Myanmar remains, as ever, a country shrouded in mystery. The hardest fought and least travelled paths in life, however, yield unforgettable memories. Stories that we pass onto generations. For the uninitiated, the sheer spread of ancient temples in Bagan, or the floating gardens and dancing fisherman of Inle Lake, or the stretches of powdery sand in Ngapali will not fail to astonish. Myanmar is a country that draws repeat visits, charming visitors to explore one more corner, understand one more facet. Today, Myanmar is open to the world after decades of isolation. As Southeast Asia’s second largest country and approximately the size of France and England combined, Myanmar is home a beautiful kaleidoscope of diversity of over 130 different ethnic groups.
Myanmar’s 2000 kilometers of coastline remain pristine and pure. Its terrain stretches from the snowcapped Himalayan peaks in the north, to the coral-fringed islands of the Andaman Sea in the south. It is a landscape of beauty and contrast, studded with pagodas and palaces, forested hills and fertile valleys. Myanmar fascinates with its mix of ancient cultures, ethnic minorities and diverse landscapes. Many tourist destinations offer sea and sun, relaxation and adventure, pleasure and discovery –Myanmar offers all this in an untouched, still-to-be discovered way.
With a population of over 5 million, Yangon, also known as Rangoon, was the capital of Myanmar up until the end of 2005. It remains the largest city, and is still the pivotal commercial hub of the country today. A visit to this magnificent city will allow you to take in the interesting mix of British, Burmese, Chinese and Indian cultures that mingle there. The skyline is an interesting contrast of decaying colonial architecture and modern high-rises, dominated by the golden glow of the Shwedagon Pagoda, an exquisite Buddhist temple that draws pilgrims from across the globe. Your time here would be well spent visiting the impressive array of temples, museums and markets that the city has to offer.
History Yangon in brief
European countries in a race to control trade routes had established trading posts in across South East Asia. East India Trading company controlled by the British had extended its operations to the Burmese coast and where trading with the Burmese kings. Three Anglo-Burmese wars flared up and in the second Anglo-Burmese war 1852 the British took over Southern Burma and made Rangoon its capital. The old name of Rangoon was Dagon. After third war in 1885 and ousting king Thibaw in Mandalay where the capital was located Rangoon became the capital for the whole country of Burma. Dr William Montgomerie sketched the new plan for the city and Lt Alexander Fraser from the Bengal Engineers implemented. Many architects were employed to fill in the city plan with schools, hospitals, parks, banks, shops and administrative buildings.
Fast forward… the colonial times are long gone, but in Yangon they have left behind a rich architectural heritage, of a type which many other capital cities of the region has been lost to “progress”. Yangon has the largest number of colonial buildings in the whole of Southeast Asia. Many colonial-era buildings that today host state institutions and authorities, such as government banks and the Port Authority, as well as the High Court and City Hall, are clustered in the downtown area. The Strand Hotel is there, too, built by the famous Sarkies Brothers in 1901, and today a sumptuous reminder of a bygone era.
Unlike many of its regional counterparts Yangon is also still first and foremost a green city, despite the battering it received from a cyclone in 2008. In the tranquil settings of Kandawgyi Lake and Inya Lake, and along its wide avenues, Yangon can still boast countless old trees and vegetation. A panoramic view of the city reveals its beauty – with the awe-inspiring Shwedagon Pagoda in its golden hue on one side, on a low hill, and on the other side the ancient Sule Pagoda and its encircling shops in the downtown area.
Thousands of temples, stupas and monuments in astounding shapes and sizes were built over two and a half centuries by the earliest Myanmar kings in the glorification of their religion. The monuments are packed in 40 km² (16 miles²) of land, rust colored plains flanked by the great Ayeyarwaddy River in heart of the country. Rival in scope and historical significance to the world heritage sites of Angkor Wat in Cambodia or Borobudur in Indonesia, Bagan is not to be missed. A visit here is undoubtedly one of the most memorable travel highlights in Myanmar.
The kings of Bagan
From the 11th to the 14th centuries, Bagan was the earliest unified seat of Buddhism in Myanmar. King Anawratha is credited as the founder in 1044 AD, using Buddhism as a tool to unite the people and sparking the royal building trend. Architects, artists, craftsmen and slaves were brought from nearby countries to create temples with walls as thick as a house, stupas covered in elaborate stone reliefs, and pagodas with intricate murals of the Buddha’s reincarnated lives.
The twelve kings following Anawratha would each try to outdo the last, the result being a spectacular legacy of religious monuments. Despite the tolls of weather and neglect, many structures have survived well to the current day. Mosaic artwork covers some buildings, gold leaf or carvings on others, and vines over crumbling stone facades on still more. Depending on how one defines and counts the structures, numbers range from 2,100 to 4,400 temples in the heart of the archaeological site. Lenient regulations mean visitors can still climb the staircases of the tallest stupas to enjoy views the temple-studded landscape in all its glory. Watching the sun illuminate the outlines of the ancient ruins in the mist of dawn or dusk is yet another breathtaking experience of Myanmar. It’s no surprise that Bagan remains one of the most fascinating archaeological sites in all of Southeast Asia. Bagan was once one of the most glorious Burmese kingdom with trading relations extending to the ancient empires of India, Ceylon and Khmer. Other Myanmar Kingdoms such as at Thaton in today’s southern Myanmar were overrun by Bagan, and their culture and manpower absorbed into the Bagan Kingdom. In the late 14th century, the Bagan Kingdom abruptly scattered to the winds, purportedly with the arrival of the Mongols under Ghengis Khan. Its monuments remain, however, and have defied the ravages of time and nature. The majestic vestiges of the kingdom are ranked by many today as one of the great wonders of the world.
Even the great Marco Polo made reference to Bagan in The Description of the World, the narrative of his two and a half decade long odyssey into the Orient and beyond: “The towers are built of fine stone, and one has been covered with gold a finger thick, so that the tower appears to be of solid gold. Another is covered with silver in a similar manner and appears to be made of solid silver…They make one of the finest sights in the world, being exquisitely finished, splendid and costly. When illuminated by the sun they are especially brilliant and can be seen from the great distance”.
Hautingly picturesque, Inle Lake is one of Myanmar’s most iconic destinations in the mountains of Shan State, where floating gardens made of woven water hyacinth reeds, silt and bamboo provide a backdrop for graceful, one-legged boat rowers. Inle Lake is perfect for leisurely boat excursions, walking explorations or longer trekking trips through the villages of the Shan, Pa-O, Intha and Danu ethnic minority groups.
Inle Lake lies at an altitude of nearly 3,000 feet, fringed by tall grasses and reed beds, ringed by well-forested hills and, according to the season, may often be wreathed in mist. The main body of the lake is some 13 miles in length with calm, crystal clear waters. Its shores and floating islands are home to villages built on stilts, whose inhabitants are the hardworking and resourceful Intha people. These are the famous leg rowers, skillfully navigating the lake by rowing in a standing position – one leg wrapped around an oar pivoted on their hip, another leg balancing on the prow of their boat, and body poised to plunge a fish trap into the waters beneath. In addition to their fishing skills, the Intha are traditional market gardeners, cultivating flowers and vegetables on a floating tangle of water hyacinth and silt anchored to the lake bed by bamboo.
Moreover, Inle Lake is an official bird sanctuary, rich in wildlife. Its main body is reached along a narrow waterway from the northernmost lakeside town of Nyaungshwe. The boat ride passes waterside temples and villages, and in the less populated stretches, herons stand in solitary contemplation at the water’s edge while cormorants dive for their prey. In the principal part of the lake, there are many islands to visit. Away from these developed areas, a leisurely canoe paddle through channels branching from the lake brings a closer view of the local life, with fascinating encounters and friendly villagers. Heading south from the main body of the lake the traveller passes through another long and narrow waterway to reach the 17th century ruins of Samkar, where Shan and Pa-O villagers now live side by side, and the ancient Tharkong Pagoda, which legend tells was founded by an early Burmese king. The region offers ample trekking opportunities and extended walks to keep the active traveller busy. Trekking out into the Shan hills east of Nyaungshwe, at the lake’s northern end will lead to Pa-O villages and beautiful views of the lake along the way. Extended walks through rice paddies pass many Shan stupa ruins that lie dotted around the countryside.
As previously described
