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A Pre-Covid Myanmar Journey, Part 1

admin — Tue, 26 May 2020 08:09:23 +0000

A Pre-Covid Myanmar Journey, Part 1

26 may 2020

Despite having lived in Southeast Asia for nearly seven years I didn’t get a chance to explore Myanmar for the first time until very recently (March 2020). The so-called “Golden Land” has been at the top of my travel list for years now and as I finally got around to booking my trip, and as my departure date was fast approaching, I certainly wasn’t going to let fears of COVID-19 get in the way!

Days 1-3: Bustling Yangon

The adventure began with a 3 night stay in Myanmar’s former capital. While no longer the political center of the country, Yangon is still Myanmar’s biggest city and is the heart of trade and commerce. It is a beautiful city with a pan South/Southeast Asian feel, glittering temples, traditional crafts, colonial architecture, a circular train around town, and, of course, fantastic food

A burgeoning nightlife scene is also great for those (like myself) that fancy a drink or two after a long day of exploring the city.

Insider Fact: Yangon is a motorbike-free city. Unlike other major cities in Southeast Asia (most notably, perhaps, Hanoi and Saigon), you won’t find a frenzy of two-wheelers and honking dominating the streets. The reason for this is a topic of some debate but most attribute the ban to a disgruntled military general seeking revenge on a bunch of motorbike drivers that made threatening gestures towards him on the road. Whatever the reason for the ban, it makes for an interesting change in urban pace.

Days 4-5: Spiritual Mandalay

After Yangon, we flew up to Mandalay where we stayed for just one night before beginning a weeklong motorcycle adventure. Though only limited time, checking out the former palace and taking in the sunset from Mandalay Hill are simply must dos (and we did). As we began our motorbike trip the next day (the first leg of which was a more than 200 km jaunt down to Bagan), we took a worthwhile detour to Mingun Pahtodawgyi; the so-called “Unfinished Temple”. It might just be the highest pile of bricks in the world, built in the late 18th-century and only comprising the foundation of what would have been a massive stupa.

Nearby we also saw the Hsinbyume Pagoda, known as the Taj Mahal of Myanmar, as it was built as a memoir of love by King Bagyidaw to his wife. The rest of the ride skirting along the Irrawaddy River down to Bagam was long, hot, and dusty … but we wouldn’t have it any other way as we discovered Myanmar in motorized style!

Insider Fact: One of the most unique experiences to partake in during a visit to Mandalay is the daily face-washing ceremony of a highly sacred Buddha image at the Mahamuni Pagoda. If you don’t mind getting up super early (or staying up super late?), head to the pagoda at 4:00 am to partake in this fascinating and deeply spiritual ritual. The idea is that the Buddha, just like everyone else, needs to start the day with washing his face and brushing his teeth. You won’t see many other tourists around, but lots of pilgrims and Buddhist monks from all over the country come to see this ritual on a daily basis.

Days 5-7: Ancient Bagan

If traveling was a video game then Bagan would be the final boss of ancient brick temples in Southeast Asia. Bagan consists of thousands of Theravada Buddhist monuments which were erected between the 10th and 14th centuries AD, at a time when the area was the political, economic, and religious seat of Myanmar’s powerful Pagan dynasty (Myanmar’s first unified Burmese Kingdom).

Indeed, Bagan is considered the world’s largest and densest concentration of Buddhist religious buildings. Dotted across the landscape are massive stucco-covered brickwork monastic complexes, as well as more modestly sized and small stupas and wats, some mere piles of rubble covered in thick shrubbery. It is the combination of all of these buildings – in varying stages of ruin, repair, renovation, and reconstruction – imposed on a vast and continuous landscape that gives Bagan its unique and seemingly timeless character. While we didn’t get those quintessential sunrise or sunset shots, a day spent on electric scooters exploring some of the thousands of stupas and pagodas scattered across a barren landscape was surreal.

Are you ready?

Insider Fact: The landscape surrounding Bagan can be barren, almost desert-like. While during the rainy season, patches of green tend to beautify the area, during the dry months it is truly, well, dry. Interestingly, this is not purely a consequence of the natural climate — in order to sustain the centuries’ long building frenzy at Bagan, a truly vast number of trees had to be burnt in order to fire countless numbers of bricks at high temperatures. Human-fueled resource depletion leading to environmental degradation? That sounds familiar.

Stay tuned for the next episode or contact us to start planning a Myanmar journey.

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The post A Pre-Covid Myanmar Journey, Part 1 first appeared on Smiling Albino.

Personal Thoughts from Dan Fraser on the Covid-19 Coronavirus

Product — Wed, 18 Mar 2020 09:22:00 +0000

[cmsmasters_row data_shortcode_id=”1bwa8gk1wq” data_padding_bottom_mobile_v=”0″ data_padding_top_mobile_v=”0″ data_padding_bottom_mobile_h=”0″ data_padding_top_mobile_h=”0″ data_padding_bottom_tablet=”0″ data_padding_top_tablet=”0″ data_padding_bottom_laptop=”0″ data_padding_top_laptop=”0″ data_padding_bottom_large=”0″ data_padding_top_large=”0″ data_padding_bottom=”50″ data_padding_top=”0″ data_bg_parallax_ratio=”0.5″ data_bg_size=”cover” data_bg_attachment=”scroll” data_bg_repeat=”no-repeat” data_bg_position=”top center” data_color=”default” data_bot_style=”default” data_top_style=”default” data_padding_right=”3″ data_padding_left=”3″ data_width=”boxed”][cmsmasters_column data_width=”1/1″ data_shortcode_id=”kdlfkxme6g” data_animation_delay=”0″ data_border_style=”default” data_bg_size=”cover” data_bg_attachment=”scroll” data_bg_repeat=”no-repeat” data_bg_position=”top center”][cmsmasters_heading shortcode_id=”600cw8oxe7″ type=”h2″ font_weight=”default” font_style=”default” text_align=”left” margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”20″ animation_delay=”0″]Perspective is the antidote to hysteria.[/cmsmasters_heading][cmsmasters_text shortcode_id=”fhp61esqvd” animation_delay=”0″]

Dear travelers, dreamers, and friends of Smiling Albino,

Breathe.

We are now into our 3rd month of dealing with the novel coronavirus, and I’m sure that some of us may not be able to imagine a day when all of this madness will end. The statistics we are bombarded with on a daily basis conjure up all sorts of frightening visions and apocalyptic doomsday predictions by the media. I think we can all deal with a little less of that, thanks!

We’re all feeling the pain, and I know that so many of you are business owners, founders, or solo-prenuers. This is our force majeure moment, and I have empathy for the paralysis you’re dealing with. When this passes – and it will – the scars left behind will be the economic impact on the small communities, delicate local economies, and the hundreds of thousands who rely on tourism for their livelihood. One canceled trip ripples out into a long supply chain of lost opportunity and fear. So rather than being further terrified each day by the news, I’m trying to look for more optimistic signs. Something a little more human. Something with perspective.

I remember a time when we thought we’d never trust stock markets again (‘87 Market Crash), or that we’d never trust currencies again (‘97 Asian Financial Crisis). And I think we all felt the temporary fear that humans might not ever travel again (9/11, SARs, Tsunami, Swine Flu, etc.), or that we’d never EVER trust banks again (‘08 Global Financial Crisis), and the list goes on. But the truth is, we’re resilient, we’re human, and we want to keep moving forward and living the life we’ve been put on this earth to live.

So, while we’re all a bit scared looking down at our shoes, don’t forget to look up. Don’t stop dreaming. There may be opportunities in the trees above that we might miss. I keep asking myself, “What would Elon Musk do? What would Bill Gates do? What would Steve Jobs do?” and “how can Smiling Albino and I be part of the solution”?

We’re considering ways to allocate resources to support our wonderful guides in the field who won’t see much work this spring. We’re considering ways to remobilize our team to work on development, experimentation, and creative planning for the future.

International travel is likely off people’s radar for the next while, and containing this virus should be our primary aim right now. We’ll all need to be vigilant, follow local medical advice, and deal with the reality of “social distancing” – a term we’d never heard of a few weeks ago – for the time being.

But consider this: compared to a previous generation, nothing we’re dealing with now even comes close to Normandy. They were heroes. We just need to wait this out.

On that note, I want to send out special thanks to so many of our wonderful clients and friends who’ve been flexible, creative, and just wonderfully human during this time. Most people, thankfully, are choosing to postpone and wait this out rather than outright cancel. Bless you, and thank you for being so supportive!

And when this passes (it will) and the fear subsides (it will), people will want to travel again. It can be part of the antidote to help the world mend. People will want great experiences again, and we’ll be ready when they do. I want people to know that Southeast Asia will be safe and ready for exploration when the world begins to heal.

So, take a deep breath. Stay calm. It’s what you’re good at and likely what made you the success you are. This too shall pass, and I hope we can travel together again with a smile real soon.

Best in Adventure,

Dan Fraser
Smiling Albino Founder & Chief Mahout

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The post Personal Thoughts from Dan Fraser on the Covid-19 Coronavirus first appeared on Smiling Albino.