Yangon

Gue berdua temen gue (Angel) hampir mendarat di Bandar udara di kota Yangon, kita penasaran melongok ke jendela pesawat dan kaget dengan pemandangan yang kami lihat dari atas, ternyata Yangon tidak semetropolitan yang kita bayangkan. Mendarat di Yangon siang hari dan dijemput temen kita (Nanda, Burmese) di airport, masih terbengong2 gue melihat keadaan sekitar, melihat semua laki2 memakai sarung. Begitu nyampe langsung check in di Hotel, ngedrop tas dan langsung cabut lagi buat nukerin dollar, karena NO ATM, NO CREDIT CARDS in Myanmar.

Hari pertama kita nuker US1000, dapetnya K12.625 (Kyats) untuk beberapa hari. Dan gue lebih kaget lagi setelah menerima uang sana, itu uang sebuntelan, belum pernah memegang uang setebal itu dalam hidup gue, tas kita juga ngga muat, akhirnya itu duit gue masukin ke dalam tas kamera, dan sebagian didalam tas plastik Hahahahah. Orang2 Myanmar kalo ngitung duit yang banyak banget di itungnya pake penggaris :D Kira2 di cm sekian berarti jumlahnya sekian. Soalnya pecahan paling kecil disana cuma K1000.

Setelah itu kita langsung lunch di salah satu restoran lokal, makanan nya enak-enak dan murah. Setelah makan kita beralih ke Bogyoke Market, market yang terkenal menjual Gems, fabrics dan handycraft. Kita berdua ngeborong, semua dibeli, liat ini dibeli, liat itu dibeli kayak orang kesetanan.... Hahahahah. Selain handycraft2 Myanmar itu cantik, indah dan bagus, harganya juga relatif murah.

Yang paling menyolok ketika gue nyampe di Yangon itu adalah orang2 nya baik laki2 dan perempuan semuanya memakai sarung, jadi gue berasa disana kayak sedang mau Jumatan.... Angel malah bilang kayak sunatan massal heheheh. Kedua, hampir seluruh perempuan baik tua dan muda memakai Thanakha di pipinya, beberapa laki2 juga memakai. Fungsinya sebagai sunscreen, cooling dan make up. Thanakha terbuat dari kulit kayu.

Yangon adalah kota yang unik, mungkin kayak Jakarta 30 tahun yg lalu kali ya, jadi mundur nih, semuanya masih minimalis dan sangat ketinggalan jaman. Maklumlah negara ini kan closed country, ngga ada investasi yang masuk. Di Yangon mobil2 semuanya jelek2 dan tua2, karena harga mobil itu mahal banget, kayak mobilnya temen gue Toyota Mark II itu sekitar US 50.000. Udah bisa beli Mercedes tuh, mobil2 bagus hanya dimiliki orang2 kaya.

Di jalanan di Yangon ngga ada satupun sepeda atau sepeda motor, jadi disana ngga ada Macet!Ngga ada Mc.D, Pizza, Sturbucks, dan Cineplex, ada bioskop tapi gedungnya tua banget dan menayangkan film2 yang udah lama banget dan gue jg ngga kenal :)

Pemandangan di jalanan kota Yangon - Menjual ikan asin siap pakai

Burmese food sangat-sangat enak, agak2 mirip dengan makanan indonesia. Meal yg terkenal adalah Fish Soup, enak dehhh.... Namanya Monigha. Biasanya fish soup dimakan sewaktu pagi. Kebanyakan Burmese food itu seafood dan ikan yang kebanyakan didapat dr sungai. Sedikit memakan daging2an. Gue impressed kalo myanmar punya bir sendiri dan enak lagi, merknya MYANMAR, very light, dan satu lagi yg bikin gue impressed mereka punya wine juga, dan rasanya enak lho!

Myanmar terkenal dengan Batu2 mulianya, dan harganya tergolong sangat murah, terutama Ruby dan Blue sapphire nya. Jadi kita sempetin liat2, di Bogyoke Market, dan juga di toko2 bergengsi di Yangon.

Malam harinya kita ke Shwedagon Paya, pagodanya gede banget dan berlapis emas, pagoda aslinya sendiri sudah berumur 2000 tahun. Lokasinya besar sekali, malam hari banyak orang datang kesana untuk berdoa dan duduk2 menikmati keindahan pagoda. Bukan hanya org2 lokal dr Yangon saja, tetapi juga dari Mandalay dsb. Katanya di dalam pagoda ini banyak banget emas, dan juga diamond yang sangat besar. Banyak harta peninggalan raja2 Myanmar jaman dulu di masukkan kedalam pagoda ini, yang kebanyakan berupa emas.

Kemudian sebelum makan malam kita mampir ke Karaweik, restoran milik goverment yang bentuknya seperti kapal dengan moncong naga, diatas danau. Indah sekali dilihat dr jalan....

Kita juga bergonta ganti restoran di Yangon, nyobain restoran2 yang ramai dikunjungi disana, termasuk Power Light yang menyediakan live musik dan penari2 sebagai hiburan. Dua hari aja di Yangon, kemudian kita berangkat ke Mandalay.

Myanmar Land of Pagodas

Bagan view

Myanmar, officially Union Of Myanmar, also called Burma, is a bit bigger than France and slightly smaller than Texas, Myanmar covers 678,500 sq km, though it sometimes jockeys with neighboring Thailand for a hectare or two more along its eastern extremes. Its land border with ( clockwise from west ) Bangladesh, India, Tibet, China, Laos and Thailand, covers 5876km, and 1930km of coastline faces the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea. Myanmar is a land of mystifying contradictions, a country whose spirited people have withstood centuries of oppression, from Kublai Khan to King George VI to the present military regime.

Myanmar is endowed with a rich diversity of habitat types arising largely from its unusual ecological diversity. It is home to nearly 300 known mammal species, 300 reptiles and about 100 birds species, and a heaven for about 7,000 species of plant life. Since Myanmar considers such a rich pool of bio diversity as an important national asset, the Government has drawn up strict regulations to protect its biological resources.

Road to Mandalay

One of the more exciting aspects of travel in Myanmar is getting the opportunity to experience a corner of Asia that in many ways has changed little since British colonial times. Due to its isolation - self-imposed and otherwise Myanmar has yet to be completely overwhelmed by outside clothing influences. Nowhere else in Southeast Asia you will see so many sarongs, turbans and other exotic apparel.

Although isolated, subjugated and poor, the Myanmar people can be as proud of their country and culture as any nationality you’ll meet. About 11% of Myanmar’s 52 million people live in the capital, Yangon. It’s estimated, though, that seven in 10 people are involved in agriculture.

Officially Myanmar’s residents ( not including Chinese, Indian, Nepalese, and other groups ) are divided into eight nationalities. The Bamar ( also known as Burmese ), Shan, Mon, Kayin, Kayah, Chin, Kachin and Rakhaing.

Tapestry Factory

About 87% of the people of Myanmar are Buddhist, there are as many as 500,000 monks, and there are over 50,000 Monasteries in Myanmar. In Myanmar, women who live the monastic life as dasasila ( ‘10-precept’ nuns ) are often called Thilashin ( possessor of morality ) in Burmese. Myanmar nuns shaved their heads, wear pink robes, and take vows in an ordination procedure similar to that undergone by monks.

Monks & Nuns

Myanmar is a country of Zedish, often called ‘pagodas’ in English. Wherever you are, boating down the river, driving through the hills, even flying above the plains, there always seems to be a hilltop Zedi in view.

I spent seven days in Myanmar with other two SSA ladies, my dear friends Angeli Parapat, SSA Kemaman ( Indonesian ) and Nanda Tun, SSA Kemaman ( Burmese ) which I met when I lived 13 months in Kemaman, Malaysia, and with one friend Burmese lady ( not from SSA ). We spent three days in Yangon, two days in Mandalay and another two days in Bagan. I enjoyed so much traveling in Myanmar, as I love the Burmese cuisine, which are most commonly fish, chicken, prawns or mutton. Very little beef or pork is eaten by Burmese Buddhist. My favorite was Mohinga ( noodles with chicken or fish ) for breakfast.

The best time to visit Myanmar is between November and February. During this months it rains least ( if at all in places ) and it is not so hot. March to May brings intense heat, ( April is the cruelest month, unfortunately we went there on April ). At this time Yangon’s daily temperature often reach 40 Degree Celsius, while areas around Bagan and Mandalay go a few digits higher.

Yangon formerly Rangoon, gives the impression of picturesque dishevelment, a half finished work in progress, and it’s the most multiethnic, cosmopolitan, and interesting city in Myanmar. The highlight of any trip to Yangon has to be Shwedagon Paya, has achieved iconic for Yangon. The most sacred Buddhist site in the country. The central gilded stupa rises 98m above the base, and can be seen glittering in the distance from much of the city. Though it’s a pretty busy place, it still has a peaceful atmosphere. There are many other payas around the city, and the markets are well worth a visit.

Public Telephone in Yangon - Karaweik, Yangon

Mandalay

For many, Mandalay typifies the romance of the Raj. In fact, it’s quite a modern city, founded in the mid 1800s, it was capital for only about 30 years until the British took it in 1885. More recently, trade with China has become a strong influence. The city is laid out on a grid system, and sprawls a long way from the bottom of Mandalay hill, so getting around on foot is not really practical.

Mahamuni Paya & Mandalay Royal Palace

Mandalay’s most worshipped site, the Mahamuni Paya, the 4m-highh seated Buddha image is cast in bronze, but over the years thousands of devout Buddhist have completely covered the figure in a 15cm-thick layer of gold leaf.

The hill with the huge grounds of Mandalay Palace as its base is the natural focus of Mandalay. The city sprawls away to the south and west of the fort, bounded on the west by the Ayeyarwady River.

U Bein's Bridge

Amarapura, 11km south of Mandalay is the location of the famous U Bein’s bridge, a teak walkway (the longest of its kind in the world) across Taungthaman lake. It has an atmosphere all of its own, as the late afternoon light illuminates the locals wheeling their bicycles home across the bridge. Nearby is Mahagandhayon Kyaung (monastery), where if you visit in the morning, you’ll find several hundred young monks eating breakfast in silence.

Bagan

Bagan is the highlight of a trip to Myanmar, or indeed Asia, Bagan is amazing. More than 3000 pagodas, dating from between the 9th and 13th centuries, cover an area of some 40 square kilometers in a bend of the Ayeyarwaddy. Elsewhere in central Myanmar are the ‘lost cities of the dry zone’. Bagan was the end of our trip to Myanmar, The light’s obviously at its best at the start and end of the day, when people gather at some of the taller monuments to watch the sun rise/set over the Bagan skyline. We discovered that the Burmese are a gracious people, and usually happy to be the subject of our photography, that Burma is such a beautiful country, I would love to go back as there are still many places I should visit in the future.

All photographs copyright by Yully Sebayang