When I retired 10+ years ago Yvonne told me I needed a hobby. My golf game was not good enough so I decided to try to see more of the world. Surprisingly we had visited 60 plus countries during my working years so I set a goal of visiting 75 countries before I turned 75 or 80 before turning 80 years old. At the time I thought that would be a tough goal. The goal was surprisingly easy to reach and a few years ago I restated my goal to be 101 countries (with no age limitations). I chose 101 as 100 was too obvious a goal.
My quest has been completed. Myanmar was country #101 on my “Countries Visited List”. There is a bit of fudging here as some places I count as a country (like Azores, or Aruba) are truly not official countries on the UN list of countries. They are territories of other countries. In this example the Azores are part of Portugal and Aruba is owned by the Netherlands.
I inferred I would quit after reaching 101, but….. I am still able to travel and the world continues to intrigue me, so I will probably continue to add countries to my list, but not as my prime objective. There are many places in the US, Mexico and Canada that we have not visited or wish to revisit. I once said I wanted to see all the national parks in the US. Maybe that can be my new goal. There are also wonderful places in Europe that I would love to revisit(France, Ireland, Prague, Poland). I will simply let serendipity guide my future destinations.
On this trip I heard a compelling quote: “Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer!” I totally agree.
Our guide and driver picked us up at 5:15 AM and the hotel had prepared box breakfasts for us. Although we made excellent time getting to the airport we were surprised at how many people were on the road even at this early hour.
We said our goodbyes to Gerry and Sue as they were flying back to Chicago via Tokyo while we are retracing our flight via China. Our 2 plus hour flight for Guangzhou left on time. As we emerged from our plane in Guangzhou we were met by a young man with our name on a sign who acted as our transfer agent, leading us through the steps needed to clear immigration and ultimately taking us to the business class lounge where we would wait for our next flight. Nice touch!
Flower arrangements at Bangkok airport
Our VIP van to our plane!
Where are the exits? Staff was very friendly, better than US based airlines.
Map of our 11+ hour journey to Vancouver.
Filet for dinner!
Unfortunately we learned our flight to Vancouver was going to be delayed by two hours, meaning we will miss our flight to Seattle. I called Alaska Airlines (using Skype) who told me that China Southern is responsible for rebooking us. I talked to the local agent who said she would alert their Vancouver rep about the issue. Hopefully it will be resolved by the time we get there.
We did depart after the two hour delay (it was a maintenance issue) and we arrived in Vancouver just as our scheduled flight to Seattle left. The good news is we were met at the airline door by a representative of China Southern who told us we were booked on an Air Canada flight leaving in two hours and our luggage was noted and will be on our flight. We were directed to the local agent for Air Canada who promptly issued our boarding passes and assured us that our luggage will be on our plane. Now that is service! Friends later told me that we got “special” service because we were flying business class. I wonder? If it were the case it was worth the money we spent for the tickets.
The flight to Seattle went smoothly; and indeed our luggage arrived with us. It was cool and rainy when we landed but it felt good after all that heat and humidity we had in Bangkok. We retrieved our car and in a couple of hours were safely home on Miller Bay. We even managed to stay up a few hours before heading to bed, hoping to get back on a regular sleep schedule ASAP.
Reflections on the trip:
Gerry said the trip would be on his “top 10” list. I think I would agree. Experiencing these 1,000 year old temples was something. Yes, we saw a lot of Buddhist temples but that is no different then seeing all those churches when you visit Europe.
My favorite site was Inle Lake, Myanmar. I think it might have been everyone’s favorite because of its diversity and beauty. Bagan and Angkor Wat are certainly high on the “to do” list. Would I go back? No, because there are other places I would want to see first.
The people of these countries were truly friendly and welcoming (something to be said for following the tenets of Buddhism?). I felt safer there than I have in many other places in the world I have visited.
The weather was pleasant except for the last few days in Bangkok.
Yes, the food was repetitive but it was healthy eating and there were ample opportunities to feed our cravings with other cuisines.
Prices were much lower than we have experienced when visiting many other parts of the world. It is a cheap place to visit.
Having private drivers and guides was really nice. I would certainly recommend it if you consider going to this region of the world.
Our major excursion today was a 3 hour morning boat ride on the Chao Phraya River from Bangkok upriver to Ayutthaya, the former capital of Thailand. We were on a large, air-conditioned boat that served a buffet lunch while en route. As we left the hotel it began to rain, the first rain we had seen since we arrived two weeks ago. Luckily by the time we boarded the boat the rain had stopped and the sun emerged while we were cruising. There was an outdoor viewing deck and we watched the life along the riverbanks as we went. We never got into a true countryside but the buildings became smaller and it was obvious we were in a rural area. The homes were mostly older, some were extremely old and looked like they were close to collapsing into the river. But there were also newer, modern homes scattered amongst them.
A rainy morning in Bangkok-the first rain we have seen this trip.
Our tour boat, the Grand Pearl. There were about 50 people on board with us.
Upper sun deck on the boat. The rain stopped and we went upstairs for much of the trip.
We saw many large barge “trains” on the river. People live full time on board the barges.
Offering to Buddha on the bow of the ship.
Colonial era building on shoreline.
Thai naval personnel have their own private transportation.
Modern bridge crossing the Chao Phraya River.
Another colonial era building.
Local boats waiting for passengers.
We saw many shrines along the river.
The old and the new, co-existing on the river.
Older, pretty simple homes dominate the riverfront.
More riverfront homes.
Another Buddha shrine. Was surprised to see the statue outdoors.
Modern house that seemed out of place in Bangkok.
It looks like a fancy high end condo.
Luncheon buffet.
These stylish buses are used to transport workers.
Our driver met us when we disembarked around 11:30 and proceeded to take us to walk the grounds of the King’s Bang Pa-In summer palace. It was a beautiful place with ponds, trees, flowers and buildings each built in varying European architectural styles. I could see why the king enjoyed coming here. It is serene and a dramatic departure from the maddening crowds in Bangkok.
Visiting the king’s summer palace, Bang Pa-In, in Ayutthaya.
Lovely manicured grounds with beautiful ponds and buildings.
One of the many bridges and ponds.
The king’s private shrine, located in the middle of a small lake.
One of the many buildings on the palace grounds-each a different architectural style.
The palace grounds are peaceful and serene.
Crossing a bridge to another area of the palace grounds.
Observation tower that looks like a lighthouse.
One of many beautiful palace buildings.
Lizards living in the ponds. They looked like Komodo dragons to me.
One of several animal themed topiaries on the grounds.
Shrine to Queen Sunanda Kumariratana who died in a boating accident with her daughter in 1880.
Many sculptures are scattered throughout the gardens.
In the French style.
There were several stops at other temple sites as we worked our way back to Bangkok. By this time the names and places were starting to blur together and we would have liked to simply call it a day, but Ben was eager to show these treasures to us. The one I do recall the name of is Wat Yai Chaimongkol. It was built in 1357 for use by monks who had studied in Ceylon. and was used mostly for meditation. It is distinctive in that a reclining Buddha is part of the complex, along with a very large pagoda (called a chedi in Thai).
Negotiating for “elephant pants”, the ubiquitous wear of both locals and tourists.
Reclining Buddha at Wat Yai Chaimongkol.
The main pagoda (chedi) at the temple complex.
The main pagoda. It was too hot and we were too tired to climb to the next level.
More pagodas on the temple site.
A decorative Buddha. I do not know the reason for the tunic.
These are actually tombs where ashes are placed inside the statues.
The only Buddha I saw that had open eyes.
The early Dutch traders estimated that Ayutthaya once had 300 to 450 monasteries, established from the 14-17th centuries. It was the capital of Thailand until 1767. Our last stop was at Wat Phra Maha That, which is thought to have been built in 1374. It is now mostly in ruins, never having been restored after the wars of the 18th century, when the city was abandoned. The individual brick temples were not large as others we have seen but we were surprised at how large the grounds were. The temple complex covered many acres of land and there were always many individual structures in the complex. They reminded us of the ancient temples we saw in Cambodia.The sites were beautiful even though in ruins and I am glad we continued the tour as she had outlined it. The main attraction for tourists is the face of Buddha that has been encased in the trunk of a very large tree.
Pagoda at Wat Phra Maha That.
The face of Buddha surrounded by a massive tree.
one of the small temples in the complex.
Ruins from the 14th century.
Temple walls and a distant pagoda.
Unrestored pagodas.
Another pagoda in the temple complex.
We told Ben it was too hot and we were too tired so we headed back to the hotel. Traffic was not as bad as previous days and we arrived back at our hotel about 3:45PM, with enough time to shower and head out for our farewell dinner. We had talked about having a good old-fashioned steak and imbibe with a Manhattan (or two). I found that one of the local Marriott hotels was noted for its steakhouse and I assumed they knew how to make a good Manhattan. In addition, they had an outdoor cocktail lounge on the 45th floor that offered great views of the city. I decided that was the place to end the trip on a high note. We put our trust in our hotel to tell our cab driver, who spoke no English, where to take us. We arrived about 15 minutes later, safe and sound, with a cab fare of $1.50 (try to find that in the US)! Gerry doubled that and, boy, did the driver grin and profusely thank him.
The views from the outdoor lounge were all they said they would be and they created a decent Manhattan (stirred rather than shaken, the only way to mix according to Gerry). The only negative was the cost for the drinks were big city prices, not the $4-8 we paid in Myanmar and Cambodia. Dinner at the District Steakhouse in the hotel was equally rewarding and a nice change from all the Asian dishes we had been eating. Again, the only negative was the big city pricing for the meal. We talked about what we had seen and done these past 16 days, amazed at the sights we saw, the friendliness of the people we met and how thankful we were for our lives in the good old USA. We toasted the fact no one had gotten ill or hurt doing our trip, other than bug bites that seemed to plague both Yvonne and Sue. Mosquitos were out day and night in Cambodia and Bangkok. Their (winter) weather had been excellent except for the hot temperatures we experienced while in Bangkok.
Bangkok Marriott hotel lobby.
Ceiling sculpture at the Marriott.
View of the city from the 45th floor outdoor cocktail lounge.
Panorama view from Octave, the outdoor lounge.
Celebration!
Gerry and Sue-ready to celebrate…and go home!
The wind was blowing. That is not my new hair style.
Sunset
Top rated steak house.
Picking a steaknife to use.
Ribeye!
It was back to the hotel to pack and get to bed early as we had a 4:30 AM wake up scheduled. We are heading home in the morning.
Our local tour guide met us at the hotel at 8:30AM. It was a woman (our first on the trip) and she said to call her “Ben” as her full name was Benchaporn Udomsook. She has been a tour guide for over 40 years. We again had a fabulous Toyota oversized van with comfortable seats, plenty of room, and air conditioning which turned out to be important as the day wore on.
Very modern breakfast room at the hotel.
Our hotel with very attentive staff.
Our tour van in Bangkok
To beat the traffic workers arrive early and eat breakfast on the street before going to work.
Four lanes in each direction, with motorcycles making additional lanes of their own.
The old and the new in Bangkok.
Some ultra modern architecture in the city.
It was expected to be over 90+ degrees today with matching humidity so we asked Ben to make sure we saw the most important sights first so we could quit early if need be. She had recognized this and took us first to the most important attraction in Bangkok, the Grand Palace and the most important Buddhist temple in Thailand, Wat Phra Kaew.
Although it was not far away Ben said it would probably take an hour to get there. We would come to find that one hour seemed to be the magic number for wherever you wanted to travel in the city. I have complained about the traffic in Seattle and Gerry complains about Chicago traffic but Bangkok has taken traffic to a whole new level. There are 30 million people living here (for comparison New York City has 8.9 million people). In addition Ben says there are 1 million motorcycles in Bangkok and I think we saw them all today as we drove around the city. They are everywhere, weaving in and out of traffic, snaking between cars as they did so. What is amazing to me was the sense of calmness to it all. There was absolutely no honking of horns, no finger gestures, no road rage. The only thing I can attribute that to is the fact they are Buddhists, which promotes calmness and serenity. Oh, and all (?) of the cars have manual transmissions. The Thai must be excellent drivers as we saw no dented cars, no motorcycle/car accidents. They somehow make it all work, but you certainly must have patience to drive here! It is something to behold, but I would not want to live and drive here.
Our first stop was at Wat Traimit, also known as the temple of the gold Buddha. Why? Because it contains a 10 foot tall Buddha made of gold, weighing 5.5 tons! At US $1,400 per troy ounce, the gold in the statue (18 karat) is estimated to be worth 250 million dollars. The body of the statue is 40% pure, the volume from the chin to the forehead is 80% pure, and the hair/topknot, weighing 45 kg, is 99% pure gold. Now you know why it is called the golden Buddha.
Wat Traimit, the temple of the golden Buddha.
“Ben”, our local Thai tour guide.
Large bell outside temple.
Ceremonial bells to ring outside the temple.
Statue of the Golden Buddha containing 5.5 tons of gold.
Ceiling decorations in the temple.
Gold leaf on the doors.
This is painted, not wallpaper.
Chair for head monk when he is in the temple.
Monk in prayer at the monastery temple.
The next stop was the Wat Phra Kaew and the Grand Palace. When we got to the Grand Palace grounds I was astonished at the number of people touring the complex, mostly Chinese. We had heard they have become big visitors to these countries and we now see that in real time. At times it was difficult maneuvering in and around the complex but Ben was able to effectively move us through the crowds and see the highlights as she explained what we were seeing and the history associated with it. Both the temple and palace complex are huge and spectacular! Solid gold and gold covered statuary and buildings that can be blinding in the sun. The site is truly one of those that causes one to simply say “wow”!
Wat Phra Kaew is commonly known as the “temple of the emerald Buddha”, and is the most revered site in Thailand. It dates back to the 15th century and was brought to Thailand in 1782. It is only 26 inches tall and made of jade, not emerald. It is revered here because it was said that its presence will bring prosperity to wherever it resides; thus most Thai believe it is the protector of their country.
When we visited temples in Myanmar and Cambodia we were asked to enter temples with bare feet. In Thailand they simply ask you to remove your shoes; socks are OK- much easier on our feet! The big problem at the temple of the emerald Buddha was finding your shoes after you emerged as there were hundreds laying around near the temple entrance. Luckily ours were distinct enough and no one decided they liked them better than the ones they wore, so we always found and reclaimed our shoes.
Wat Phra Kaew covers 234 acres, contains over 100 buildings, and is part of the Grand Palace grounds. Besides various stupas in the complex there is a fairly large scale model of Angkor Wat built in 1860. The king wanted to move Angkor Wat from Cambodia but the expedition was a failure so he settled on a scale model instead.
Outside of the Grand Palace
Inside of the Grand Palace grounds.
Follow the sign.
Large crowds of tourists waiting to gain entry to the palace grounds.
Yvonne and a new friend.
Guardians of the temple.
Another beautiful structure in Wat Phra Kaew.
Look at the detail on this spire!
Large scale model of Angkor Wat.
Stunning structures. Phra Mondop, the library
Elaborate ceramics and artwork.
19th century Phra Sri Rattana Chedi (stupa) in Sri Lankan style.
Golden chedi (stupa) near the temple of the emerald Buddha.
More images of the area.
Murals that tell stories about Buddha.
The emerald Buddha and his seasonal attire.
Line waiting to get into the temple to see the emerald Buddha.
Emerald Buddha (from a distance) as you cannot take photos inside.
Porcelain decor.
Most of us are familiar with the musical,The King and I. Well this is where it all happened. Although most government functions reside elsewhere today the Grand Palace still is the ceremonial focal point for the Thai monarchy.
Not sure I could qualify as a palace guard.
The Grand Palace.
Lion guarding the area.
Manicured lawn in front of the palace.
Another ornate building on the palace grounds.
Selling snacks outside the palace grounds.
It grew hotter as the morning progressed. The back of my shirt was drenched but we plugged on, consuming lots of cold water carried in the van and cooling towels provided by the driver. Ben wanted us to see Wat Arun (temple of dawn), which sits on the banks of the main river of Bangkok, Chao Phraya. To get there we had to cross the river via a 2 minute ferry. We kept expecting to keep seeing more of the same when it came to temple complexes, and we continued to be surprised. Wat Arun was no exception. It is unlike anything we had seen so far, anywhere. The main stupa is somewhere between 281 and 282 feet tall. The various buildings are covered with porcelain figurines and tiles.They even used old dishes, carving them into segments to make petals of flowers. The temples are colorful and quite pretty. It provides a total different look to the traditional Buddha temples.
Ferry across the river. It cots 13 cents for the 2 minute ride.
The ferry across the river. Basically a hop-on, hop-off boat.
Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn) from across the river.
Garden at entrance to the temple complex.
Beautiful flower in the gardens around Wat Arun.
Inside Wat Arun.
Buddha statue in Wat Arun.
Architectural detail outside the temple.
To ward off evil spirits!
Porcelain details on the stupa.
Old dishes used as embelishments.
Awesome detail on the stupa.
Awesome detail. Gerry and I walked up to the next level for this photo op.
Lunch in an air conditioned riverfront restaurant gave us renewed energy to carry on, for at least a short while. The restaurant was right next door to the wholesale flower market which we walked through. Yellow marigolds are the flower of choice for a Buddha offering. Everywhere you looked in the market was a sea of yellow. Of course there were other flowers, like roses, lotus flowers and a small white delicate flower (I forgot to ask what it was) strung on string to make delicate bracelets and wreaths. People buy a ton of flowers in Bangkok, mostly to place at statues of Buddha (at home or in a temple).
Cold beer never looked so good!
The wholesale flower market.
Flower arrangements can be quite elaborate.
Yellow marigolds are the most popular flower to leave a Buddha statues.
Floral arrangements.
Large selections of flowers
Stringing individual blossoms into an arrangement.
Delivering produce and flowers with a tuk tuk.
Snacks for sale on the street corner.
Plenty of fresh vegetables available at very low cost.
We were ready to quit but Ben encouraged us to see one more temple, Wat Pho, which is the site of one of the largest reclining buddhas in Thailand. It is also considered to be the first public university of Thailand, teaching students in the fields of religion, science, and literature through murals and sculptures. A school for traditional medicine and massage was established at the temple in 1955, and now offers four courses in Thai medicine: Thai pharmacy, Thai medical practice, Thai midwifery, and Thai massage.
Phra Chedi Rai which contain the ashes of members of the royal family.
Entry to Wat Pho, where the reclining Buddha resides.
Explaining Thai massage points. The complex is the site of a school teaching massage.
Stupa at Wat Pho.
More use of porcelain on stupas.
Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho.
Some of the sculptures on the temple grounds.
Buddha statues in the area.
School outing.
A very old bonsai.
After seeing the reclining Buddha we cried “uncle” and headed back to the hotel for a well needed shower and nap. Dinner consisted of a visit to the rooftop outdoor lounge for another happy hour, followed by a walk to a nearby Italian restaurant that got high raves. We all agreed it was well deserved!
Another view of downtown Bangkok.
Thai king (Rama X) pictured quite a few places around the city.
Traffic at 3 PM.
Our rooftop pool and bar.
Bangkok has some interesting architecture.
Their billboards seem quite a bit larger than ours.
Neighborhood near our hotel. The poor amidst the rich.
Margherita pizza with burrata!
The hot weather we endured wore us out and everyone opted for an early end of the day.
We had one last excursion before moving on to our final destination-Bangkok, Thailand. Our guide, Joe Top, took us for a boat ride on the largest lake in SE Asia, Tonle Sap. It is the home of many Vietnam fisherman who settled in this area after the war in Vietnam. They have also created a waterside village from which they live their lives. We boarded a small boat with an ingenious steering system consisting of a very old auto steering wheel and a series of ropes, pulleys and old auto clutches to operate an archaic engine to “drive” the boat-a perfect example of human ingenuity. It seems to work!
Tonle Sap Lake boat dock.
Snake infused wine for sale. We passed.
Our boat for a tour of the lake.
The “helm” and transmission for our boat. Simply amazing!
The engine powering our boat.
The propulsion end of the lake boats. Note the ropes and bailing wire.
A young boy about 10 joined his father and soon went around giving us all shoulder and back rubs using his fists, fingers and palms to slap, massage and knead for about 3-4 minutes each. Obviously we each had to give him a dollar for his efforts- a true entrepreneur in the making!
Getting a neck and back massage.
The fishing village appeared much poorer and less developed than the ones we saw at Inle Lake in Myanmar. This lake also rises 10-20 feet during the rainy season so the homes must be versatile enough to deal with that. Some were actually floating homes, resting on barrels. Others were on stilts to deal with the varying water levels. Our guide said some homes are stored in the woods until the lake rises, then are somehow dragged to the shoreline. There are 170 villages on the shores of this lake, where 80,000 people live. Unfortunately life is hard. The average life expectancy is 54, 12 percent of children die before the age of 5, 50 percent are malnourished, and the literacy rate is 46% (17% below the national average).
Part of the floating fishing village.
Typical homes on land by the lake’s edge.
Typical floating home on Tonle Sap Lake.
“Chillin” at home in my hammock.
A floating store for the locals.
We saw quite a few people wading into the water to fish with nets.
This made me think of the African Queen. Note the list.
Once on the lake we were taken to a large floating structure where they were raising crocodiles for the skin and food. As we walked around we were first greeted by our guide, Joe, holding a fairly large (6 foot) python for us to see. Needless to say we never got to close even though Joe assured us they were tame. Yeah! Then things got really dicey as a small, local naked boy about 2-3 years old began running around with a small python draped around his neck, eager to show his “pet” to the visitors. Luckily he seemed to focus his attention on some Chinese visitors who ran screaming and giggling trying to avoid him. We chose to watch from a distance. He eventually returned to the small boat where he joined his mother and older sister who also had a large python near her. I took some pictures, in return giving her a dollar for her willingness to allow me to do that without holding the snake! Another entrepreneur in the making. We all breathed a sigh of relief as she rowed away, obviously looking for another boat of tourists. We then focused on why we came – to see the crocodiles. I was amazed at their size. I expected them to be 2-3 feet long. These were more like 10 feet and there were about 20 of them in a penned-in area near the water. It takes about 5 years for them to reach maturity and be “harvested” for other uses.
The floating crocodile farm we visited.
Joe and friend. The snakes are grown for food and their skin.
Some kids have the weirdest pets.
One of the 20 some crocodiles living below deck of this floating factory.
Mother with her two children, posing for pictures, hoping for some money in return. I paid for this picture.
Child playing in the water in her boat.
Crocodile, anyone? We passed.
Moving on we returned to the shore and spent about 10 minutes walking through the dirt street of the village to see how the people lived. It was depressing. The “homes” are mostly one room huts made of corrugated metal or wood. People sleep in hammocks surrounded by mosquito netting as mosquitoes are very prevalent here. Some choose to sleep on the floor. There is no furniture that I could see. There was no evidence of bathroom facilities, the back of the home sufficed and sadly garbage and litter was simply thrown out the door. This was by far the poorest example of living we had seen since being here. Joe said the government is trying to get the people to practice better living standards but to no avail so far. Surprisingly the children do go to school so maybe there is hope for the future. Their lives revolve around working the nearby rice fields or fishing in the lake.
Street in the village.
The homes are very basic with no amenities.
Even these homes have the spirit shrine.
Simple one room home. People sleep in hammocks or on the floor.
Coming home from harvesting something in the fields.
A typical home in this poor village.
Before lunch we visited a local “trade school” where children are trained to become proficient in making local art and crafts , thus giving them a livelihood. There are classes in wood carving, sandstone carving, painting, jewelry making and lacquer. Their products are sold in local stores. It seems to be a very successful program and we saw some talented works being produced.
We toured the school where students are taught the arts so they have jobs.
Wood carvers at work.
How statues are carved from sandstone.
Silk paintings
Gold leaf portraits.
No, we were not guests of honors and our picture was not added to the wall.
Before boarding our plane we had another excellent lunch at the Asian Square in downtown Siem Reap. Although it was still Cambodian food we all agreed it had a different flavor. We all thought perhaps the earlier French occupancy brought a slightly different twist to their cooking.
The Asian Square restaurant in Siem Reap where we had lunch.
Main luncheon entree.
Siem Reap city street. Many in the downtown area were not paved.
Our flight left on time and we arrived in the “big” city of Bangkok. The airport is huge and we had a little difficulty finding our guide, but we ultimately did. It turned out the lady who met us was not our guide, she was simply there to take us to our hotel for the night. Our local tour guide would meet us the next morning to begin our tour of Bangkok. As it was about 8 PM the weather was not too bad but our guide told us it was supposed to be quite hot (over 90 degrees) the next day-great! None of us like hot weather. She told us that Bangkok has two seasons – hot and hotter!
Stone sculpture at airport showing how elephants were used to bring stone for building the temples.
Flying over a storm on the way to Bangkok.
Bangkok sunset. Lots of cranes in the city of 30 million!
They like to decorate their rigs.
Our small (80 rooms) “boutique” hotel (U Sukhumvit Bangkok) was located on a side street near the main drag of Bangkok. Gerry said it reminded him of a smaller version of a W hotel-modern and funky. I later learned it was only 4 years old. All we cared was that it had a well-functioning air conditioner, which it did!
Another VIP welcome at the hotel.
Lounging area on the roof of the hotel.
Outdoor bar and swimming pool. It was so nice we decided to have dinner there.
We had a option of getting up before dawn to go back to Angkor Wat to try to capture sunrise pictures of the complex. Being of sane mind we passed and slept in as we figured seeing it at sunset the previous day was just as dramatic.
Today Joe wanted to talk us to several more “lesser” temples, one of which we would certainly recognize as it was the setting for the 2001 movie, Lara Craft: Tomb Raider starring Angelina Jolie. Now you are talking! Some of the movie was filmed at the Ta Prohm temple. Yvonne reminded me that Angelina has adopted some Cambodian children as a result of her early visits there and Joe says she owns property and is well liked by the Cambodian people.
The Ta Prohm temple is nowhere as large as Angkor Wat but it has that “jungle” feel that I had expected to find at Angkor Wat. It also was built by King Jayavarman VII in the late 12th-early 13th century in honor of his family. It has purposely been left in a semi-jungle state to show what the area looked like when rediscovered in the 20th century. The major trees that have “occupied” the site over the centuries are either silk-cotton or strangler fig trees, both not strong enough to completely destroy what is beneath them. They certainly lend an eerie, fascinating look to the whole site.
Lotus flower in pond at hotel.
Mother and kids on a scooter. Look how young the boy is!
Outer entrance to Ta Prohm temple complex.
Path in the outer courtyard leading to the main temple.
Carving at main gate.
Local band of musicians maimed by landmines.
Restoration pictures. Paid by India.
Getting close to the main temple. Note the size of the tree growing on top of the temple walls.
The trees are not dense, so they do not destroy the walls.
One of few examples of what the roof covering over the corridors looked like.
Most of the trees are soft wood so their weight is not significant.
This is what I thought Angkor Wat would look like.
Temple doorway.
Waiting to get a good picture.
Strong Hindu influence in carvings.
Gerry is over 6 foot so you get a feel for the true size of the tree.
Temple structure.
Angelina Jolie was here. So were we!
After leaving Ta Prohm we drove 20 km through a rural area to the next stop, Banteay Srei. Banteay is not a royal temple; it was built by a counsellor to the king. Banteay Srei was built in 967 AD and dedicated to the Hindu god, Shiva. It was only rediscovered in 1914. The temple is constructed largely of red sandstone, a medium that lends itself to the elaborate decorative wall carvings which are still observable today. The buildings themselves are miniature in scale, unusually so when measured by the standards of other Angkorian construction. Because of the ornate carvings the temple is extremely popular with tourists, and have led to its being widely praised as a “precious gem”, or the “jewel of Khmer art.” I have to admit it really was lovely.
Typical small home in rural area.
Fashionably dressed lady out shopping.
Everyone has these small “keep out evil spirits” shrines outside their business or home.
Making sugar palm candy. It is VERY sweet.
Jars of palm sugar for sale by the roadside. Significantly cheaper than in the stores.
Rice paddy.
Outside the walls of the Banteay Srei temple.
Outer entry to the temple.
Path in the outer courtyard.
Approaching the inner courtyard.
Detailed carvings.
Ornate carvings in doorway.
More sandstone carvings.
Doorway leading to inner courtyard.
Hindu statues.
Small temple building in the center of the complex.
I want a hat like that!
Series of smaller temples in the inner courtyard.
Another temple picture.. Note stone pillars in window like Angkor Wat.
Impressive carvings.
Monkey gods.
The brothers.
Cambodian band. He is playing a leaf- sounded like a kazoo.
Banteay Samre was built in the early 12th century and dedicated to Hindu gods. The design of its single ogival tower is immediately recognizable as Angkor Wat style along with other temples in the region. It is certainly not the most elegant temple in the area and I think we were taken there to simply fill out the day. But it was last on the list and we did not linger there very often before heading back to the hotel. By the way, a piece of trivia. Notre Dame cathedral in Paris was built in 1163, the same time frame as these temples.
Banteay Samre temple.
Steep steps leading to the upper level. We passed as it was warm.
Local artist making pictures from punched cowhide.
Supposedly this was a crematorium.
Smaller buildings in the temple complex.
I liked the picture of flowers managing to survive in this massive stone structure.
It was now time for lunch and Joe took us to what looked like a high end restaurant featuring Khmer food, called Mahob. It was obviously a favorite with tourists but it had impressive decor and food. It was a worthy stop.
Restaurant was fancy enough to warrant a bottle of wine to have with lunch.
Luncheon beef dish. at Mahob Khmer restaurant.
Finally a dessert that had something other than simply fruit.
Joe asked if we wanted to visit the market in town and obviously we did. We spent about 45 minutes wandering around and, yes, finding a few new treasures to add to our collection, including a cool, carved wood frog that sounds exactly like a frog when you stroke it with a wooden stick.
Pictures of the Cambodian king appear everywhere throughout the area.
Parking lot near the city market.
Selling snacks outside the market.
Musical frog. It really sounds like one!
Joe asked if we might want to attend a dinner and cultural show that night. Not having a great desire to eat more meals at a hotel we opted to try it. It turned out to be a very pleasant $20, set 4 course meal, and a one hour dance show featuring local folk dancing. We were glad we went.
Our reserved table at the Crystal Angkor restaurant.
Our set dinner menu. The dinner and show cost $20/person.
One of the dinner courses. Presentation was lovely.
Main course.
One of the 5 Cambodian dances performed for us.
The costumes were beautiful and the dances elegant, even if we did not understand all the hand movements.
Note where her foot is. Do not try this at home!
The ladies were lovely.
Ther eis a lot of coordinated movement to these dances.
January 27, 2018: Exploring the Ancient Temple Complexes of Siem Reap
We were picked up by our local tour guide, Joe Top, who turned out to be the most knowledgeable, entertaining guide we had the entire trip. As we travelled with him the next two days we learned a lot about his background, his life and his country. He was a gem to be with. Joe came from a poor rural family and joined the army where he spent ten years and retired as a colonel. He fought against the rebels during the Pol Pot era (where 12-35% of the Cambodian population were killed); he learned to drive tanks, remove landmines (over 6 million still in the country) and fly a helicopter. After leaving the army he drove tuk tuk cabs for awhile and ultimately became a tour guide, a career in which he has excelled in my opinion. It was fascinating hearing some of his stories and concerns about Cambodia and its future.
Joe Top, Our Siem Reap guide. He was awesome.
View from our room at the Lotus Blanc Hotel in Siem Reap.
Water feature outside hotel.
The fancy interior of our touring van.
Fancier Tuk Tuks in Cambodia.
Before I forget. We asked Joe about getting some Cambodian money and he said to not bother, as all the ATMs in the country will dispense US dollars, not Cambodian riel! Now that is a first. Although there is a Cambodian currency people and stores mostly deal in dollars. It sure made our lives easier.
Our schedule for the morning included visiting one of the less famous temples in the area- Angkor Thom, which contains the Bayon Temple and the Elephant terrace – before visiting the more famous Angkor Wat temple complex in the afternoon. By the way, Angkor means “city”. The Angkor complexes date back to the 9th century when King Jayavarman II united the various warring kingdoms in the area and started what became known as the Khmer dynasty. The first order of business, however, was going to a central complex to buy passes that allow us to visit the various sites. A big surprise awaited us . There were huge crowds lined up at 9 AM buying the required tickets. You had to buy a 1,3,or 7 days admission ticket. Although we were in Cambodia only 2 days we had to purchase a 3 day pass ($62, included in our tour package). Your picture is taken and made part of the ticket; the tickets were closely reviewed whenever you got near a temple. Apparently people used to resell their tickets when they were finished; thus the requirement for the pictures. In 1993 only 7,650 people visited Angkor Wat; last year over 2 million people came! It took 20-30 minutes to work our way through the process and receive the required passes. Then it was off to the sightseeing.
People waiting to get entry tickets to Angkor Wat.
Traffic jam near the temple complexes.
Some people take elephant rides near the temples. Been there, done that, so we passed.
Local entrepreneurs selling all sort of things near the temple complexes.
Angkor Thom was built in the late 12th century, after Angkor Wat, by King Jayavarman VII. It is one of the largest Khmer cities built, covering over 9 sq. km. and supported an area population of 85,000-150,000 people. It remained the capitol until the 17th century.
The main entrance to Angkor Thom, via a bridge across a large moat.
The moat surrounding the temple complex. You have a cross a bridge to get to the main gate.
Guarding the entry to the temple complex.
Close up of the statues. Many have been restored.
The main entrance to the Angkor Thom complex.
The Bayon Temple is at the city’s heart. It looks disordered from afar, but as you draw closer the seemingly characterless rubble metamorphoses into a collection of 37 towers (of the original 54) encompassing a total of 216 striking, smiling, enormous faces. The faces are reputedly in the likeness of King Suryavarman II, who commissioned the temple. Many will tell you he was a vain emperor but he was also the man who declared independence from the kingdom of Java during the 9th century – thereby founding the Khmer Empire as we know it.
The Bayon Temple was the last temple built at Angkor, built between the 12-13th century. The walls are entirely covered with carvings of stories about Hindu scripture and mythology, and everyday life and events in the Khmer empire. It was hard to find a surface that was not carved
Another highlight of Angkor Thom is the Terrace of Elephants, which stretches 350 m in length; the walls covered with a stone depiction of a famous battle in Khmer history. It was also the viewing platform where King Jayavarman VII (often referred to as the most powerful Khmer king) is said to have watched his victorious armies return from battle on the large field in front of the platform.
The elephant terrace-350 meters long.
Local salesman pressuring Gerry. The salesman won!
We had what turned out to be a delightful lunch at a restaurant called Madame Butterfly. What made it unique was although it was a typical fare for the region it definitely had a French influence to it. We all noticed a subtle difference compared to other similar meals.
Madame Butterfly restaurant- with a definite French flair.
Appetizer plate.
Delicious Tom Yum soup.
Sweet & sour chicken and rice.
Unique way of keeping clothing out of way.
The afternoon was spent visiting the world famous Angkor Wat, considered to be one of the top wonders of the modern world (even though it dates back to the 12th century). It laid abandoned from the 15-16th century, being rediscovered by a French naturalist in 1860. My first glance was not what I expected. Picture I have seen seem to infer it is in the midst of dense jungle. In reality it is not engulfed by jungle foliage at all; it sits on an open plain. Yes, there are trees near it but I certainly would not call it a jungle environment.
Initial views of the Angkor Wat complex.
Another view before we crossed the moat.
Marble model of Angkor Wat.
Angkor Wat is considered to be the largest religious monument in the world. Its outer walls measure 1,000 meter by 800 meters with walls that were 4.5 meters high. There is a 620 meter wide moat protecting the complex. It covers 402 acres and was built in the early 12th century by King Suryavarman II. It was initially built as a Hindu temple honoring Vishnu, but gradually migrated to being a Buddhist temple. by the end of the 12th century. Seeing the carvings there certainly reminded us of what we had seen in India at Hindu temples. Visually the complex is stunning, especially once you enter the outer walls of the complex.
Entering the outer gate to Angkor Wat.
Seeing the inner temple from the outer courtyard.
One of two library building in the outer courtyard.
The iconic view of Angkor Wat that all people want to photograph.
A small Buddha in the inner temple.
We spent a good 1.5-2.0 hours wandering through the temple complex with Joe Top pointing out the salient things for us to see. We were there late in the day so we got to see the setting sun create great shadows on the complex. Angkor Wat is all that people say it is. It is truly one of the spectacular locations in the world. You look at this 1,000 year old complex of buildings and temples and marvel at how the people living during that time were able to build it. It rivals the Great Wall, the Pyramids of Giza and Machu Picchu. It was certainly worth the effort to come here and I am thankful I got to experience it.
Approaching the main temple from the outer courtyard.
One of four swimming pools in the temple.
Corridor with carved walls telling stories of ancient battles.
The queen and her court.
This is the only carving in Angkor Wat where the figure shows her teeth.
Windows in the temple.
Women were naked supposedly to prevent them from hiding weapons. sounds fishy to me..
ornate carvings around the doors.
Inside the main temple.
Fallen carvings from upper portions of the temple.
Angkor Wat upper temple at sunset. Viewed from 2nd level courtyard.
Nearing sunset.
The final climb to the upper temple. We passed.
Youngsters in local native costumes.
A monk offering blessings in the temple complex.
A kodak moment?
The sun setting over the library building.
Selling pineapple to visitors.
It was quite a day…..and one I will truly remember.
Drinks and tapas at the bar after our visit to Angkor Wat.
Another leisurely departure (9AM) but with all our luggage as we will head to the airport for our flight(s) to Siem Reap, Cambodia right after our morning tours.
We stopped at a local weaving factory to watch ladies weaving beautiful, ornate silk material that will end up as men’s high end longyi skirts (called htamein for women) for special occasions (weddings, dress up events). Although an everyday longyi costs less than $10 these ladies were making longyi’s (that take a month to make) that will sell for $1,000.
Picture of a high end silk wedding gown made here.
Making silk threads.
Silk products for sale.
The next stop this morning was to visit the largest monastery in Myanmar, where over 1,000 monks live and study. The guide wanted us to see the monks gathering for their main meal of the day, served at 10:30 AM. They are not supposed to eat food after 12 noon.
We toured the huge open kitchen area where the meal is prepared, then proceeded to the area where they congregate with their food bowls and wait for the calling bell, at which time they silently collect a large bowl of rice and march into the dining hall where the rest of the meal (pork today, a soup and vegetables) awaits them. The sad aspect of this ritual was the presence of hundreds of people (us included) jockeying for position to record their procession into the dining hall. Today we even saw a brief shoving match between two visitors wanting a better view. Somehow this seems wrong at such a solemn event. We did have an opportunity to briefly visit and talk to a monk about the teachings of Buddha. The monks were selling books written by monks about Buddhism and we bought a couple to try to get a better understanding of the Buddhism philosophy (which they claim is not a religion as we commonly think of it).
Monks doing laundry. How do they know which is theirs?
Preparing for the day in shared bathroom facilities.
The communal dining room for 1000 monks.
Kitchen where meals are prepared.
Preparing vegetables for the main meal.
Local lady and her child.
Creative way to make a birdhouse.
The senior monks arriving for the main meal served at 10:30 AM.
1000 monks line up silently to enter the dining hall for their main meal.
If the novices received something other than food they carried it on top of the eating vessel. I saw money and even candy bars.
Monks receiving bowls of rice as they enter the dining hall in silence.
Meeting with a teaching monk . We bought one of his books.
It was then off to the airport for check-in for our flights to Siem Reap. Lunch was not on our agenda so we had ordered box lunches at the hotel, but we found we probably could have skipped that as Bangkok Airlines invited us into their lounge where we were able to have free snacks and even order light luncheon fare.
Take away lunch prepared for us by the hotel.
Lunch on the plane even in late afternoon.
We then flew to Bangkok before catching our connecting flight to Siem Reap. All went well getting to Bangkok, a very large airport and a major hub for air transport in this area, and we gained back the 1/2 hour time zone change we made when going into Myanmar. Our layover in Bangkok was about 1.5 hours and the Internet is free and fast. Time went quickly. The flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia was only 50 minutes.
Being met in Siem Reap by our local guide.
Served a fruit drink when we got to the Lotus Blanc Hotel in Siem Reap.
Rudyard Kipling made Mandalay famous with his poem called “Mandalay”, published in 1892. During the third Anglo-Burmese war of 1885, 9,000 British and Indian soldiers had been transported by a fleet of paddle steamers (“the old flotilla” of the poem) and other boats 700 km from Rangoon to Mandalay. For the poem lovers you can find the full poem at: http://www.arctracer.com/poems/Mandalay.html.
On the Road to Mandalay was also a song published in 1907 and sung by many people over the years, including Frankie Laine, Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby.
My initial impressions of Mandalay: a city of motorcycles, but manageable traffic compared to Yangon. At least the traffic moves steadily here although you are constantly dodging the motorbikes and cycles.
Our van in Mandalay. All of them were quite nice and roomy.
Our own personal touring van.
A common sight. Sometimes we saw 4 people on a motorcycle!
Mandalay streets are laid out in a regular grid pattern like NYC.
People from outlying villages scrapping out a living on the river.
Primitive housing on the river.
Fancy flip flops.
A balancing act that requires great skill!
Carving statues from marble.
Factory selling “umbrellas” for the tops of stupas.
Our tour today included a visit to the Mahamuni Pagoda, which features a statue of Buddhas that is covered with over 15 cm of gold leaf, some 5 tons, according to our guide. At today’s price for gold that statue is worth some $194 million dollars. This is one of the most venerated images in Myanmar.
Golf leaf corridor leading to the temple center where Buddha resides.
Live video of men (only) applying gold leaf to the Buddha statue.
Column in temple-marble on bottom, gold leaf on the top.
The way the Buddha statue looked originally.
The Buddha changes over time because of the donation of gold leaf placed on the statues.
Only men are allowed to apply gold leaf to a Buddha.
Stores selling religious articles at entrance to the temple. Seems to be common for all religions.
Young school girls visiting the temple. Some asked to have their picture taken with Gerry and me.
Bronze statues originally from Angkor Wat were brought to Myanmar in 1563.
We also stopped at a gold leaf business where the extremely thin sheets of gold leaf are produced by men using simple tools to beat the gold into gold leaf, that worshippers place on statues of Buddha as an offering. A quick stop at a wood carving and embroidery business also occurred. Everything is done by hand. Somehow we managed to do a little souvenir shopping along the way.
Pounding gold leaf in a rhythmic manner. It was very melodious.
From the top to the bottom Illustrates how the gold leaf is pounded thin..
Ladies carefully packing the gold leaf. The gold leaf is so thin it almost floats away.
Carving elaborate teak panels.
Embroidering wall hangings.
Elaborate puppets for sale.
Learning how to put on a longyi. We took a video so Gerry could recreate the process at home.
Gerry says he is going to wear it to his office.
Fascinated at how they manage to balance large bundles on their head.
Lunch was a bit different as we went to a Chinese restaurant that specializes in duck rather than the traditional Burmese fare. We looked forward to the change although dessert was still fruit! We began to miss our good old fashioned sweets.
Walls of the old palace.
The moat around the palace, with Mandalay Hill in the background.
One of several watch towers on the walls of the palace.
Exercising in the park. There were many such sites throughout the city.
Lunch at the Golden Duck Chinese restaurant.
Umbrella escort to the restaurant.
Mini spring rolls which were really good.
Duck, chicken , and steamed vegetables.
Trying the local beer.
After lunch we visited several of the cities most interesting temples and palaces. The most unique one was the Shwenandaw Kyaung monastery, also known as the Golden Palace Monastery. This Buddhist monastery was originally part of the Royal Palace in Amarapura and moved to Mandalay in 1878. It is made entirely of intricately carved teak with walls carved with tales of previous Buddhas. It is very different from anything we had seen so far.
Shwenandaw Kyaung Monastery, known as the Golden Teak Monastery
Entrance to the Shwenandaw Kyaung monastery, made entirely of teak wood.
Intricate carved interior of the monastery.
Small Buddha statue in the monastery.
Carved doorway in the monastery.
Angels exist in Buddhism also.
Local wedding. We always seem to run into one while traveling.
Roofline of the monastery.
Close up of the roofline detail.
Restoring art of the building.
Another fascinating site we visited was the Kuthodaw Pagoda. I must relate that when we hear we are going to another Buddha shrine we think it will be yet another statue of Buddha and if you have seen one, you have seen them all. However, we continued to be amazed how different each of these sites were. The Kuthodaw Pagoda is unique in that it is the site of the world’s largest book. The main golden stupa is 188 feet high, but what makes the site so unique is that the stupa is surrounded by 729 “kyauksa gu” or stone-inscription caves, each containing a marble slab inscribed on both sides with a page of text from the of entire scriptures of Theravadan Buddhism.
Main stupa at the Kuthodaw Pagoda temple complex.
Model of the temple complex.
Some of the smaller pavilions that house the marble slabs with the Buddhist scriptures.
One of the 729 carved marble slabs at the complex.
Very unusual statue of the starving Buddha.
Rows and rows of the small pavilions housing the Buddhist scriptures.
Blooming lotus flowers.
Next was a visit to the Kyauktawgyi Pagoda. The chief feature of the Kyauktawgyi Paya is the huge (37 feet tall) seated Buddha figure sculpted from a single block of pale green marble from the Sagyin quarry twelve miles north of Mandalay. It was said that about 10 thousand men took about 2 weeks to transport the stone block from the Ayeyarwaddy River to the site where it is today.
37 foot tall marble Buddha carved from a single piece of marble.
They are starting to use colored LED lighting at the temple. We thought it cheapened the environment.
By this time it was nearing sunset and we were transported by van to the top (230 meters above sea level) of Mandalay Hill. The true devotee would climb the 1,729 steps (barefooted) to the top! The view from the pagoda at the top is a 360 degree view of the valley below. Scattered on the hillside below the summit are other temple complexes with their stupas and pagodas. It was somewhat cloudy when we were at the top and rather than wait the extra 30 minutes for the true sunset we opted to call it a day and retreat to our hotel, located at the base of the hill. We were ready to call it a day.
Two huge “chinthes” guard the entrance stairs to the top of the hill.
Stairs (1,729 of them) leading to the top of Mandalay Hill.
The Sutaungpyei Pagoda at the top of Mandalay Hill.
Monks chant (for 1 hour each), reading the Buddhist scriptures.
View of our hotel (big building on left) below.
A stupa further down Mandalay Hill.
Stupas are lit at night.
January 24, 2018: Leaving Inle Lake and Going to Mandalay
We had a leisurely morning as our flight to Mandalay is at 2:40 PM. We needed to retrace our steps to the airport in Heho which involves a 20 minute boat ride to the north end of the lake, than a 50 minute car ride to the Heho airport.
It was another beautiful but cool morning but it did not seem as cold as yesterday morning. Still we all had jackets on. Perhaps our bodies are adjusting. After breakfast Gerry and I chose to explore the grounds of the hotel a bit. Although it is built over the water they do have a bridge to reach the shore, so people who choose to drive to the resort have a way of accessing it. We passed a field planted with dragon fruit and bananas. In the distance was a field of sugarcane. Along the access road we passed some new buildings which were dormitories and a dining room for the workers at the hotel.
Enjoying a morning coffee on the veranda.
The boardwalk leading from the resort to dry land and the road.
Dragon fruit plants. The plant looks like a cactus.
Banana plant on the hotel property.
Zaw picked us up in a long boat at 11:30 and we leisurely worked our way back to land, passing some fisherman fishing from their long boats and many other boats carrying tourists, locals and produce. This is truly the Venice of Myanmar.
Waving goodbye to Myanmar Treasure Resort.
A real fisherman trying to catch fish in Inle Lake.
Water buffalo are still used here.
Local “taxi” service.
By the time we reached shore it was warm enough to pack away the jackets. I had asked Zaw if there was a stall to buy Myanmar soccer jerseys and he had the driver stop at the local market for us to see and experience another typical market. It was smaller than the one we visited yesterday but just as crowded with local shoppers buying mostly food. We spent a wonderful 15 minutes wandering through the area seeing, listening and smelling, and taking many pictures, some of which will find their way into my blog.
Not sure what kind of fruit this was, but they were quite large.
Live baby chickens for sale.
A monk receiving a donation.
Huge avocados that sell for 20 cents each.
Dragon fruit.
Some cute kids.
Primitive motorized vehicles in use here.
The Heho airport is tiny and we have an hour wait for our flight. Looking for a snack we found they offered good old Oreos, Pringles and even Kit Kat and Snickers. We missed lunch today but we will not starve!
Check-in counter at Heho airport.
Reflections of Inle Lake: a magical, unique corner of the world! Life has revolved around the water for centuries and the population has adapted to it and thrived. Riding in the “long boats” was a joy. Seeing the villages built over the water and the man-made floating gardens used to grow crops was jaw dropping. Wow! The visit to the temple complex at Indein was, in many respects, more unique than what we saw in Bagan. I am surprised it is not as renown as Bagan. And to think that I had considered dropping the visit from our itinerary. Thankfully I had not and we are the richer for having visited this wonderful place.
Our flight to Mandalay would take all of 20 minutes. When I asked our guide how long to drive there he said 7-8 hours! Obviously the roadways in Myanmar need some serious updating. Our plane arrived at the Heho airport (on the single runway here); we hopped on and in 10 minutes we were in the air- no messing around.
Our local guide, named Myo (Mew) met us and we were on our way to see the famous U Bein bridge in the town of Amarapura to participate in a daily ritual-watching the sun set. Myanmar natives have a tradition of lining up to watch the sunset each evening. The 1.1km (0.7 mile) teak bridge walkway is supported by over 1,000 pilings and crosses Taungmyo Lake. It is the longest such bridge in the world (a Guinness record). Under normal conditions it is entirely over water but because this is the dry season much of it crosses over exposed lake bed which is used for growing crops during the dry season. In fact the soil is so fertile that they can grow two crops each growing season. We ventured out in a small, questionable quality rowboat to the middle of the lake which is now an island during the dry season. We got out and walked around a bit, even climbing stairs to walk on the bridge itself for a short while. There are NO guard rails so it is a bit “adventuresome” and we carefully made sure we stayed in the middle of the wooden boardwalk which is probably 30 feet above water/land. We returned to our boat and rowed out a bit to watch the sunset( ~6PM) from the water. There were probably 50 other such boats doing the same thing as it is a popular activity for tourists and even locals. Many more people were simply walking across the bridge. It turned out to be a pretty experience seeing the sun set behind this big old wooden bridge. It was even more fun watching the boaters all race back to the single dock to unload their passengers!
Our Mandalay guide, Myo.( Mew).
The U Bein bridge in Mandalay.
Peanuts and other crops are grown on the lake bed during the dry season.
Kids playing the the field. This area would be under water during the rainy season.
The boats used to row out onto the lake to watch the sunset.
Note how oars are crossed for rowing.
Crude oars used by the boatmen. They cross the oars and push to propel the boat.
Fresh water crabs for sale, but we were told not to try them.
Ladies selling food on the bridge.
Walking the the bridge-with no siderails.
Walking the bridge is very popular with the monks.
The boats lined up to view the sunset.
A selfie.
A Kodak moment in Mandalay!
Wider view of the bridge at sunset.
Rowing quickly back to shore.
This small boy held his own against older, wiser rowers.
After glow in the area.
It was now dark and we drove about 45 minutes to check into our hotel in Mandalay proper. We were hungry (and thirsty) by this time so we stopped in the lounge for a celebratory Manhattan. The price at this “big city” was $ 7.80 compared to $4 we paid at Inle Lake, but still a bargain when compared to US prices. Besides they were pretty decent and they served local peanuts, popcorn and potato chips. We ordered some tapas and a sandwich while contemplating which hotel restaurant to have dinner, but decided we had eaten enough tapas to satisfy our hunger.
We are important!
Cocktail lounge at the hotel.
A celebratory Manhattan.
Great club sandwich.
Thus ended the day as we have a full day of sightseeing tomorrow, but starting at a leisurely 9 AM which pleased everyone.
