Buddhist Holiday

Today is a Buddhist holiday here in Thailand and it’s a big one: Visakha Bucha (also spelled as Visaka Puja). This day, according to Buddhist belief, celebrates the birth, enlightenment and entry into nirvana of the Buddha. Think of it as a three-in-one bonus: all of this stuff happened on the same day! Hey, I can’t help it, I love poking fun at ALL religions, and Buddhism doesn’t get a free pass either. But I have to say that I do have much more respect for Buddhism — and interest in the way that it’s linked to the fabric of daily of life in Southeast Asia — than I have in the fanatical belief systems that are found in Western countries.

 

Seeing as how it’s Visakha Bucha today — and also a holiday under other names in Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar — I thought it fitting to post some Buddhist-themed photos, all taken during my recent trip to Myanmar.

 

 

 

 

Mid-Week Blues

It’s Wednesday night in Bangkok and it’s raining again, although very, very lightly. Just finished listening to a World Party CD and now I have an old James Gang live album playing. “Just turn your pretty head … and walk away.” Coming up next: a compilation by The The. And if you have to ask; “The what? … well, forget it.

And I’m stumped as to what to write about tonight. It’s been a few days since I posted anything and I feel like I should write something or post some photos, but I just don’t feel inspired. Must be the mid-week blues.  

I could write about the latest rash of bombings in South Thailand; the violence that just won’t stop. Or I could write about the historic visit of Myanmar President Thein Sein to the US, where he’s meeting with Barack “O’Burma” Obama. Or to take that story a step further, I could mention the misguided protesters who think Thein Sein is some sort of heinous villain because he hasn’t been able to stop the sectarian violence between Muslim and Buddhists in Myanmar this year. Or the idiots who think that Obama should not have invited Thein Sein at all, reasoning that it’s “too early” to lift sanctions and “encourage” Myanmar without the government releasing all political prisoners, and blah blah blah. I tell you, nothing pleases these so-called “Free Burma” groups, and it would kill them to acknowledge, much less praise, any improvements or changes that the Myanmar government makes. Hell, it would kill them just to say the word “Myanmar.” I’m certainly not in the pro-junta camp, but some of these so-called human rights groups need to put things in perspective. I think some of their “policies” have done more harm than good in the past decade. I think “democratic” changes will take time to fully mature in Myanmar, but things are on the right track and Thein Sein should be encouraged and supported rather than criticized and condemned.

What else? Oh yeah, there was the efficient transvestite nurse that waited on me at Bangkok Hospital last week, or the Thai doctor who they sent me to at that same hospital. He had a very American-sounding accent, so I asked him if he had spent time studying in the states. “Well,” he said, “I grew up near Cincinnati, but I attended university here in Bangkok.” And the good news: they couldn’t find anything wrong with me!

Or I could write about some of the cool customers in my bookshop this week: David the 75-year-old pot-smoking fan of Louis L’Amour novels; the guy from Sweden who admitted to being “old school” and preferring real books over digital ones; the guy from Prachin Buri who bought the entire series of Gabriel Allon novels by Daniel Silva; the sweet expat lady from Poland who is reading anything we get by Evelyn Waugh, P.G. Wodehouse, or Graham Greene; or the female Thai customer who regaled us with tales of spitting on the feet of Red Shirt protesters last week; or the street guy who likes to “drop his drawers” to passing cars in front of our shop. Oh yeah, it’s a colorful neighborhood!

Or could write about the two nice guys from France that treated me to dinner at a Thai restaurant on Monday night. Good food, pleasant company, and they introduced me to a wicked-good drink that they say is popular in Brazil. I just wish I could remember the name of the drink! Yeah, it was that good. They were departing the next day on a trip to Myanmar and will be back in Bangkok in early May.

Then there were the phone calls from friends in Cambodia, e-mails from friends in Myanmar, and requests for money from friends in Thailand. In the case of my Thai friend Tam, his wife just gave birth to their third child and he needed money to buy some essentials … like food, so I was inclined to help him out.

But alas, I don’t have the energy or inclination to write about any of these things with any additional depth. All in all, it was just another weird and wonderful, and perfectly normal, week here in Bangkok. Let it rain!

 

The Middle of Nowhere: 90th Street on the Road (Pt. 3)

The last stop on my trip within a trip with the crew from 90th Street in Mandalay was a remote place called Shwe Set Taw. We left from Bagan and passed Chauk and Salay and Yenangyaung, stopping briefly at a large pagoda in Magwe before crossing the Ayeyarwaddy River and continuing past the town of Minbu. That was the last real town of note, and still we kept driving, and driving, and driving. I’d never seen such dry, desolate looking landscape in all of Myanmar. No large trees and no signs of habitation. Just flat, ugly stretches of no-man’s land Where were they taking me?!

 

I’d never heard of Shwe Set Taw before this trip, but Maw Hsi and the truck driver, along with the kids, decided that this “side trip” was what they wanted to do, so I gave it my blessing, not knowing at the time what a long journey it was going to be. From Bagan, the one-way driving time was nearly six hours! And that’s six hours driving on roads that weren’t always paved, sitting in the back of flatbed truck. My ass is still sore.

 

When we finally arrived, I saw a sign proclaiming “Shwe Set Taw Wildlife Sanctuary.” Huh? I had assumed that this was going to be some sort of grand sacred golden pagoda. A wildlife park? Well, I learned more about the place quickly from Maw Hsi. Shwe Set Taw certainly is an official government wildlife sanctuary, but it’s also the site of a very sacred pagoda, hosting what are reputed to be a set of the Buddha’s footprints. Maw Hsi told me that the history of this site goes back nearly two thousand years! Many people from Bagan and around the region come to visit and spend the night, and with the confluence of two large streams it makes for a nice swimming hole too. But it’s only open about six months out of the year, most of the low-lying area become flood-prone during the rainy season.

 

I have to say that I wasn’t blown away by the visit to Shwe Set Taw; it was sort of a ho-hum destination from my perspective. A lot of traveling on bad roads just to go swimming and gaze at a set of footprints. Once was enough! But for Maw Hsi and the kids it was one of those possible once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimages that they can tell their family and friends about. And for their sake, I’m glad we went. Plus, the kids got to buy cheap, silly sunglasses and eat more junk food, so they were quite happy!

 

Hpone Thant (or “Harry”, as he’s called) has a nice write-up about Shwe Set Taw on his informative blog:

http://www.enchantingmyanmar.com/2011/02/the-shwe-set-taw-pagoda/

 

 

Soccer Monks

I’m back in Shan State today (at least in my cyber state of mind) with the novice monks from the Tat Ein Monastery. Like most men and boys in Myanmar, these guys are total football fanatics. When not studying their Buddhist texts, they are more than willing to kick around a football — what’s called a soccer ball back in the USA — either inside or outside the monastery. Unlike at some more well-to-do monasteries in Myanmar, the monks at Tat Ein don’t have access to a TV, their football cravings are confined to actually playing the game.

 

Before I arrived in Nyaungshwe this time, I bought the monks a new football in Yangon. It wasn’t that expensive but it was certainly of much better quality than the beat-up ball they had been using. They might be novice monks, but that shouldn’t prevent them from playing a little football once in a while. And as you can see from these photos, they certainly get a kick out of doing just that!

 

 

 

Guest Photographer: Zin Ko

He’s back! One of my guest photographers from last year, Zin Ko, has returned with more photos that he took with my camera. Except for the photo at the very top, what’s posted here today is a collection of shots that Zin Ko took around the 90th Street neighborhood in Mandalay, in Bagan, and at Mt. Popa during our recent trip. And of course, while playing with the camera, he had to take a photo of himself, which you can see above.

 

Zin Ko is an 11-year-old student in Mandalay. During the current summer school break (“summer” being the period from March through May here in Southeast Asia) he is working part-time at one of the neighborhood gem shops, polishing jade stones. An only child, Zin Ko lives with his parents in a small house a couple of doors down from U Tin Chit’s teashop on 90th Street in Mandalay. He likes to dance the gangnam style and is a supporter of the Manchester United football team.

 

Here is a link to see some of the shots that Zin Ko took last year.

http://garlicneversleeps.wordpress.com/2012/08/20/finding-zin-ko-at-a-burmese-teashop/

Boppin’ around Bagan: 90th Street on the Road (Pt. 2)

After Mt. Popa, the next stop on my journey with the crew from 90th Street in Mandalay was Bagan. We arrived in Bagan early in the afternoon of the first day. I stayed at a hotel in New Bagan, but Maw Hsi and the kids opted to stay at a monastery closer to Old Bagan. I’d offered to put everyone up at the same hotel (a place I’ve stayed at many times over the years,  and was assured of a discount with a group this big), but Maw Hsi seemed very concerned that I’d been spending too much money on these trips and didn’t want me splurging more than needed.

 

After a short afternoon siesta the truck picked me up around five that afternoon and we headed over to the nearby Lawkananda Pagoda, perched on the banks of the Ayeyarwaddy River. The pagoda was under repair, with bamboo scaffolding covering most of the dome, so other than some nice views of the river there wasn’t much to see there. I suggested that we visit a smaller group of pagodas closer to Myinkaba where we could watch the sunset, and more importantly not be run over by any tour groups. There are several pagodas in Old Bagan that serve as popular sunset spots, but most of those are horribly crowded nowadays.

 

The kids managed to find a few temple caves in the area and made mad dashes through the dark interior and back outside, screaming happily the whole time. Good, silly fun. After that short sightseeing stint we headed back to New Bagan and had dinner at the outdoor Shwe Lan Thit Restaurant, just down the dirt road from the Thazin Garden Hotel. I knew the owner when he managed the nearby Mi San Restaurant, so I make it a point to patronize his place when I’m in town. It’s not expensive by any means — most dishes cost around two to three US dollars — but I sensed that Maw Hsi was a bit uncomfortable with ordering from the menu, so we settled on fried rice for everyone, plus pork with black bean sauce (a Bagan specialty that I crave) for me. The owner threw in free plates of French fries as appetizers, adding to the very good meal. The kids, especially Zin Ko, also had fun playing with the cloth napkins and making hats out of them!

 

We did some more Bagan sightseeing on our final morning before returning to Mandalay (I’ll have a separate post about our long Day 2 trip later), stopping to visit most of the more popular pagodas in the area around Old Bagan. I’ve been to these sites numerous times before, but just like Angkor in Cambodia, I never get tired of marveling at these ancient wonders. At Bagan, the plain of ancient pagodas dotting the horizon — no matter which direction you are facing — is positively spellbinding. But the children, being the silly youngsters that they are, seemed more interested in buying snacks or posing for photos than admiring the architecture. Ah well, what can you do?

 

Before leaving Bagan, we stopped at the monastery where the group had stayed for two nights and had lunch there. As with most monasteries where I’ve eaten in Myanmar, the meal was very tasty and second helpings were offered. And also, as usual, because I’m a foreigner, they plied me with instant coffee and little cakes afterwards. Enough already! I asked Maw Hsi how much I should give to the monastery, some sort of donation to thank them for their hospitality, and as is usually the case when I ask “how much,” I was given a non-committal answer. So I just came up with a figure that I thought was fair and left it at that.

 

After lunch we were back on the road for the final dusty leg of the journey back to Mandalay. Frankly, it had been an exhausting three days, but other than a few minor arguments amongst themselves, the kids behaved well and it was truly a pleasure travelling with them, Maw Hsi and the two other parents (who took turns driving). Once we were in Mandalay and rumbling down the narrow stretch of 90th Street near Ko Tin Chit’s teashop, the kids broke into a song and started clapping their hands, big smiles all around. It’s those sorts of spontaneous acts of genuine happiness that endear me this country, and these people. Can’t wait for the next trip!

 

 

 

Off to the Volcano: 90th Street on the Road (Pt. 1)

It’s become a tradition for me to take a group of children from the 90th Street neighborhood in Mandalay on a day trip of some sort when I’m town. We’ve been to a variety of places in the area over the past five years. The time was no different, or actually it was; instead of a single day excursion, we spent three full days on the road exploring historic sites much further away from Mandalay.  In the case of one remote place, it would qualify as “out in the boondocks.”

 

Our destination the first day was Mt. Popa, one of the most sacred sites in Myanmar. Mt. Popa is located near Bagan, so our plan was to arrive there in the morning and end up at Bagan in the afternoon, where we would spend the first night. Mt. Popa is an extinct volcano, but it was last seen spewing lava about 250,000 years ago, so nowadays the only thing to fear on the mountain is the hordes of monkeys scampering all over the place, begging for food and trying to snatch the hats or sunglasses from the heads of unsuspecting tourists. The big attraction of Mt. Popa, however, and what makes it sacred for the locals, are all the nat shrines located there. A nat is spirit, and most people in Myanmar have a belief in them to some degree. In addition to the various nat shrines, there are some more traditional shrines to Buddha at Mt. Popa too.

 

And all those monkeys! Really, they are more than a bit of a nuisance the way they run around and create havoc; it’s as if they owned the place! Well, maybe they do; they’ve probably been in residence there longer than any humans have. Of one thing there is no doubt; the monkeys have turned into an attraction themselves. Vendors stroll up and down the stairways selling monkey food as well as flowers for the shrines. I used all the pocket change (small banknotes, actually, since there are no coins in Myanmar) that I had to buy monkey food and flowers for the kids to distribute.

 

I’ve been to Mt. Popa three times already, so the excursion wasn’t that special for me. But then again, I got a kick out seeing how excited everyone else was about being there. For Maw Hsi and the kids it was definitely a big deal. They can now boast to their friends and family; “I’ve been to Mt. Popa.” And most of them bought souvenir t-shirts as proof!

 

 

 

Where Tourists Never Wander: the Other Side of Mandalay

This is the side of Mandalay that tourists never see. It’s not an especially pretty area and doesn’t offer amazing photo opportunities, and there isn’t anything of historical importance to see, but visiting this part of town has given me an immensely eye-opening perspective on the local way of life and the chance to know some truly wonderful people.

 

I found 90th Street quite by accident one day a few years ago, cycling around the south side of Mandalay on my rented bike, no destination in mind, just wandering around and exploring new neighborhoods. This stretch of 90th Street is not much more than a bumpy dirt road, bordered by ramshackle houses and tiny shops. Children play in the street, motorcycles whizz by, chickens and pigs wander into the road, and monks stroll by holding umbrellas to shade themselves from the blistering sun. This street doesn’t look or feel like the rest of the bustling Mandalay, exuding more of a laidback rural vibe.

 

There’s this little teashop on 90th Street, run by a nice man named U Tin Chit. The teashop is called Nwe Oo Aung Teashop, but I can never ever remember that name, so I just call it U Tin Chit’s Teashop.  The teashop has no windows or doors; open air, baby! It’s open round the clock; just like a 7-Eleven branch, they never close. As you might surmise, it’s not a fancy place. You can sit on plastic stools or wooden benches. Sit on the floor if you want, I don’t think anyone will mind. Have some tea, a bean-filled pastry or a tasty greasy snack. Stay as long as you like. Chat with the local men or the kids that pass in and out of the place, often stopping to stare at what’s on the TV in the corner. Maybe you can’t get anything you want, like at Alice’s Restaurant, but it’s a very relaxed place with friendly locals.

 

I’ve been going to this teashop for several years, and each time I visit, the kids or my friend Ko Maw Hsi will take me on short excursions in the surrounding area; to a monastery or temple, a school, a jade workshop, a swimming hole, a little shoe shop, someone’s home. These are fun little tours and I’m discovering more of the area each time I visit, plus getting to know these people and their families a little more as well. I’m very fond of these folks. Even though they are quite poor, the hospitality they offer each time is beyond generous. At this point I think I can say we’re all good friends; Ko Maw Hsi, U Tin Chit, U Nyunt Tun and his sweet daughter Khin Nwe Lwin (who recently graduated from university), Moe Htet Aung, Khang Khant Kyaw, Zin Ko, Baw Ga, Yu Naing Soe, and the rest of the neighborhood crew.

 

During this trip, Moe Htet Aung invited me to visit his home for the first time. I’d met his mother before, but I had no idea if there was a father living at home, or even if he had any brothers or sisters. From what I gather, it’s just him and his mom and a younger sister living in this house. It’s a fairly basic wooden house, at least one that blends in with the rest of the neighborhood. Like the others, there doesn’t appear to be any running water inside the home; families must bathe and use facilities outdoors. No real surprise there, but the real shock for me was the walk to the house. After turning down a series of narrow dirt lanes, surprised vendors greeting me with big smiles, we had to navigate a huge field of garbage to reach his house. That’s right, garbage. Trash, rubbish, scraps; an entire field filled with this junk. And I followed the kids as they nonchalantly traipsed through it all.

 

Once we were at the house, I was offered hot tea, as is standard practice at most homes in Myanmar. They also brought out a chilled can of Red Bull, a beverage that I absolutely will not touch. I thanked them, but told them I was full and could not drink it. They told me to put it in my bag and drink it back at my hotel. That ended up being a good diplomatic compromise; I put the can in my bag and gave it away to a street kid an hour later.

 

Someone noticed that my left arm was sporting red splotches; the result of bites from some sort of insect in my hotel room. The kids looked real concerned at my “injury”, and Moe Htet Aung’s mother announced that she had the perfect remedy; thanaka! You might not have heard of thanaka but you’ve seen it; it’s that yellowish paste that many people in Myanmar wear on their faces. It acts as a sunscreen, but many women also liken it to a beauty cosmetic and you’ll often see locals wearing thanaka in all sorts of pretty, creative patterns on their face. In any case, Moe Htet Aung’s mother told me that the thanaka will also soothe the skin and reduce the itching from the insect bites. She had me sold on the idea; let’s do it. And they did. And it did.

 

After the doctoring was done, I realized that it was getting late, at least closer to the time when I needed to head back to my hotel to clean up before a dinner appointment, so I told them I needed to leave. I followed the crew of kids, which had someone grown in number during the time I was at the house, and we walked back across the field of debris, down the quaint little lanes and back to the teashop where my bike was parked. I waved goodbye to Maw Hsi and the other men sitting at the teashop. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said as I hopped on my bike (making sure my longyi stayed tied!). And I was looking forward to it; another day of new experiences with my friends on 90th Street.

 

 

Mandalay Football Fun

I’m still in the process of learning, or trying to become more proficient in the Burmese language, or Myanmar zaga as it’s called over here, so sometimes I don’t fully understand what people are saying during conversations. So, when I was hanging out on 90th Street in Mandalay recently, and the kids mentioned something about football, I thought they were talking about going to watch a football match. But what they meant was PLAYING some football, and that ended up being a little football match between them — Moe Htet Aung, Baw Ga, Pya Thein, Zin Ko, and Ye Thu Lwin —and another group of kids that I didn’t know from the neighborhood.

 

They played on the grounds of a nearby monastery, using makeshift goals and roughly designated out-of-bounds markers. It didn’t matter that a pile of leaves was in the middle of the field … they’d just play around it. Occasionally, there would be a bit of shouting or heated discussion about some alleged infraction, but for the most part it was fun, friendly match. Unlike some of the real matches you see on TV. Little Zin Ko was the smallest player on the field and every time he’d kick a ball, he did it with such intensity that he ended up falling down. Each and every time. It was a bit comical … and nobody laughed harder than Zin Ko himself. A good sport!

 

 

 

 

Sanda Tika: Novice Monk Photographer

My guest photographer today is Sanda Tika, a 12-year-old novice monk from the monastery in Shan State’s Tat Ein village. His self portrait photo is posted above. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this kid without a huge grin on his face. He’s just one of those playful, perpetually happy kids who seem unfazed but the occasional chaos surrounding them.

It seemed like wherever I wandered around the village and the monastery (and at the primary school, although Sanda Tika doesn’t attend classes there; he studies separately at the monastery) this time — and especially on our road trip to Taunggyi and Kakku, Sanda Tika was always there, shadowing me every step of the way. Okay, there were times that I saw him studying with the other novices, but it SEEMED like he was always around. Because of his almost constant presence, I asked him his name (he gave me his “monastery name” — his birth name is different) one day, and promptly appointed him to be my assistant photographer for the rest of my stay. After a quick crash course in the basics, he was more than ready to use the camera. The photos you see today are all ones that he took.  

 

At the park in Taunggyi, they have a bizarre new addition: huge plaster replicas of the characters from The Flintstones! Yes, there were Fred and Wilma, along Barney and Betty (alas, Bam Bam was nowhere to be found), ready and waiting to pose for photos. And the students and teachers got really excited about doing just that, running up and hugging the goofy characters. I don’t think any of these kids have ever seen a Flintstones cartoon in their lives, but they just couldn’t resist the silliness of the idea. And neither could Sanda Tika!