Burma travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises spa and resorts

Burma is a large country in mainland Southeast Asia. The country is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southwest, Bangladesh on the west and India on the northwest.

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Most people have heard of the Padaung hill tribe from television documentaries, magazines and travel books as the giraffe women hill tribe of Thailand. In the border mountains between Burma (Myanmar) and Thailand live the Kayan, known also as Padaung people. The giraffe women as they are often called, wear heavy copper coils around their necks, which push their faces up and make their necks look long and elegant. The “secret” of the “giraffe” women is that the clavicle and the ribs descend 45 degrees down from their normal position. The maximum weight of a coil is of 5 kg. This ancient tradition has unknown roots. The coils may have made Kayan women unattractive to slave trade. They claim to be descendants of the ancient long-necked dragon and women traditionally wore coils as a protection from wild animals. The coils also became symbols of wealth and status and were worn as jewels.

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Originally opened in September of 1977, the Paradise has endured as one of Boston’s premiere rock and roll clubs for over 25 years. It holds a place in history as the first venue that U2 ever performed in the USA and has hosted some of rock’s elite including: The Police, AC/DC, Blondie, REM, The Jam, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Elvis Costello, The Pretenders, Dire Straits, Billy Joel, INXS, Tom Waits, Tom Tom Club, Television, Mission of Burma, Cheap Trick, Joe Jackson, Rage Against the Machine, The Pixies, Joe Strummer, Coldplay and so so many more!!

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This small 18-foot-high Kyaiktiyo or Golden Rock Pagoda is located in the jungle in Kyaikhto Township of Mon State near the Thai boarder town of Mae Sot on Kyaikhtiyo Hill at an elevation of 1100 metres above sea level.
When you see the Golden Rock you’ll forget that you’re covered in sweat, exhausted, and have just hiked 12-kilometers up a mountain – the sight is breathtaking. A giant golden boulder with a pagoda on top seems to do the impossible: defy gravity. It’s precariously perched on a small ledge extending from the top of an Eastern Yoma mountain, and appears ready to fall at any moment.

Continue reading Golden Rock Pagoda is one of the famous destination in Myanmar Burma.

A group of islands in the eastern part of the Bay of Bengal south of Myanmar. The Union Territory of Andaman & Nicobar Islands stretches over a length of more than 700kms from North to south floating in the clear blue waters of Bay of Bengal, Jolly Buoy Island East of the Indian main land and consists of 572 emerald Islands islets and rocks. The Islands are in two groups: the Andamans and the Nicobar. The sandy beaches on the edge of meandering coastline are fringed with coconut-palms that sway to the rhythm of the sea. The sea around the islands offer excellent scope for water sports. The rare flora and fauna, underwater marine life and corals, with crystal clear water and mangrove-lined creeks, offer a dream-view of the rare gifts of nature. The clean and wide roads, free of filth as well as unpolluted fresh air attract any nature-lover, who seek absolute peace and tranquility in the lap of mother nature. Adventure tourism like trekking, island camping, snorkeling, scuba diving etc., are the real attractions.

Continue reading Some of the best beaches in the world, crystal waters, rain forests and volanoes – Andaman Islands guide

The origins of Shwedagon are lost in antiquity, its age unknown. Long before the pagoda was built, its location on Singuttara hill was already an ancient sacred site because of the buried relics of the three previous Buddhas. According to one legend, nearly 5000 years had passed since the last Buddha walked the Earth, and Singuttara hill would soon lose its blessedness unless it was reconsecrated with relics of a new Buddha. In order that such new relics might be obtained, King Okkalapa of Suvannabhumi spent much time atop the hill, meditating and praying. A series of miracles ensued and eight hairs of the historical Buddha were, somewhat magically, brought to the hill. To enshrine the relics, multiple pagodas of silver, tin, copper, lead, marble, iron and gold where built one on top of the other to a height of twenty meters. During the following centuries, passing from myth to historical fact, the pagoda grew to its present height of ninety-eight meters. Much of the continued construction of Shwedagon was actually reconstruction following disastrous earthquakes. During the 17th century the pagoda suffered earthquake damage on at least eight occasions. A particularly bad quake in 1786 brought the entire top half of the pagoda to the ground and its current shape and height date from the reconstruction of that time.

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Bagan, formerly Pagan, formally titled Arimaddanapura (the City of the Enemy Crusher) and also known as Tambadipa (the Land of Copper) or Tassadessa (the Parched Land), was the ancient capital of several ancient kingdoms in Myanmar. It is located in the dry central plains of the country, on the eastern bank of the Ayeyarwady River, 145 kilometres (90 miles) southwest of Mandalay.

The ruins of Bagan cover an area of 16 square miles. The majority of its buildings were built in the 1000s to 1200s, during the time Bagan was the capital of the First Burmese Empire.

It was not until King Pyinbya moved the capital to Bagan in 874 A.D that it became a major city. However, in Burmese tradition, the capital shifted with each reign, and thus Bagan was once again abandoned until the reign of Anawrahta.

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In the western part of Shanghai, a very modern and flourishing city, there is a venerable and famous Buddhist temple, Jade Buddha Temple. As with most modern Chinese Buddhist temples, the current temple draws from both the Pure Land and Chan traditions of Mahayana Buddhism. It was founded in 1882 with two jade Buddha statues imported to Shanghai from Burma by sea. These were a sitting Buddha (1.95 metres tall, 3 tonnes), and a smaller reclining Buddha representing Buddha’s death. The temple was destroyed during the revolution that overthrew the Qing Dynasty. Fortunately the jade Buddha statues were saved and a new temple was built on the present site in 1928. It was named the Jade Buddha Temple. The temple now also contains a much larger reclining Jade Buddha, donated from Singapore, and visitors may mistake this larger sculpture for the original, smaller piece.

At the time emperor Guang Xu in the Qing Dynasty (1875-1908) ruled China, Hui Gen, a Mount Putuo abbot went on a pilgrimage to Tibet via the two famous Chinese mountains Mount Wutai and Mount Emei. First he goes to Tibet and then he contiduen his jorney to Burma. By this time Mr. Chen Jun-Pu, an overseas Chinese resident in Burma, donated five Jade statues of Buddha to Hui Gen, who transported two of them back to Jiang-wan, Shanghai. Here Hui Gen had a temple built with collected from various sorces money, mostly of them donated, and died shortly thereafter. This temple was occupied during the 1911 uprising, and the statues were moved to Maigen Road.

Continue reading What a place to see – Jade Buddha Temple in Shanghai, China