Floyd and I enjoyed a wonderful vacation in Myanmar and Vietnam over Christmas break! Scroll to the bottom for links to blog posts about other parts of the trip.
Here are some of our memories from the area of Mingun, about an hour’s boat ride upriver from Mandalay.
From Mandalay, we took a boat an hour or so upstream to Mingun (or Min Gun), on the opposite bank. Just boarding the boat was an adventure!
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| This is a huge stupa (temple with no inside – it’s solid) begun in 1790 and never completed. Supposedly, an astrologer told the king who commissioned it that when it was finished, the king would die, so he halted construction. The cracks were caused by a huge earthquake in 1839. |
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| Don’t be fooled by the fake door on the front. This structure has no inside – it’s solid all the way through, except for a tiny shrine in the front. |
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| We climbed up to the top – lots of steps, and (as at all stupas and temples in Myanmar) we had to go barefoot. We found most of them to be quite clean, but sadly, this one had trash all around. Walking barefoot there felt quite gross! |
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| The view from the top. |
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| Near the unfinished stupa is a gigantic, famous bell. |
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| The Mingun Bell is the second-largest bell in the world, and the largest bell that actually rings. |
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| Random locals kept asking to get their pictures taken with us! |
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| These ox carts were all over Mingun, taking tourists around. |
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| Across from the huge unfinished stupa are the remains of two giant lions built to guard it. They didn’t look very lion-like to us, but then, they both lost their heads (which rolled into the nearby Irrawaddy River) in the earthquake. |
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| Another of the lions. |
Want to see more memories from our trip? Click on the links below!
Floyd and I enjoyed a wonderful vacation in Myanmar and Vietnam over Christmas break! Scroll to the bottom for links to blog posts about other parts of the trip.
Here are some of our memories from an evening at Myanmar’s famous Ubein Bridge. This is the oldest and longest teakwood bridge in the world. The area is famous for its gorgeous sunrises and sunsets. There are also plenty of venders and souvenir sellers ready to cater to tourists.
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| Long before dusk, the serious photographers got into position to prepare for the sunset. |
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| Locals fishing near the bridge. |
One of several areas selling food and drink just below the bridge.
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| Some of the snacks for sale. |
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| More snacks. |
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I enjoyed watching a farmer plowing his field with a team of oxen before heading home for the evening.
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| I was hungry, and this looked like the best snack option there. The little deep-fried and breaded fishies were actually really tasty, especially when dipped in the spicy sauce. |
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| Sunset at last! |
Want to see more memories from our trip? Click on the links below!
Floyd and I enjoyed a wonderful vacation in Myanmar and Vietnam over Christmas break! Scroll to the bottom for links to blog posts about other parts of the trip. (Some links may not work until all the posts are live.)
Here are some of our memories from the couple of days we spent in the city of Mandalay in Myanmar.
I enjoyed a ride on the back of one of Mandalay’s many bike taxis!
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| We had a simple but tasty dinner at this little restaurant. They don’t have many choices on the menu, but the “twist potato” with sausage in the middle was really good! (I recommend it with ketchup.) |
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| We went for a LONG walk in Mandalay one afternoon/evening. (I think Floyd estimated we went something like 65 city blocks?) We had hoped to visit Mandalay Palace, but it was getting toward evening and the complex was closed to guests, or at least to foreigners. So we strolled along a pathway that ran along the outside of the moat sort of thing. |
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| It was beautiful to look at in the dusk! |
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| Eventually (after dark) we ended up on Mandalay Hill, where there’s a set of temple buildings so lit up with colored lights that we both thought they looked like something you’d find in Disneyland. But no, they’re active centers of Buddhist worship. |
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| We hired a taxi driver to take us to the top of the hill, where Su Taung Pyai, an especially famous gold-plated pagoda, looks down over the city. |
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| Looking up at Su Taung Pai’s dazzling dome. |
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| Decorations in Su Taung Pyai’s interior. |
On our way back to our hotel in the evening, we passed through a night market in which a group of young people were playing a very interesting game. It was fun to watch! Can you figure out the rules?
Want to see more memories from our trip? Click on the links below!
Floyd and I enjoyed a wonderful vacation in Myanmar and Vietnam over Christmas break! Scroll to the bottom for links to blog posts about other parts of the trip.
Here are some of our memories from the all-day boat ride we took between the cities of Bagan and Mandalay.
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| It was FREEZING cold and still dark when we first boarded the boat. It was fun watching the sun rise over the Irrawaddy (also called Ayeyarwady) River. |
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| I played around with different settings on my camera. This one made the colors look more like sunset, but trust me, the sun was just rising! |
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| Another dawn shot from the river. |
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| A random village we passed along the way. We saw quite a few of these – it was a long trip! |
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| Approaching Mandalay. I guess the river bank is the local spot to hang laundry. |
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| Apparently it’s also the spot to wash clothes and bathe! |
Want to see more memories from our trip? Click on the links below!
Floyd and I enjoyed a wonderful vacation in Myanmar and Vietnam over Christmas break! Scroll to the bottom for links to blog posts about other parts of the trip.
Here are some of our memories from the cooking lesson we signed up for, where we learned to make traditional Burmese food on Christmas Day! (Find out more about it on Trip Advisor here.)
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| This lady, May, was our host. The lesson was held at her house, mostly on her back porch and in her yard. She had a wonderful little garden where we picked fresh herbs and vegetables to add to the food! |
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| She set out a few basic ingredients and supplies, and we started by peeling and chopping what she told us to. |
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| At one point I got to crush raw garlic and ginger in a mortar with a pestle. Later, I crushed peanuts in the same mortar (it didn’t get washed out in between). The result was quite a zesty-flavored peanut paste! We used it (along with the garlic/ginger mixture) in a number of different dishes. |
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| She had a row of charcoal burners set out on her porch. At her instruction, Floyd and I and one other student cooked a number of separate dishes in them. The main courses included prawns, chicken curry, fish cakes, and pork, but there were quite a few cold salads (none involving lettuce) as well. |
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| We put a giant green eggplant in the coals to cook. |
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| Here’s what it looked like after a while. |
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| The finished version. The inside was all gooey and ready to be scooped out to be added to a salad. |
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| Stirring the chicken curry. Most of the broth disappeared as it simmered. |
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| This is May with the library she started in her garage, available for kids and adults in the neighborhood to use 24/7. 20% of the proceeds from her cooking classes go toward the library. |
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| These were the tasty salads we made! |
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| Our fish cakes and prawns. So yummy! |
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| May made us this tasty thick soup. I’m not sure what was in it. |
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| Dessert (a store-bought surprise from May) was made from coconut, sticky rice, and jaggery (palm sugar). Delicious! |
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| Here we are with all the different foods! Or at least what was left of them by the end of the meal. |
Want to see more memories from our trip? Click on the links below!
Floyd and I enjoyed a wonderful vacation in Myanmar and Vietnam over Christmas break! Scroll to the bottom for links to blog posts about other parts of the trip.
Here are some of our memories from the city of Bagan, which is famous for the hundreds upon hundreds of temples scattered across the landscape just outside (and even inside) of town.
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| Floyd and I rented little electric scooters and spent most of two days driving around on a self-guided tour. |
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| Locals make their living all through the area. |
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| Some of the temples had ancient writing and artwork inside. |
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| We met a friendly local artist named Koko, who showed us around and volunteered to take some pictures for us. |
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| We bought this painting from Koko (the scene shows his conception of paradise). After he spent hours of his day showing us around for free, we kind of felt like we had to buy something from him as thanks. Unfortunately, it turned out to be REALLY expensive! ($75 U.S. was his starting price, and we did bargain it down a little, but not much. Unfortunately, by the time we heard the price, it was a little too late to back down.) |
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| Some of the temples had external stairways that we could climb up. They were all extremely steep, and we had to take of four shoes and socks every time. |
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| Even monks like to explore ancient monuments (and take pictures with their smart phones)! These two spoke good English and agreed very courteously to take Floyd’s and my picture, when we asked them to. One of them took a picture of us at the same time, so I didn’t feel bad asking to take one of them. |
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| Whoops. We didn’t see this sign until AFTER we had climbed up to the temple (along with dozens of other tourists). Honest! |
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| Lots of tourist hired these little horse carts for the day, along with a guide to show them around. |
A secret interior stairway up to the top of one of the temples! Koko, our volunteer guide who grew up in the area, showed it to us. It felt like something Indiana Jones would experience!
Want to see more memories from our trip? Click on the links below!
Floyd and I enjoyed a wonderful vacation in Myanmar and Vietnam over Christmas break! Scroll to the bottom for links to blog posts about other parts of the trip.
As a part of our boat tour of Inle Lake, we stopped at this weaving center, where they make cloth from lotus fiber, as well as silk and cotton.
In this video, our guide demonstrates how the fiber is extracted from lotus plants.
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| It was very interesting to see a whole room full of looms and to watch the weavers at work. |
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| Looms are more complex devices than I would have thought. |
Weaving in action. We were amazed how fast the women were!
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| The view across the water from the front walkway of the weaving center. |
I love this ingenious homemade spinning wheel! (At the end of the video, the lady is saying “hello” in Burmese.)
Want to see more memories from our trip? Click on the links below!
Floyd and I enjoyed a wonderful vacation in Myanmar and Vietnam over Christmas break! Scroll to the bottom for links to blog posts about other parts of the trip.
Here are some of our memories from a day of boating around on Myanmar’s fascinating Inle Lake.
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| Lots of people (men, women, and children) in Myanmar paint their faces with the white powdery substance the man on the right is wearing. Apparently it’s a cosmetic that functions as natural sunblock. |
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| Fishermen at dawn. We were amazed at how they were able to use their feet to both row their boats and manipulate their nets. |
This brief video shows foot-rowing fishermen in action.
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| My favorite part of the boat ride (and one of my favorite parts of the entire vacation) was seeing villages where the buildings were built right on the water. It was just amazing! |
Join us for a video tour of one of the villages on the water!
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| This house was under construction. When we went by again in the other direction a couple of hours later, most of the roof had been put on already. |
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| Most of the buildings on the water had electricity. This is how it gets to them. |
Another interesting thing we saw was these famous “floating gardens”. Crops such as tomatoes are grown right on the surface of the lake!
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| Our guide let us off the boat for a while in this little town. As you can see, every other boatful of tourists stopped there, too! |
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| It was an interesting little area. |
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| We walked through an open-air market. |
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| I wished I could try some of the local produce! |
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| These looked delicious! I especially wanted one of those samosas. |
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| No idea what these are. |
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| The lady gave us each a free sample of these. Delicious! (But we had no idea what they were.) |
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| We were told that these women were all from a particular tribe, as evidenced by their traditional head gear. |
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| More local delicacies. |
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| Heading home with goods from the market. |
A blacksmith at work in the market area by the lake. It was really interesting to watch the whole process.
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| We hiked up a long walkway for a close view of these old temples. |
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| There were a lot of them up at the top. |
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| After spending the entire day on and around Inle lake, we finally headed back as dusk fell. It was a wonderful day! |
Want to see more memories from our trip? Click on the links below!
Floyd and I enjoyed a wonderful vacation in Myanmar and Vietnam over Christmas break! Scroll to the bottom for links to blog posts about other parts of the trip.
Here are some of our memories from the town of Ngaung Shwe, where we stayed for three nights, in the beautiful Inle Lake region of Myanmar.
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| This is the guest house where we stayed. Cute, clean, and affordable, plus conveniently located right there in town, walking distance from everything. We recommend it! |
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| Horse carts were a common sight on the streets there – both as a taxi for tourists and transportation for locals. |
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| Inle Lake isn’t especially famous for its pagodas the way some parts of the country are, but still, they’re everywhere in Myanmar. |
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| The entrance to the local open-air market. I enjoyed browsing in there. |
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| The market had every kind of fresh produce you can imagine, as well as clothes, toys, souvenirs, and various other items. |
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| Prices in the market are all negotiable. |
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| This pottery was being displayed for sale at the side of the main road. |
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| There are lots of great restaurants (with English menus, most featuring Western and other international cuisine) in Ngaung Shwe. When I ordered a chocolate cashew pancake for breakfast in one of them, I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this. However, it was delicious! |
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| We saw this sign by the main road and decided to see what traditional Myanmar puppetry was like. It didn’t cost much, and it was a very interesting cultural experience. |
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| One puppeteer handled all the marionettes, one dancing in each separate song. Afterward he came out and talked to the audience (a small group, there were only about ten of us) about the traditional craft of making and performing with the marionettes. He makes all his own and has some for sale in his little theater. Apparently it is a dying art in Myanmar, as the younger generation is no longer very interested in such things. |
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| Floyd and I rented bikes from our guest house and enjoyed a scenic ride around the area. Ngaung Shwe is a farming community, and once we got outside the little town, everything was quaint and rural. I was fascinated at the glimpses of these traditional homes. As you can see, they stood on poles with walls woven from palm fronds or something similar. |
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| We ended up riding the bikes up a hill to a nearby winery, from which there was a beautiful view of the surrounding countryside. |
We spent the next day on a boat on Lake Inle. Stay tuned for my next blog post – those are still probably my favorite memories from the whole trip!
Want to see more memories from our trip? Click on the links below!
Floyd and I enjoyed a wonderful vacation in Myanmar and Vietnam over Christmas break! Scroll to the bottom for links to blog posts about other parts of the trip.
Here are some of our memories from the Shwe Dagon Pagoda, which is definitely the number one thing to put on your list if you’re picking sites to see in Yangon.
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| The front entrance. There’s a lot more to the temple complex than you can see from here. |
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| This man was our guide, which was really helpful since the pagoda complex is so big. He explained a lot about the history and purpose of the different buildings, as well as quite a bit about Buddhism in general. |
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| Dress code is serious business in Myanmar! All the temples we saw around the country had signs about how to dress appropriately. |
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| Since Floyd was in shorts (not considered “civilized dress”), he was required to buy and wear a “longyi” (wraparound skirt commonly worn by both men and women in Myanmar) before he could enter the temple complex. Everyone had to take off their shoes before going in. |
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| Artwork by the eaves of one of the buildings. |
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| There are lots of separate temples buildings in the Shwe Dagon Pagoda complex. There’s no angle from which one picture could capture them all. |
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| Everything that looks like gold in these pictures really is! Most of the temples were plated with gold leaf. |
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| As you can imagine, idols were everywhere, both in and out of the temples. Many of the people we saw were actively worshipping them. |
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| The sky that day was perfect for photography! |
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| I was impressed by all the elaborate details in the decorations on the temples’ roofs. |
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| This temple is the actual, famous Shwe Dagon Pagoda itself. |
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| There were lots of other tourists and locals there. |
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| Every pagoda was topped with these dangling decorative “umbrellas” (yes, that’s actually what they’re called). |
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| The floor in the whole complex was smooth, cool, and clean (marble, I think?), so it was no problem to go barefoot on it. |
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| Beautiful Shwe Dagon! |
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| Gold was in evidence everywhere, but other building materials added nice color contrasts on some of the roofs. |
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| Some people were there to worship, others just to hang out. |
After our experience at Shwe Dagon, on the evening of our first full day in Myanmar, we got on a bus (the “JJ Express”) for the overnight trip to our next destination: the highland region of Inle Lake. We were pleasantly surprised when we saw what the bus was like!
Want to see more memories from our trip? Click on the links below!
