Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Chatuchak Weekend Market


During my last week in Bangkok after Myanmar, my friend Aong took me to the famous Chatuchak Market in the north side of the city. I had never been there before and we went on Sunday morning.
This place has everything for sale. Food, clothes, souvenirs at great prices. Some stuff is just junk and some stuff is quality.
But people watching was probably the most interesting thing.

A little guy playing a bamboo flute hoping to get donations:

Hats:

Signs:


Fruit:

Restaurants:

Drinks:

Clothes:

More hats:


Tasteful, high fashion clothes:

And a rabbit in a skirt:

Friday, January 20, 2012

Inle Lake


 Our next 2 days were spent literally ON Inle Lake which at 3200ft of altitude on the Shan plataeau east of the central plain. It is 13.5 miles long and 7 miles wide and the weather was delightful at that altiude with cooler temperatures and lower humidity. Had to wear a light jacket in the morning.
Above is a view from my hotel bungalow porch which was built on stilts over the lake. The Shan are one of the several ethnic groups that live on the periphery of the Burmese central plain. These groups have been in conflict with the majority Burmar central government for centuries. The Shan are very clean and there was no trash that I saw anywhere in the area.

The people exist on fishing, agriculture and handicraft manufacturing. And now tourism is expanding. The shoreline is dotted with stilt-house villages and mountains are nearby.

We spent the 2 days motoring by long boat from village to village visiting craft shops and pagodas and just setting and taking in the beauty.






My hotel on the lake:

 One of the renowned leg rowers of Inle Lake:
 They do this so they can row and move the boat and also have an arm free for fishing.


 Some examples of houses on the Lake:


They create floating gardens for cultivation of tomatoes, peanuts, and beans. They do this by taking blocks of mud in 4-5ft depths place them together to form a floating length of fertile soil on which they plant the crops. They secure the garden to a spot by using long bamboo sticks to stick thru the garden into the lake bottom so they don't float away.

Sunset the first nite from my hotel bungalow balcony:


The second day at the lake we motored across to the western shore and visited the village of Indaing.
To get there our boat had to wind it's way thru narrow channels between the floating gardens.



The village had a field of old stupas and temples:




An assortment of people and characters:









 And many handicraft artists:



The next morning I flew back to Yangon for half a day looking at the Royal Barge which doubles as a restaurant and showplace; the main market (where my guide lost me in the maze of stuff); and a street market in Indian town.




That evening I had dinner at a wonderful French restaurant in Yangon and flew back to Bangkok the next morning.


Mandalay


After Bagan we made the short flight to Mandalay on our Airline, Air KBZ, or Air Kanbawza. This is a local airline started by a banking company about 18 months ago and they have a "fleet" of 2 airplanes.
They were on time or early on all 4 flights, delivered luggage without a hitch and had only one bouncy landing.
Mandalay is the area of several former capitals of The Burmar people and the home of the last capital before the British annexed Burma to India in 1886 and moved the capital to Rangoon.
The area around the city is very nice with several beautiful sites, but the city itself is noisy, dirty and has only one traffic light and intermittent electrical service. It is at the terminus of the road to China and is slowly converting to a Chinese city as businessmen from China have moved in. Because of the Western economic sanctions China has wide open opportunities there.

The photo above is that of U-Bein's Bridge at sunset. It is the longest teak wood bridge at 1300 yards in length as it crosses Taungthaman Lake southwest of the city. It is a popular tourist photo op but is a critical path for locals to use on their way around the area.



We also visited the site of a former capital- Ava- that sat on an island between the great Ayerwaddy river and a smaller river. There are only pieces of the city wall still intact, and a few remnants of the palace including a watchtower that is leaning precariously.
We were taken by horse cart around the island to see the scenes...stupas and rice paddies

 


There were monasteries such as this brick and stucco example:

and this magnificent wooden monastery:


And another Pagoda complex we visited:

This is where we had lunch the first day; a classy place set out in the middle of the fields next to the river:


 Our next stop after lunch was the religious center of Sagaing Hill which has numerous monasteries, stupas and shrines. As well as meditation centers and even a Hospital for only monks and nuns.


 A shrine with 42 Buddhas lined up:


A nun studying Buddhist scriptures:


The second day we took an early morning boat about 1 hour up the Ayerwaddy River to Mingun. Where there is the world's second largest intact and working bronze bell. An unfinished and partially collapsed pagoda that was intended to be the world's largest pagoda and then an unusually designed white pagoda.
The boatman pushes away from shore to start the journey:
As the sun rose:


The Bell:

The white pagoda, Hsinbyume:


The unfinished and crumbling Mingun Pagoda.

 More proof I was on the trip...after climbing up to the top of the Mingun Pagoda:

View of the Ayerwaddy River from the top of the Pagoda

A monk sitting on top....I think he was posing for tourists to snap a photo:


We ended the 2nd day on Mandalay Hill to watch another sunset.