Ten Days in Barmy Burma

U Bein Bridge, near Mandalay

In November 2014 I finally got to visit a country that’s been on my ‘to do’ list for decades—Burma, or if you prefer, Myanmar. Though I’ve lived very close for many years. I’ve not been able to visit as I’m on a press visa in Thailand, and the powers-that-be in Burma don't issue visas to members of the press, but the introduction of e-visas in October 2014 suddenly opened the possibility. Then new flights opened between Chiang Mai (my home town) and Rangoon (Yangon), as well as Mandalay, so I found myself packing my bags and chanting the words of Kipling’s poem:

“No! You won’t ‘eed nothin’ else

But them spicy garlic smells,

An’ the sunshine an’ the palm trees an’ the tinkly temple bells;

On the road to Mandalay…”

I spent two days in Rangoon, two in Bagan, two at Inle Lake and four around Mandalay and had a fine old time, being reminded every day just how different Burma is to everywhere else. And in an effort to capture the diversity of the place, I’m posting the following images from the trip.

On the Circle Line, Yangon

The Shwedagon in Yangon wrapped in bamboo scaffolding

Misty morning at Shwezigon Pagoda, Bagan

Hot-air balloons over the plain of Bagan

Sulamuni Temple, Bagan

Weaving a bamboo wall, Bagan

Feeding birds over Inle Lake

Intha fisherman, Inle Lake

Stucco image, Indein Pagoda, Inle Lake

Baby at Kuthodaw Pagoda, Mandalay

Village kids near Mandalay

U Bein Bridge, near Mandalay

View from Mandalay Hill

Botanical Gardens, Pyin Oo Lwin

Effigy of British soldier, Governor's House, Pyin Oo Lwin

Horse-drawn carriage, Pyin Oo Lwin

Reclining Buddha at Po Win Daung Caves, near Monywa

Whimsical statue at Shwe Ba Taung caves, near Monywa