Myanmar Map

 

 

            Map of Southeast Asia

latest picture: January 4, 2017

• click a picture to see details

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26.12.2016: The splendid cloud formation and the lovely sunset on our 2½-hour flight from Kuala Lumpur/Malaysia

to Yangon/Myanmar with AirAsia’s Airbus A320 put us in pleasant anticipation for “The Land of a Thousand Pagodas”

004  The flag of Myanmar, changed 2010

together with the formerly name Birma –

the country sandwiched between Bangladesh,

India, China, Laos and Thailand

005  No surprise: Also in this since indepen-

dence in 1948 politically isolated country

Swiss watches are known – do they really

originate from Switzerland?

006  The watermelon vendor stationed

herself near one of the entrances to the

Shwedagon Pagoda, where visitors come

in flocks. Drones however are prohibited!

007  The City Hall of Yangon

(formerly Rangoon) gleams in it

 immaculate white facade. Construction

began 1926 and ended 1936

008  The 157 ft. [48m] tall obelisk

commemorates the independence from the British

on 1/4/1948 and replaced then a statue of Queen

Victoria. The monument is located in the center of

the “Maha Bandula Park“ in downtown Yangon

009  The ‘High Court’ Building

is an iconic colonial-era building,

built from 1905 to 1911 in ‘Queen

Anne Style’ from the begin of 1700

010  View from “Maha Bandula Park“

towards downtown Yangon with the

golden stupa of the Sule Pagoda that

is older than the Shwedagon Pagoda

011  The ‘Immanuel Babtist Church’

is also one of the attractive sights at the

“Maha Bandula Park“ in downtown Yangon

012  The Sule Pagoda with its 144 ft. [44m]

tall golden stupa is rising out of the very heart of

downtown Yangon, once known as Rangoon.

Though simpler than the Shwedagon Pagoda

it is a religious and historical landmark too

013  Old downtown street (38th Street –

off the ‘Punja, Shia Jamay Mosque’) in

central Yangon with decaying, colonial

buildings from “the good old days” …..

014  ….. and a clutter of

hanging cables and wires

015  The Strand Hotel in Yangon, opened 1901

in Victorian style, but renovated in 1993, dates

back to the British colonial area. Today it is the

place for the rich and famous. On our short visit

back in December 1975 it was in need of

renovation and we were the only guests

016  The newspaper vendor in Yangon’s

downtown has enough reading material

017  Always a refreshing sight: Carefully

piled up grapes, oranges and apples

are waiting to be sold

018  At a roadside stall a boy is preparing

betel nut parcels. Thereby areca nuts and

tobacco are mixed and wrapped in a leaf

pasted with slaked lime. Chewing has an

intoxicating effect and is popular in Myanmar

019  Brother and sister with the “Myanmar

make-up”, called ‘thanakha’. It is used as

moisturizer and sun cream and is made from

the ground bark of the ‘thanakha’ tree

020  A lovely little girl is posing for

a photo at the “Maha Bandula Park”

021  Never too young to become

a Buddhist monk (Bhikkhu)

022  The current Yangon Central Railway

Station is designed in traditional Burmese

architectural style. It was completed

in this form in 1954 …..

023  ….. the rail network covers 3‘357 miles

[5‘403km], is in meter gauge, quite old and

(therefore) also pretty “bumpy” and slow, but

offers in return a “nostalgic feeling” …..

024  ….. the big waiting hall still spreads

a nostalgic touch. First built in 1877, the

station was destroyed in 1943 and its

reconstruction completed in 1954

025  The Shwedagon Pagoda – Myanmar’s

greatest temple and one of the world’s most

majestic Buddha monuments – is almost

visible from anywhere in Yangon …..

026  ….. it stands on the 190 ft. [58m]

high Singuttara hill; the main stupa is

325 ft. [99m] tall and is said to be covered

by 29.8t [27’000kg] of gold and carries on the

top 5’448 diamonds and 2’317 rubies .....

027  ….. and is spreading and growing

according to legend since 2’500 years over

a platform of over 13.8 acres [56'000m²]

(proof of first existence 1485). It’s said

to contain eight hairs of Buddha

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From the very moment we step into this religious Buddhist site, we are surrounded and captivated by its unimaginable beauty.

For Myanmar Buddhists the Shwedagon Pagoda is the most sacred of all Buddhist sites in the country.

They hope to be able to visit it at least once in their life

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There are numerous Buddha deities, where locals remain a moment in prayer

034  The reclining Buddha image in

a prayer hall of the Shwedagon

Pagoda is 25 ft. [8m] long

035  Especially impressive at this

altar is the multitude of Buddha

images, wrapped in festive robes

036  One more altar of a gold

gleaming Buddha with his followers

in one of the Shwedagon temples

037  A Burmese Buddhist monk in prayer

038  These images of Buddha in the

‘Hall of Great Prosperity’ are sticking

out with its beautiful golden drapery

039  The Shwedagon Pagoda has a shrine

for each astrological sign. During the prayer

at their sign, a family is pouring water onto a

Buddha figure which promises good luck

040  Circling the Shwedagon Pagoda

we are carried into a magical world

of temples and pavilions

041  One of the heavy bells that invite

especially children to a stroke of the gong

042  The “street“ to the great golden

main stupa is dotted with shrines,

prayer and meditation halls

043  At every corner smaller stupas

emerge. The main stupa is said to

be surrounded by 64 “Zedis”

044  One of the richly decorated

prayer halls. The columns of this

hall are an artwork at its finest

045  The embodiment of Buddha images at

the Shwedagon Pagoda is strikingly diverse.

Here in front of a richly elaborated copper wall

046  The showpiece of the Shwedagon

Pagoda complex is the brightly glittering main

dome, nearly wholly gold-plated. It rises 325 ft.

[99m] with a gem studded spire set on the top.

Legend has it that it is 2’500 years old

047  Worshipper are absorbed in prayer

048  The Shwedagon Pagoda is not just

one sole huge glowing stupa. Surrounding

it are smaller stupas, statues, temples,

shrines and Buddha images

049  “Chinthe” (leogryphs), the half-lion -

half-dragon guardians at the northern end of

the Shwedagon Pagoda reflect in the water

050  There is a magic beauty surrounding

this holy place. According to Burmese

tradition, each king offered money for

new structures and its gilding

051  A remembrance picture in front of

the 325 ft. [99m] tall stupa (bell-shaped

monument) of the Shwedagon Pagoda

at the New Year's Eve 2016

052  An incredible richness of stupas

and pavilions in white and gold on the

terrace of the Shwedagon Pagoda

053  The main stupa enshrines relics of the

four previous Buddhas as well as the eight

sacred hair relics of the most recent Buddha

054  A Burmese monk kneels in prayer

at an alter with impressing Buddha images

055  An incredibly peaceful atmosphere is

spreading over the Shwedagon Pagoda when

many burning candles illuminate the night

056  While Buddha images are mostly

clad in simple monk‘s robes, this one

is entirely wrapped in „gold“

057  The golden splendor over the

Shwedagon Pagoda intensifies

as the night sets in

058  Nobody goes hungry at Mingalar

bus station in Yangon, northeast of the

airport. People are eating before their

long distance bus journey …..

059  ….. Skewers with all kind

of indefinable stuff are part of the food

060  ….. and for quenching the thirst

there are plenty of different soft drinks

061  Our comfortable long-distance bus

that takes us in four hours for US$3.35 pp

from Yangon via Bago to Kinpun, the point

of departure to the “Golden Rock“ that is

an important Buddhist pilgrimage site

062  Emil is enjoying a conversation

in the bus with a French couple

with the same destination

063  On arrival at Kinpun‘s bus station,

the four of us take the only mean

of transport to our hotel

064  It is grapefruit season. In the

little village of Kinpun there are

heaps of them carefully piled up

065  A typical street cafe

with small stools in Kinpun

066  What shall we eat? The menu

card in the small village of Kinpun is

only in Burmese. At least we do not have

any problem with the Myanmar beer!

067  Pilgrims (and we) are climbing in Kinpun

into an open truck, the only admitted vehicle.

We are squeezed onto small wooden benches.

After 10 miles’ [16km] race on a mountainous

road to the “Golden Rock” of Kyaiktiyo on

an altitude of 3’600 ft. [1’100m], everybody

is completely knocked up

068  Little settlements adorn the

slopes of the Eastern Yoma Mountains,

the place of the “Golden Rock”

069  The 7.3m (24ft) tall stupa of the

“Golden Rock” is precariously perched

on a granite boulder up in the

Eastern Yoma Mountains. Legend

has it that a strand of Buddha’s hair

prevents it from falling

070  From the truck stop to the balancing

rock area stalls sell all kind of goods –

from rosary beads, toys, clothes, sunglasses

to food. It is a little market in itself

071  A stall with cooked corncobs –

a filling snack

072  Fruit lovers also don’t go

short at the “Golden Rock”

073  Carrying on the back is easier: Porters

are waiting for customers. Locals now and

then spend the night at the holy place and

have their belongings carried up the hill

074  A porter walks down the entrance

of the “Golden Rock” complex with her

high load and returns to the truck stop

075  A pilgim is carried on a stretcher from

the “Golden Rock” back to the truck stop

076  Liliana at the entrance to the holy

Buddhist site of the” Golden Rock”,

the third most important in Myanmar,

which is guarded by two lions (“Chinthe”)

077  “Ladies are not allowed to go up on

the hill”. Liliana has to comply with this ban

078  Devotees (men only) paste gold

leaves onto the boulder. The atmosphere

is charged with magic and devotion

079  Liliana is admiring a relief scene at the

top of Mt. Kyaiktiyo at the “Golden Rock”

080  The two of us at a magic place:

The “Golden Rock” at Mount Kyaiktiyo

081  A sweeping view across the

Eastern Yoma Mountains with its majestic

golden stupas standing atop of the hills

More websites from Myanmar:

Myanmar (Burma) Part 2 – from Bago (Pegu) to Shwenyaung at Inle Lake

Myanmar (Burma) Part 3 – from Nyaungshwe at Inle Lake to Mandalay and Goteik viaduct

Myanmar (Burma) Part 4 – from Mandalay to Bagan by ship and back to Yangon (Rangoon)

The African trip 2013-16:

CapeVerde: Santiago/Praia part 1 – November18th to December 13th, 2013

CapeVerde: Fogo – Dezember13th to 23rd, 2013

CapeVerde: Brava – December 23rd to 26th, 2013

Cape Verde: Santiago/Praia part 2 – December 26th, 2013 to February 28th, 2014

Cape Verde: São Nicolau – February 28th to March 13th, 2014

Cape Verde: São Vicente/Mindelo part 1 – March 13th to 20th, 2014

Cape Verde: Santo Antão/Eastern side part 1 – March 20th to April 7th, 2014

Cape Verde: Santo Antão/Western side part 2 – April 7th to 10th, 2014

Cape Verde: São Vicente/Mindelo part 2 – April 10th to 29th, 2014

Namibia Part 1 – from Walvis Bay to Windhoek

Angola Part 1 – September 26th to October 4th, 2014

Angola Part 2 – October 4th to 22nd, 2014

Namibia Part 2 – from Windhoek to the Angolan border, back again and on to South Africa

South Africa Part 1 – from Namibia border to Capetown – January 22nd to February 23rd, 2015

3rd Major Repair of our LandCruiser FJ60 - 1982  (due to two broken sideshafts)

South Africa Part 2 – from Capetown to Tsitsikamma National Park – February 24th to March 13th, 2015

South Africa Part 3 – from Addo National Park to the Lesotho border – March 13th to April 7th, 2015

Lesotho – April 7th to 15th, 2015

South Africa Part 4 – from the Lesotho to the Swaziland border – April 15th to 23rd, 2015

Swaziland – April 23rd to 28th, 2015

South Africa Part 5 – from the Swaziland to the Botswana border  – April 28th to May 15th, 2015

Botswana

Zimbabwe

Mozambique

Malawi

Armed Robbery in Malawi on July 31st/August 1st, 2015

Tanzania

Kenya

Ethiopia Part 1 – from Kenya to Djibouti – October 25th to November 18th, 2015

Djibouti – October 18th to 27th, 2015

Ethiopia Part 2 –  from Djibouti to Sudan – November 27th to December 9th, 2015

Sudan – December 9th, 2015 to January 8th, 2016