This tomato salad is one of the rare tasty vegetarian dishes we encountered.
Tamarind flakes, one of the greatest delicacies we’ve tasted over there!
This churros looking thing is actually fried bread and is very common for breakfast
Good bye for now!
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