Adventures in Myanmar
With about 25% pensive energy and 75% excitement we headed to Myanmar! A place previously inaccessible to Americans unless on a special visa until just a few years ago. Myanmar has been on my mind for a long time with it's majestic temples that tease the eyes along the horizon line and its interesting people like those of the Kayan region with the rings around their neck. I knew I had to get there, even if it was with my 'special passport'. I made sure to ask at the US Embassy if I would be able to get in, they said they had only heard of one instance in the last few years where anyone had any trouble. A quick flight from Bangkok and we landed in Mandalay. While in Bangkok they took pictures of my passport and sent it to the Myanmar Immigration office and let me board with a yellow sheet saying the airline was not responsible for any costs should I not be able to enter. The second of these sheets I have collected on this trip!
There were not many people on our flight and we quickly arrived and made our way to immigration. Sure I can get in, but the issue was getting the computer system to accept that the passport number on my visa and my new passport belonged to the same person. Five immigration officers, an IT guy and 20 minutes later, I had officially made it!!
We celebrated this victory with a cup of tea, my new favorite, Myanmar tea! Sure it has milk in it, but the vegan things sometimes has to wait. As we waited for check in to open for our next fight to Bagan we laughed about the whole thing and got caught up on some work. Next stop Bagan!
Whoops... guess who only booked 1 ticket to Bagan and not two...THIS GIRL! Back out of stage 1 security and to the ATM whos buttons would not work, over to ATM number two. With cash in hand we go back through round one of security, buy a round trip ticket for 
Arriving in Bagan was perfect, our hotel was off the beaten path and as the sun set I noticed a golden temple in the background. They are literally everywhere. At one point over 10,000 temples, pagodas, stupas. Now there are still over 3,000. We ate dinner looking out to the temple on the hill, no horns, no wild parties, just us.
Our alarm went off at 430am and we met our driver at 5am who would take us to a hillside where you can watch the sunrise. I'm not a morning person but I've been excited for this moment for years so it was no big deal. The area is now protected by the Archaeological Conservation people and you pay for a pass at the airport to enter the areas. It's not too much, about $20 usd per person I think. I don't mind surprises so much, but just let me know before I get a modest amount of money out of the ATM so I don't have to do double transactions. Anyways, the sunrise was perfect. The air was breezy, bugs were flying, only a few other people around. We watched as the sun rose and revealed more and more temples. We had two ours here so as the light came in we decided to walk around to a few of the close by structures. It was absolutely fascinating and truly a dream come true.
Back at our hotel by 7am we ate a bite of breakfast and went back to bed! When we woke up again around 11am it was time to start the day, again! On our trusty ebike #22 we took off towards New Bagan. We found a nice little restaurant on the Irrawaddy River for another rendition of veggies and rice!
We toured all around from temple to temple, stupa to stupa, pagoda to pagoda. I even got the traditional skin care regiment made from water and tree bark! To be completely honest I have no idea what all we saw except it was all wonderful! We kept moving through New Bagan to Old Bagan and then up to the New City... wait we didn't quite make it to the new city because our trusty ebike ran out of battery. We met this nice lady at a road side cafe who called out hotel and asked them to come and get us. We had a sunkist and french fries while we talked to her. 18 years old, doesn't believe in marriage, restaurant owner with an older brother, mom and dad close by! We even saw a snake that we are pretty sure to be a cobra, y'all let me know if you are a snake expert. We were thankful for the zoom on my camera and to be on the motorbike when this slithery friend came riding by!
Back to our hotel to rest up for a bit, get cooled off and check on our Sak Yants. We decided since we had rented an ebike for the day that we could get another one and go to the New City for dinner! After dinner I wanted to pop in a little wood working shop. This ended up being a treat as Brandon got to play guitar with the local woodworker. It was a neat experience for sure! On the way back to our hotel... the ebike lost power AGAIN! Fortunately our hotel shuttle happened to be going by and they picked us up again! Take that Day 1 in Bagan!
Day 2=SLEEP IN!
We took the shuttle into town and rented an ebike from there so we didnt have to travel as far on ebike and risk getting stranded for a third time! I had a special project that I was working on where I leave a copper genesa somewhere special on my travels. I knew I wanted to leave it in Myanmar at a temple so we were on the lookout for the perfect one. We found a few that were referenced as 'Pisa', my flip flop broke, and then we found the perfect spot!
Hidden in the temples of Myanmar now sits Genesa #98 sending peace, love and goodwill to the world!
Back to the hotel for a dip in the pool, an epic yoga session and a sunset over the temples. The next day means transfers to Mandalay to explore this city in more detail!
Arriving in Mandalay we had one day to check it all out! We booked a driver and he took us to a number of places, first stop was a HUGE buddha that is continually covered with gold leaf, next stop was to see how to make gold leaf! Third stop was to the Palace and amazing and old wooden monastary, the worlds largest book (over 700 tablets each in its own home), Mandalay Hill, a 3/4 mile long teak pier and lastly to the silk weaving factory. We sure know how to see a city in a day, thats for sure!
It's been a great trip to Myanmar! I am so grateful to have set foot in this country and seen its temples, pagodas and stupas. I hope to be back some time and I also hope that it does not become so over run by tourist that it destroys the ecosystem and beauty in which it holds. Travel responsibly! Next stop, Thailand!
