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Tales of Myanmar

By March 1, 2014March 9th, 2014Travel

RECIPE KEY

I am back from my Myanmar adventure feeling rejuvenated after the few days I needed to recover from jet lag. It felt good to come home to my house, my bed, my bathroom and the food I love cooking for myself. It is amazing how much I appreciate the little things after being away for a few weeks.
I am happy to be back at my desk, as I’m working on something special for you  – something I’ve been wanting to do for months.  I’ll share more next week, but for today, here are some pictures and a recap of my trip.
We flew into Yangon from NYC.  It was a 22 hour flight so I made myself a nice care package to fly with.  I made some quinoa with vegetables, some sautéed kale and took some Luna Bars.  It was much better than the airplane food.
In addition to the food for the plane I brought my container of Vitamineral Greens  powder to keep my body supplied with the minerals I need. I was so happy I brought these as they helped keep my digestive system functioning well throughout my trip.
In Yangon we explored the city and its fabulous mix of markets, architecture and sites.  Yangon possesses the most aw-inspiring religious monument in the region, the golden Shwedagon Pagoda.  This pagoda was built when Buddha was still alive.  At the pagoda we were able to observe local pilgrims and monks offering their devotions and enjoyed the amazing sunset view there.

From there we took a scenic journey  through Bago stopping at Shwe Tha Lyyaung Pagoda the site of one of the largest reclining Buddha’s. Then onto a Monastery where we were able to see how the monks live including them having lunch.  We arrived at the Golden Rock (Mt Kyaiktiiyo) a major pilgrimage site for Buddhist all over the world.  The rock is so precariously balanced it seems supernatural.

Here I am with the traditional thanakha (makeup)
bagan face
One of the best Myanmar dishes is a green tea leaf salad.
Next morning we flew to Bagan where there is a surreal experience of 4000 stupas scattered across the plains.  It was truly a magical place.

We took a side trip to the extinct volcano Mt Popa which is crowned by a guilded Buddhist temple. Mt Popa is said to be the home of the the pre-buddhist mystical Nats.  We climbed up 777 steps to the top of the shrine. Inside the temple are replicas of all 37 Nats.

 

We then went to a place made famous by Rudyard Kipling, Mandalay. This is a city which wasn’t as nice as the timely images conjured in the his book The Road to Mandalay. There were a few good sights, Mandalay Bridge at sunset and the famous Mount Meru. Also the worlds second largest bell.

  

This was a ceremony for children in one of the temples 

This is a typical Myanmar meal, some vegetable or fish curry with an assortment of savory and spicy condiments to add to your dish.

The next stop was by far the most intense part of the trip.  We stared in Kalaw and treked 45 miles over 3 days through pine forests and villages scattered over the Shan hills. Here we experienced the traditional way of life.  Each night we slept in a local family’s house.  They cooked us dinner and breakfast.  Walking through this area was like going back in time.  Most of the houses didn’t have electric and none had running water.  The people were friendly and warm.  The people grow papaya, avocados, cabbage and more.

Below is one of the houses we stayed in and the lady of the house cooking us dinner. 

Here are some market pictures in Kalaw

  

We were quite tired when we arrived at Inlet Lake.  People here live in stilt houses right on the lake. There are water bound temples and family business on the lake.

  

There are endless floating gardens where the biggest crop is tomatoes.  These gardens sit on top of the water.  This is our guide standing on the garden

The fisherman have a unique technique of paddling their boats with the feet attached to a paddle and a special type of net.

  

We had many delicious fish dinners here.

Last stop Ngapali Beach for rest and relaxation.

  

  

I hope you enjoyed the pictures. On the way home we had a stop over in Hong Kong where I was able to get the most delicious congee but I did have to have some airline food too.  Oh well, it is necessary to be flexible.  It was an amazing trip and I am trilled to be home.

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