Bangkok

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Phuket

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Inle Lake

Inle with its cooler temperatures and blurry distinction between earth and water has beckoned travellers since Myanmar opened to tourism. Uncertain shorelines and high hills ring the 22 km shallow lake, which is filled with Intha folks fishing and propelling flat-bottomed boats with their feet. Locals needing to borrow noodles from next door don't walk - they can't! - so they take the canoe out. There is a big population living in different floating villages. The best way to experience the lake is to take a full-day motorboat tour. So I rented a guide and a boat driver and explored the whole area. There are numberous artisans shops, where weaving, blacksmithing, paper-producing, jewellery-making and many others happen. They can all be visited. Floating markets take place weekly, each day at a different village along the lake. A major attraction is the floating gardens where tomato can be harvested three times a year. Farmers also plant zucchini, eggplant and coliflower. On our way back we also visited our boat drivers new house which he completed two months ago. Total cost USD 2'500.--!!

Mandalay

Founded as capital of the Burmese empire in 1861, Mandalay served as the setting for the last kings of Burma, who wore their shiny gems here till the British stormed in and took over in 1885 - a largely uncontested conflict. Mandalay is Myanmar's second city. The town has been booming lately from new chinese-run businesses and it is whispered that the red, green and white trades - rubies, jade and heroin - fuel the economy as well. But alongside these commercial endeavours you are more than likely to encounter a totally different side of life as more than three out of five Myanmar's population of Buddhist monks live here. Therefore early morning time the streets are crowded by monks collecting their daily food portion. Apart from the number of sights the city offers itself, there are the four ancient cities nearby, Amarapura, Inwa, Sagaing and Mingun. They can be visited in a daytrip, which is really worth it. Amarapura is famed for its 1,2 km-long teak U Bein's Bridge leading to Kyauktawagyi temple and small Taungthaman village with tea and toddy shops. Cut off by rivers and canals, Inwa served as the Burmese capital for nearly four centuries. Horse carts lead two-hour loop around Inwa's handful of sights. Aside the road, villagers till soil or bathe in ponds in an area picturesquely dotted with abandoned temples.

Bagan

Bagan is the most important architectural complex in Myanmar. If you put all of Europe's medieval cathedrals on Manhattan Island you would start to get a sense of the ambition of the temple-packed plain of Bagan. Home of 4'400 temples built mostly 800 or more years ago, Bagan rivals Angkor Wat as one of Southeast Asia's most remarkable sites. The temples are smaller than Cambodia's but nearer each other leading to great vistas and sunsets. On any given day, some passageways are stuffed with travellers while others nearby are empty. The massive Bagan Archaeological Zone stretches 42 sq km and is home to the small towns of Nyaung U, Old Bagan, Myinkaba, New Bagan and a few others.
It is here that the Buddhist religion took deep root, strengthening and broadening the outlook of the whole of society.
Unfortunately the city was crushed again in 1975, when an earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter scal damaged many of Bagan's important structures. Up to now a lot of temples have been repaired.

Yangon

Going to Myanmar is like time-travelling back 50 years or more. Men wear skirt-like longyi, women and kids blot thanaka (powdered bark make-up) on their faces to protect against the sun and insects and spat-out betel juice congeals into blood-like pools on sidewalks. All these these traditions are well maintained.
Yangon is Myanmar's biggest city and it is as modern as Myanmar gets. I also took the chance to visit the country's most famous Buddhist landmark - the gilded multimillennia-old Shwedagon Paya, 2500 years old! I was very lucky as it was the full moon night and for buddhists the lunar festival. Everybody tries to go to the temples. As a ritual they throw water to the holy banyan trees and donate flowers and foods to the buddhas. It was a fantastic experience even though there were thousands of people in the massive temple area. Take a look at the pictures, they speak for themselves.

History of Myanmar

The British took over all of Myanmar in three moves 1824, 1852 and 1885. The Burmese king and queen were exiled to India and their grand palace at Mandalay was looted and used as a barracks to quarter British and Indian troops.
The colonial era wrought great changes in Myanmar's demographics and infrastructure. Large numbers of Indians were brought in to work as civil servants and Chinese were encouraged to immigrate and stimulate trade. The British built railroads and ports and many British companies became wealthy trading in teak and rice. After driving the British out of Myanmar and fighting against Japanese army, Bogoke Aung San emerged from the fog of war as the country's natural leader. He was the man to hold the country together through the transition to independence. He was assassinated before he could take office. Independence came in 1948, but with Aung San's protege U Nu at the helm. Ethnic conflicts raged and chaos ensued. In 1962 General Ne Win led a left-wing army takeover and failed. The country had reached a virtual standstill in 1987 and in early 1988, long-suffering Burmese people packed the streets and there were massive confrontations between pro-democracy demonstrators and the military.
In 1989 Bogoke Aung San's charismatic daughter Aung San Suu Kyi, organised an opposition party NLD. While the Burmese population rallied around the NLD, the government grew nervous and placed Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest. Even though NLD won over 85% of the vote, the government refused to allow the NLD to assume their parliamentary seats. Up to the country is run by the military government and Aung San Suu Kyi is still under house arrest!