Mingalaba means hello, goodbye, welcome and all sorts of auspicious wishes in the Burmese language. I used it as often as I could, but inevitably got "hello" or "goodbye" in English in return!
I'm not really sure how to begin to describe what could possibly be the most beautiful place on earth. A Swiss woman who has lived in Myanmar for the last 9 years told me she always describes leaving the country for Europe as returning to the "real world" but I can't help but think that Myanmar is actually the real world - a world of deep spirituality, of modesty, respect and good manners and of the great joy of humanity. Politics aside, it's an amazing country and although I spent only a short time there, I feel as though I've seen a lot, learned a lot and fell completely in love with the place.
Anyway, not knowing where to begin, I think that perhaps the beginning is a good start...
After a 10 and a half hour flight, a short stop-over at Bangkok Airport and another hour and a half flight, I arrived at Yangon airport. Noticible was the lack of armed soldiers, something I was used to seeing in European airports. I was also expecting my luggage to be searched, but only noticed a body temperature scanner as I passed through the gates. Once I collected my bags, I was quickly approached by a taxi driver who offered to take me to my hotel for US$5.
We had been advised that credit cards are not accepted in Myanmar, due to the sanctions imposed by the US government and in fact, it is quite impossible to find any bank or institution that will accept them. Apparently a Swiss Visa clearing house was recently shut down and this makes traveling in the country a little trickier than it already is. As a result, I had to carry a rather large amount of cash in small denominations which made me a little uncomfortable, but I was soon to get over that.
Twenty minutes later, I arrived at the pretty Pansea in the embassy quarter of Yangon (formerly Rangoon) and it was in this area (and only here) that I began to see armed guards. The Pansea itself is a beautiful hotel, and at US$168 a night, one of the most expensive in the country, but since I only needed to pay for 2 nights (coming and going), I decided to treat myself. The first night, unfortunately, was a little wasted as I went straight to bed after dinner as I needed to be back at the airport for the flight to Mandalay at 7am the next morning.
I quickly recognised two of my traveling companions from my cousin's description and made my acquaintance. The one is a reflexologist from the Bahamas accompanied by her mother who also lives and works in Nassau. The next morning (unbeknownest to me at the time), I also ran into two more couples that I would get to know well on the trip - one from Sidney, the other from New Zealand and both long time friends and associates of my hosts.
Our next stop was Mandalay - where the flyin' fishes play*!
To be continued...
*from a well-known and somewhat disrespectful (in my opinion at least) Kipling poem...
Posted by Lisa at November 12, 2003 06:24 PM