Wanna Be Snobbery: Myanmar

For our third day in Myanmar we took a day trip out to the city of Bago - it's a couple of hours outside of Yangon with plenty to see along the way.

Anyone going on a road trip traditionally makes an offering before heading out. Here's David and our guide for the day, Nyi Nyi, with our leaves and flowers to hang in the car, ensuring we have a safe journey.

Our first stop was a WWII memorial that was so radically different that anything else I'd seen in Myanmar that it was a bit unsettling. Perfectly manicured and clean, not another soul in sight. I like my culture a bit more gritty and crowded, but austere can be nice, too, I suppose.

The next stop was my favorite - a local market. Apparently very few tourists ever wander though because people were so surprised to see us they would jump and exclaim "Oh!" when we were spotted. And then stare. Always the staring. But a purely open curious stare, which was pretty refreshing after the Indian leer and the Vietnamese glare.

And they called to us constantly. Nyi Nyi told me that people were calling out to tell me I was beautiful. I'm not sure if this was true, but I pretended it was and of course it did wonders for my self esteem.

Spices, meats and betel nuts galore.

You know how awful fish sauce smells? Try bucket loads of the stuff... pre-juiced. These are piles of fermented fish.

I couldn't get a straight answer as to why these chickens were yellow. Turmeric is my guess.

Outside the market, people were more than willing to have their picture taken.

I can't bring you the scents and the heat, but at least I can bring you the sounds.

Next stop was another large monastery. I wonder if they find it funny that one of the most popular things to do here is watch them eat.

I never thought I'd have too much of watching hundreds of monks eating lunch, but I supposed I never thought I'd find my self in Myanmar with fermented fish on my shoes, either.

Someone had sponsored lunch for the day, and also donated new sandals for everyone.

Here's one of the ladies who sponsored dessert for the day.

Beautiful kids everywhere!

Finally reaching Bago, our main destination was another golden stupa, this one even taller that the one in Yangon. It would have been way more impressive if the entire thing wasn't covered in bamboo for the yearly re-guilding.

These places seem like so much fun for kids running and climbing around.

The story of Bago goes something like this: "On his [Buddha] return journey while crossing the Gulf of Martaban, which happened to be at low tide, he saw two golden sheldrakes sitting, female on top of male, on a peak of land protruding out of the sea just enough for a bird's perch. Viewing this strange phenomenon, he predicted to his disciples that one day a country where his doctrine would thrive would come into existence in this vast sea area."

Here's Buddha, pointing to the birds, just in case you might have missed them.

We went to another pagoda that was supposed to have some sort of festival and dancing going on. Unfortunately the show was cancelled today, and so we wandered around a bit looking at statues or whatever else there was to see. Why the lady on the right is dressed in a bee suit and has a bull on her head is anyone's guess.

All the kids who were expecting a show were there, but since it had been called off, we appeared to be the next best thing for entertainment. They followed us everywhere.

Leaving my new little friends, we made one last stop for another reclining Buddha.

He's reaching nirvana, which is why he's not actually leaning on his arm, just sort of elevated above it.

Bago is perfect for those to whom many Buddhas are never enough. This was not us, though, and we whipped around the last quartet of Buddhas pretty quickly before heading back to Yangon.