Rangoon, Burma (Yangon, Myanmar) (3 Days)

            Thursday, 8 March 2018 – We have now posted a map of South and Southeast Asia in the 1 March 2018 write-up of Malé, Maldives.  Myanmar is also shown on this map.  Most Americans (including us!) had no idea where some of these places are located.

Originally, our ship was scheduled to port in Yangon, Myanmar at 1:00 PM and we had booked an afternoon tour.  However, entrance and navigation of the Yangon River is subject to the tide schedule and maneuvering is only feasible in slack water.  For this reason, the Insignia delayed its arrival in Yangon until 6:00 PM.  For all practical purposes, this was another at-sea day for us, and our tour was rescheduled for Saturday morning.

We slept late, practically running to breakfast.  However, unlike yesterday, strawberries, large black raspberries, plus red raspberries were still available.  (Are we spoiled?  The answer is a resounding YES!)

Jesse continued nursing his neck/shoulders back to health after sleeping wrong (or lying in bed in a bad position to read his book).  Although swimming and sitting in the hot tub seem to relieve his pain for a while, he wears a neck cushion in the cabin.  He’s also been popping Ibuprofin.  Proof of his pain: it has even interfered with his sleep which, for him, is a rarity.  However, it hasn’t hurt his appetite!

We swam from 5:30 to 6:00 PM, which was perfect and almost no one else was using the pool.  Many people were either getting ready to go ashore, or watching from the upper deck as the ship was docking.  From our cabin, we could see at least six buses waiting on the pier.  After that, we ate dinner in the sparsely populated café.  And much later, we danced for a half hour before the show.  We were the only regular dancers present, but were joined by another couple, who appeared to be new to ballroom dancing.  They always waited for us to see which type of dance they should do for each song.

Christina and Spiro had booked an evening tour as well as an optional overnight tour, leaving at 3:15 AM Friday – somewhat like our Machu Picchu trip when we cruised on the western side of South America in 2014 and others have left the ship for other optional trips.  Although a comedian was going to be performing later, his audience was going to be extremely small!

Friday, 9 March 2018 – First, a little information on Myanmar.  Myanmar, sometimes still called by its former name of Burma, is bordered by India and Bangladesh to its west, Thailand and Laos to its east, and China to its north and northeast.  To its south lies the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea.  Buddhism is the dominant religion in the country.  After three Anglo-Burmese wars in the 19th century, the British took over the administration of Myanmar.

Although Myanmar was granted independence in 1948 as a democratic nation, following a coup d‘état in 1962, it became a military dictatorship.  For most of its independent years, the country has been engrossed in rampant ethnic strife and its myriad ethnic groups have been involved in one of the world’s longest running ongoing civil wars.  During this time, the United Nations and other organizations have reported consistent and systematic human right violations in the country.  According to the Internet, the income gap in Myanmar is among the widest in the world, as a large proportion of the economy is controlled by supporters of the former military government.  Very little of the nation’s wealth goes toward health (which is very poor).

Horse and Cart Ride

Today our 3.5-hour tour “Experience Local Life in Thanlyin” began at 8:00 AM with Romey as our guide.  After reaching the edge of the sleepy town of Thanlyin in our tour bus, we enjoyed a horse and cart ride for perhaps 15 minutes.  The cart had a front bench seat, and two rear bench seats on opposite sides of the cart.  At first, Jesse and I rode facing each other on the two rear seats, while the driver sat on the right side of the cart’s frame to balance the load; however, later he asked Jesse to move forward to the front seat to help with the balance; then the driver was able to sit on the other side of the front seat.  (This was obviously much more comfortable for him.)

When we climbed out of the cart, we each boarded a “trishaw.”  In this case, one man on a bicycle supplied the power while only one passenger sat in the side car immediately beside the cyclist.  The man who transported Sally always stood on his bicycle pedals while pumping, never sitting, and passed the driver in front of him, who was struggling with a heavier load (a portly man).   Eventually, Jesse’s driver helped push him up the hill with his vehicle.  (Although Jesse is rather “portly” also, his driver was much younger and more muscular.)

Trishaw Ride

This “trishaw” ride lasted perhaps 20 minutes before stopping at a local shopping market, where our tour group walked past the shopping stalls.  Some of the prices were very good.  (Romey had told us that Myanmar manufactures nothing; everything they sell is made in China.)  We also used toilets (for which there was a charge, but our excursion covered it).  Not unexpectedly, these were “floor” toilets.  Sally had hoped to take a photo for people who have never been to the countries that have them, but she forgot to take a camera with her.  (If you have never had to use one, just be grateful!)

Buddhist Bon Pyan Monastery

Next, our bus transported us to the Buddhist Bon Pyan Monastery, where we removed shoes and socks before entering.  According to information supplied to ship passengers, this monastery is “entirely constructed of teak wood and stands exactly as it did from the day it was built more than 100 years ago.”  As we walked on the worn floor boards where some small holes were evident, Jesse commented to Sally that the building needed a little maintenance.  From the outside, it could be seen that the monastery was built with seven “layers.”  Some of our group climbed up a narrow, curving stairway to the next level; however, the sloping ceiling about halfway up the staircase made it dangerous for taller people to climb up.  One woman bumped her head on the ceiling so hard that it brought tears to her eyes.

From the monastery, our group walked down a residential street, peering through front gates at the local people, who usually smiled.  This was an effort to interact with the community.  Several in our group were busily photographing the people, without asking them, which we thought seemed rude.  However, in general, the residents seemed very friendly.

Romey, who is in his early 40’s, told us that his country is currently having problems, and also has had them previously.  In fact, he left the country twice in bad times and went to Singapore, where he was able to find work.  He would like to go there again now, but wants to go alone so that he could save his earnings; otherwise, supporting a family in Singapore would use up all of the money he earned.  However, his wife will not agree to his going there alone.  They have two young children, aged 6 and 3.  On his phone, he showed his 6-year-old daughter speaking very good English (better English than his, he remarked).  When asked, Romey told us today that life expectancy in Myanmar is 65 for a woman and 60 for a man.  He mentioned that he may only have 17 years left!

According to Romey, the current trouble in his country is taking place at the borders where drugs are coming in.  If the drugs could be taken away from the dealers, most of the major problems would end; however, human rights activists are preventing this from happening.  At least, this was his opinion.

Romey also pointed out large, fenced-in lots, with no buildings on them.  People don’t save money in the bank because of high inflation, but land is a good investment, he told us.  In fact, he has purchased two acres of land at $4,000 per acre, and he pays someone to plant rice on it.  However, he said that a law stipulates that land belongs to the person who works it – which could mean that he could end up forfeiting ownership of his property to the ones he is paying to tend the rice!

Although the temperature and humidity were high today, when we were outdoors in the shade, it was not too uncomfortable.  The bus was very cool, but we weren’t on it very long.  All in all, we had a very enjoyable day.

As soon as we arrived back at the cabin, we changed to dry clothes and went to lunch.  Then, Sally slept all afternoon, to make up for not sleeping much the previous night.  Just as it was starting to get dark at 6:30 PM, we swam for a half hour before dinner.  Although we planned to dance at 8:45 PM, we discovered when we arrived at the Horizons Lounge that the band was not there; in fact, Bingo was being played there.  Apparently there was a change in schedule that we missed!

Saturday, 10 March 2018 – Today we had our second excursion in Myanmar and our last scheduled tour on our 71-day cruise.  At 8:50 AM, our bus left the pier for our 5-hour tour called “Taste of Yangon.” Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government relocated the capital to a city built for that purpose in central Myanmar.  With over 7 million people, Yangon is Myanmar’s largest city and its most important commercial center.

Although the name of the tour sounds like we would be served food, this was not the case.  We were going to visit a pagoda and a huge reclining Buddha statue.  Our bus was fourth in a line, all going to the same places and having a police escort (on a motorcycle) who stopped traffic when the buses turned left on a busy road, for example.

On Singuttara Hill

Our guide told us to call him “Kay” because his given name was difficult for us to say.  He spoke with a heavy accent (as had our guide the previous day), but his information was very interesting.  Kay had been a veterinarian with his own clinic from 1988 to 1998.  Besides serving health needs of animals, he also helped people with their medical problems.  (His grandfather and father also had been doctors.)  However, he was on the side of “the people,” not of the military, and in 1998 he was told to destroy his clinic or they would destroy it.  After that time, he changed careers and became a tour guide.  He might be in his 50’s.  We felt great sadness for all people who have to endure life in place where there is little hope for a better life and often fear that it could become worse.

First today, we visited the world-famous Shwedagon Pagoda or Stupa Shwedagon.  The 2,500-year-old pagoda is located on the 190-foot Singuttara Hill.  For centuries, this glittering golden stupa has been highly venerated as a symbol of architectural perfection, and the appearance of Gautama Buddha in the present world.  Its spire soars a massive 326 feet into the air, and its dome is topped with more than 6,500 diamonds, rubies and other precious stones.  Singuttara Hill is also home of over 1000 Buddha images from various eras and many styles.

Tuesday's Fountain

After we arrived at the grounds and removed our shoes and socks, we walked into a large area of brilliance. Some structures were gold and bejeweled, and others were dazzling white.  When the bright white struck Sally’s eyes, her first thought was that she needed to put on her sunglasses – but her sunglasses were already on and the scene was stunning!  Although a short description of the ancient pagoda sounds as if this is one isolated structure, we received a map as we entered the grounds.  The map identifies and describes at least 20 structures, and there were other things to see as well.

Kay had told us that our feet would not be burned by hot pavement there because we would walk on white marble, which would absorb most of the heat.  This proved to be true.  He said that the reason shoes are removed is because visitors to the Buddha try to achieve mindfulness, which comes from all directions including from below, through the feet.  We needed to clear our minds.  Believers bring gifts to Buddha, especially water or flowers.  As we walked, we could see water fountains beside statues of Buddha, with labels such as “Saturday” by the fountain.  Kay said that, if you were born on Saturday, you should go to that fountain, use a cup by the water, and then pour water from the cup over the Buddha’s head or shoulders.  (Sally guessed that she might have been born on a Tuesday and poured water from that fountain onto a Buddha as others were doing, but it turns out that both she and Jesse were born on Thursdays.)  While walking around in that area, we talked to others in our tour group.  Sally found that one woman was very familiar with Monmouth and Galesburg, Illinois; she had almost attended Monmouth College, and her brother lives in Galesburg.  (“It’s a small world, after all!”)

On Singuttara Hill

At this pagoda, we also used a restroom.  Although Sally took the camera with her this time, this toilet was of the western type – so no interesting photo.

From here, our bus took us on to the Chaukhtatgyi Pagoda.  There, after again removing shoes and socks, we viewed the huge Reclining Buddha, housed beneath a large sheet metal roof.  The Buddha’s head reaches a height of about 2.5 stories, and he is positioned resting on his right side with toes together.  Three colors are used (besides white): blue, red, and yellow.  With the colors (such as a red mouth), our guide said that the Buddha’s face is almost like a woman’s, which is true.

Reclining Buddha

We hadn’t realized that there are several Reclining Buddha images in Asia, and Sally had thought that we had seen longest one in Thailand.  However, it turns out that the reclining Buddha in Thailand is only 46 meters long, and this one in Yangon, Myanmar is 66 meters (217 feet) long.  Still, the Yangon Buddha is not the biggest (or longest) in the world; the biggest (180 meters long) is in Mawlamyine, Myanmar – so big that it can be spotted from many miles away (apparently not being under a roof).

Yesterday and today, we frequently saw local women and a few men with white powder on their faces.  This is dried Thanaka cream, which has been used by Burmese for over 2,000 years, made by grinding the bark of a thanaka tree with a small amount of water.  Apart from cosmetic beauty, the cream also gives a cooling sensation and serves as a sunscreen.  It is believed to help remove acne and is an anti-fungal.

After seeing the reclining Buddha, we re-boarded our bus for our return to the ship, again fourth in a convoy of four buses.  Interestingly, riding motorcycles has been outlawed in the city of Yangon.  However, outside the city, they are everywhere.  At one point, a motorcycle driver (with his brother on the seat behind him) made a left turn onto our road, apparently intending to merge in front of our bus.  Despite our bus driver’s honking in warning, the motorcycle hit the side of our bus.  Then we stopped for 5 to 10 minutes, while our driver and then Kay left the bus to speak with the motorcycle driver.  When Jesse asked Kay about the problem, he replied that the motorcycle driver wanted money for damages; however, Kay had seen the accident and that the motorcycle driver was to blame.  There is no insurance in Myanmar, so the motorcycle driver will have to pay for repairs out of his own pocket.

Canute and Julie had been on a bus yesterday that hit a car.  Canute, who was sitting in the front of the bus where he could prop up his bad leg, was thrown into the stairwell, which was 2 or 3 steps below the level of the aisle.  Fortunately, he wasn’t badly hurt, just somewhat bruised.  If he had been seriously hurt, he would have been on his own for expenses because it wasn’t like being in the U.S. (or Canada, where he lives).

We arrived back at the pier soon after 1:30 PM, in time for lunch in the café, where we sat at a table with Kath and Gordon.  When we compared our experiences in Myanmar over the past two days, Gordon said that yesterday their guide was also a lawyer; he said that, although Myanmar has courts, the military can overrule any court decision if they desire so that courts are useless.

At 6:00 PM the Insignia left the Myanmar dock.  Soon after that, we were swimming for a half hour in the pool, finishing again in the dark.  Later, after dancing for a half hour, we set our clocks forward by one hour again before going to bed.