Mandalay
I am in a constant state of moisture. Not only is it hot and humid but the monsoon season is in full force in Burma's jungles. Leaving Mandalay seems to be impossible thanks to the rains which so far have claimed a bridge, a lot of roads and some of the docks. Constant summer rain is fun for maybe the first five hours but then it gets old. Walking through knee deep water on the roads makes for good pictures but some slimey experiences.
Burma is the friendliest country I have been so far. There are hello's and smiles coming at me from every corner and shop. Nothing but kindness from the people ruled by a brutal military regime. The stories I've heard have made my blood run cold. My first night in Mandalay I walked over to another hotel to look at their book exchange and just walked up to Jim. Together with two Argentinian guys, Mauro and Francisco, we headed to see the Moustache Brothers, a comedy troupe that is outlawed by the military regime. They perform out of their home for tourists. If you have seen About a Boy then you've heard about Par Par Lay. He is mentioned in the call centre scene of the film. Par Par spent seven years in jail in Northern Burma for telling a joke ridiculing the regime at a party hosted by Aung San Suu Kyi. She in turn is famous for being the democratically elected leader of this nation and for being under house arrest since 1989.
Day 2
The second day in Mandalay was spent walking endless miles to Mahamuni Paya, the largest of the temples in the city. On the way we encountered some other monasteries with buddhas and lion statues protecting the buildings. The hours of walking were interrupted by rain and kept interesting by Jim's stories. He is a Burmaphile and sculptor from Florida.
At Mahamuni we had the pleasure of being followed by the secret police (MI). The scene was dizzying. Hundreds of worshippers pushing through one long corridor lined with souvenir stalls toward the gold-leaf buddha. Women were not allowed near the buddha and sat in neat rows at a distance in front of it worshipping. Outside the temple I caught the eye of a crazy woman chewing beetle nut. Her blood red mouth is all I remember coming at me. She hugged me continuously and kept saying something. I patted her on the hand and extracted myself from her grip as quickly as possible but she was on fire and kept following.
Day 3
One luxury vehicle ride later and we were here
and then here
Day 4
Mingun
Day 5
Our waiter, a ten year old boy with thanaka root paste on his face
An English class we attended to practice conversational skills with the students
This is a badly written post but my time is up. I'll fine tune it later.
Burma is the friendliest country I have been so far. There are hello's and smiles coming at me from every corner and shop. Nothing but kindness from the people ruled by a brutal military regime. The stories I've heard have made my blood run cold. My first night in Mandalay I walked over to another hotel to look at their book exchange and just walked up to Jim. Together with two Argentinian guys, Mauro and Francisco, we headed to see the Moustache Brothers, a comedy troupe that is outlawed by the military regime. They perform out of their home for tourists. If you have seen About a Boy then you've heard about Par Par Lay. He is mentioned in the call centre scene of the film. Par Par spent seven years in jail in Northern Burma for telling a joke ridiculing the regime at a party hosted by Aung San Suu Kyi. She in turn is famous for being the democratically elected leader of this nation and for being under house arrest since 1989.
Day 2
The second day in Mandalay was spent walking endless miles to Mahamuni Paya, the largest of the temples in the city. On the way we encountered some other monasteries with buddhas and lion statues protecting the buildings. The hours of walking were interrupted by rain and kept interesting by Jim's stories. He is a Burmaphile and sculptor from Florida.
At Mahamuni we had the pleasure of being followed by the secret police (MI). The scene was dizzying. Hundreds of worshippers pushing through one long corridor lined with souvenir stalls toward the gold-leaf buddha. Women were not allowed near the buddha and sat in neat rows at a distance in front of it worshipping. Outside the temple I caught the eye of a crazy woman chewing beetle nut. Her blood red mouth is all I remember coming at me. She hugged me continuously and kept saying something. I patted her on the hand and extracted myself from her grip as quickly as possible but she was on fire and kept following.
Day 3
One luxury vehicle ride later and we were here
and then here
Day 4
Mingun
Day 5
Our waiter, a ten year old boy with thanaka root paste on his face
An English class we attended to practice conversational skills with the students
This is a badly written post but my time is up. I'll fine tune it later.
posted by LOTC at 11:21 PM
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