What am I?

Before you enlarge this photo to take a closer look, try to guess what this is? Cute!

Apologies

So sorry for my long absence from the blogging scene... It doesn't help that the connection speed here is really slow and I cannot upload my photos... In fact I have done up my postings from all my travel adventures already, just that they are without any photographs. It's really frustrating waiting in the internet cafe for like half an hour for one photo to load, only to receive an error message that something had gone wrong along the way. So to all those who are waiting for more updates, please be patient.... I'm trying my best already...

Thingyan 13 - 17 April

The water festival or Thingyan has begun! The moment I stepped out of the hotel, I was hosed down by the hotel staff….. The staff’s job during this festival is practically to stand outside the hotel and pour water onto passing vehicles and pedestrians.

One of the school staff brought us out today to experience what the festival is all about….. We just sat at the back of the pick-up and drove around town….. Near the palace, stages were built so that people could go onto it and hose us ‘lower beings’ down. And no one is supposed to get angry about it….. We actually didn’t mind getting wet because now is the hottest season where temperatures can get as high as 40°C…..

I didn’t realise that an hour of hiding under a towel, covering my ears, screaming and laughing would be so exhausting…. And not to mention, FUN!

More Payas

Here we are at the Mahamuni Paya where we witnessed some sort of religious procession involving young kids…..There is a 4 m ? high seated Mahamuni Buddha image cast in bronze, but over the years, it has been covered completely by 15 cm thick layer of gold leaves. Only men are allowed to go up or even go near to the image and paste the gold leaves.

I like this wooden monastery known as Shwe In Bin Kyaung. It’s different from the usual white payas that are around here. It is built on beams and has really intricate engravings.

Kyauktawgyi Paya is home to a 8 m, 900 tonne Buddha carved out from a single block of marble. Apparently it took 10,000 men 13 days to transport it to its current location.

Pagoda Hopping

There are countless pagodas in Mandalay..... I managed to go to all the famous ones in one morning...... Not bad huh? In fact, I think I've done almost all of the touristy things that one can do in Mandalay already! Oh wait.... I have not taken photos of the palace and moat yet! Some of these pagodas charge a ridiculously high entrance fee of USD10! My friend and I refused to enter those places because we find that it is totally unfair! If we can masquerade as a local, then we need not pay the entrance fee. So if the locals enter the pagodas to pray, they do not need to pay. But how can they assume that foreigners are not going to the pagodas to pray too?

These pictures are taken at Sandamani Paya…. It has the teachings of Buddha inscribed on 1774 marble slabs, erected in 1913. Best of all, it's free to enter!

Kids

I love to take photographs of the children here.... Even though they don't look very clean, but at least there is some kind of innocence and sparkle in their eyes.... And they really love it when after taking the photograph, I show them the image on the digital camera! It's amazing how this little action can bring so much happiness to a child.

Thanaka

Thanaka is a traditional beauty product that is applied to the face. It is yellow in colour and obtained by grinding a tree bark into a paste. To the locals, it is supposed to be a kind of sunscreen and it can also help to tighten the pores and control oiliness. Perhaps I ought to try it one day.

Places in Hsipaw

I’m at the Bawgyo Paya grabbing on to the lion’s leg! When I peered down at it’s foot, I noticed that it has 6 toes!!! And they were painted red! Groovy lion!

These monk are standing and waiting for alms at the foot of the Five Buddha Hill. At first glance, I thought they were terra cottas! But why in the world would terra cottas be in Myanmar, and what’s more this little town of Hsipaw?! The climb up this hill was definitely worth it! We saw an amazing view of the area around Hsipaw but none of my photos turned out really well.

Little Hsipaw

I went with my room-mate, Vivian, to Hsipaw during the 2-day break. We decided to have the experience of our lifetime by choosing the local bus for our 7-hour journey to our destination. That was indeed the experience of our lifetime and so when we returned, we decided once was enough and hence opted to 'bao' a whole car albeit the steeper price.

Hsipaw is a little village-like town. We can get around most places by the bicycle. Check out my bike and my Lonely Planet in front! Poser!

Sunrise, Sunset

As you can probably guess, I love the sunrise and the sunset here. The sun is extremely red over here, it looks so dramatic, as if it’s spilling over with err…. I can’t think of a word to describe it, passion perhaps? It’s really different looking at an orange/yellow sun and a red sun. It’s almost like looking at a huge Japanese flag laid out in front of me! Ironically, the reason why the sun is so red is probably because of the dust in the air. Dust = pollution = my no. 1 enemy. The dust particles in the air most likely caused some changes in the dispersion of light which resulted in the colour of the sun being so. Science lesson!!!

This photo was taken in Hsipaw where I believe the pollution level is lower, and hence the sun is less reddish in colour.

Vi Vi

My room mate, Vivian, is a fellow Singaporean and fortunately we share the same passion for travelling and shopping! What shopping you must be wondering? Well, there is a new mall here and even though it’s not huge, we can still spend the whole afternoon walking around there. Come on, that place is the only air-conditioned shopping centre around in Mandalay and it is also the only place here where I’ve taken the escalator! This is what I call civilization.

The four of us are the only Singaporean teachers here in our school, Mandalay Chan Thar Academy (MCTA). On the extreme left is my immediate boss, Daniel. He’s the head of high school, aka principal. Next to him is Aida who’s teaching the junior school kids. Vivian is a Chinese teacher with the junior school. And the last lady you see in the picture is the Mathematics and Physics teacher for high school!