World cruise 31

March 10 & 11

Thilawa, Myanmar. I'd been looking forward to these two days in Myanmar (formerly Burma) as the country has only been open to American tourism for a few years given its rather unstable political history which tends to resurface even today. In fact, while we were here, there was a student demonstration that turned into a riot. The main effect was that, on our second day, the traffic (already bad) was worse because of police clamp downs in certain areas. Many of the ship's passengers later reported that their guides said that many Myanmarese are worried that this fall's coming elections will be won by the party that could close the country down again. I am really glad that I got to visit here, albeit briefly.

Asia TransPacific Journeys and their co-agents Grand Lotus Travels & Tour Co., Ltd. in Myanmar are beyond superlative. I can't think of enough words of excellence to say about both companies.

Jen Boyd of Asia TransPacific pulled off a minor miracle. My friend and I were to arrive on a cruise shop for a 2-day stay in Myanmar with guide service which Jen had booked through Grand Lotus. The day before we arrived, a wheel fell off my rollator-style walker. I emailed Jen to let her know that I would be using a big, clunky rented wheelchair (which we have named Leviathan) until I could get to somewhere with a medical supply store where I might get a new walker.

The next morning, meeting our guide Aye Aye (pronounced A A) at the bottom of the gangway, her first words after greeting us were that she had worked a visit to a medical supply store into the morning's schedule. Unfortunately, the place did not carry what I needed, but that does not change the fact that everyone tried their best and went out of their way to solve my problem. More on the eventual solution later.

And as for the rest of the tour of Yangoon, Myanmar, wow! Aye Aye, a former civil engineer who can make more money as a guide, was lovely, efficient, well-informed, and eager to please.

So Margaret and I and Leviathan went off to tour Yangon (formerly Rangoon), Myanmar (formerly Burma) for 2 days with a private guide and driver in an air conditioned car. We never quite got the spelling of our driver's name, but it was spelled something like Lynn that sounded like Leela. At any rate his driving skills were exceptional in the disorganized chaos of Yangon traffic.

The port was about a 90 minute drive from the city of Yangon given decent luck with the traffic, so we got a view of countryside merging into the edge of the urban area until crossing a long bridge into the city itself. Because we got a slightly late start, we missed the 10:30 a.m. window to go watch a bunch of monks eat their meal. Why that is a tourist avtivity, I do not understand, but evidently it is. Instead we went to the medical supply place.

Then we went to see an enormous reclining Buddha with a heavily jeweled crown, long eyelashes, and red toenails. Here are several pictures.

Buddhist temples are no shoe zones, even for me being pushed in a wheelchair. And I was glad to be sitting and pushed because it took a good while to go all the way around it with Aye Aye providing commentary.

The feet were interesting because of the designs on the soles. Each symbol has a meaning, but I don't remember any of them.

There were also lots of Buddha statues in a side room. Almost all of them were painted gold or covered in gold leaf.

Our next stop was to visit The Strand Hotel which is a beautifully restored old building.

On to lunch at Monsoon, one of the best restaurants in Yangon. It is also in a restored building in the area of town most influenced by the British. Aye Aye joined us for lunch. I had a dish that was chicken and onions in a yogurt sauce. Interestingly, in Southeast Asia at any rate, chicken is cut up, but the bones are not removed so you tend to crunch unexpectedly unless you are careful.

After lunch, we were taken to check into our hotel. It was the Belmond Governor's Residence, and was probably the most elegant hotel I 've ever stayed at. As we stepped into the entrance, we were given frangipani leis and offered a seat. Immediately a man appeared and offered us each an ice cold towel. Then another person appeared and offered us a glass (which was insulated by woven rattan) of cold "lemon water" aka lemonade. Meanwhile, Aye Aye was getting us checked in.

We were then led through the hotel grounds to our room. The grounds were beautiful gardens in oriental style with a swimming pool crossed by a bridge with a lily pond on the other side of the bridge. There was a pair of white geese and a pair of peacocks roaming the grounds.

Our room was huge and decorated in a spare but elegant oriental style.

At 5:00 we were picked up again by Aye Aye and our driver to visit the fanulous Shwedagon Pagoda. Shoes off again, even me in the Leviathan, and up in an elevator to the main level. Aye Aye explained that there are three types of Buddhist religious buildings: a temple that you can go into, a stupa that you can't go into, and a pagoda which is stupa on top of a temple. The Shwedagon Pagoda is one of the holiest places in Myanmar and a place which draws pilgrims from all over the country and the world. It houses relics from all four previous Buddhas.

Although it is busy all the time, the most popular time to visit is just before sunset and into the evening. This is because of the light changing during sunset and as the lights of the Pagoda and its surroundings are turned on. The stupa is covered in gold leaf which is replaced every 5 years. They are in the process of replacing it right now. The very top portion is heavily jeweled with 4,351 diamonds for a total of 1,800 carats including one weighing 76 carats.

Most of the innumerable shrines and stupas surrounding the main one are covered in gold paint or gold leaf, although a few are heavily carved teak or marble like the ones shown here. Aye Aye wheeled me all around and explained everything and got Margaret and me to the best places to take photos. It was really difficult to choose which pictures to post here as every few steps there was another gorgeous vista.

In Myanmar a baby's first name is the day of the week when it is born. Aye is Wednesday. In most temples there is a shrine for each day where people born on that day can pray and pour water over a Buddha statue. There is also a guardian spirit for each day. Margaret's is a ginea pig and mine is a lion.

I was impressed by the way our driver always appeared exactly when we needed him and in the very closest place to where we were. This even happened at Shwedagon Pagoda with hundreds of tourists coming and going at the entrance we used. Aye Aye might have phoned him, but if so, I never heard her do it.

Then it was back to the hotel where we had dinner at the restaurant on the balcony overlooking the lily pond in the photo above.

We ate breakfast there also. Aye Aye and the driver got stuck in Yangon's heavy morning traffic. It seems like every city we visited since Bali has worse traffic problems than all the ones before it. I can't guess what it will be like in Mumbai. Anyway, since the day's schedule was mostly markets which would be difficult with me and Leviathan, I had them take me back to the ship and sent them back out with Margaret. Aye Aye took her to the place she buys her own clothes, and Margaret got a complete outfit in Myanmar style plus a fantastic piece of fabric to make another when she gets home.

It was a really fine visit to a friendly country, and I wish them all the best for the future.

As for the walker, I had also emailed the Swedish company that made it, and the US company I got it from to let them know what had happened ... not asking for anything, but just to let them know. To my utter surprise, the Swedish company, which is the Dolomite portion of Invacare, is shipping me a brand new walker to Dubai. I was impressed with their product from the day I got it, and with their warranty service last year, now I'm totally impressed with their customer service and caring approach to a customer's problem situation!