Myanmar – Barefoot Journey and the Past

Longi dresses, communal housing, slow life and a world without theft

            The plane slowly stopped at Yong Gun airport – the capital of the country.MyanmarIt was still quite early. The taxi driver with broken English quickly took me to the hotel we had booked in advance. The first thing to do here was to put my things away and exchange money. The hotels refused to exchange US dollars for Kyat and directed us to the jade market 2 km away. The dollars had to be unblemished, free of ink stains and dated 2006 or later. After a smooth exchange of 1000 kyat = 1 dollar, we were ready for our visit to the land of golden pagodas.

            Yong Gun is not a modern capital with high-rise buildings. It is easy to feel like you are lost in Hanoi in the 1980s with buildings that still retain their appearance from the subsidy period. Matchboxes filled with clothes hanging out to dry, tiny living rooms and conversations flowing from one window to another. Houses stand there, peeling off layers of old paint from the 1850s and sparrows jumping around on the balconies.

PeopleMyanmarchat and enjoy tea parties on the sidewalk. A milk tea shop with simple egg cakes right on the sidewalk. While sipping the bitter taste of tea mixed with the cool, refreshing taste of milk, waving a palm leaf fan in hand and watching the old vehicles passing by. The buses move continuously, less than 5 minutes a trip. Men with colorful longi wraps on flashy flip-flops. Traditional longi skirts for all sizes, fat or thin people can wear them. Around the skirt are all kinds of necessary items, from a stack of Kyat money to a mobile phone, from a fan to a pack of rolled cigarettes. No theft, no robbery or quarreling, just smiles with the red color of betel and the glitter of Thanaka powder. (The thanaka plant is used to make cream. People use a ceramic or wooden plate, put a little water to cover the plate, then grind the thanaka stick into it. A thick ivory-colored powder will form when mixed with water. Women and children apply thanaka to protect their skin from the sun and to nourish their skin. When applied, it feels cool, like sunscreen.)

            The market naturally takes place right on the streets. People sell all kinds of things on that small sidewalk, from newspaper stands, book stalls, old foreign language books sold at shockingly cheap prices, to valuable antiques, coins. The fruit and cake market and food and drink market takes place later every afternoon. Banana stalls, delicious papaya and watermelon stalls, flowers and green vegetables...Myanmar, mobile phones were a luxury. People still used public phones on the street, on simple tables with old rotary phones.

            It costs $5 to enter Shwedagon Pagoda, the most famous golden pagoda.Myanmar. I left my shoes outside and walked barefoot to the temple. The midday sun burned the brick floor, making my steps more hurried. The sunset is also the time when most people visit the temple. Built more than 2,500 years ago, Shwedagon is said to be the place where 8 hairs of Buddha are kept. Currently, the main tower of the temple is 98m high and is covered with more than 30 tons of gold and hundreds of diamonds.

            The most notable point is the 8 statues in 8 directions symbolizing 7 days of the week (Wednesday is the middle day of the week divided into morning and afternoon). Each statue has the shape of a different animal and whoever was born on that day would go there to burn incense and then use holy water to sprinkle on that animal for good luck. While the Myanmar people sat around the brick floor around the main temple, praying sincerely, the tourists sat on the steps, quietly admiring the whole view of the temple, local rituals in the sunset.

Tonight, Yong Gun lost power. The government electricity only reached each house for 4 hours. In the night, only the hum of the engine and the cawing of crows pierced the silent darkness.

 Ancient horse tracks, fiery plains sunsets and sleep in a 1000-year-old temple

             The flight from Yongun to Bagan was delayed by two hours. “Flight delays are common in this country. Only cars rarely happen,” explained a foreign friend. They jokingly call the airline “Air” because the airport’s working methods are still very rudimentary. The luggage is received by porters right at the check-in area and when we arrive at the other airport, we are given back when we are about to get out of the taxi. There is no loudspeaker announcing the flight time, only signs: “Flight E1772 to Bagan, please board!”

            Bagan on a lonely red dawn begins to wake up when the footsteps of the mendicant monks. With the Theravada Buddhism, the Bagan and Angkor Wat relics are the two most typical representatives of unique architecture, rich in history. Not hidden in dense forests, the Bagan complex with more than 2,000 pagodas and towers stretches over an area of ​​dozens of kilometers under the scorching sun of the red land. The sun rises, the red dust rolls after the footsteps, after the slow rotation of the bicycle and the clanking of the horse. In the dry season, carpets of fallen yellow leaves cover both sides of the path and the dry sun makes the sand hotter underfoot, making the temples made of red soil glow like the color of fire. The deserted air is red with the color of the earth, the color of the sky and the tree trunks are also dyed with the color of the sun and wind.

Bagan does not collect entrance fees for each site, but collects them right at the entrance to the city. $10 is the fee to enter this historic city. The horse-drawn carriage took us to explore Old Bagan, the meticulously carved temple complex with every line of the wall stained with time, the temples that have stood firm in the sun, wind, sand, or the stormy rains of the earth and sky. A once glorious civilization still exists in daily life. The horse-drawn road kicks up red dust, pedestrians give way to vehicles. Children go to school on wobbly bicycles, little children chatter and wave to visitors, and the temples stand silently on both sides of the vast plains as they have always been.

“Mingalarbar..Mingalarbar..Mingalarbar..” - echoed throughout the red dirt road.

The sun seemed to drain the strength of the guests swaying on the horse-drawn carriage. The sound of the carriage creaked in the charming silence of the hot afternoon. The rustling of the wind and the temples appearing in the sunlight, behind the low branches of trees near and far. Stopping at the Sulamani temple, I stopped to have a snack with the fragrant smell of flour cakes, drank milk tea from a bowl, nibbled on the wild apples growing all around and lay down to take a nap in the cool air of the nearly 1000-year-old temple.

            In the afternoon, cars carrying hundreds of visitors from all directions flock to Thatbyinnyu, the highest temple in Bagan, to watch the spectacular sunset. I followed the path of the Bagan people guarding the temple, climbing to the highest floor of Sulamani. From here, spreading out over the vast plain, the red sun lowered to the distant horizon, covering the temples, the rows of trees with only bare branches, the herds of cows rushing back to their barns, creating a pink haze. Like the scenery of a dry desert, everything is magical in the dust. And from here, you can look out to the Kyansittha umin tunnel with famous paintings over 1000 years old. Migala Zedi - the great temple built in the 13th century and Ananda temple with the tallest towers.Myanmar.

The night quickly fell on the temple roofs and the magical sky with sparkling stars. The temples stood firm and silent in the thick darkness, existing in dreams, mixed with the sound of horses swaying and clattering on the red road surface, the color of the earth and the sky. The bright smile of the horse rider who pulled the reins and enthusiastically introduced this place and that to the guests from afar.

 Barefoot journey in the land of gilded temples

 After 12 hours on the night bus from Bagan to the ancient capital of Mandalay, I quickly rented a motorbike with a full tank of gas. The way to fill up the gas here is described by using a bucket, which made everyone a little scared because they didn’t know how to buy it.

Instead of visiting the palace and the hillMandalayalong with the famous temples around here, we chose the famous U Bien wooden bridge as the first destination. The early morning was brilliant in the alms-giving robes of barefoot monks, walking on every big and small street.Mandalayis the city with the most pagodas in the whole countryMyanmarand the number of monks also ranks first in the country.

            Mahagandayong Temple near U Bien Bridge welcomed two strange visitors from far away this morning. With cheerful faces and bright smiles, we were present at this temple, eagerly waiting for the lunch ceremony of the alms-giver. The rice portions were prepared by the monks in the temple for nearly 1,000 meals. Giant pots of rice were placed in the yard, under the sunny banyan trees. Many people brought many cakes, fruits and flowers, lined up in an orderly manner in the yard. At 10:00 a.m., hundreds of dark brown robes, barefoot, leisurely entered the temple yard. The rows of alms-giver monks returned, walking calmly, their faces calm, receiving the items from the hands of Buddhists and taking their places in the monks' dining room. Most of them were between 13 and 26 years old and this temple was the place that received the biggest breakfast meals in the whole country.Mandalay.

The hustle and bustle of curious visitors gave way to compassionate faces walking quickly into the hall. Kind, benevolent faces with gentle, radiant smiles and unhurried steps, like life on this land: walking slowly.

            U Bien Bridge welcomes the sunset like every other day. The 1.2km long bridge made entirely of wood has existed for 2 centuries with sturdy spans for many people on both sides of Taungthaman Lake to cross every day. Bicycles carrying lunch boxes every morning to work and return. Children running and shouting on the alluvial land. Stunted corn stalks stretching out from the persistent reeds. Fishing boats lift their nets, the sound of oars in the quiet night under the starry sky and also bare feet walking in long lines in the early morning. U Bien Bridge in the afternoon is young couples swinging their feet and chatting, an old monk sitting on the porch telling stories of Buddha from a very long time ago, groups of young people giggling, applying cool thanaka powder to each other or just curious tourists wanting to admire the beauty of an afternoon on the legendary bridge.

             MandalayThe last day of leaving, but still lingering in the heart. Dinner on the sidewalk with spicy Indian chicken rice. The vendor came out from time to time to refill two glasses of cold water because he saw the guests were constantly complaining about the spiciness. A couple of friends waiting for the bus looked at us, smiling. The bus was full, people were ready to stand on the crossbars at the back of the bus, just like that, operating with 4, 5 people clinging to the back of the bus. Passenger buses like that are present on all the streets. Women and children are given priority to sit, while young people or monks are ready to stand on the buses.

 Myanmarlingers in my mind after each sunset. In this country, it feels like you forget the past, forget the future, just live slowly each day with each new discovery. I enjoy the afternoons after my feet are tired and the heat has dissipated, sitting on a sidewalk cafe, sipping a cup of fragrant milk tea, listening to the slow rhythm of daily life. The delicious tropical fruit stalls with bananas, papaya, durian, watermelon... The broken English stories on crowded buses and the smiles of barefoot Myanmar girls looking back at visitors waving goodbye.

 Note:

 MyanmarUse Kyat in denominations ranging from 50 to 1000 dong. You can exchange money at the jade market in downtown Yongun. US dollars are also acceptable as long as they are not torn or have any stains.

There are three domestic private airlines in Myanmar: Yongun Air,MandalayAir and Bagan Air and a national airlineMyanmarAir. Aviation atMyanmarFlight delays are common. You can purchase your flight tickets through the hotels where you stay.

Room rental prices atMyanmarfrom 7 USD/person and up. Hotels and motels in Myanmar are very attentive, enthusiastic with guests and have free breakfast.

Visa to enterMyanmarPrice 20$. You can do visa in advance or at the airport.

Lam Linh

The Thanh