I have been horribly remiss with my blogging (and running) over the Christmas and New Year period, but today marks the return to the web of my musings. As I said in my last post before Christmas, I was going to be spending it in Burma with my mother and her partner (my husband, due to work and last minute injury stayed at home). I had planned an ambitious nine day trip for us, visiting Rangoon, Inle Lake and Bagan.
How can I best describe the experience? It was at once beautiful and sad, energising and exhausting. Burma held so many contradictions that it at times blew me away. Rangoon is a dusty, sleepy town of crumbling grandeur, sandy streets and people who are probably the nicest I have met in a long, long time.
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| My travelling companions |
One Sunday we took a long walk through the city it was all dusty streets and crumbling colonial architecture. Beautiful and sad at the same time, we all wondered how many of these building will survive? Will they eventually crumble away from neglect or will they get torn down when the eventual influx of foreign investment comes into the country and high rise, glass and concrete take over?
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| Rangoon - old crumbling buildings |
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| The quiet streets (it was Sunday) |
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| Rangoon |
As well as spending time in Rangoon, we visited Inle Lake, which I am assured is very beautiful and peaceful, however the three days we were there it was more reminiscent of the Lake District, cold, wet and grey....
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| Inle Lake |
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| Our trusty boat |
Finally we spent too short a time in Bagan where all the stupas and temples are; both ancient and modern, and we spent a great day bouncing around in the back of a pony and trap visiting them.
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| Buddha in Bagan |
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| reclining Buddha |
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| Pots in Bagan |
Overall, while it was exhausting we were pleased we went but we did leave wondering what the future will bring for Burma?
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