Friday 30 August 2013

The 7 Wonders: Taj Mahal

I was sitting on a 14 hour train ride from Varanasi to Agra, on my way to see the Taj Mahal – one of the Seven Wonders of the World. And then it occurred to me: for someone who had spent the best part of the last eight years travelling, I haven't seen many of these so called wonders.

The Taj Mahal

The lists seem to vary greatly, but according to this list, the only one I've “ticked off” is the Roman Colosseum, which I did back in 2005 when I was just getting started.

Who knew it would take so long to see another one of man's greatest creations?

I've seen some great sights in that time: La Alhambra in Spain, The Eiffel Tower in France, Stonehenge in England and the Statue of Liberty in the US, among others.

All were great in their own way, but what makes one of the “Wonders” that much better?

I guess I was about to find out.

Arriving in Agra early in the morning, the first thing to do was to check into the hotel and dump my stuff. Now everyone who has travelled through India will tell you that the best time to see the Taj Mahal is the first thing in morning, which means finding something else to do with your first day in Agra.

Agra Fort

Luckily, Agra has another World Heritage listed monument in town, just a short walk from the Taj, Agra Fort. The Fort is massive and contains 16 separate palaces built over the centuries by successive rulers. And do you know what the most interesting thing about Agra Fort is? Its that every person has the same reaction while they're walking around it and get a glimpse of the Taj Mahal a short distance away. Its clear what everyone is really here to see.

View of the Taj Mahal from Agra Fort

I finish off my first day in Agra doing what dozens of other people do – heading to the park across the river to try and get that perfect photo of the Taj Mahal's reflection and amazing colours during sunset. I settle for a so-so photo and an early night in preparation for an early morning start to see the Taj.

Cheesy landmark photo

After establishing that the “high value” ticket queue was code for “foreigners”, I arrived at dawn to see this wonder of the world and it was.....pretty cool.

My attempt at the artistic shot

Ok, I might have undersold that a bit. It is incredibly beautiful. To see something like this in person, after seeing it so many times on film or pictures, was kind of surreal. It almost didn’t seem real. You had to keep looking at it, and telling yourself that you are seeing this with your own eyes.

More restrained pose inside

Having said all of that, was it any better than any of the monuments I'd seen that didn't make the list? Probably not.

Taj Mahal in all its glory 

I'm looking forward to seeing a few others from the list during this trip – Christ the Redeemer, Machu Picchu and Chichen Itza are all probabilities – but I don't believe these lists are the be all and end all of what is to see.

Like Beauty, it's in the eye of the beholder.


Saturday 24 August 2013

Are Burmese the friendliest people on earth?

“Hey You”

I look around not really sure what to expect. I'd just spent a few days in Bangkok where everyone is trying to get your attention to hopefully get you to part from you money. I was now in Yangon, the capital of Burma (Myanmar) and having just gotten off the plane, wasn't really sure what to expect. So I looked around. Only I didn't see anything.

“Hey You!” This time the voice was louder, but where was it coming from. And then I looked up and saw a construction worker on a nearby building several floors up on some dodgey looking scaffolding waving at me and grinning.

“HELLOOO!”

Local kids on the U Bein Bridge

You get this everywhere you go in Burma. People are genuinely happy to see you. Walking through one of their many sacred pagodas, there is no anger at westerners treating their temples as a tourist attraction. They're just happy to see you there and will more often than not try to speak whatever English they can to you – even if its just “Hello!”

I had a group of school students following me around a supermarket at one point. I could hear them practising a phrase while hiding around the corners, before eventually one of them stepped forward and in his best English asked “How you doin'?”

I'd heard previously that the best part of Burma was the people. I thought all that meant was that the country lacked something in other departments, but that was far from the case. There are many amazing temples and historical sights and plenty of amazing scenery, and I didn't even get a chance to check out the places that are considered to be the top of those lists – Bagan and Inle Lake.

Kandwagyi Palace 


What I did see in Yangon/Rangoon was the beautiful Shwedagon Pagoda, Kandwagyi Palace which resembles a boat on the lake headed by two golden swans, and the former home of General Aung San (below)



In and around Mandalay I was able to see the impressive Mandalay Palace, the U Bein bridge (worlds longest wooden bridge) and the Mahamuni Buddha temple.

 View of Mandalay Palace from the watchtower

And yet it is still the people that make the place what it is.

I was actually fortunate enough to meet some great fellow travellers in both cities as well – always part of the backpacking experience – instant travel companions! One of these, whom I met in Yangon, was actually someone who had lived in the country many years ago and spoke the language. This meant we could negotiate the bus system – which to that point was completely incomprehensible to me. Some of these “buses” were little more than pick up trucks that would cram as many people as possible into, which at times got a little uncomfortable, but for the price of about 10 cents, how can you complain? And any time needed some more directions or advice on a good place to eat, the locals appeared like they could not wait to help, just waiting for us to ask.

A Yangon "Bus"

While in Mandalay, myself and a group of new travel friends hired an excellent local guide to show us around some of the sights outside of the city. One of these was a monastery. Not a famous one, and not a special one, but a regular monastery which we were able to take a look through, and on the invitation of the elder monk there, share lunch with them. The experience was surreal, with everyone eating in complete silence, and certainly not something I thought I would ever have a chance to do. However for them, it was just being polite.

Monks, as well as the other members of the monastery praying before eating lunch - we were invited to join them shortly after this

This kind of politeness is not just among the spiritual leaders. While on a 15 hour train ride from Yangon to Mandalay, I was sharing a sleeping compartment with three men in their 50s and 60s. Any time they would buy or take out some food they would insist I have some and not let me refuse. I was a guest in their country and they wanted to make sure I enjoyed my experience. That feeling was evident everywhere I went in Burma and the feeling was quite overwhelming.

Centuries old temple at Inwa

Burma has had a pretty rough history over the last 150 or so years. In that time they've been ruled by the British, Japanese and their own military with only brief periods of free and fair elections in intertwined. Even now, most of its bountiful natural resources are being taken by outside interests who are leaving little for the locals.

With all of this you could forgive the Burmese people for being cold, stony faced people, but it is the exact opposite. They're warm, welcoming and truly friendly. There is a real innocence about the people there that I hope is not lost as the country opens up more and more to tourism.


Finding a country full of people like the Burmese is one of the biggest reasons why I travel, and the biggest as to why I'll definitely be going back.  

Friday 16 August 2013

Myanmar - Land of Thongs

With my maternal grandfather having been born in Myanmar (Burma) and living there until he got to school age, I always felt a part of me felt a connection to the country. After spending a little over a week in the South East Asian nation recently I've discovered what part that is – my feet.

In Burma, everything seems to be done wearing thongs, or flip flops, sandals, jandals, slides, slippers or whatever it is you call them in your part of the world. I'll admit I went for a bit of an attention grabbing headline, but in Australia we call them thongs.

I've always been a fan of the “less is more” style of a humble set of thongs. Wearing them around back home doesn't raise an eyebrow (unless you're trying to get into a pub, what's with that?), but I've been known to wear them to the corner shop when I lived in Vancouver, Canada in Winter, even with snow on the ground. So when I saw every person around me wearing my favourite kind of footwear, I felt like I was home.

A young construction worker wearing thongs

The simple bits of rubber sole held together by a couple of rubber straps are the footwear of choice for virtually everyone in Burma. Their spiritual leaders, the Buddhist Monks wear them. Guys working on construction sights wear them, and motorbike taxi drivers wear them. I was actually genuinely surprised to not see the police walking around in the ubiquitous double pluggers.

It is easy to see why these are the shoes of choice too. Particularly at this time of year its very hot, very wet and the streets quite dirty. Your feet will get wet. And yet because of the heat, the moment you're out of the water your feet and thongs will dry. Tell me those fancy hiking boots will do the same.

Shwedagon Pagoda, Yangon - One of the many places you'll need to take off your shoes

Another reason for the choice of footwear that when you visit any of the many pagodas, temples and other historic sights, you're expected to take off your shoes. As one of my travel companions found out, if you're wearing shoes and socks, this can cause some delays in your sight seeing as there are a lot of temples to see.

Even visiting the Strand Hotel – a fancy landmark popular with expats, diplomats and ambassadors – wearing thongs is considered normal. I'd like to think Australia could learn from this!

Figured it would be a good time to retire the old Havaianas! 


While there is far more to Myanmar than just their choice of footwear – and I'll get into that more in the next blog – it was good to see that I do have something in common with the people for whom my family has some history.

Tuesday 6 August 2013

24 Hours In

Ready to Go

My Flight was delayed by three hours.

I got stuck sitting next to a fat smelly guy on a 9.5 hour flight.

I'm pretty sure I got ripped off in my taxi ride to my hotel.

I LOVE my life.

I'm just 24 hours in to my year long trip and I've gotta admit I'm a bit rusty. Its been a few years since I've been on the backpacker trail and it takes some re adjusting.

I've been dreaming about this trip for the best part of two years but at the moment it still has not quite sunk in that it has actually started.

The couple of issues I've had along the way though have only highlighted that I love what I'm doing. Sure you don’t want to get stuck next to John Candy on your flight, but when the worst thing that happens in your day is that you get “ripped off” to the tune of less than $5, or that you have to sit around for a couple of extra hours, its a good day!

I'm one of those people that still gets a kick out of the actual flight to where ever. On my trip from Melbourne to Bangkok I watched four new release movies, ate two very good meals and had as many glasses of red wine as I wanted – and probably more than I should have. My joy of flying may be helped by the fact that I'm vertically challenged, but we all have to make the most of what we have.
Local Wildlife 

In my first day exploring Bangkok I've been able to see the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Golden Buddha, eat some food of speculative origin and view some local fauna.


While I may have had a slightly less than ideal beginning to the trip, I'm only getting started.