Burma via Instagram
In just one week I took about 1,000 photos of Burma. While I finish working on some posts about the country here a few of the thousand that seemed to epitomize what I saw of the “Golden Land”. (You can see even more on my Instagram feed!)
Buddha statues at the Shwedagon Pagoda
As the most important Buddhist site in Burma, the Shwedagon Pagoda is impressive to say the least…
The top of a golden pagoda in Bagan
Glimpses of gold were found everywhere throughout the country.
The view from the day-long bout tour of Inle Lake
Even popular tourist attractions had a slightly rough and simple edge to them.
One of the iconic fisherman on Inle Lake
More people wore simple, traditional clothing than most other places I’ve been.
The crumbling pagodas of Indein near Inle Lake
While a Buddhist country like Thailand, Burma’s temples take the form of thousands of pagodas across the country. Some are brand new, some are decaying brick and some are glittering gold, but all are beautiful in their own way.
On the train from Yangon to Bagan
Of course Burma is home to a variety of climates, but the dusty central plains, where the famous temples of Bagan are found, stood out the most for being so hot and dry. It was hovering between 105-110 degrees (41-45 Celsius) while we were exploring…
While most of the pagodas in Bagan were a rust-colored brick, a few stood out from the rest
Bagan was worth the high temperatures though.
Inside Ananda Pagoda in Bagan
I didn’t expect to be able to walk into some of the larger pagodas and find a winding maze of pathways and even stairs leading up to panoramic views.
A Lahu woman holds a bunch of cheroot (locally handmade cigarettes) at a market near Inle Lake
While I’m used to seeing different hill tribe members dressed in their traditional wear around Chiang Mai, the different groups and clothing seemed more prominent in Burma.
Small cups of strong, sweet tea made a great afternoon pick me up
Burma has a tea shop culture similar to that of India where simple shops will serve rich sweet tea and coffee along with little cakes or pastries. A couple cups and nibbles each for two people came out to be around $2.
Handmade silver cups
As with Thailand, many historical handicrafts are alive and well with craftsmen still make a range of items, from furniture and jewelry, to weavings and gorgeous silver cups, by hand. (While these silver cups will set you back $250 or more, you can buy some everyday aluminum ones for much, much cheaper here.)
Have you been to Burma? Where did you go and what did you think?
Hey! I'm Alana and I've spent nearly the past decade living in Chiang Mai, Thailand, working as a writer and photographer. I started Paper Planes as a place to share local insight, special places, and how to travel well through a range of experiences — from hostels to high-end hotels, street meat to multi-course meals.
New places are always calling my name...
6/05/15
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Gorgeous. Burma moves slowly to the top of my ‘must visit’ list – and it’s so nice to see a less expected place get some love!
Thank you 🙂 It’s interesting how other people find it so remote, since I’ve been living right next door to the country for the past four years, everyone I know has gone to visit or even live there!
So beautiful! This post has definitely lifted our excitement levels about heading there soon.. Any tips on the ‘unmissables’?!
I’m sure you will love it…I was only there for a week in the most-visited areas so don’t feel like I can really speak to any for sure must-sees since I need to go back myself!