Embracing the Good, Remembering the Bad

Sometimes, I think I might tip too much. When I returned to Yangon for my last few hours in Myanmar, my guide was waiting at the airport and practically started jumping up and down when he saw me. I thought I’d just be going from the domestic airport over to the international terminal to wait for my flight to Bangkok, but because I had such a long layover, the guide and driver wanted to take me to a few last sites.

It was almost like they trusted me now and wanted to show me a darker side of Yangon because the last two sites we visited left me feeling a bit uneasy. First, we went to see the rare white elephants. These white elephants were found by the former military government, and they are considered symbols of power and good fortune, so they were put on display in a public garden. Five elephants stood chained to a cement display area. They rocked from side to side and paced one step forward, one step back. The chains were heavy, short, and tight, and you could see the scars left on their legs from these torturous leashes. I love animals, but I’ve never been a sappy animal rights person. Seeing this, though, seriously made my heart heavy with sorrow. The elephants were so obviously in pain, but there was nothing to be done to help. My guide said that he hates coming to this place because it makes him sad to see such beautiful animals suffering.

The next stop was one last pagoda. This particular pagoda was relatively new though, and most of it had been built by various members of the military government. Everything was a display of the virtuous and generous nature of the generals. The sad thing about this site, however, was not the source of its

finances, rather the fact that history is slowly being erased. One of the generals was particularly hated, and once the current government was elected, the public painted over all images and mentions of this general. I understand and appreciate the desire not to honor a dishonorable man, but erasing history feels a bit like burning books to me; it’s just wrong. If people forget about this man, what is to keep another man like him from coming into power?

Heading back to the airport, we stopped for a quick drink, and my guide gave me a small gift to remember him. It was a very colorful local style bag, and he said, “I don’t think you will use this, but I hope you will keep it as a souvenir.” He escorted me into the airport and then gave me a big hug before saying goodbye.

Myanmar was such an amazing country, and I’m so glad I had the opportunity to visit, and I hope to return again soon. I fear that the country may be changing too fast for its own good, and the people may slowly lose touch with the rich culture that makes this place so unique. After the countless pagodas, markets, and monasteries, I can safely say that as incredibly beautiful as this country is, its people are the most beautiful element of all. I won’t soon forget their smiles, gentle eyes, and warm presence. 

The Floating Market Doesn't Float

My last full day in Myanmar, I was so exhausted from touring every day that I really just wanted to be lazy and stay at the hotel, but the guide had traveled almost two hours to take me out, so I finished breakfast and jumped back into the boat (ok, slowly eased my way).  Our first stop was the floating market. My guide told me, “we are approaching the floating market, but most of it isn’t floating anymore.” The only boat-borne merchants were the tourist souvenir peddlers. All the other market-goers had gone on land.

While visiting the market, we stopped at a large souvenir shop to see the Padaung women that wear brass coils around their necks. “We will see the Padaung ladies here, but they are not from here.” It turns out they are brought in every day to work in the shop and let people take pictures of them. They normally live in the Southern part of Shan State, but tourists require special government permits to travel there, so they come to Inle Lake to earn money posing for photos. The whole visit was beginning to seem a bit comical; the jumping cat monastery where the cats don’t jump, the floating market where the market doesn’t float, and the local ethnic tribe that isn’t local.

We then proceeded to a gold and silversmith shop, where jewelers were toiling away making incredibly intricate gold and silver jewelry and trinkets. One young man was making a series of increasingly large silver rings shaped like fish scales that were eventually pieced together to form a wiggling fish. I was dying to buy some of the things in the shop, but I was down to my last $15 USD for my stay in Myanmar. I knew that I needed to have dinner that night and possibly pay an airport departure tax in Yangon the next day. I think it’s the first time I’ve been in a shop when I literally didn’t have a single dollar to spare.

After the silversmith, we went out to the thousand stupa pagoda. While it’s true that the thousand stupa pagoda doesn’t have a thousand stupas, it’s not quite as funny because there are actually 1054. There

are two paths up to the pagoda, one covered staircase directly to the top of the hill and one that winds it’s way through the village and the forest along the river. We took the latter, and it was a perfect choice. I was paranoid that a snake might crawl out and attack me or fall from a tree at any moment, but we got to see more locals this way instead of just souvenir shops that I could no longer afford. One woman was making fresh rice crackers, and, for the cook inside me, it was very exciting to watch. Here, the rice crackers aren’t fried like usual, rather they are cooked under hot sand over coals. The old woman placed the cracker dough on top of the sand and then scooped the sand over the cracker allowing it to quickly puff and crisp up. After visiting half of the pagoda, the guide suggested that I go around to the other side to see the rest of the stupas. Tired, I told her, “I didn’t count on the first side, so we can just pretend I saw all 1054.”

 

The next stop was another beautiful temple, where there were five famous Buddha statues. “They are known for the five Buddha statues, but you can’t see the Buddha statues anymore.” I was beginning to think this was some giant scam, but it turns out the statues are still there and on display, but worshippers have placed so much gold leaf on them that they have lost their shape and look more like giant balls of gold. The five statues were always considered important, and they are floated around the lake each year on a giant royal barge for 18 days. Once, the barge capsized, and all of the statues fell into the lake.

Four were easily rescued, but the fifth could not be found. Seven days and nine miles later, the fifth statue miraculously floated back home to the temple. Ever since then, people have come in even greater numbers to see the statues and cover them with gold leaf.

After an incredible lunch of local Inle food like a caramel-like chicken with cashews, spicy tomato paste, local lake fish stuffed with onions and tomatoes, fresh green bean salad, and a great pork curry, we headed back to the hotel just in time for a major rain. I sat in my room editing photos and watching the rain beat down on the lotus leaves.