Home » Burma (Myanmar) » Burmese Daze

Full Moon Firework Balloon Festival at Taunggyi, Myanmar

Burmese Daze

Steve_t
2006-11-01 12:12:32

Displayed times (last time: )

I need a holiday. Just four weeks in Myanmar and I've seen more zedis, stupas, pahtos, payas and pagodas, more sitting, standing and reclining Buddhas, than I have in the whole of Southeast Asia in the previous three years. And more gold leaf than I've seen in my entire life.

I wasn't even planning to visit Myanmar this trip. Then I learned about a really unusual "Fire Balloon" Competition that takes place at Taunggyi near Nyaungshwe during the Full Moon Festival. Fascinated by all things aerial, I changed my itinerary, expecting that the competition would be the highlight of my visit.

It wasn't. The highlight was the warm, generous, incredibly friendly Burmese people I met. People who genuinely wanted to talk to you, just out of curiosity or to improve their English. People with no connection to the tourist trade who clearly welcomed visitors, who didn't regard foreigners simply as walking ATMs.

I talked to locals on the trains, on buses, in monasteries, around the monuments, and especially in my favourite Burmese institution, the tea shops. They're never very far away. Cascading out of the shop, across the pavement and into the gutter are small tables with tiny stools that look as if they belong in dolls' houses. On the table will be fresh cakes in plastic, and whatever you order, even if it's just a "coffeemix", there'll also be a complimentary pot of Chinese green tea. Oh, and when you come to pay, I'd always thought the universal sign for asking for the bill was to hold up one hand, palm towards you, and mime writing on it with the other hand. Twice when I did this in Myanmar, the waiter thoughtfully brought me a pen and paper!

Sit on your own in a Delhi tea shop, and a local will join you. Tell him you are English and, nine times out of ten he'll say, "Ah, capital is London, Prime Minister ...