After 18 years with the same company, I was laid off along with 4000 others. Although I couldn’t help but be sad about this turn of events, it allowed me to travel the world at a much quicker pace than if I were working remotely.
First stop – Burma!
What is the real name of this country? Even people who live here call it by different names. The military overthrew the democratically elected government and changed the name from Burma to Myanmar in 1989. The renaming remains contested, with many political and ethnic groups continuing to use Burma – they don’t recognize the legitimacy of the military government. The United States, the UK, and the internal democracy movement call it Burma, while the UN and others call it Myanmar.
Myanmar is a beautiful country with over a thousand miles of coastline and is the largest country in (mainland) Southeast Asia, bordered by Thailand, Laos, China, Tibet, India, and Bangladesh. It was a little hot when I visited…
Because of unrest and unexploded land mines, I spent my time in Rangoon, the largest city. It was the capital of Burma until the military junta renamed it Yangon and moved the capital to Naypidaw – where Russia is helping to build a nuclear reactor.
The Burmese people are warm and wonderful! They are also caught up in challenging times for their country.
This boy has a common sun protection on his face derived from a ground root.
Some interesting facts about Burma… The time zone is ½ hour off from the surrounding countries. Burmese rubies are considered some of the finest and rarest rubies in the world. Burma was part of the British Empire from 1886 to 1948. You can see the colonial architecture in downtown Rangoon here:
For almost half the price of a Motel 6 in the USA, I was able to score a room at the Wyndham Grand, one of the best rooms I’ve stayed in anywhere in the world!
My hotel overlooked this beautiful lake hosting the Karaweik Palace, a replica of a Burmese royal barge.
The Shwedagon Pagoda is covered with more than 40 tons of gold plating and is adorned with precious gems and stone. The umbrella crown near the top is embellished with over 5,000 diamonds and 2,000 rubies. At the very top sits a massive 76-carat diamond.
I think these guys are supposed to be guarding it.
Burma is always someplace I’d wanted to visit, and I am so thankful to God for allowing me to see another interesting place! I’d love to visit again once things settle down with the civil war, landmines, and ethnic cleansing.
