A new record, at least for us. We were in three different countries in one day. We ate samosas in India for breakfast, drank a fresh fruit smoothie for lunch in Thailand for lunch, and ate Shan noodles in Myanmar for dinner. Not bad.
We arrived in Yangon, and immediately we thought we had died and gone to heaven. After leaving India, everyone in Yangon was amazingly nice. It started with us accidentally running into a guy who happened to work at the hotel we wanted to stay in. He was there for airport pickup of other guests, and so we luckily ended up with a free airport shuttle.
As we were driven to the hotel, we had a pleasant conversation with the shuttle driver who taught us some Myanmar words like hello, 'Mingalarbar,' and thank you, 'Je zsu pe,' while he pointed out the attractions around the city.
The city was clean, there was no overcrowding, the air was breathable, there were no beggars, and although most places were worn and run-down, people took care of what little they had. As an added bonus, we did not witness any spitting or release of any other bodily fluids.
When we finally arrived at the hotel, porters came and took our heavy backpacks and brought them immediately up to our room we had decided on for only 9 dollars per night. And get this...no one expected a tip...not the taxi driver who brought us for free, not even the porters. All the services were done with a huge smile. They even arranged our airfare and bus fare without us having to pay commission (all for the convenience of the guests, they say) and for the 1st time in a long while, we had a true double bed with sleepable mattresses instead of two twin-sized hard boards we often ended up with in India. We knew we were gonna LOVE Myanmar.
The next morning, we slept in for the 1st time in awhile, enjoying the comfort of our bed. Eventually, we dragged ourselves out of bed to enjoy the free (or included) breakfast of OJ, coffee/tea, toast, cakes 2 bananas, and choice of 2 eggs or their special traditional Myanmar breakfast. Yummy Yum! Could it get any better? The day was just getting started! It was now time to explore.
For the afternoon, we braved the midday heat to do a little bit of shopping and sightseeing. As we walked along the busy stores and street stalls, people greeted us, but didn't make any attempts to coerce us into buying stuff. Mark bought a longyi, the local type of skirt which nearly all the men in Myanmar still wear, and Mika bought a beautiful local style shirt; both for 5 dollars.
We sipped freshly pressed sugar cane juice, ate boiled corn on the cob with kernels the size of a pinky toe, and enjoyed ourselves in general. During the real heat of the day, we walked along wooden pathways constructed over the lake just outside of town whilst watching the locals go about their business.
At dusk, we explored Shwedagon Pagoda, one of the holiest temples in Myanmar. A pagoda is basically a huge temple surrounded by shrines with Buddhas. This place was amazing! The gold Stupa, which enshrines 9 hairs of the Buddha, rises up 1000 meters towards the sky. The entire area was like a village in itself with over 80 buildings/structures that house the many, many statues of Buddha. Everyone bustled around and it seemed each local had their favorite place to pray. There is a complex system relating to a person's birthday which they use to know on which side of the shrine to pray. Yes, it's that organized. Just like everything else here.
As we were still to discover, hard work and organization are a part of the lifestyle here. Mark made a small offering and had the privilege of bathing the Buddha statue for luck, prosperity, and a good life. For even a bigger donation, Mika could have done the same, but we figured Mark's blessings were enough for the both of us. We stayed at the Pagoda until after sunset, and watched the place transform itself as the lights lit up the stupa. As the moon rose, diamonds decorating the stupa sparkled. At the end of the day, we found a little restaurant, ordered a fine Myanmar meal, and smiled. It was a great beginning to our visit to Myanmar.