Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Mywaddi, Myanmar - Part 1

Description of the photos and my observations to follow. Its late and I need to get some rest.

Update:

Ok, here is the first view of going into Mywaddi, Myanmar on the Friendship Bridge from Mae Sot, Thailand. I was happily trying to snap photos across the bridge when I was told that it was a big no, no until I went into Myanmar. This is just before you get to the Tak immigration booth. You go to the Thai immigration point and are stamped out of the country and then you walk about 50 yards to the Myanmar immigration booth. They fill out some paperwork, take your photo on the computer, take 500 baht (about $13 now thanks to the even weaker dollar), and you are free to enter Myanmar.

Now one other hitch, Myanmar holds onto your passport. Entering into Mywaddi, you're not allowed to stay overnight. You are only allowed to enter through this immigration point for a day trip and further travel is strictly prohibited. You are also not allowed to drive into Myanmar as we had to rent a van and a driver for the trip.

It was pretty hassle free as the driver knew where to go and was very familiar with the immigration procedures.I'd definitely like to travel a little more in Myanmar, but you have to travel in by air to Yangoon and I think that your travel is still further limited as to where you can go.





The photo below is the friendship bridge crossing the Moei river into Myanmar from Mae Sot.



This is the first temple we visited. The stark difference I thought after visiting several Thai and Cambodian temples was that the Buddha image was not in all gold. A very different image but beautiful.







There are parts of the temple that were unmistakably Burmese and others that were unmistakable Thai. Some of the Chedis here in the foreground were actaully constructed by the Thais.



This photo below shows one of the locals. You'll have to open the picture up to see it (the photo posting software unfortunately darkens the photos you post), but the boy in the foreground has a yellowish powder on his face which is used as sunblock.




This was another Buddha style that I have never seen before. The image is in a typical pose, but the style was something that I have never seen before. It was pretty impressive though.



I'll have more of two other temples that we went to and a few images of Mywaddi in one of the local markets. The one difference that you could see between Mae Sot and Mywaddi was that Mywaddi was drastically poor. The surrounding roads in Thailand are all paved and aside from one of the main roads into Mywaddi, the remaining were dirt tracks. I can only imagine how tough it would be to get around in the rainy season. It was a real eye opener. About the same eye opening experience that happened when I traveled to Cambodia. You have different countries in the same area, but you could tell which was the more prosperous within just scant miles into the country.

I did notice a heavy investment though in Mywaddi by the Chinese as I noticed several Chinese owned banks and hotels. Makes you think a bit on how effective U.S. economic sanctions are against the military junta in charge when the Chinese are so willing to invest. Just some food for thought.

One thing that really peaked my interest was the scenic beauty which you'll see in the next set of photos that I'll post somethime in the next day or two. This is what makes me want to travel further into Myanmar and further into the area. Its a shame that further travel is prevented because Myanmar looks like it could be a realy beautiful country to explore. Hopefully this changes in the future.