Visiting Burma (Myanmar) in the Rainy Season – Part 1

The military rule

Despite the military rule, Aung San Suu Kyi and her Democratic Party won the 2011 election. Aung San Suu Kyi fought for democracy and after 49 years, she managed to displace the military dictatorship. In February this year, the Myanmar military regained power again.

Despite military leadership, the country is completely safe for travelers. People are very friendly and always find time to talk. So, I invite you to wander through this country through my eyes.

Sightseeing in Yangon

We arrived in the capital Yangon (it was the capital until 2005, later the new capital became Nay Pyi Taw, which lies north of Yangon) in the evening. It took us quite some time to find a taxi driver to take us downtown. First, we came across a very drunk taxi driver, the second was too expensive, and with the third one we somehow managed to arrange, in his broken English, for transportation to our sleeping place. The ride from the airport to the city center wasn’t supposed to take exceedingly long, but it was kind of like this with us and our taxi driver. Once we agreed on a price (I think it was around three dollars), we drove two hundred meters ahead when the wipers “died”. I must also say that we traveled around the country during the rainy season and it rain was literally coming down in torrents. When the taxi driver went outside in the rain to fix the wipers, which took him about five minutes, we were sitting inside and waiting. Well, we drove on, and the wipers died again, and after a while the matter repeated itself. The speed limit traffic signs didn’t have numbers, they were descriptive – there was the word “slow” written on them. So, we knew we had to take our time in this country as we were obviously going to travel nice and slow, and most of all we knew from the beginning that we were going to have a lot of laughs during out stay.

In the capital, we settled ourselves in accommodation in the center (which, in addition to breakfast, also included daily visits from large cockroaches). Well, we said to ourselves that we would have to get used to that, too. After that we headed to the city center. Suddenly, when we were on our way, rain started pouring from the sky, so we first hid under a small roof in the middle of the street, where Burmese people sat next to us and drank tea (it’s a daily habit in Burma to drink tea). Within ten minutes, it stopped raining. We continued our hike towards the city center. Of course, it didn’t last long until it started raining again within ten minutes, and this time we found a roof over our heads at the fire station. After that we decided that it was time to eat something, so we sat down at a nearby restaurant. The rice was served on a plate, mixed with peanuts and some sliced vegetables. In addition, we were also served garlic, hot peppers and, of course, tea. Soon after, it stopped raining. We thanked the friendly locals in the restaurant and continued with our exploration of the city.

The next day we went for a walk around the city. We only had to wait fifteen minutes again, as it was raining like cats and dogs. Then we put on shoes and a raincoat, and off we went. There were lots of young monks walking barefoot everywhere in the city, dressed in red (male) or pink (female) clothes. With an empty container, they were asking people for food (usually rice) or money early in the morning. Young boys and girls prefer to live a monastic life because they can be educated in monasteries, and food is also provided there. In monasteries, it’s customary for all the monks to gather for lunch at eleven o'clock, and then to be educated during the day.

The streets of Yangon are also full of various food and clothes vendors and shoppers, and in between one can find a lost traveler with a book in hand (usually a travel guide, which contains all the main information on the sights of the place they’re visiting) and a huge backpack, stumbling over the edges of the sidewalk. On the streets, we also met men dressed in a cloth called longyi. It’s the lower part of the garment that’s wrapped around the hips and looks like a skirt.

What was especially interesting to me in this country was that the women put special cream on their face, which is a mixture of wood and water (called tanaka). They say that’s the only way they can protect themselves from the sun. Well, there wasn’t much sun during our stay, and even when it wasn’t raining, believe me, it wasn’t hot during this monsoon season. Sometimes, however, women walked around the city with an umbrella, which was supposed to also protect them from the sun.

The most beautiful pagoda is the Shwedagon Pagoda

When visiting Yangon, it’s seeing the famous Shwedagon Pagoda is a must. It’s said to be the most beautiful and most precious Buddhist religious building here, mainly because the upper part is made of gold. The pagoda is 98 meters high. It’s covered in more than 8,000 gold tiles, and its top with countless diamonds, rubies, and other precious stones. In the middle of the central pagoda stands a number of smaller pagodas, religious buildings and smaller Buddha statues. Around it, however, worshippers quietly walk around, sitting and praying or laying flowers on Buddha statues. This building complex is supposed to be visited by every Buddhist at least once in their life. But before the Burmese adopted Buddhism, they worshiped nature spirits called nats. Thus, statues of ghosts are placed in the corners of the pagoda, and the many temple bells attract their attention and blessing. Let me also mention that we walked barefoot, as it’s forbidden to enter religious buildings in shoes; it’s also necessary to wear a T-shirt that covers the shoulders, and pants that cover the knees.

Buddha statues can be carved in various positions. The standing position of the Buddha is said to represent the descent from heaven, where he’s supposed to travel to his mother. The sitting position, which is also the most common position of the Buddha, can represent the following events: Buddha calls the earth as a witness to his enlightenment, or to preach, or that the Buddha is in deep meditation. If he’s in a supine position, it means that he’s dying or entering nirvana (when the head is facing north) or sleeping, resting (when the head is in other positions). The position of the hands is also important in a Buddha statue. For example, if the hands are resting on his knees and the palms are facing up, it means that Buddha will soon experience enlightenment.