Burma, the Land of Smiles and Silence

restaurant….very clean, these Burmese are truly a people who care a lot about hygiene, despite the backwardness, so unanimously it is decided that tomorrow at lunch we will stop here! Next stop for lunch in a restaurant with a small zoo attached….and the torrential rain begins to make itself felt, so much so that the visit to the animals was interrupted. After another two hours by bus we arrive at the base camp of Kinn Pun Camp, the village from which the trucks depart that reach Kyaik-Hti-Yo. Here we settled into two vehicles, strictly open, sitting on rather narrow planks, and the monsoon rain started again, wrapped up in ke-way, raincoats and umbrellas we faced the climb with a jovial spirit amid the jokes and laughter of the group.

We got very, very wet, but it was hilarious, we crossed fantastic nature and after about half an hour we arrived at a dirt clearing from which you have to continue on foot…..you really have to earn this golden rock! We handed our backpacks to the baskets of children who offered to carry them to the hotel for 1000 kyat… and we began the climb, under very heavy rain with lots and lots of Burmese boys following us, some even equipped with a litter, hoping that, given the effort, someone would give in….and in fact Filomena decided at a certain point to continue by litter, surely much more comfortable! Claudio also wanted to try the litter for a stretch, but after a little while he got off, perhaps he didn't feel at ease! It was really very tiring, but also very fun with the friendliness of all these boys who at every meter offered themselves with their litter, after an hour we arrived soaked

like chicks at the Montain Top hotel***, one of the two located right at the entrance of the site…after sipping a hot tea we made the excursion to the golden rock now in the dark and still under torrential water…but the view of the rock proved truly thrilling! Seeing this immense rock, it's about 11 meters high, among the fog, among the continuous ringing of the bells that surround it moved by the wind, illuminated with a very particular light and still under torrential rain will be an emotion hard to forget! On the way back to the hotel there was a small incident, Filomena slipped hitting her head and got a fairly obvious cut! Excellent dinner after a boiling hot shower, after dinner we chatted with the group from Avventure nel mondo who were staying in our hotel…and hearing the costs they incurred I must say that this year too our trip was very, very cheap! First purchases at the hotel

of Burmese……jade. This excursion was my idea, almost forced, Raffaele had warned me that we might find rain…but I must say I'm very happy I did it, it's truly a fantastic place, this enormous boulder eleven meters high and placed in balance, they say it stays balanced on the edge of a precipice thanks to one of Buddha's hairs, gave us all strong emotions.

Day 4 –8 August 2007 KYAIKHTIYO-YANGON A rather meager breakfast and some couldn't help but visit the rock again, without rain, with a clearer landscape ……and it was still a beautiful emotion! The usual group of children with baskets who even argued to grab our backpacks and finally we left for the descent, the path is really challenging even going down, it's very steep, yesterday with the rain we hadn't realized the numerous Buddhist monks' rest stops that follow one after another. Once we reached the dirt area we got back on the open trucks and this time in the sun we admired the beautiful landscape that presented itself. On arrival at the base camp we stocked up on fruit sold to us by very beautiful girls.

After more than two hours by bus we arrived at the restaurant we had seen yesterday, in Bago, under heavy rain again…it was almost an adventure trying to order, but above all receive what we had ordered…Jacopo waited in vain for his fried chicken! From the restaurant window we admire a group of kids playing a football match under the monsoon rain and behind them we can make out an immense pagoda all golden……..a truly characteristic image! We begin to count the injured: Filomena wears a conspicuous bandage for last night's incident on the way back from the golden rock, Franco bruised a shoulder falling on the way back from the mountain, Anna Maria on the bus was struck by a witch's blow and couldn't even get off for lunch! We decided not to do the Bago visit, both because of the heavy rain and because of the injured on board.

Arrival after two hours at the hotel in Yangon, a short stop and a fun walk in the Chinese quarter, full of fruit stalls and every other kind. Excellent dinner at the hotel, this evening there was an international menu, but equally excellent, the evening ended with a bottle of rum and more purchases in the hotel's little shops.

Day 5 –9 August 2007 YANGON-MANDALAY-AMARAPURA-SAGAING Wake-up at 4:00, always excellent breakfast at 4:30, flight to Mandalay at 6:15, stopover in Bagan and arrival at 8:05…..this plane is like a bus, we got off at the second stop, but there was also a third at Heho, excellent fast service and scenic flight because the plane never rises very high off the ground. Finally the sun is shining and it's a whole other thing! Luggage collected directly by the porters and we'll find it again in our room, the perfect organization of this country is truly exceptional. Start of the tour in Amarapura, ancient capital on the eastern bank of the Irrawaddy River a few kilometers from Mandalay.

Visit to the largest monastery in Burma, the Mahagandhayon which houses over a thousand monks, we witness the shower of some young monks washing themselves festively and then we also visit the kitchens including the student house where we find a young monk wrestling with a difficult translation..at least according to our guide Mya. Now it's mealtime, the family that offered it today approaches the enormous pots full of rice and immediately an endless line of monks formed who with their lunch carriers will be served precisely by the members of the donating family. A particular situation, it almost seems touristy, but they say it repeats every day of the year! Right after we head toward the long U Bein teak bridge, a full 2 km long, it's the longest wooden bridge in the world, 1086 columns, we have almost two hours to walk on it.

It's very hot, but it's pleasant to walk together with monks, women, children and other tourists, we meet the Avventure nel mondo group again, the sun really beats down, but every now and then there are shaded stops where they sell souvenirs, fruit and there are also benches to rest. We arrived on the other side quite overheated and many preferred to take the boat back, but we daring ones went back on foot with the splendid company of a boy who knew not only Totti, but also Ilary and it was a pleasure as well as fun, to teach him the names of the children too. Before getting back on the bus some preferred to grab an excellent fried fish cooked on the spot (Guido Claudio and Giuseppe) others preferred to buy the first ballerinas carved in wood.

For lunch we stopped at a Chinese restaurant, but for those who didn't want to eat it was truly torture to wait, an insane heat…..and Pietro while waiting wanted to sink down from a fence and saw fit to throw down a column too! Continuation of the visits, we headed toward Sagaing, since there's a very winding road that goes up, we left our bus and continued with two pick-ups, going up we see the numerous stupas and monasteries that fill the hill! We begin with the visit to the scorching U Ponya pagoda which contains 47 buddhas in a row………truly a panoramic and scenic place, the floor is really scorching, first group photo with a monk! Back on the pick-up we arrived at the Mohamuni Paya pagoda, one of the most venerated temples, lively and full of pilgrims, a very panoramic place, from here you can see all of Mandalay almost completely flooded, we realize what the monsoons did this year, ou

r guide Mya tells us that we won't be able to do the excursion to Ava because of the rain that fell the whole area is flooded. We visit the Buddha covered entirely with gold leaf by the faithful, but only by male faithful, since women are not allowed, in fact women can't even get too close, indeed a guard, who perhaps had fallen in love with Antonietta, giving her a necklace of very fragrant flowers, opened a gap for us to see the statue better, but we women couldn't cross the line of flower vases! In the courtyard alongside we saw the Khmer bronze sculptures that originally were placed as guards of the Ankor temple in Cambodia. Large panels tell the story of the transfer of Buddha from Arakan to Amarapura.

We enjoy this marvelous panorama for a long time and then head to pick up the bus that will finally take us to the hotel, today too has been a very long, beautiful and interesting day. Arrival at the Mandalay City hotel*** which has a garage entrance, but inside it improves greatly, a little bridge over a pond with goldfish leads directly to the reception, our luggage is already in the room as usual, very pretty, functional and very clean rooms complete with Burmese wood carvings! Anyway this hotel has a rather…..unsmiling air! At least compared to the others. Dinner at the hotel a bit meager and very slow! Day 6 –10 August 2007 MANDALAY-MINGUN

This morning after breakfast visit to the Zegyo market, very close to our hotel, right in front of the Clock Tower. Mass purchases of various fabrics and we also found some ladies on the third floor who will sew blouses and dresses for us by tomorrow morning, some even had the various longyis sewn immediately after buying them. Continuation toward Mingun, arrival at the landing where we take a boat that after 11 kilometers of navigation will take us precisely to Mingun, an ancient royal city, on the opposite bank of the river. To get on there await us rather unstable planks with no support…..after an initial fright, everyone on board, off we go! After a bit of navigation a small market starts on board and mass purchases of t-shirts, necklaces and more.

After an hour of navigation, where we could admire glimpses of rural life along the river, we arrive at Mingun where the usual plank awaits us to get off and a small group of girls with whom we immediately began a sort of barter, we gave them lipsticks, perfumes and t-shirts in exchange for discounts on their merchandise, umbrellas, hats and bags! Mingun, ancient capital, today is a small village, where there are ox-drawn taxis and very friendly people, the Burmese people are truly wonderful, always smiling, they approach with curiosity and shyness, because they want to examine us more closely, it's truly a pleasure to be with them, they instill security and serenity! Every day observing this country and these people it feels like going back in time 100 years, and you breathe a fantastic air.

We begin by visiting an enormous red brick pagoda left unfinished, but since it's midday the 137 steps are scorching and a group of boys strive to put a bundle of fresh grass under our feet……..there are no words! Thanks to them we managed to reach the top and enjoy the splendid panorama! Then we arrived at the bronze bell of colossal dimensions, it weighs 90 tons, considered the largest in the world and here Antonio, our official bell-ringer, expressed all his skill, the tolls must always be three!

Continuing the walk lined with various stalls we arrived at the Myatheindan pagoda, all white with 8 concentric terraces, built by King Bagyidaw in memory of one of his most beloved wives, very steep steps, but fortunately not boiling hot. Last purchases, here you find very beautiful monk watercolors…and some people had themselves accompanied to the boat by the local taxi: ox-drawn cart! The means of transport in this country are endless! Return with a faster boat than going out, we also got caught in a downpour, but on arrival the sun was shining again.

Stop for lunch in a Chinese restaurant, where as usual we could eat our own things, fruit on beautiful tables fully set, this habit will accompany us throughout the trip, everyone sits down, then someone orders a dish, someone something to drink, but everyone is served with a smile…….they even cleaned and served us the pineapple, bought earlier at the market, on plates….there are no words to describe their helpfulness and always always with a smile! They are also then available, with the help of our great Mya, to make separate bills per family, bills always too cheap…….they are great, we can only learn from this patient and hospitable people! We get back on the bus to return to Mandalay and go visit what remains as the last testimony of the splendor of the royal palace.

The Shwenandaw monastery, entirely in teak, a very hard wood that has been able to resist the ravages of time, stupendous wood inlays, both inside and outside, the roof is particularly elaborate, a marvelous example of traditional Burmese art, it is the only survivor of the Royal Palace buildings, all of which were completely destroyed during World War II.

Visit to a very very golden pagoda with deafening music! Now we finally head toward the hill to hopefully witness the sunset! Now to climb the Mandalay hill to admire the sunset, we still have to change means of transport, we take two pick-ups that will take us to the escalators, we left our shoes on board…our feet can't be looked at! At the top stands the restored pagoda but the spectacle is the panorama, after various photos taken in all directions with the cloudy sky, the sun appears fiery red just before setting….it's a wonderful spectacle! Group photo of the women and return to the hotel at 19:30. These days are truly very intense, even a bit tiring, but certainly beautiful! This evening a great buffet with dancers joined by some of our group, Claudio, Antonio and Franchino.

Day 7 –11 August 2007 MANDALAY-PYIN OO LWIN Very early wake-up…..but delayed departure, because Simona, Mirella, Antonietta and Claudia wasted a lot of time at the market trying to have clothes and blouses made that they will pick up tomorrow………………………and everyone else is very angry! But the spirit of the group is or should be: always much tolerance! Arrival after about two hours by bus at Pyin Oo Lwin also called Maymyo, a very cool and very beautiful hill town, where the English came to seek coolness. Wonderful walk in the botanical garden where we admired many animals, birds, elephants, fountains, but above all many plants of even rare species. Lunch in a restaurant on the edge of a very pretty little lake full of very colorful flowers, where Jacopo tried to train a butterfly that had landed on one of his hands and had no intention of leaving.

Another stop at the Be fall waterfalls, crossing a Tibetan bridge and a disappointing visit to the town market, we also reached the Indian's shop mentioned in the guidebook, but very very disappointing too. Big purchases by the young people, but also by some less young like Antonietta, Guido and Nazzareno, of Abercrombie t-shirts, Levis jeans etc at Burmese prices. Return to Mandalay, here we stormed a post office where we called Italy at rates discounted by 50% compared to the hotels.

The telephone is a problem, cell phones don't work and calling from hotels costs from 7 to 8 dollars per minute, thank goodness Raffaele provided us with a phone receiving from Italy on which some people call……..not everyone manages it, they tell us it's very difficult to get a line, but Diego manages it almost every day, Domenico and Marta who are in Mexico managed it often, perhaps at the most unthinkable hours, since it's still not clear what time zone this blessed one is, and Pio also calls often, like Yuri and Perla's dad. Dinner in a Chinese restaurant, separate tables between women, men and kids….we ate very well, duck and other exquisite dishes and at the end on the men's table there was a considerable number of beers!

Day 8 –12 August 2007 MANDALAY-MONYWA-PHOWINTAUNG

This morning there was the usual visit to the nearby fabric market, and unfortunately there was a hitch, the blouses and the dress we were supposed to pick up were taken to a hotel…that isn't ours and is very far from here. The promise is that they'll deliver them to us during the day, because now they'll send someone to pick them up who will reach us by motorbike……..it won't be true unfortunately, thank goodness Mya, like the good and strict woman she is, had the seamstresses hand over 39000 kyat that we had paid for the merchandise! Stop at a government silver shop: very expensive! Nobody bought anything! Visit to the Thanbodhay temple absolutely particular, different from the pagodas visited so far.

A monk built it from 1939 to 1952, creating a grand and at the same time kitsch ensemble, it contains almost 600,000 Buddhas of various sizes, every corner is full of a series, perhaps microscopic statuettes and it seems they increase every day, because the faithful are used to buying them to fill it to the impossible! While we approach Monywa, in the distance we see a mammoth work under construction, it will be the largest Buddha in the world! We then stopped at a market to buy fruit that we will have peeled at the government restaurant at the Monywa hotel where we stop for lunch! Now the excursion to the rock sanctuary of the Po Win Daung caves awaits us and for this we have to change vehicles again: a small, old bus awaits us, with very narrow seats and since we don't all fit, someone can't wait to travel,

Visit with the company of the Burmese monkeys and the children who always followed us. We met an old lady smoking a Burmese cigar....enormous! We return always with the same vehicle, so part of the group is still on the roof, we see the copper mines......it's disconcerting here they work as in the Middle Ages, all absolutely manual! Arrival at the Win Unity*** hotel, of a very pleasant appearance, nice little villas with a pretty patio....too bad that the service at the restaurant wasn't great and in the middle of the shower the power went out for over half an hour, but in Burma this happens very frequently, in fact until now it had never happened to us! Guido realized he had forgotten his glasses on the roof of the bus....and magic of the Burmese after a very short time they were immediately returned to the hotel.

9th day – August 13, 2007 MONYWA – BAGAN Wake up at 7:30, we have to take the boat at Myinmu that will take us to Bagan in 7-8 hours. The boat is only for us, and thank goodness because we invaded all the hold space for our numerous luggage. On board catering service, the cooks are already at work preparing lunch, all made-to-order dishes, a lunch that will turn out excellent, the best meal of the whole trip! It's a beautiful navigation, scenes of daily life follow one another that make us realize even more how backward, but peaceful, life here in Burma is. In the afternoon, around 16:00 we begin to glimpse the domes of Bagan....this place is truly magical! Bagan is the most fascinating place in all of Burma, one of the wonders of the world, a cultural heritage of humanity by Unesco.

Having gotten off the boat we were welcomed by nice girls who wanted to sell us everything, we immediately headed to the Mingalazedi pagoda from where we watched the sunset, although the sky wasn't very clear we witnessed a sunset with a thousand shades, the view is breathtaking, the comments are unanimous, all of the same tone: it's truly spectacular to observe this site at 360 degrees, to see the plain dotted with numerous stupas that stand out in the green, it really feels like being in a magical dimension! Arrival at the Bagan Golf**** hotel, a stunning hotel truly superior to the ones we've stayed in until now.

The rooms are truly tastefully furnished, with Burmese lacquer ornaments, in the bathroom where there's the tub with the steps, there's also the stone with the famous little stick from which the famous cream that all Burmese women put on to hydrate the skin and protect from the sun is obtained, we also found fruit and sweets and before the night they came to remove the cushions and the bed strips, leaving delicious tamarind candies. Very very pleasant dinner in a particular setting.

10th day – August 14, 2007 BAGAN

After a sumptuous breakfast, a stop of about 2 hours and thirty at the typical Nyaung-oo market.Here the purchases of lacquers ran wild and not only, bags, scarves, statues, boxes etc. back on the bus we immediately noticed that Antonietta was missing......fortunately the search was short and we soon found her. Visit to the Shwezigon pagoda, which contains a frontal bone and a copy of the tooth of Buddha which is found, in Kandy, from afar the impressive cylindrical stupa covered in gold stands out, at the main entrance in a room you can see the 37 Nat of the Burmese Pantheon, sumptuously dressed. The nats are the spirits of local superstition, to whom the Burmese entrust their prayers. Then we visit the Gubyaukgyi temple, full of frescoes depicting the story of Buddha where we also went up to the first terrace.

Back on the bus we'll stop again to visit the Ananda pagoda, the most famous of the monuments of old Bagan, and also the most prestigious, unfortunately here you can't go up to the top. Inside there are four niches containing 4 standing Buddhas more than 10 meters tall in teak carved from a single block. It's a magnificent example of Mon art which presents the Greek cross structure. Lunch in a splendid restaurant on the river, beautifully set with petals scattered on the tablecloth. Afterward some people were taken back to the hotel because they had made an appointment for the famous Burmese massages, others wanted to follow them for a swim in the pool, while the rest of the group stopped to see a lacquer factory, where we were able to see the various workings of the lacquer, which are truly fascinating.

It takes a very long time to produce a quality product, and in this workshop they opened a room for us, where there was air conditioning and where they kept the best pieces......minimum price $150. We bought some more ordinary pieces and then headed back to this morning's market, the bus dropped us off and the appointment is at sunset at the Shwesandaw pagoda. Last quick purchases of lacquers and bags in the market that will be the cheapest and richest in various objects of the whole trip and then we had ourselves accompanied to the appointment with the rest of the group by two horse carts......this means of transport was also used, it's perhaps the most suited to crossing the little streets of the Bagan plain.

The climb up the pagoda is more demanding than the others, because the stairways are high and very steep, the terrace is full of people, but the spectacle from up there is always spectacular! We must try to imprint in our eyes and above all in our hearts what appears around us, we hope that the photos will then help us keep this memory alive. Dinner at the Nanda restaurant with a puppet show included, dinner served on wonderful lacquers, which it's a shame to eat from! The show is rather disappointing, perhaps the music is more fascinating, which is played live by a group of musicians.

11th day – August 15, 2007 BAGAN-MOUNT POPA-KALAW Happy Ferragosto, wake up at 5:30, a long day of transfer awaits us. First stop to observe the working of the sugar palm, we saw how it's worked with the help of buffalo, then the liquid is cooked to make sugar, we also saw a boy who very quickly climbed a very tall palm. Purchases of the liqueur they produce, which then turned out not to be too good.

We traveled an inland road and stopped in a village, where we visited the poor houses, or rather the poor stilt houses where there's nothing! It's incredible to think that even today there are people who live like this...but always with a smile on their lips! Next visit to a school where you can truly leave your heart! Dozens of children from very small to 10 12 years old, all at their desk with the teacher and the poor little books on the desk, when they saw us they immediately stood up, sang for us, had a lot of fun seeing the photos taken of them........a truly unforgettable encounter, we left markers, colored pencils and candies.

On the way back to the bus we met many people who live in this village, all busy with their work, but all very curious to observe these strange tourists....who perhaps don't come around every day! Next stop at a Popa Mountain Resort hotel, from whose terrace there's a nice view of the sanctuary of Mount Popa, too bad it's completely shrouded in fog...........after a little while fortunately it opens up and we see this truly particular spectacle! Mount Popa is called the Olympus of the nats, which are divinities of local superstition. Back on the bus, several more hours await us to get to Kalaw, so big card tournaments are started, also with the participation of Lina. Arrival at 17:30 in Kalaw, at 1500 meters of altitude and you can feel the coolness! Pine Hill resort*** hotel, very nice, they're little villas scattered in a very colorful garden full of beautiful plants.

Truly warm welcome from girls dressed in the typical clothing of the area that we've never seen, they have very colorful hats. Indian dinner in a dimly lit environment, but very tasty. Wooden rooms, a little damp but dignified. After dinner very expensive calls to wish happy Ferragosto to Italy.

12th day – August 16, 2007 KALAW-PINDAYA-INLE Wake up at 7:30 in this perfumed and colorful garden, the species of flowers and plants are truly numerous, as numerous is the staff that follows you at every moment. There are very pretty young ladies wearing hats with colorful pom poms. After breakfast we left this hotel, and the entire staff lined up always smiling to say goodbye to us...it's truly moving to see the natural behavior that the Burmese people have, we must only learn from them. Stop to buy fruit at the very nice little market, perhaps a little more time was needed to fully enjoy it. After a couple of hours by bus we arrive at Pindaya, this is considered the most beautiful cave in Burma.

Here about 9000 Buddhas of all sizes and shapes are kept, in wood, in marble, in jade, gilded, covered in lacquer........they're truly an infinite number, you can't see them all, the spectacle is unique, you can't help but try to photograph as much as possible, there's also the meditation cavern, a small cave that you access with an entrance of just 60 cm, you have to crawl in! The place is truly magical and someone proposed adopting a Buddha.....in order to have forever the sign with the name under some still free statue, but this proposal wasn't accepted by the group, too bad it was a nice idea! Truly enchanting place, too bad that they built an immense elevator to get from the base to the entrance of the cavern which really ruins the panorama, even though it's very comfortable and fast! To go down we preferred to take the staircase and enjoy the marvelous panorama that you get, so many

white and golden spires that stand out in the green.......very beautiful! Stop at the shan paper factory, which is more a house-workshop where they showed us the very simple processing to create this beautiful paper, with which they make many original objects, above all umbrellas, but also lamps, fans, gift wrap, little books, etc. Benedetta fell in love with a beautiful little girl, very tiny with wonderful eyes! Lunch in a beautiful restaurant on the lake...someone wanted to try the carbonara....but well!

Day 13 – August 17, 2007 INLE

Waking up on the wonderful lake, the sounds of the boats, of nature (the animals are certainly there)…..spectacular, stepping out onto the room's veranda and enjoying the spectacle of the lake in front with all the fishermen's boats already at work is truly unforgettable! They are already preparing our boats, with which we will visit the lake, there are seven waiting for us, four or five people on each, every seat is equipped with a cushion, a life jacket and …..an umbrella (even though we won't need it, we've always had sun). The peace you breathe here is truly magical, indescribable. Our stilt house is surrounded by lotus flowers and other beautiful plants. An excellent breakfast and departure at 8.45, the crews quickly form and we cross the hotel exit toward the open lake.

The spectacle before us is fantastic: numerous fishermen with their little rowboat (their way of rowing by moving one leg on the oar is unique!) farmers pulling seaweed up from the water, loading their little boats enormously, which will then be used to make the bases of the floating gardens, where they will also place a small layer of soil, all of it anchored to the bottom of the lake with long bamboo poles, so they can begin their vegetable cultivation that will last for three years and then…they'll have to start all over again, it's truly an incredible job, but they always do it with the usual Burmese serenity! This lake is a whole world in motion, its inhabitants keep very busy, they work, fish, take their children to school, go grocery shopping, wash themselves….all on this lake in an almost unreal setting! We go along a side canal at whose edge you can glimpse many white pagodas and

we are snagged by some very fast boats that harpoon us…..trying to sell us their merchandise, all of which is very funny. Next stop at the Nan Ran market, the usual purchases, here we saw the so-called giraffe women…….but honestly, more than a particular ethnic group they seem almost a circus sideshow…you can't understand why they were put there, surely only for a tourist reason, and to me personally they make me very sad! We go to visit a weaving workshop where for the first time we can see a lady who explains to us the technique by which the threads contained in the stems of lotus flowers are pulled out……a truly extraordinary procedure that requires the utmost precision and a great deal of time; indeed the cost (70 euros per gram) is truly justified! Visit to the attached shop but almost no one buys.

We take our places in the boats again, these boats are truly comfortable and the spectacle before us is always beautiful, we pass through poor stilt villages, but almost all the houses have flowers hanging, the Burmese truly have a cult of flowers. Next stop at Seingaung in a blacksmith's workshop, here too the work is done in a very old-fashioned way, they recover the iron from old cars, as was done in our country 60 years ago, and everything strictly by hand, with fire and a great deal of strength they manage to forge very beautiful objects.

For lunch we stop at the Kitchen Kite restaurant, where we find Italian cuisine! Pizza, fabulous tagliatelle…our group refuels and the taste is truly Italian! Next visit to the cigar workshop where some young women show us how they are made, they have incredible speed, inside they put very little tobacco together with honey, corn and many other mixtures…..they wrap it all in a leaf of I don't remember what, and they immediately give each of us one as a gift! We can't help but buy a pack, they cost truly very little, a little more than one cent each, and we have it put in a beautiful lacquer box. Behind it we visit a pirogue workshop, where they manage to make no more than about thirty a year and they are all made strictly by hand and in teak. Here we limited ourselves to buying small models of pirogues to use for incense, they were also selling particular Burmese nativity scenes.

Here beside it we finally saw some girls pounding rice….clearly all by hand, for a few days we had been wondering how the final processing of rice took place. The navigation on the lake resumes, this place is fantastic, you meet the people of the lake: the farmers tending their gardens, the fishermen with their traps, the families picking up their children from school, the women doing the shopping, there are also pirogues overloaded with bamboo! Last stop at Nga Phe chaung Monastery, the monastery of the jumping cats…but I must say nothing special, apart from the cats and numerous stalls for more purchases. More encounters with beautiful children whose gazes steal your heart, always smiling.

Return to the hotel around six in the evening and…these Burmese never stop amazing us with their thorough organization! In fact at the pier we immediately find a little man with the keys to our rooms, this means we can go straight to the room without having to take the long and steep staircase that separates our stilt houses from the main body of the hotel on dry land! A tasty dinner at the hotel, served on particular lacquer objects!

Day 14 – August 18, 2007 INLE The second day begins in this wonderful place….it's fantastic, this morning the dawn is even more spectacular with the sun, the fish jumping and the usual fishermen silently fishing! First stop at a very nice market, they don't only sell souvenirs, but lots of fruit and lots of flowers, the Burmese truly have a cult of flowers, there was also a barber who, equipped with the tools of his trade including a little chair, cut hair for anyone who needed it! Visit to the Phaung Daw Oo Kyaung pagoda, where at the entrance some women gave us wonderful necklaces made from flower stems.

This pagoda contains 5 golden Buddhas, which truly, from continuing to add gold leaf, now resemble more like 5 mushrooms! These very heavy Buddhas are carried in procession on the lake on a beautiful golden pirogue, moored outside, during a beautiful festival held in October, when very long pirogues come down to the lake on which 60 people row in their own way, with one leg, all dressed in orange tunics, which is the typical color of Burma: who knows what a spectacle of colors! Next stop for lunch at the restaurant of the Paramaunt hotel, here the usual giraffe women welcome us, a tasty lunch and we peeked into an open room furnished with real taste, a visit to the little tower to enjoy the panorama you get from that height….unforgettable spectacle! Finally we set off again for the excursion into the interior of the village of In Dein, which we always reach by boat going up the river, thi

s navigation is always a spectacle, on the sides of the river scenes of peasant life follow one another, wood carriers, unloaders, children and young people washing their things at the river's edge. We get off the boats and cross a fantastic bamboo forest, very tall and enormous trees, once we reach the archaeological site we are amazed by the beauty and dismayed by the state of neglect before us, the information panel says it's due to the fact that it remained closed to the public for many years and only recently have they reopened it! Mha….it's truly absurd! Pagodas follow one after another, each more beautiful than the last, with very particular decorations on the outside and wooden and glass mosaics inside that are even more beautiful…too bad that everything is irremediably in the process of being destroyed! Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful….the return road is a very long walkway of st

alls, where we also buy some mosaics…….and I absolutely don't want to think about where they might have come from!! Quick return to the hotel because the sky threatens rain…….but it went very well, we escaped it again this time too, all in all we've been very lucky, we only got the monsoon rain at the Golden Rock! A decent dinner with the specialty of lake fish.

Day 14 – August 19, 2007 INLE- HEHO- YANGON As usual, also at Heho airport, our guide Mya has thought of everything, we just got on the plane that will take us back to Yangon, it's……..we're very sorry to leave this magical place, but the organization of these people is unique in the world, they manage to arrange the luggage perfectly without you noticing and you find it in your room without any effort and without any problem! Anyway, we are very sorry to leave this fantastic place, but we are aware that we will carry with us forever the emotions it has given us! Arrival in Yangon and Mya, to do us a favor, took us to a shop recommended by the Routard guide…..a certain Frenchwoman runs it, but we came up empty-handed, it's absolutely not as described! A tour of old colonial Yangon where we admired the various embassies and also saw the construction of the American embassy…which once finish

ed will be the largest in all the Orient! Next visit to the Scott market, last purchases in a very very chaotic and messy place where they sell everything, but at prices higher than the whole country, it's worth making purchases from town to town, indeed from market to market! Visit to the Strand hotel, very expensive, who knows who can afford a room at 500 dollars a night!!!!! a fine example of English colonial architecture…but all very predictable. Finally arriving at the Summit prkView hotel which by now feels like a familiar place, it's the third time we've come here and it's truly very very comfortable.

Tonight everyone in Burmese clothing to go dine at the best restaurant in Yangon where we will also attend a Burmese dance performance, the restaurant is on a fully illuminated boat on the lake, it has typically Burmese furnishings and here Raffaele is waiting for us with his wife and we can't help but thank him for the excellent organization that allowed us to take a wonderful trip from every point of view, but impeccable as regards the organization, with very very limited expense (we spent less than 600 euros per person for this fantastic 15 days!).

This country is truly unique in the world, for its natural beauties, architectural ones, for its archaeological sites, but these are nothing compared to the emotions you feel when coming into contact with this gentle, serene, pure people, always always smiling, even though here time seems to have stopped at least 100 years ago, for all this we can surely call it the COUNTRY OF SMILES AND SILENCE.

In any case it is truly impossible to describe the emotions, the amazement, the curious gazes of discovering people different from them, their respect and above all the many many smiles that have always accompanied us and that we will always carry in our hearts! Go to Burma, they need everything and our trips will perhaps enrich the regime a little too, but they will leave the people with the awareness that there exist people very different from them, certainly not better, but certainly freer! And let's hope that a better future comes for them soon………

Mirella September 2007