when in doubt, smile. .

January 06, 2016

when in doubt, smile. .

Blessed are they
who see beautiful things
in humble places
where other people see nothing.

~Camille Pissarro

. Burma .
(myanmar)

A photo journal of our latest adventure

Some people say a picture is worth a thousand words.
For this blog I'm going to skip the 1000 words (I'll still explain SOME brief excursions) and let the pictures speak for themselves in this up close and personal capture of our 2 weeks in Burma (Myanmar). For those of you who don't know where Burma is (you're not alone) it's in SE Asia bordering Thailand/India area. Therefore, of course, it's just as amazing as all the other countries in that area.

Sarah and I met late on a Friday night in the Yangon airport to start our journey across the central country. We had heard that the country was "behind the times" in advancements and tourism. This is one of the main reasons that for so many years we've been trying to get here. Because of this we hadn't planned much beyond our first night. We had a set few places in our mind that we'd like to go but didn't exactly set our plan in motion until we arrived. Yangon was a beautiful, quiet, safe city to start in. As seasoned travels who've spent accumulative of months in Asia, we were wary at first. We know and understand that the cultures are different and that we should be on guard when travelling - especially as women travels. We'd soon find out that Burma would be very different. No one wanted our money, no one wanted our belongings, ourselves or any other item we may have possessed.

They wanted our smile and to give us part of them. Burmese locals wanted to provide us with direction and guidance to have an amazing trip (they succeeded).

As a welcoming sign suggested, "when in doubt, smile" and that we did.

I'd have to say almost every single person smiled back. We spent our first few days in Yangon walking down the narrow streets peering into shops and homes, curious and aware of our surroundings. We enjoyed delicious noodle soup and the sounds of the city. The weather was warm but we also had some torrential rains. We visited the most sacred Pagoda in Burma, the golden Shwedagon Pagoda. Legends have it that the Pagoda was built over 2,500 years ago making it the oldest Buddhist Stupa in the world.

From Yangon we headed to Inle Lake in the Shan Hills. Here we watched locals fish in traditional ways on long wooden boats using their feet and oars to scare and catch fish. We visited tiny markets and villages surrounding the lake. There were wooden home on tall stilts above the water and the surrounding hills and mountains of the lake had small Pagodas all around. While in Inle Lake we travelled mostly by rickety old bikes into the country side of lush green hills and fields. Venturing about an hour out of town led us to the Red Mountain Estate Vineyards and Winery. Here we sat perched on a beautiful mountain and tested 4 wines for 3$ per person and took in the view.

From Inle Lake we flew to Bagan. I have to add; the local airports were probably the most nerve racking part of the trip. No one really spoke much english, our luggage would be left in the middle of the airport on the floor to wait until our flight (anyone could have taken it), and there were several flights leaving at close times all spoken in Burmese. Sometimes we'd just follow the person next to us with the same coloured ticket and hope we made it on board to our correct destination. It all worked out well each time.
Bagan is a beautiful area, old and new, surrounded by thousands of old temples. Some temples had been well kept while others were falling apart. Where now there are approximately 2000 temple remains, there once stood 10,000. We again rented old rickety bikes and spent our days riding down winding roads and sandy paths to see all the ruins and sites. Some temples we were able to squish through tiny brick tunnels to get to the top for a beautiful panoramic view. The highlight view was floating above Old Bagan in a hot air balloon and watching the sun rise.
What a dreamily incredible experience.

From Bagan we finished our trip in Burma in the former capital, Mandalay (our real end to our trip was a lay over in Bangkok, Thailand). We travelled to Mandalay by hired car, as we had time to spare and wanted to see the country side. While in Mandalay we took a boat cruise to small villages to visit more famous and ancient temples (Mingun Temple). A loyal and affordable taxi driver made sure we safely arrived at Mandalay hill and U Bein Bridge also while we were in the city.

{Cities and Temples}

Colours of the city.

Shwedagon Pagoda - Yangon.

Yangon

In Yangon all the streets were numbered

Mandalay Palace - Mandalay

Take a photo of something big and then take a photo of something closer.

View from Mandalay Hill

Mandalay Hill

Monk at Mandalay Hill

Shwedagon Pagoda - Yangon

Monk at Shwedagon Pagoda - Yangon

Mandalay Palace

I may seem to collect many beautiful images of doors but it's part of any ongoing project I've been at for a few years - in the end I will have a book of photographs of all the beautiful doors from around the world.

Sleeping on the job. Mandalay Hill

{Traditional weaving on Inle Lake}

All the intricate detail is done with foot pedals

{Tradition on Inle Lake}

Fishing - Inle Lake

Collecting seaweed for fertilizer

Fishing with nets

Houses on stilts

Silver Making Shop

After a long bike ride to Red Mountain Vineyard. We tasted the wine. For 3$.

Floating Tomato Garden

{ Bagan }

We climbed through this narrow opening to reach the top of this ancient temple for panoramic views of Old Bagan.

The exit of the very narrow staircase we climbed to the top of the temple.

Once we reached the top - this was our breathtaking view.

Get a little bit closer.

take advantage of the timer.

{ Hot air ballooning over Bagan }

Looking up from inside the basket.

We were so incredibly lucky that this is something we could, and did, fit into our budget for this trip.

Watching the sun rise over Bagan. So dreamy and surreal - you could hear nothing but the hot air balloon and the people around you. Incredibly peaceful.