Trip of a lifetime

Pagodas feature prominently in Myanmar’s landscape, earning the country the name ‘land of pagodas’. Pictures supplied

Narene Chaffey travelled to Myanmar believing the temples would be the most amazing sight. What she found was that it was the people who were the true shining light of this country . . . humble, fun, kind and full of laughter. Narene shares her trip of a lifetime with the Weekender.

Being greeted with cold lemon tea and having my bag carried to my room was the start of my amazing holiday in Myanmar.

A friendly taxi driver took me for a tour around the city before I arrived safely at my hotel in Yangon, Myanmar.

I arrived a day before my tour started so decided to head out and find some dinner.

I walked around the city of Yangon and felt safe — safer than in some big cities in Europe at night.

Tourism is relatively new in Myanmar — sometimes it felt like I was the tourist attraction with lots of friendly smiles and nodding of heads.

I found a bright yellow building where many locals were eating so decided to eat there too.

Everything on the menu was in Burmese so I ordered by pointing at the pictures.

I have no idea what I ordered but it was really nice. I cleaned my plate and the owner of the restaurant was so pleased he gave me a second helping without asking or charging me.

Among the amazing sights in Yangon are the churches, Arabic mosques, Indian and Chinese temples, Jewish synagogues, monasteries, and pagodas dedicated to Buddha teachings. They are all close together and happy being each other’s neighbours. It gives a feeling of a harmonious community of diverse cultures and religions.

Day 1 of the tour: A foodie's dreamThe markets are amazing with dried spices, herbs, teas, fish products, fresh fruit and vegetables, fresh fish, and whole chickens plucked with the head attached.

The street food is amazing too. Our guide picked out what would be safe for us to eat. We had coconut pancakes. If you love food, you will love the food in Myanmar — spicy or not, it is all delicious.

There are a lot of old buildings from when the British colonised and ruled this country. Some have been restored, some have been completely changed to reflect the country’s style and architecture, and some old colonial buildings are slowly falling apart.

I was not expecting to see brand-new mega malls with TV screens wrapped around the outside of the building but there they were. Myanmar may have been open to the world for only a short time but already the commercial giants are moving in to the cities.

The best places to shop are the old marketplaces where you can get anything and everything from paintings and charcoal drawings to bags and rows of material with old Singer sewing machines ready to change the material into anything you want.

Bartering is still used in the old marketplaces — it’s a bit of fun to get a better deal but when you look at the conversion rate in NZ dollars, everything works out to be a bargain anyway.

An amazing place for visitors is Independent Square which celebrates Myanmar’s independence from Britain. At the weekend in the evening it is an amazing food market full of locals, their families and a few tourists too.

As the sun set, we walked down to 19th Street better known as “Beer Street”. Here we found locals and tourists lining up for barbecue food cooked on skewers — any meat you want with a cold Myanmar beer for under NZ$10.

Pagodas at sunsetThe pagodas at sunset are an incredible sight with real gold, diamonds, rubies and sapphires still present at a lot of holy sites. It’s a testament to the people themselves they have not been stolen, broken up or lost throughout history.

They say you have not visited Myanmar until you have seen their holy shrine, Shwedagon Paya Pagoda, which is 2500 years old.

At any holy place you visit, temple dress is compulsory as well as bare feet. Foreigners are often given appropriate clothing if what they are wearing is not up to scratch. Locals go at sunset and tourists tag along.

A country rich in culture and heritageBaganThe next day we caught a plane to Bagan — an archaeological site where 10,000 temples once stood.

Today, 2000 still stand and they are pretty impressive considering the wars and earthquakes that have happened.

You used to be able to climb up some of the temples but tourists are now asked not to for safety reasons — however, quite a few still do.

Wherever you are in old Bagan, you see ruins of temples or pagodas everywhere. Each one is slightly different and has its own time, place and story in history.

The best view is from the air. If you visit out of the rainy season, you can get in a hot air balloon. Around 25 balloons take to the sky over the old city of Bagan at sunrise.

I arrived on the end of the rainy season and managed to do a balloon ride which my beautiful tour guide organised for me.

It was so stunning watching the sun come up, shining its rays onto the ancient temples as we drifted along on the wind.

One of my favourite things was taking a horse and buggy ride to some of the temple sites. I was a little unsure at first, as the animal lover in me came out.

However, each horse looked well fed and in healthy condition, and the next day a different horse is used so they are rested.

You can also catch taxis, tuk-tuks or hire a bicycle to get around.

An unexpected surprise on my tour was when we stopped at a community lodge which was supported by four villages. The money they make from tourism goes to projects within their village — like getting electricity or running water, things we take for granted every day in New Zealand.

If you like four-wheel driving then the roads in this area are definitely in that category. Farming here is still the same as it was 100 years ago so oxen and carts are a common sight, ploughing or pulling the produce from fields.

The people of the villages are amazing. Some know a little English but our guide translated most conversions. I meet a beautiful grandmother who took a shine to me.

This was an inside look at how isolated villages within this country work and live. It was a humbling and inspiring experience — highly recommended.

MandalayNext stop was Mandalay, home of the world’s largest ringing bell. This town is known for trading goods from China as it is right next door. You can take a boat across the Ayeyarwady River to Mingun. On deck they have comfortable cane chairs where you can sit back, relax, take a nap, or if you’re into photography, spend the whole trip trying to get amazing shots.

On arrival you’ll see the Mingun Pahtodawgyi, an enormous stupa (a mound-like structure used for meditation) which would have been the largest in the world if it had been completed. It is massive.

It is also home to the world’s largest ringing bell, which you can ring if you wish to.

But the star feature is the beautiful white Hsinbyume Pagoda which was built by a king in memory of his beloved wife. The architecture is very different from any other site we visited so was well worth the visit.

Monks and nunsOne of the special charms of Myanmar is that you will often come across monks and nuns following Buddhist teachings.

Some often speak many languages and are highly-educated so it’s easy to have a conversation. Monks are almost everywhere you go in Myanmar but the nuns only come out two days a week. Some often ask if they can take photos of you so it’s a good exchange to get one of them as well.

Most practising Buddhist families send their sons here — some stay for nine days, some for years and some stay their whole lives so there’s a great range of ages and life experience.

One of the most famous sites is U Bein Bridge, the longest teak bridge in the world often seen in paintings with the monks crossing it.

The pillars that hold the bridge are from the old palace. It was built to make it easier for people to cross Taungthaman Lake. It is still used by their descendants today along with tourists who love to take photos on the bridge, then drift into the marketplace and find a bargain.

Kalaw: A great place to hikeIf you like hiking, Kalaw is the place for you. It is recommended you hire a local guide to help you get through the region as there are a lot of different villages and paths.

The local guides have amazing knowledge of plant life. You will see villages with tea plantations on hillsides and rice paddies down below. Often the guides will take you to get a refreshing cup of green tea in a village they know before pushing on. There are good views of local forests and mountain areas . . . and believe it or not, quite a few pine trees.

Inle Lake - Golden CavesNext on the list of must-dos is on the way to the Inle Lake through the Shan State which grows almost all the fresh produce which is redistributed throughout the country.

Here you will find Pindaya Caves, one of the Golden Caves. These are naturally- occurring limestone caves where pilgrims flock to worship. There are over 8000 images of Buddha and the number is still growing. Getting lost in the cave is very easy as there are twists and turns and dead ends but always something to see.

Once you arrive at Inle Lake you see local life and tourism mixed together in a unique way. In the early mornings, you see fishermen who use a distinctive leg-rowing technique on their boats. I was sad to hear they no longer fish this way so it’s more for the tourists.

You can take a longboat and visit silversmiths, silk and water-lily silk weavers, cigar-makers and boatbuilders. There are floating villages, and each has a speciality with everything here still handmade and done by eye. Skills that many Western countries have lost are still here in the day-to-day life.

The lake is used for fishing and floating gardens that take years to build. Locals add a little bit of soil and green seaweed they have pulled from the lake. It is staked to the floor with bamboo and can grow tomatoes, beans, squash and other vegetables. Gardens are tended by hand from rowboats and the produce is taken fresh to market every morning.

This is a rapidly-changing country. I believe in 10 years I would not recognise the cities as they have infrastructure going in everywhere.

I was warned that there may not be power but there are generators everywhere, and you never really notice when there is a power cut because of this.

I can honestly say I felt completely safe everywhere I stayed and the streets felt safe to walk at night.

There is great potential and hope here. I hope the country goes in the direction the people of all ethnic groups want. If you want to see a country rich in culture and heritage I highly recommend beautiful Myanmar.