Mandalay & Yangon

Both former capitals of Myanmar (Burma), the cities of Mandalay and Yangon (Rangoon) are two very contrasting places.

Mandalay is located in the northern part of Myanmar with the evenings quite cool. It has a population of about 1 million and feels more like a country town. The city is dominated by Mandalay Hill and the huge Fort, complete with moat, shown below

The hills around Mandalay from the hotel roof looked quite spectacular in the late afternoon sun.

Mandalay is a quiet, unhurried place. The photo below shows one of the main streets of Mandalay with two of the tiny Mazda Taxis that transport people around. It was a tight squeeze in the back for two Westerners!

The U Bein bridge is one of the highlights of the Mandalay area. The bridge is over 200 years old, made of teak and about 1.2km long. There was big crowd walking across as it was the Independence Day Public Holiday, celebrating the end of British rule on January 4, 1948.

Yangon is a biggest and busiest city in Myanmar, but with its wide streets and grand old buidings, a legacy of the British colonial era, it has a very different feel to other Asian cities. Sule Pagoda, shown below, is located in the heart of the city.

Below is abother street scene and some old buildings.

The old British-style architecture in the street below is now the home of many of the Government Departments.

The photo below shows the High Court Building behind Mahabandoola Garden.

Shwedagon Pagoda is the heart and soul of Yangon. The pagoda grounds sit on a hill, and with the stupa of gold rising up a further 100 metres, it is an impressive sight.

The photo below gives some perspective of its size - check out the workers carrying out repairs.

The pagoda grounds full of different shrines, stupas, pavillions and bells. The photos below show some of them.

One final view of Swedagon Pagoda.

Bagan

Located on the plains of central Myanmar on a bend of the Irrawaddy River is the amazing archeological area of Bagan.

Spread over the plains are over 4000 temples, the oldest of which date back to the year 830AD.

Life seems to move at a different pace in Bagan; we travelled through the area by horse and cart, which was a great way to enjoy the sights.

Bagan is located in a dry area of Myanmar which makes the wide Irrawaddy River very important. The cylindrical stupa of Bupaya overlooks the river.

The temples were built over hundreds of years, so come in a variety of shapes and sizes

Most of the buildings are built out of red brick, including these impressive gates and arches

The temples contain the usual Buddhas as well as some impressive artwork on the walls

One of the best experience is to climb up one of the temples and just take in the scale of the area - the plain dotted with so many structures.

Also a great spot to finish the day...

The People of Myanmar

Myanmar is a wonderful travel destination, with few tourists and the nicest people you are likely to meet anywhere in the world. In this first of a series of blogs on my trip to Myanmar I give a snapshot of life in this mysterious and much maligned country and a profile the Burmese people.

Life revolves around the market place with the usual flurry of buying and selling all types of items.

The streets look a bit different to the West. Both the photos that follow give a taste of life in two of the country towns, Bagan on the left and Mandalay on the right. You will notice many types of transport - the open air 'bus', horse and cart and the trishaw, Myanmar's version of a rickshaw.

The most popular sport in Myanmar is the same as throughout all of Asia, soccer. The photo below shows some kids playing a game on a dusty little field.

The monks in Myanmar seemed to be more prominent than in the other Buddhist countries of the region. The men wear a purple coloured robe and the girls are in pink.

The next two photos are taken in the capital, Yangon. Notice the males wearing a wrap-around called a longyi (pronounced lon-gee). The school uniform of the boys is a little different to what you normally see!

The next three photos are of rural life in Myanmar. The first shot shows some fishermen pulling in their net., the second a family of duck-keepers by the lake.

Rice is the main staple of the Burmese, with the women working in the paddy.

The Burmese have a good sense of business and they are eager to relieve you of your money. The two boys below were some of the best at their craft. The stuff on their face is a type of zinc that most of the young people and women seemed to be apply each day in the country towns.

The boy below was trying to sell us postcards as we watched the sunset over Bagan's temples.

The final photo is one of my favourites - two young kids on the U Bein Bridge near Mandalay.

Celebration Bangkok Style

Last weekend was the King's Birthday. For the Thai people it is a major celebration and for all of us it meant a day off on Monday!

It was the King's 82nd Birthday and there were events all over the city and crowds of people everywhere.

The centre of most of the celebrations was the Democracy Monument, which also happens to be the location of most of the protests against the Government that you see on TV.

The crowds were dressed in pink. Not quite sure what the significance of that colour is. The King is highly revered and deeply loved in Thailand as well as being respected throughout the world for all the good things he has done for the people of Thailand.

Bangkok has also been adorned for the last few weeks in Christmas decorations.

The celebration of Christmas is all about appealing to the Thai's love of consumerism - you wont find any reference to the true meaning of Christmas - a lot like back home really.

I even spotted Santa Claus - don't know how he can stand being dressed up in the suit in this climate!

The shops are always crowded in the big department centres and malls of the city, even more so at this time of year. The three photos below show some of them.

Well as I head back to Australia for Christmas, that will be it for the blog for 2009. I'll be back next year!