tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33304783004142144752024-03-12T22:04:33.684-07:00Myanmar Muslim TourMuslim Tourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16660380872159352050noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330478300414214475.post-13767182242049270442010-08-31T18:53:00.000-07:002010-08-31T18:56:16.143-07:00Visa On Arrival facilities temporarily discontinued in MyanmarVisa On Arrival facilities temporarily discontinued in Myanmar<br /><br />Please be informed that Visa On Arrival facilities at all Myanmar entry points will be discontinued with effect from 1 September 2010 until further notice. <br /> <br />To pre-arrange your visa, contact<br /><br />Embassy of the Union of Myanmar<br />Address: No.8 (c) Jalan Ampang Hilir, 55000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.<br /><br />here is the procedure to apply visa at Myanmar Embassy in Kuala Lumpur<br /><br /><a href="http://myanmarmuslimtour.blogspot.com/2010/07/memohon-visa-ke-myanmar-di-malaysia.html">http://myanmarmuslimtour.blogspot.com/2010/07/memohon-visa-ke-myanmar-di-malaysia.html</a>Muslim Tourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16660380872159352050noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330478300414214475.post-25894579104983191422010-07-15T08:02:00.000-07:002010-07-15T09:55:58.036-07:00Memohon Visa ke Myanmar di Malaysia<div style="text-align: justify;">Alhmdulillah baru-baru ini berkesempatan membuat permohonan VISA ke Malaysia . Sebelum pergi tu beberapa kali saya telepon ke kedutaan Myanmar untuk bertanya prosedur . Yang menariknya ada dua alamat dan no telepon keduataan Myanmar ini satu di Jalan Ampang Hilir dan satu lagi di Jalan mengkuang .... puas saya melepon ke no yang di jalan Mengkuang tu ... rupanya diaorang dah berpindah ke jalan Ampang hilir patutla tak jawapan ... kepada sesiapa yang tak tahu nak pergi ke Kedutaan Myanmar ini dibawah ini saya sertakan petanya .<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDYhfM7kBl5IoHU_aKvna-sqLVMat96psjrypPg4O07nsk7fRZtVBOQ1V_430CEs-K-Sxn_ylCyrfouanalOHqXo0c5MbQ-UXVTY3TtPKDTXhp9TRh1NWYOyMSKdjarOtQpnbOGggbZGI/s1600/IMG01035-20100714-0854.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 344px; height: 258px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDYhfM7kBl5IoHU_aKvna-sqLVMat96psjrypPg4O07nsk7fRZtVBOQ1V_430CEs-K-Sxn_ylCyrfouanalOHqXo0c5MbQ-UXVTY3TtPKDTXhp9TRh1NWYOyMSKdjarOtQpnbOGggbZGI/s320/IMG01035-20100714-0854.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494149786933099954" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMI8j3oBQu4g4WhrmJW9nyLFF8viuRSwR5MkyHuHMuLITGAzUO6K5uzAi4uCseoZhcHlOkbg4uOE6Td2xUhIOCE22RSIUdJq7oCrIMZ5ZbdcYkqcclM-9ngHzxVp5YPq8f0ltCMGdc_f8/s1600/IMG01036-20100714-0856.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 351px; height: 260px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMI8j3oBQu4g4WhrmJW9nyLFF8viuRSwR5MkyHuHMuLITGAzUO6K5uzAi4uCseoZhcHlOkbg4uOE6Td2xUhIOCE22RSIUdJq7oCrIMZ5ZbdcYkqcclM-9ngHzxVp5YPq8f0ltCMGdc_f8/s320/IMG01036-20100714-0856.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494150794072197346" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Kalau dari KLCC masuk Jalan Ampang arah ke Ampang dan terus jalan sampai jumpa Sucasa Apartment kat belah kiri ... depan sucasa itu ada traffic light masuk kanan ke arah jalan Ampang Hilir (Persiaran Ampang Hilir) ...jalan terus nanti macam jumpa round about kecik ambil ke kiri jalan sikit terus jumpa Kedutaan Myanmar dibelah kiri jalan ... rasanya ada 2 lot tanah sini yang menempatkan kedutaan ini satu yang belah kiri tu mungkin pejabat kedutaan . sementara yang satu lagi kalau dari luar nampak macam parking lot tapi rupanya ialah tempat memproses visa dan membaharui passport pekerja myanmar .<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRcYKluicu-XvLXm8T_Imvr2Vq3BJ88PAZ8MWh4ecd5opURmNA11LIrQibeAeIrQuzt2wGevUGRiI5CH_t5ji4DqpJnxtVJKtw1nTepmxTaQGOBDXHmTOXzynBL5ilH-6H2Np-4WHEzDA/s1600/IMG01066-20100714-1132.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 317px; height: 236px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRcYKluicu-XvLXm8T_Imvr2Vq3BJ88PAZ8MWh4ecd5opURmNA11LIrQibeAeIrQuzt2wGevUGRiI5CH_t5ji4DqpJnxtVJKtw1nTepmxTaQGOBDXHmTOXzynBL5ilH-6H2Np-4WHEzDA/s320/IMG01066-20100714-1132.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494159821918376194" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Pintu Masuk ke bahagian Visa Section Myanmar Embassy</span></span><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjely2KF8TYVKnGJp0Gair1ZTO1DfIV3WmFob4W3q6B_bizYfDsgAxseXZnvnwVmYhMRjpOs28NaCIWjTJ6bG6kK22xQUB_kkyA1qWLaLT44GCAzkFVvs_Y14Fgf8mmfDMKGVIH6LBLuXg/s1600/IMG01045-20100714-1008.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 312px; height: 233px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjely2KF8TYVKnGJp0Gair1ZTO1DfIV3WmFob4W3q6B_bizYfDsgAxseXZnvnwVmYhMRjpOs28NaCIWjTJ6bG6kK22xQUB_kkyA1qWLaLT44GCAzkFVvs_Y14Fgf8mmfDMKGVIH6LBLuXg/s320/IMG01045-20100714-1008.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494159527989710786" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Bahagian dalam Visa Section Myanmar Embassy</span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Kalau masuk kedalam compound tu nanti nampak ada pejabat visa . pejabat ini macam gerai je ... ada dua pejabat satu menguruskan visa foreigner dan satu lagi mungkin menguruskan passport untuk rakyat myanmar .... dihujung ada plak kantin dan kedai photstata yang diuruskan oleh <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix1t4TrD20yOknQWZeCH1VaGF4yWYuZSwHgK5qgEPe-_Quz9nlFc00tIHQJDl_YqAirFIUx6sGNnOaOxpBvA78ugLd6L-iHqcqJVqwJWjszhLobSicBNKe1KD-uMcJz5VsatFIX7JeclQ/s1600/IMG01044-20100714-1008.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 302px; height: 227px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix1t4TrD20yOknQWZeCH1VaGF4yWYuZSwHgK5qgEPe-_Quz9nlFc00tIHQJDl_YqAirFIUx6sGNnOaOxpBvA78ugLd6L-iHqcqJVqwJWjszhLobSicBNKe1KD-uMcJz5VsatFIX7JeclQ/s320/IMG01044-20100714-1008.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494159295724582354" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Kedai Photostat dan Kantin dalam Bagian Visa Section Myanmar Embassy</span></span><br /></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">rakyat myanmar ... anda boleh makan makanan myanmar kat sini ... cubalah kat sini dulu sebelum anda melangkah ke Myanmar yang sebenar ... he he he ( saya tak makan he he he tak tahu halal haramnya ) ... kalau nak buat visa anda terus ke kaunter Visa Section dibelah kanan . biasanya ada 3 orang pekerja dalam kaunter itu ... saya tak pasti kewargaan negara mereka tapi yang belah kanan sekali tu macam warga myanmar , tengah india malaysia dan kiri chinese malaysia ... rasanya laaa ... saya tak pasti tapi semua boleh berbahasa melayu ...<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0SpuEMfzwClMiYOFWJIwxj9KMbQpGIs7g-aaPQBWtth7BANeTyNEpilWKzNMQ4DHnbOM82oONfAmmoEdgT82D0rLftyQBxpA5199yf-TEr6cLFNADXZG0BSUkA99jaRXpbkce_kDW6rQ/s1600/IMG01049-20100714-1101.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 329px; height: 248px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0SpuEMfzwClMiYOFWJIwxj9KMbQpGIs7g-aaPQBWtth7BANeTyNEpilWKzNMQ4DHnbOM82oONfAmmoEdgT82D0rLftyQBxpA5199yf-TEr6cLFNADXZG0BSUkA99jaRXpbkce_kDW6rQ/s320/IMG01049-20100714-1101.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494160201373737122" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Kaunter Visa<br /><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">kalau nak buat visa pelancong nanti dia akan bagi 2 keping borang visa melancong size A4 dan sekeping borang ketibaan di Myanmar size A5 ...... kalau anda datang sorang isi je borang tu tapi kalau anda ada ramai dia suruh photostat je borang tu kat kedai photostat di kantin tu .... he he he sebab itulah kedai photostat tu boleh hidup ...<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhseYUVWvvmn7M1QsoNUNwcxCd6etTgy4_VUqjJWqXyr42XrHDI026LyMR5NYk_sQ2zx7zuCT3CL8t_AcCr7sRTVvaBR28HaN2gUcfT-uLp2l_AZLM4xeGG0lVloAs1HxhcMdheUS60NPU/s1600/IMG01047-20100714-1011.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 294px; height: 218px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhseYUVWvvmn7M1QsoNUNwcxCd6etTgy4_VUqjJWqXyr42XrHDI026LyMR5NYk_sQ2zx7zuCT3CL8t_AcCr7sRTVvaBR28HaN2gUcfT-uLp2l_AZLM4xeGG0lVloAs1HxhcMdheUS60NPU/s320/IMG01047-20100714-1011.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494160865041849490" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Borang Permohonan Visa Size A4</span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0eTFBL-p1aL2xeEHseab5L6883v1kVgNzabi-IUz9SQ7hI-nHbIW0xv2nlHtLeVcv3iVx7OsKzWoVCapy7aB7D4S1YPnxHiJH0xI2yTx2UJDAi_7r_SM2BVVrq_sXhlE3J62iuSfZ9KI/s1600/IMG01046-20100714-1010.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 316px; height: 236px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0eTFBL-p1aL2xeEHseab5L6883v1kVgNzabi-IUz9SQ7hI-nHbIW0xv2nlHtLeVcv3iVx7OsKzWoVCapy7aB7D4S1YPnxHiJH0xI2yTx2UJDAi_7r_SM2BVVrq_sXhlE3J62iuSfZ9KI/s320/IMG01046-20100714-1010.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494160732681823202" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Borang Permohanan Visa size A5</span></span><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dah dapat borang tu pergilah kekantin tu dan photoststlah ... he he he harga boleh tahan laaa he he hee kemudian duduklah kat kantin tu isi borang tersebut sampai siap ..... contoh borang lihat kat bawah ni .... jangan lupa gambar 3 keping setiap borang itu akan diletakkan gambar kita ... gam ada disediakan di kantin dan di kaunter visa .... pen kena bawak laa sendiri .... lepas isi serahkan borang tersebut ke kaunter visa ... serah kat kaunter kanan sekali .<br /><br />Masa saya mula2 nak ambil borang visa tu dalam kul 10:30 pagi .... tak de orang pun .. mula mula tu suspen juga sebab tengok punylah ramai orang beratur .... rupanya mereka rakyat myanamr ada kaunter lain . foreigner macam org malaysia ini ada kaunter lain ..puhhhh lega kalau tak emamng panjang laa nak beratur .... ok siap isi borang dalam pukul 11:15 pagi maklumlah kena isikan untuk empat orang .... sebenarnya kita tak perlu pergi sendiri buat visa ni ... boleh wakilkan kepada sesiapa je . masa saya nak submit borang alamak dah ada dalam 5 orang tengah submit borang ... semuanya agent pelancongan bawak passport punyelah banyak maklumlah airasia dah ada ke yangon kan .... memang air asia the bestlaaaa ... tapi agent tu kesian permohonan kena tolak sebab borang yang dia bawak customer dia tak isi lengkap .... oleh itu saudara saudari pastikan lengkapkan borang aplikasi yeee .... pastikan anda dah tahu kat mana nak duduk kat myanmar nanti sebab dalam borang tu anda kena tulis alamat kat myanmar .... kalau kat hotel tulis je laa kat mana2 hotel kat myanmar tu ... dalam borang tu juge nanti akan akan tanya siapa yang keluarkan passport kita ... letak je lah Immiration Kuala Lumpur ke Immirgration Alor Setar ke Immigration Shah Alam ke. aku hentam macam tu lah sebab aku intai budak agent pelancongan tu tulis macam tu he he he...<br /><br />Tapi lagi satu nak peringat kalau anda photostat borang ketibaan (size A5) kat kedai photostat tu dia akan photostat guna kertas A4 .... anda tak boleh submit dalam bentuk kertas A4 anda kena potong juga hingga dapat size A5 .... kalau tak permohonan anda di tolak mentah2 ... he he he aku dah kena .... tapi jangan risau kat situ twalaupun tak disediakan guntingdan pisau tapi ada pembaris panjang .... anda boleh potong guna pembaris tuu ... kemudian resubmit balik setelah anda kena beratur semula . he he he<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFpCIZNWElbSdMgPhj2RK0IWvpo13S5xXCs1S_hzITt5MtkOKb43MFQgdGkJr_Yzx7tsFQsv0iN_Rn-UpzydRepSzkWiwdo1h7rOj-8rB0BOC9JWePIxudVmZ2sZlGvlU9N4O0hoajARo/s1600/IMG01060-20100714-1111.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 242px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFpCIZNWElbSdMgPhj2RK0IWvpo13S5xXCs1S_hzITt5MtkOKb43MFQgdGkJr_Yzx7tsFQsv0iN_Rn-UpzydRepSzkWiwdo1h7rOj-8rB0BOC9JWePIxudVmZ2sZlGvlU9N4O0hoajARo/s320/IMG01060-20100714-1111.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494162465594782722" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">beratur kaunter ssebelah kanan sekali<br /><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">masa tengah beratur tu ada jumpa seorang brother pun tengah apply visa .... brother ni dah melancong banyak tempat dengan airasia ni .... dah ke china dan india .....dan seluruh asia tenggara .... memang loaded brother ini aku rasa .... aku cerita aku dah pergi tempat tu dia pun kat dah pergi aku kata sini dia pun kata sini ... last2 aku mengalah memang dia lagi teror dari aku rupanya .... tapi yang penting dan serupa ialah kami pergi dan rancang sendiri setiap trip kami tanpa mengunakan khidmat travel agent dan juga kami sama2 naik airasia untuk melancong .<br /><br />Lupa lak nak bagi tahu .... kaunter kat secton visa ni buka jam 9:30 hingga 12:30 tengahari untuk submit permohonan dan jam 4ptg hingga 5 ptg untuk collect visa ... biasanya permohonan normal akan diproses selama 2 - 3 hari . kalau submit hari rabu paling cepat boleh collect hari jumaat ..... tapi kalau nak collect same day boleh juga kena bayar RM150 ...... kalau normal bayar RM80 je .... untuk visa pelancong. dan lagi satu walaupun tak wajib tetapi ada kes dia akan mintak tiket penerbangan ..... kebiasaanya untuk permohonan express sehari dia akan mintak tiket ni .... macam aku ari tu buat normal je nasib baik dia tak minta .... walaupun buat normal sebaik2nya kalau dah ada tiket bawak je laaa atau senaraikan tarikh perberbangan pergi dan balik serta dan iternary di myanmar ....<br /><br />Selesai urusan di kaunter anda akan diberikan resit bayaran . dalam resit ini anda akan diberikan tarikh untuk mengambil visa anda.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkOqqyidOZo-nnP7BOkXCW4aNxirxNBr622lba2f9MR6_q3IeelItXZ91WVqkVkFxsJdZFQtTBo5QmakX-Dk_jItfcJ5KJkziI1gLilee-YjfQFA5pH42HLUmtwidQbeOIMZXHaFBGVgE/s1600/IMG01065-20100714-1127a.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 242px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkOqqyidOZo-nnP7BOkXCW4aNxirxNBr622lba2f9MR6_q3IeelItXZ91WVqkVkFxsJdZFQtTBo5QmakX-Dk_jItfcJ5KJkziI1gLilee-YjfQFA5pH42HLUmtwidQbeOIMZXHaFBGVgE/s320/IMG01065-20100714-1127a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494172554389572642" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Resit Pembayaran VISA dan Tarikh Collect Visa</span></span><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdEubsEHVuColDhsHcGzRmPTyYwiQcfbV6GabOfzJ3xFB_ny3crgsENLvYrwtzYfUTDs2v3O1va9d7IAy8kSK8X-e8GcLg3qdPxuCumn0S-G72lHw6o3P7FFdcEuhGI_bN9c260O7ClYE/s1600/IMG01050-20100714-1101.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 316px; height: 237px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdEubsEHVuColDhsHcGzRmPTyYwiQcfbV6GabOfzJ3xFB_ny3crgsENLvYrwtzYfUTDs2v3O1va9d7IAy8kSK8X-e8GcLg3qdPxuCumn0S-G72lHw6o3P7FFdcEuhGI_bN9c260O7ClYE/s320/IMG01050-20100714-1101.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494160407480430258" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgHgralxh-XmD_p5eMe2Mr0t4za3Z68ZY52OHH2hfdGThKZ6F4nFDJI8lILfevqQkLmOOIiHFE4hy9UcomVPu7bp2pF_kBYU2PDPekBBlOEWxWMEAn3cSxtD46EhxhHanDV87WHP54A9g/s1600/IMG01052-20100714-1102.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 242px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgHgralxh-XmD_p5eMe2Mr0t4za3Z68ZY52OHH2hfdGThKZ6F4nFDJI8lILfevqQkLmOOIiHFE4hy9UcomVPu7bp2pF_kBYU2PDPekBBlOEWxWMEAn3cSxtD46EhxhHanDV87WHP54A9g/s320/IMG01052-20100714-1102.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494162490501860946" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoqte8oEVH6DhnKdNueP24P8o5C1MOFfdhHsGXbWGjxSZcZIeif6D8wJbTpV4zmgnWe_IksxnnAZtWHLBlEnHZ4Sj0MXdrGR9NCxyqWeOYA4fBmbZS_U34qu3EoJmxv_lZ9ShGmpE4tzo/s1600/IMG01053-20100714-1102.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 242px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoqte8oEVH6DhnKdNueP24P8o5C1MOFfdhHsGXbWGjxSZcZIeif6D8wJbTpV4zmgnWe_IksxnnAZtWHLBlEnHZ4Sj0MXdrGR9NCxyqWeOYA4fBmbZS_U34qu3EoJmxv_lZ9ShGmpE4tzo/s320/IMG01053-20100714-1102.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494162497037927378" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxq5kdD65WSVHIEsQgFfmUhempm4-HMAS_Oy8Hhzgl7swOBQpcdh8OyuV1qeRLxMazU5zoWwOdO-f76ZAZPSrm6L6z0spsp3EtPNMclYXbNPG1m7cjHpQGSOfO96jpVADAnR4wXdGbzQI/s1600/IMG01051-20100714-1102.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 242px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxq5kdD65WSVHIEsQgFfmUhempm4-HMAS_Oy8Hhzgl7swOBQpcdh8OyuV1qeRLxMazU5zoWwOdO-f76ZAZPSrm6L6z0spsp3EtPNMclYXbNPG1m7cjHpQGSOfO96jpVADAnR4wXdGbzQI/s320/IMG01051-20100714-1102.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494162483681171730" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNBd_DbWWaCu_gIrR9EsH3SsS8IBVNVnkczzhafmGw3aJtodE_RFSbGOefxQ4SjzyJ_lHfOUhR6Y7HXXThQ2wT5ZEla1nYTkGapbaIpgWnSW-QlrJK8hxWTzTn_-_VwJr16_KXXrXej5c/s1600/IMG01055-20100714-1103.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 242px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNBd_DbWWaCu_gIrR9EsH3SsS8IBVNVnkczzhafmGw3aJtodE_RFSbGOefxQ4SjzyJ_lHfOUhR6Y7HXXThQ2wT5ZEla1nYTkGapbaIpgWnSW-QlrJK8hxWTzTn_-_VwJr16_KXXrXej5c/s320/IMG01055-20100714-1103.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494166259033611426" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0uWF7LZ4w6gvjvKrmWl9RlUYyAMw4jopPnwSjPWOZVD0JFx0Q8bUOKO0QB1a8g31ducFZSL_wd2HvAewRAtGgOschxFMBQOHMMmb-SzjQMfWYb8ZwKTd2LDIEJRWb_zLnyoWUXDGzVX0/s1600/IMG01058-20100714-1104.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 242px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0uWF7LZ4w6gvjvKrmWl9RlUYyAMw4jopPnwSjPWOZVD0JFx0Q8bUOKO0QB1a8g31ducFZSL_wd2HvAewRAtGgOschxFMBQOHMMmb-SzjQMfWYb8ZwKTd2LDIEJRWb_zLnyoWUXDGzVX0/s320/IMG01058-20100714-1104.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494166282607831890" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIRRqpydVbSCpjS3bscUZWwxs84VIRTGpaQuXhKQ5AXR1Bu0NYZ4LbSWUCkpZ-_mOgbyh_uV3QFkJXVCDyN3Q9NDmdCzVySvNIDO1lBfy0tmZ9b51q7mRin7Ov8WWmkSaxnD_grlKH1d4/s1600/IMG01054-20100714-1103.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 242px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIRRqpydVbSCpjS3bscUZWwxs84VIRTGpaQuXhKQ5AXR1Bu0NYZ4LbSWUCkpZ-_mOgbyh_uV3QFkJXVCDyN3Q9NDmdCzVySvNIDO1lBfy0tmZ9b51q7mRin7Ov8WWmkSaxnD_grlKH1d4/s320/IMG01054-20100714-1103.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494166252051152498" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDv32ComHV2YUqD8PklJ-NvxfbLx4FuL-9LP_ibLgY-Tn1lRwNuml8fj_ymhfP1D7tnIEZt0ZGLmOGZYLIVs-rpKua8YBk-QpqBvQzX9HwAXSdiWi5t5li2dvclT89lhMNNGCtqKm6xYA/s1600/IMG01056-20100714-1103.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 242px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDv32ComHV2YUqD8PklJ-NvxfbLx4FuL-9LP_ibLgY-Tn1lRwNuml8fj_ymhfP1D7tnIEZt0ZGLmOGZYLIVs-rpKua8YBk-QpqBvQzX9HwAXSdiWi5t5li2dvclT89lhMNNGCtqKm6xYA/s320/IMG01056-20100714-1103.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494166266937932946" border="0" /></a>Muslim Tourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16660380872159352050noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330478300414214475.post-19622974700325491072010-06-19T04:51:00.000-07:002010-06-21T21:59:46.406-07:00Myanmar Muslim Tour : Myanmar Shopping Places<h4>Gems Market and Museum</h4><p><img class="bdr" border="0" align="left" src="http://www.myanmarbravo.com/images/gems-mark-museum.jpg" width="200" height="140" />Gems Market and Museum next door to Kaba Aye Pagoda has jewellery shops and museum.<a name="Chaukhtat"></a></p><h4><br /></h4><h4><br /></h4><h4><br /></h4><h4>Bogyoke Market</h4><p><img class="bdl" border="0" align="right" src="http://www.myanmarbravo.com/images/bogyoke-market.jpg" width="200" height="140" />Bogyoke Market was first built and inaugurated on the present premises in 1926. It was named Scott Market after Mr. C. Scott, the Municipal Commissioner. Nowadays, it is called Bogyoke Aung San Market in honor of our national leader General Aung San who was assassinated in 1947. Bogyoke Aung San Market is situated in the heart of Yangon - on Bogyoke Aung San Road. There are 1,641 shops selling luxury items, handicrafts, foodstuffs, clothing, jewellery, fashion and consumer goods. The market is open daily from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm except gazette holidays.</p><h4><span style="font-size:0;">Chinatown</span></h4><img class="bdr" border="0" align="right" src="http://www.myanmarbravo.com/images/china-town-1.jpg" width="200" height="140" />Chinatown that exotic enclave within exotic Myanmar, makes a visit so much more uniquely, unconventionally informal and fantastically bizarre. A place, however, that you must see and experience, or else trip to Myanmar is marginally incomplete. It is in the evening that the place really takes off and amazing environment unlike any you have ever experienced. The streets are lined with four-story plastered brick town-houses, whitewashed in faded pastel creams, blues and yellows with facades studded with ornamental scrollwork. Since the people in town gather to Chinatown for Chinese food, barbeque, beer and liquor, it bustles on to 2 am with open shops and plenty of good food. The most striking feature in the Chinatown is the hundred of gold shops, fruits and vegetables venders that dominate the both side of the main road. Fruit especially mandarin oranges from the Shan State, apples from Kachin State and China, water-melons, bananas, durian, guava, mangosteen, pear, pomelo,grapes, litchee, plum, rambutan and mango, strawberry at the season.<br /><img class="bdl" border="0" align="left" src="http://www.myanmarbravo.com/images/china-town.jpg" width="200" height="140" />On one side are the glass enclosed display counters in which gold ornaments, predominately rings, necklaces and pendants. Sidewalk diners have dishes and delicacies of egg or wheat noodles, grilled meats, deep fried spring rolls, etc.<br />It is good to enjoy Chinatown after the city sightseeing, by stroll slowly and experience the place in time in an environment quite unfamiliar with. Listen, smell, touch, taste and see Chinatown.Muslim Tourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16660380872159352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330478300414214475.post-10356008950641186402010-06-18T05:01:00.001-07:002010-06-21T22:00:26.760-07:00Myanmar Muslim Tour : Where and how to buy stone, antics, ruby and jewellery in Burma (Myanmar)<table style="WIDTH: 585px; HEIGHT: 1264px" class="texte" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td colspan="3"><p class="titre1">Where and how to buy stone, antics, ruby and jewellery in Burma (Myanmar)</p></td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="#cd5021" height="1" colspan="3"><img src="http://www.ananda-travel.com/images/pxl.gif" width="1" height="1" /></td></tr><tr valign="top"><td><br /><br /><p class="soustitre">Mogkok, Joseph Kessel, and Burmese ruby !!!</p><p>The most beautiful rubies in the world come from Burma, and most of them, from Mogok Stone Track, including the world famous "pigeon blood".<br /><br />In Mogok, you can find spinelsand some rubies directly on the floor while you are walking in the street. It is true, we found often, it is called "tea ruby".<br />But do not believe it is like this everywhere in Burma and that you will get a 1 kg crystal clear ruby for nothing.<br /><br /></p><p class="soustitre">Auction !<br /></p><p class="texte">2 times per year is organized by the government in Yangon, and under thigh security, an auction sale of most beautiful jades and precious stones of Burma.<br />At that time , you should be able to buy exceptional stones (price !!). If you cannot buy such stones, go and visit the gem museum. You will see some beautiful specimens. </p><p class="soustitre">Never, Never buy in the street!!!</p><p><span style="COLOR: rgb(102,255,255)">There is no (never) street vendor that can sell you a ruby or sapphire big as your thump.</span><br />Even if the "ruby" or "sapphire" can scratch glass, it is not a proof.<br />It is always fake stone! (especially if the stone is perfect and crystal clear, government will have taking tfirst, this is a very serious business in Myanmar).<br /><br /></p><p class="soustitre">Where you should buy ? </p><p>The purchases must be done in jewellery shop where you can get an official certificate to carry out of Burma your purchase. Without this certificate, you cannot bring gold or precious stones out of the country (if the customs catch you).<br /><br />Jewellery shop will give a discount if you do not want the certificate. Take the chance, (tiny), to be catched with your purchase by the customs.<br /><br />You can find a really pretty ring for 100 or 200 dollars (take cash, credit cards are not allowed in Myanmar). It will not be a Cartier ring, but nevertheless you will have a pretty souvenir from Myanmar. </p><br /><br /><p class="soustitre">Antics and Buddha statue</p><p>The real old Buddha statues were not allowed for exportation, except for religious purpose.<br /><br />Currently, you can not export old Buddha statue, even for religious purpose. Anyway, there is no more really old statue, all the main one are strictly recorded by the Government and it is better taht they stay in Myanmar, no ?<br /><br />Please do not buy head of Buddha. People cut the head in the pagoda and they sell them after to the tourist. Many have already disappear, even from Pindaya.<br /><br />Buy a nice statue to a talented workshop and you will have something really nice, new, and you will help the handicraft shop.<br /><br /></p><p class="soustitre">Lacqueware</p>You can buy in Myanmar, especially around Bagan, beautiful Burmese lacque ware.<br /><br />Some information to make a good buy :<br /><br />- The final quantity of layer is very important for the final quality of the lacqueware. It takes 2 to 4 weeks to dry one layer, the best lacqueware may have up to 15 layers.<br /><br />- The material itself where you apply the lacquer is very important, bamboo, wood, papier mâché, carton, teak...<br /><br />- A real lacqueware is embossed or engraved, not painted. All the colours are natural colours from sand, stone and flowers. It is never painting.<br /><br />- A good trick is to check if there is small dust clue on the lacqueware (you can see it easily, it looks like small ball). It means the lacqueware was not stored and dried in proper condition (special dust proof chamber).<br /><br />- The raw material comes from a tree. After you may add ashes or cotton rob to make it stronger. It is not car lacquer.<br /><br />- Lacquerware pot can stand heat or cold, but if you break it it is not possible to repair it.<br /><br /></td><td width="11"><img src="http://www.ananda-travel.com/images/pxl.gif" width="10" height="1" /> </td><td><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Muslim Tourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16660380872159352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330478300414214475.post-2997422837754360082010-06-18T04:51:00.000-07:002010-06-21T22:02:40.592-07:00Myanmar Muslim Tour : Myanmar Shopping Places<h4>Gems Market and Museum</h4><p><img class="bdr" border="0" align="left" src="http://www.myanmarbravo.com/images/gems-mark-museum.jpg" width="200" height="140" />Gems Market and Museum next door to Kaba Aye Pagoda has jewellery shops and museum.<a name="Chaukhtat"></a></p><h4><br /></h4><h4><br /></h4><h4><br /></h4><h4>Bogyoke Market</h4><p><img class="bdl" border="0" align="right" src="http://www.myanmarbravo.com/images/bogyoke-market.jpg" width="200" height="140" />Bogyoke Market was first built and inaugurated on the present premises in 1926. It was named Scott Market after Mr. C. Scott, the Municipal Commissioner. Nowadays, it is called Bogyoke Aung San Market in honor of our national leader General Aung San who was assassinated in 1947. Bogyoke Aung San Market is situated in the heart of Yangon - on Bogyoke Aung San Road. There are 1,641 shops selling luxury items, handicrafts, foodstuffs, clothing, jewellery, fashion and consumer goods. The market is open daily from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm except gazette holidays.</p><h4><span style="font-size:+0;">Chinatown</span></h4><img class="bdr" border="0" align="right" src="http://www.myanmarbravo.com/images/china-town-1.jpg" width="200" height="140" />Chinatown that exotic enclave within exotic Myanmar, makes a visit so much more uniquely, unconventionally informal and fantastically bizarre. A place, however, that you must see and experience, or else trip to Myanmar is marginally incomplete. It is in the evening that the place really takes off and amazing environment unlike any you have ever experienced. The streets are lined with four-story plastered brick town-houses, whitewashed in faded pastel creams, blues and yellows with facades studded with ornamental scrollwork. Since the people in town gather to Chinatown for Chinese food, barbeque, beer and liquor, it bustles on to 2 am with open shops and plenty of good food. The most striking feature in the Chinatown is the hundred of gold shops, fruits and vegetables venders that dominate the both side of the main road. Fruit especially mandarin oranges from the Shan State, apples from Kachin State and China, water-melons, bananas, durian, guava, mangosteen, pear, pomelo,grapes, litchee, plum, rambutan and mango, strawberry at the season.<br /><img class="bdl" border="0" align="left" src="http://www.myanmarbravo.com/images/china-town.jpg" width="200" height="140" />On one side are the glass enclosed display counters in which gold ornaments, predominately rings, necklaces and pendants. Sidewalk diners have dishes and delicacies of egg or wheat noodles, grilled meats, deep fried spring rolls, etc.<br />It is good to enjoy Chinatown after the city sightseeing, by stroll slowly and experience the place in time in an environment quite unfamiliar with. Listen, smell, touch, taste and see Chinatown.Muslim Tourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16660380872159352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330478300414214475.post-12657724895104309792010-06-18T04:49:00.000-07:002010-06-21T22:02:57.856-07:00Myanmar Muslim Tour : Yangon: Sule Paya, Independent Monument, Mahaboondola Garden, City Hall & Immanuel Baptist Church<h3 class="post-title entry-title"><a href="http://clickandrender.blogspot.com/2009/10/yangon-sule-paya-independent-monument.html">Yangon: Sule Paya, Independent Monument, Mahaboondola Garden, City Hall & Immanuel Baptist Church </a></h3><div class="post-info"><span class="date"><a href="http://clickandrender.blogspot.com/2009/10/yangon-sule-paya-independent-monument.html">Written by rabbit </a></span><span class="comment-count"></span></div><p></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">The stretch of Strand Road from Botataung Pagoda to Mahabandoola Garden Street was actually a lot further than it seemed from the map. We walked and walked, anticipating for Mahabandoola Garden Street to appear for us to turn into. We passed the Post Office, the British Embassy and the posh-looking Strand Hotel. Policemen surrounded the law court and had barricades installed to prevent pedestrian passage. We were walking ahead when a policeman stopped us and told us to detour. It was a blessing in disguise as we found a comfy Mr Brown cafe to take a break from our long walk. Thanks to the friendly staff at the cafe, we found ourselves walking past the Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank building along the right street and already the Garden where the Independent Monument is located was slowly coming into our view. At the entrance, there were two guards sitting under a standing umbrella. We were told to pay USD2 for entrance.<br /></div><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">The obelisk, Independent Monument, in Mahabandoola Garden. There are Chinthe (Chinese lion-looking animals) statues surrounding the monument. It's interesting to see obelisks all around the world. I've seen them in Jakarta, Paris, UK and now, Yangon too!</span><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2453/3980323336_a4705a540a.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">This is the High Court building which I had mistaken for a church. It was funny because I went through the tiny gate door to the guardhouse to ask for entry into this church, where I was instantly refused. When I admired its Victorian architecture from the garden grounds, I realised it looked English but it was nothing like a church!</span><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2585/3980323976_759f516ea1.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">These two little girls were running around in the gardens while their parents laid resting among some flower bushes. The garden seemed to be a popular date spot as I saw several couples here and there, whispering to each other with shoulders meeting under small umbrellas.</span><br /><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3450/3980324704_290c93ff7b.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Inscriptions on the marble walls at the base of the monument</span><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2631/3980325304_a6efbb995f.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">City Hall</span><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2594/3979566557_609ac54966.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Banner at the entrance of the Immanuel Baptist Church</span><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2537/3979567057_1221038c50.jpg" /><br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">Surrounding the Mahabandoola Garden are some important landmarks such as the City Hall, the Immanuel Baptist Church, the High Court and a famous pagoda, Sule Paya. We met some mobile money changers as we were heading towards the church. We had been warned by Three Season Hotel staff members to avoid doing foreign currency exchanges with mobile money changers. They'd give you an unbelievably good exchange rate while will get you to jump right into the deal. Once the notes are exchanged, money changers are nowhere to be found and you'll realise, in the handed big stack of notes, about a third of it has been folded to make it look thicker than it really is.<br /><br />It had started to drizzle and the idea of sitting in the church felt so welcoming. The church warden welcomed us and ushered us to the upper floor. The ground floor looked like an office. The church hall looked old but, clean. It was airy as its big windows are open, also allowing much light to enter. I chose a bench to sit and R joined me. In silence and seated, we both looked around. I tried to absorb the spirituality which churches exuberate. It felt serene and gentle. What we find most special about this church is its ceiling. The chandeliers that hung from the ceiling were all different! We caught ourselves laughing at this unexpected finding and the images of this instilled in my mind were comical yet adorable. Did some people donate these to the church? I would not be surprised.<br /></div><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">The church hall of Immanuel Baptist Church</span><br /></div></div><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2445/3979567749_dd41f43ca8.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">At least, they were symmetrical :)</span><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2674/3979568645_b540b03a2e.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">View of Sule Paya from the church's window</span><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2608/3979569097_3b743a1994.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Immanuel Baptist Church</span><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2651/3979569699_866a76f27c.jpg" /><br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">By now, R's foot was hurting more than the morning when we flew from Bangkok. I had asked her to rate her pain from 1 to 10, with 1 being the least and it was 5. She said it might have been an ache which was caused by wearing heels over long hours. I thought if that is the case, the walking would probably not aggravate but, I was wrong. The following day, R began to limp and the pain level might have gone up to 6 or 7, which she later confirmed. We had to see the doctor for her to feel better.<br /><br />We walked across to Sule Paya as the drizzle was becoming heavier. If I remember correctly, we paid USD2 for each entry and an additional USD1 for bringing a camera. It started pouring heavily when we had barely started our tour around the pagoda. In all the places of Buddhist worship we have visited in and around Yangon, footwear has to be left at the entrance of the temple or pagoda.<br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"></span></div><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Sule Paya</span><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2476/3980329578_3903197c5c.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Golden roof of many tiers with heavily carved designs</span><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2494/3979571025_e0874e4f1e.jpg" /><br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">People in Myanmar likes to know where the tourists are from. While we were viewing the temple's bookshop which sells books on Buddhism in Myanmar language, a friendly elder came and talked to us. He told us of his son who is studying abroad in Japan, upon learning R's origin. I had asked him about the inscriptions that were on cemented slabs surrounding the temple. Apparently, these are name of donors who had contributed to the building and/or maintenance work of the temple.<br /></div><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">While it was raining, R and I sat under the shelter to enjoy the ambience. It felt so wonderful with my eyes closed, listening to the sounds of the rain and the bells from the hti.</span><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2558/3979571823_b69da08638.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">A man praying a prayer room with a big Buddha statue, away from the wetness of the rain</span><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2661/3979572547_0acbc73148.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">People with umbrellas and places to go</span><br /><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3479/3980332658_f6631555f5.jpg" /><br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">While waiting for the rain to stop, I thought I'd just check the map on Lonely Planet for the Jewish Synagogue and Hindu temple we planning to visit after our late lunch. I was rummaging into my bag, I realised my Lonely Planet book was nowhere to be found. Panic striked. This time, I did a more thorough check and even removed some of the contents from my bag. <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">No Lonely Planet! Oh dear, where have I misplaced it?</span> R tried to calm me down by recalling when she last saw me refering to the book. I was still refering to the book when we left the garden for the church. It <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">MUST</span> be in the church! Ok, there wasn't much point to worry although at the back of my head I was thinking, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">oh dear, now I don't even know where to go</span>. I felt so lost without the book and it's no fun going to places, not knowing anything about the place. The book is somewhat like the treasure map with all its hints to all these wonderful places. <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">It's ok, D, it will be at the church, </span>I told myself.<br /><br />When the heavy rain turned into a light drizzle, we headed back to the church. I had explained to the warden about my predicament and asked if he's seen a book. According to R later, he had actually replied that this is not a bookshop. Hahaha! I was too worried about the book to actually make out what he has said. I asked if he could let me go into the hall to check and he allowed.<br /><br />I headed straight the bench which I took earlier but, the book was not there. I searched the neighbouring benches and found nothing either. An elder, who must have seen me frantically searching, asked what I might be searching for. Right after my explanation, he led me to a bench on the opposite side of the aisle and <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">THERE</span> was my Lonely Planet! I could hear an orchestra of violins going <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Ta Da</span> in my head! I was overjoyed and relieved beyond words!<br /><br />We were just about to leave the church when we thought we'd take another break. I know R's hurting whenever she walked and it was a feat on her part to continue the tour. She never complained or asked for breaks, which worried me. Perhaps, her excitement of the trip drowned the pain, I don't know.<br /><br />We took the bench at the back of the church. When the same elderly man took a young girl's arm and led her down the aisle to the instrumental music of 'Here comes the bride', we realised we were actually witnessing the rehearsal of a church wedding ceremony in Yangon. Watching the scenes of this thrilled us!<br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Wedding ceremony rehearsal</span><br /></div></div><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2625/3980333400_9b14368fa7.jpg" /><br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">We headed to the street behind the City Hall, in search of the 999 Shan Noodle Shop for a late lunch with a positive cue from Lonely Planet.<br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Old, mouldy building</span><br /></div></div><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2654/3980334250_3307f8e830.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">The street where the 999 Shan Noodle Shop is located</span><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2535/3980335234_55da0aac4a.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">I was so hungry, I ordered two bowls of noodles and shared the second bowl with R. My first order was Hnyat Khauk Swai (Noodle Soup)</span><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2671/3980335738_7e1980208c.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">It's spicy and a little oily but it tasted delicious. The steaming hot tea tasted so good and relaxed me from a long day of walking.</span><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2585/3980336398_e923e13741.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Next order was this Shan noodle, which was under the salad section. I had asked the lady boss if the noodles were served cold and as explained, it wasn't. It tasted good but the first order was still way better. This one is oily and the sauce tasted a little like the sauce used in Rojak. So, it tasted strange to me.</span><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2670/3979577267_4b56752495.jpg" /><br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">After our lunch, we took a taxi to the Museah (Moseah) Yeshua Synagogue and Sri Siva Temple. The taxi driver, who looked nervous and also, spoke nervously, didn't know where the place is. We showed him the map and explained the directions to him. But, I think he was more lost than we were. It was at the corner of the junction that meets Mahabandoola Road and Konzaydan Street. We weren't sure where we were heading next after we turned into a street from Merchant Street. I think we were dropped off near the Theingyi Plaza, which is two street away from the desired destination. At least, we knew we're on Mahabandoola Road. So, now to find the Jewish and Hindu temples. We walked many streets down but didn't see any temples of these sort. In fact, we almost went into a Buddhist temple, thinking it was Hindu! Hahahaha! I told R that we needed to ask for directions from any ladies with a 'Bindi' (a dot worn on Hindu women's foreheads) and we did eventually find one. She gave us some directions, which we followed, only to be met with a mosque! <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">0_o</span><br /><br />At the entrance of a mosque, a muslim passerby was happy to see us. He explained that the obvious building is a mosque and that it is a hundred years old. A lady sitting at the entrance porch of the mosque pointed at the opposite green building and mustered, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">"Muslim School"</span>.<br /><br /></div><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Busy street along Mahabandoola Road</span><br /><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3168/3979578071_d66a3ec442.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Islamic school, Shwe Bontha Street</span><br /><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3439/3980338646_89e0767f2f.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Bengali Sunni (Sunne) Jameh Mosque, Shwe Bontha Street</span><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2582/3980339224_474412114b.jpg" /><br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">It was getting dark, making vision a little difficult in a poorly lit, crowded street with uneven pavements. I watched the ground the entire time, making sure to avoid tripping over unleveled grounds. There were little or no street lights on some streets. The stall vendors installed their own lights or tried to get some light from other stalls that do. Some were literally selling their wares in near darkness.<br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Uneven pavements and street stalls </span><br /></div></div><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2462/3979580305_29d631b55e.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Sule Paya from a pedestrian bridge during dusk</span><br /><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3511/3979580877_0ed8bb3724.jpg" /><br /><br />We gave up trying to look for the temples. We tried looking for the buildings from the pedestrian bridge in the hopes of getting a better view, but to no avail. We finally hailed a cab to get back to the hotel. This taxi driver was friendly and spoke more English than the previous one. He drove a muscle car with the interior cushions lining the doors removed. So, you can see the bare metal frame of the door. The interior lamp had been improvised with a primitive switch of joining the wires to connect the circuit. When we asked him for direction of the synagogue, it took him a while to close the circuit to turn on the lamp so that he can see the map on my book. He's extremely nice and we chatted with him all the way till we reached the hotel. He has been a taxi driver for 12 years. Before he became a taxi driver, he was a tour guide 15 years ago. Times were good then, he said. On top of his salary, he was given travel allowance for his traveling expenses outside Yangon when he was running the tours. The tour company he had worked for went bankrupt because tourism became scarce. I asked him for his thoughts on tourism in his country. I am eager to know because I've come across various articles about tourism in Myanmar including websites of <a href="http://www.burmalibrary.org/reg.burma/archives/199512/msg00237.html">Aung San Suu Kyi being somewhat against tourism</a> for good reasons and another of <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/asia/burma/6026879/Burma-opposition-leader-Suu-Kyi-Tourism-might-help.html">her stating that tourism may help</a>. The taxi driver looked demented as he recalled the loss of his job 15 years ago and did think that tourism is good for his people and country. The same sentiment was shared by another driver who brought us to Bago and Thanlyin.<br /><br />In the days to come, I felt sadden to learn about Myanmar through observation of the places of visit. How can a country so rich in many natural resources from previous stones to minerals, oil and water be housing people that are so poor? The streets and public ammenities are so badly maintained. They have all these natural resources every country dreams of having, yet the people are not even living in conditions half as good at these lacking countries.Muslim Tourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16660380872159352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330478300414214475.post-32987024811902774702010-06-18T04:32:00.000-07:002010-06-21T22:03:17.470-07:00Myanmar Muslim Tour : Myanmar National Races Village<h3 class="post-title entry-title"><a href="http://clickandrender.blogspot.com/2009/11/national-races-village.html">National Races Village </a></h3><div class="post-info"><span class="date"><a href="http://clickandrender.blogspot.com/2009/11/national-races-village.html">Written by rabbit </a></span><span class="comment-count"></span></div><p>The <a href="http://myanmartravelinformation.com/mti-yangon/nationalracesvillage.htm">National Races Village</a> is located near the Yangon-Thanlyin bridge. Like I've said in my earlier post, the visit was a disappointment. We were really hoping to get an enriching cultural and educational experience but the visit left us unsatisfied and grumpy, partially due to the extremely hot weather. The website provided by the link above is concise and informative.<br /><br />While the buildings and household items passed the authenticity tests, the actors were not dressed in their ethnic traditional attire, nor were they performing an ethnic activity. There were no proper labels or explanation as to items exhibited, which made the whole setup to a place so vast a pity.<br /><br /></p><center><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">An observation tower with similar architecture to Nan Myint Tower of the Mandalay Royal Palace</span><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2518/4062908419_65cd55242c.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Kachin woven house</span><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2776/4062908807_5896806d67.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Weaving machine</span><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2693/4062909139_a4f9e98e4b.jpg" /><br /><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2554/4063658286_df2944ebb1.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Interior of the house</span><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2645/4062910017_9439364445.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">I like the woven walls</span><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2535/4062910495_89b2701f66.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">A wall of arranged bamboo poles</span><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2526/4062911025_4e4c503e3a.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">On our way back to Yangon, we saw a yard with corrugated iron drums stacked in a neat pile</span><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2769/4062911445_ca41e150bb.jpg" /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><br /></span></center>Muslim Tourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16660380872159352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330478300414214475.post-86843947955154462632010-06-18T04:29:00.000-07:002010-06-21T22:03:52.877-07:00Myanmar Muslim Tour : Yangon: Myanmar Gems Museum & Gems Mart, National Museum, Kandawgyi Lake and Bogyoke Aung San Market<h3 class="post-title entry-title"><a href="http://clickandrender.blogspot.com/2009/10/yangon-myanmar-gems-museum-gems-mart.html">Yangon: Myanmar Gems Museum & Gems Mart, National Museum, Kandawgyi Lake and Bogyoke Aung San Market </a></h3><div class="post-info"><span class="date"><a href="http://clickandrender.blogspot.com/2009/10/yangon-myanmar-gems-museum-gems-mart.html">Written by rabbit </a></span><span class="comment-count"></span></div><p>The trip to the Myanmar Gems Museum and the <a href="http://www.myanmars.net/myanmar-culture/national-museum.htm">National Museum</a> was rather disappointing. At the gems museum, I had expected to learn how gems or minerals are extracted from the earth but none of these, nor of how these are processed were published. All of the items on display were briefly labeled. As with the National Museum, the halls were poorly lit and the items were not described in much detail. It fell short of being educational to the visitor and behaved more like a rather dull 3-D picture book with labels of a few words.<br /><br />The Myanmar Gems Museum is located at the third floor of the building with the bottom three floors occupied by Gems stores. As R's movement was limited by the pain of her foot, she hopped so as not to apply pressure on the problematic foot. After going pass the security check, we immediately headed to the elevator only to be stopped by the guard. The lift is not to be used. So, there were three flights of stairs to conquer and R managed to inch her way up.<br /><br />As the museum building is on the hill and on the third floor, this allowed us to appreciate the view of Myanmar. Much later, we could see the Maha Pasana Cave from inside the museum. The entrance fee was USD5. While we were making this payment, the attendant was promoting the sale of a souvenier book that details all the gems found in Myanmar. Sadly, the book was an attempt of the attendant trying to earn additional revenue as it was more a home project of compiled photocopies and pasted cut-outs precious stones pictures.<br /><br />Inside the museum, all encased in glass are gem stones and mineral stones. There were complete tea sets of different type of jades. According to the guide, black jade is not as valuable as green ones. Jade quality is identified based on its greenness and clarity although white jade fetches high price too.<br /><br />On display were varying shades of rubies, jade, saphires, agate, aquamarine, moonstones and so forth with clarity and deeper, darker shades fetching higher prices. There were two big showcases; one depicting fishes in an aquarium while the other a model of Shwedagon; both covered with precious stones and metals.<br /><br />At the other side of the museum were displays of metals that Myanmar produce. We have gold, silver, copper, zinc, lead, tungsten and several more. And, there were other minerals made up of several elements, which I cannot now remember. Photography is not permitted, which is a pity as I'd have like to take pictures of these minerals. It was from this visit that it hit me how filthy rich Myanmar is. In addition to these minerals, there's oil and water, and its fertile soil enriches a healthy produce of agriculture. Yet, its people are one of the poorest in the world where proper sanitation and medical amenities are still lacking in many parts of its country. This has attracted many NGOs and volunteers from all regions of the world to help improve living conditions of its people especially those in the rural areas.<br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"></span></p><center><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><br />The building in plain sight from the road with its big sign</span><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2618/4008258314_1eeeedbc0e.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">View of houses in the midst of the green from the building</span><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2630/4008258748_9d389d6d14.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Largest jade boulder by the entrance of the museum building</span><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2556/4008259190_5ce1819650.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">A label underneath the big stone detailing its origin and dimensions</span><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2667/4008259590_f3d0752473.jpg" /><br /></center><br />At the <a href="http://www.myanmars.net/myanmar-culture/national-museum.htm">National Museum</a>, we were greeted by the first hall of inscriptions where written engravings were found on wood and gold sheets. Again, photography is not permitted. These were followed by ancient writings and modern literature. The museum has five floors, with each floor showing interesting exhibits of Myanmar royal regalia, architecture, jewelery, religion, culture, history and art. There was even this grand throne hall where the only of the eight thrones remain, the <a href="http://www.myanmar-image.com/enchantingmyanmar/enchantingmyanmar2-2/thrones.htm">Lion Throne</a>. Like an ancient treasure seen in a Sinbad movie (imagine the throne in a cave for more effects of forbiddance, ancientness and rarity), the heavily-crafted throne of gold and all precious metals on earth stands like a gate on a solid high platform. Where the King sat, he must have appeared so high and unreachable to anybody. (Other links on Myanmar thrones found <a href="http://myanmartravelinformation.com/mti-myanmar-throne/index.htm">here</a> and <a href="http://www.myanmar2day.com/myanmar-history/2009/02/myanmar-thrones/">here</a>)<br /><br />I particularly like the display of traditional Myanmarese musical instruments. I wished they had more to tell of what was displayed.<br /><br /><center><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><br />Image linked from <a href="http://www.myanmar-image.com/enchantingmyanmar/enchantingmyanmar2-2/thrones.htm">The Thrones of Myanmar Kings by Ma Thanegi</a></span><br /><img src="http://www.myanmar-image.com/enchantingmyanmar/enchantingmyanmar2-2/pic/thrones2.jpg" /><br /></center><br />I can't quite remember the chronicle of events; whether we visited the Bogyoke Aung San Market first before heading to Lake Kandawgyi. Anyway, the trip to the market was short because I didn't bring enough cash to spend and R didn't seem to be keen to make any purchase. Since we could easily exchange money at our hotel, I've carried only enough Kyat and US dollars to last the day while keeping the rest of my US dollars safely locked in R's luggage back at the hotel. While the trip to the market was pre-planned, I had come unprepared with just enough money to spend them all on some souveniers (t-shirts) to bring home. The market kind of reminded me of the Russian Market in Phnom Penh. As Myanmar is famous for its gemstones, there are a lot of gem shops in the market. Also in great numbers were textile shops, selling designs of all sorts for making longyis.<br /><br />I wondered if Min-U had found it peculiar that we have had an especially brief shopping spree. Once again, we were back on the road and soon found ourselves advancing towards Lake Kandawgyi. Prior entry, Min-U had told us to stay quiet to let him do the talking. Later, I realised he had done this to save us the entrance fee by having us guised as locals, which I thought was really sweet of him. I am very much grateful for Min-U's consideration. Throughout our trip, he would drive us to the venue as close as possible so as to save R from walking. He was doing exactly that at Lake Kandawgyi. I requested to be stopped at several spots to grab a few pictures. At one such spot, I had found a couple sitting side by side amongst the tall grass by the bank of the lake. How sweet, I thought.<br /><center><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Kandawgyi Palace Hotel</span><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2661/4007493691_fc411aee1c.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Karaweik, Floating Royal Barge</span><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2621/4008260080_8afc3d34c6.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Shwedagon Paya across Lake Kandawgyi </span><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2512/4007494129_c492777daf.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">A school bus in which two particular students kept waving to us for a long while before they turned into a junction. The children have such beautiful smiles. </span><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2583/4008260538_b504395bb0.jpg" /><br /><br /></center><br /><div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: left; BORDER-LEFT: 0pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 5px; MARGIN: 0pt; PADDING-LEFT: 0pt; PADDING-RIGHT: 0pt; BORDER-TOP: 0pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; BORDER-RIGHT: 0pt; PADDING-TOP: 20px" id="linkwithin_text_0" class="linkwithin_text">You might also like: </div>Muslim Tourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16660380872159352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330478300414214475.post-77288037283594582082010-06-18T00:47:00.001-07:002010-06-21T22:04:10.093-07:00Myanmar Muslim tour : Sumbangan Melayu Islam Kepada Myanmar..<h2 class="date-header"><span style="font-size:+0;">Monday, July 6, 2009</span></h2><a name="9088939729014287659"></a><h3 class="post-title entry-title"><a href="http://www.ibnuhasyim.com/2009/07/sumbangan-melayu-islam-kepada-myanmar.html">Sumbangan Melayu Islam Kepada Myanmar..</a> </h3><div class="post-header"><div class="post-header-line-1"><span class="post-author vcard">Posted by <span class="fn">Ibnu Hasyim</span> </span><span class="post-timestamp">at <a class="timestamp-link" title="permanent link" href="http://www.ibnuhasyim.com/2009/07/sumbangan-melayu-islam-kepada-myanmar.html" rel="bookmark"><abbr class="published" title="2009-07-06T12:27:00+08:00">12:27 PM</abbr></a> </span><span class="post-labels"></span></div></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="COLOR: rgb(255,0,0)"><strong></strong></span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTIFkefUc1lKCGCk-8qM_k1J05L7b0d4PWu3YWbzdRMOPcitSJUYfDuxz602SLZc19p2g24rsn_nTGva6PvqyEFhVtlJpGVro8Htx0BnA5rDZ50kCTGPgea-kRSBxdX3jW2dIFOPIaFkMn/s1600-h/6.5.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 125px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 101px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355200648572384082" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTIFkefUc1lKCGCk-8qM_k1J05L7b0d4PWu3YWbzdRMOPcitSJUYfDuxz602SLZc19p2g24rsn_nTGva6PvqyEFhVtlJpGVro8Htx0BnA5rDZ50kCTGPgea-kRSBxdX3jW2dIFOPIaFkMn/s400/6.5.png" /></a><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBPL-jkpiidxrNFFUoE7pKLriFJ18fa7SUHVvw_DZKrNX32S1rTsE75tkuXjEEc07I7Y7QneBb5928eiuk8fJ6UltOgI_yYGte-qtcEYi1AOqHA8NEZ5W-nLtIoImYmFrS6z07VgAuwtxB/s1600-h/6.5.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 336px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 448px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355200643821796482" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBPL-jkpiidxrNFFUoE7pKLriFJ18fa7SUHVvw_DZKrNX32S1rTsE75tkuXjEEc07I7Y7QneBb5928eiuk8fJ6UltOgI_yYGte-qtcEYi1AOqHA8NEZ5W-nLtIoImYmFrS6z07VgAuwtxB/s400/6.5.jpg" /></a><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic; COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)" class="comment">(photo taken by Amy L. Beam, Rome, Italy, May 29, 2009; banner calling on Burma to free Aung San Suu Kyi who is being tried in spurious charges that she broke her terms of imprisonment in her home, where she has been imprisoned for 19 years. She was duet)</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_k3josLEoTCjlgKjTRETf7F9EBLH3tnRnLijPo4UAc6l9V3fu_3aU63DVXppI5t_GbED7BttZsAsJT1_LlwyUHg6i4lvVek25n5EHzaKEl-hbKc7H80C9AzLrYCW3GveDOhyoMyjjRGJv/s1600-h/6.6.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 443px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 336px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355203679997325618" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_k3josLEoTCjlgKjTRETf7F9EBLH3tnRnLijPo4UAc6l9V3fu_3aU63DVXppI5t_GbED7BttZsAsJT1_LlwyUHg6i4lvVek25n5EHzaKEl-hbKc7H80C9AzLrYCW3GveDOhyoMyjjRGJv/s400/6.6.jpg" /></a><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic; COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)">Selatan Myanmar</span><br /><br /></div><span style="COLOR: rgb(255,0,0)"><strong>CATATAN PERJALANAN: MYANMAR 4<br /></strong></span><br />"ENCIK.. Kita ada beberapa jam lagi, sebelum pukul 5 petang. Biasanya waktu itu polis Myanmar akan menyiasat di hotel tempat tinggal encik dan dapat mengesan di mana encik berada. Kalau kita berada di luar 3 km dari bandar Pulau Dua ini, mereka akan tahu. Itu suatu kesalahan!" Kata Mohammad Yusuf pemandu motosikal yang membawa saya itu.<br /><br />"Sampai begitu sekali?" Saya macam terkejut.<br /><br />"Ya. Inilah Myanmar, sekarang." Dia mengangguk.<br /><br />Baru saya teringat, kira-kira seminggu lebih sikit lalu, pemimpin-pemimpin Persatuan Eropah (EU) menyambut ulang tahun kelahiran ke 64 pemimpin pro-demokrasi Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi. Mereka menggesa pembebasan segera tanpa syarat, dan draf pengisytiharan dikeluarkan pada sidang kemuncak EU menyatakan kredibiliti Myanmar untuk adakan pilihan raya tahun depan akan 'terus lemah' melainkan Suu Kyi dibebaskan.<br /><br />Pemimpin-pemimpin EU menggesa rejim tentera Myanmar melaksanakan 'peralihan tulen kepada demokrasi'. Gambar Suu Kyi telah dipaparkan di bangunan Parlimen Eropah bagi membantah penahanannya. Suu Kyi menyambut hari lahirnya di penjara, sementara kempen-kempen membebasnya giat dijalankan di seluruh dunia dan internet. Mungkin inilah sebabnya peraturan berada di Myanmar kini terlalu ketat.<br /><br />"Jadi kita nak ke mana? Bolehkah kita jumpa Imam Masjid Kampung ini?"<br /><br />"Ya. Memang ke situlah saya nak bawa encik. Jumpa Ustaz Mohd Syafie, Imam Masjid Jannatun Naim Sepuluh Batu, Pulau Dua.." Katanya.<br /><br />Sesampai di depan rumahnya, seperti biasa dia menyambut salam kami dengan ramah mesra dan menjemput kami masuk. Saya menyampai hasrat saya untuk menziarah teman-teman se agama di Myanmar. Rumahnya hampir sama gayanya dengan rumah Ustaz Mohd Yusof yang kami ziarahi tadi dan penduduk-penduduk Melayu Islam di situ.<br /><br />"Pada saya, orang Melayu Islam di sini agak terpinggir. Tidak diiktiraf sebagai rakyat Myanmar. Kalau dianggap anak pun sebagai anak tiri!" Kata ustaz itu.<br /><br />"Takkan sampai begitu?"<br /><br />"Dalam banyak program-program pemerintah, mereka tidak pernah memasukkan bangsa Melayu dalam senarai sebagai rakyat mereka." Jelas Ustaz itu lagi. "Yang mereka sebut ialah bangsa Karen, Myanmar, Siam, Mon, Kaya, Kecin dan Chea... Melayu tiada, Rohingya pun tiada!"<br /><br />Myanmar yang terletak di antara garisan Sartan dan garisan Khatulistiwa, menerima iklim monsun tropika, menerima hujan 5000 mm setahun di kawasan pantai. Di kawasan delta, menerima hujan 2500 mm setahun. Sementara di Zon Kering (tengah Myanmar) hanya 1000 mm setahun. Kawasan pesisir pantai dan delta suhunya 32`C. Utara Myanmar suhunya 21`C. Pembangunan ekonomi Myanmar amat perlahan kerana faktor ekosistem dan alam sekitar. 49% Myanmar masih lagi berhutan tebal. Antara pokok utama ialah getah, acacia, buluh, kelapa, paya bakau dan kayu jati. Di Zon Kering, sayur-sayuran banyak ditanam . Sepanjang tanah pamah banyak ditanam dengan buah-buahan.<br /><br />Mengikut sejarah, Orang Mon dipercayai menjadi kumpulan terawal pindah ke Lembah Ayeyarwadi dan pada pertengahan tahun 900 SM telah menguasai selatan Myanmar. Orang Mon ini menjadi orang Asia Tenggara pertama menganut agama Buddha Theravada. Orang Tibeto-Burman bercakap bahasa Pru tiba sekitar abad pertama SM. Mereka tinggal di Lembah Ayeyarwadi. Kerajaan orang Mon dan Pyu giat melakukan kegiatan perdagangan antara China dengan India. Kerajaan Pyu menguasai Lembah Ayeyarwadi untuk beberapa ketika.<br /><br />Di zaman penjajahan 1886-1948 di Myanmar, penjajah British telah membawa masuk buruh India dan buruh China di kawasan bandar bagi merancakkan perdagangan dan pembinaan infrastruktur Myanmar. Menyebabkan kesannya hari ini bandar Yangoon dan Mandalay terdapat ramai orang India, yang juga menyaingi bangsa Mon tadi. Bahkan di Malaysia lebih lagi, kaum-kaum pendatang tersebut akhirnya menjadi kuasa penentu dalam politik Malaysia masa kini. Kaum India dan China yang dibawa ke Myanmar itu asalnya ditugaskan membina landasan kereta api dan sekolah waktu itu.<br /><br />Sedangkan orang-orang Mon ini terus memperjuangkan kemerdekaan dan kebebasan politik mereka. Sehingga penjara Insein menempatkan sejumlah besar banduan terutama banduan politik seperti mereka. Banyak terjadi perlawanan dan tumpah darah sehingga tahun 1930. Contohnya, pakai kasut di dalam kuil Buddha adalah perkara sensitif. Perlanggaran tersebut pernah mencetuskan bantahan dari sami-sami Buddha, apalagi sami-sami Buddha tersebut menjadi pejuang-pejuang kemerdekaan Myanmar dan berlaku penentangan sehingga ramai yang terbunuh.<br /><br />Antara sami yang terkenal ialah U Wisara yang mati dalam penjara selepas 163 hari mogok lapar membantah peraturan-peraturan baru di kuil Buddha. Sajak oleh Tudyard Kipling bertajuk 'Mandalay' mengingatkan betapa kesusahan hidup semasa zaman kolonial British. Hal ini bertepatan dengan apa yang disebut oleh Ustaz Mohd Syafie kepada saya, "Kami orang Melayu Islam Myanmar bukan sahaja menjadi rakyat taat, mengikut pemerintah sebagai rakyat yang baik, bahkan pernah bersama-sama membantu perjaungan kemerdekaan negara ini..."<br /><br />"Eh betul ke? Maaf.. saya belum tahu lagi sejarah ini."<br /><p>"Begini.." Katanya lagi, sambil membetulkan kedudukan di kusyen lama di ruang tamu. Anak gadisnya datang menghidangkan air yang disuruh buatkan. "Pada 1 April 1937, Myanmar berjuang untuk mendapatkan pentadbiran berasingan dari British di India. Pada 1940an, 30 komrad telah menerima latihan ketenteraan di Jepun diketuai Ang San atau dipanggil juga Bucu Asa. Kamu tahu siapa dia?" Saya menggeleng kepala.<br /></p><p>Jelasnya lagi, "Ang San atau Bucu Asa yang telah mengasaskan Tentera Kemerdekaan Burma. Dia yang memimpin Liga Kemerdekaan Rakyat Anti Fasis (AFPFL) pada 1945, berjuang memerdekakan Myanmar dari cengkaman Jepun. Dia sendiri akhirnya terkorban dibunuh oleh musuh-musuh politiknya pada 1947. Semasa Perang Dunia Kedua, Myanmar atau Burma yang dikenali juga dengan 'Negara Seribu Pagoda' menjadi barisan depan berhadapan dengan penjajahan tentera Jepun di Asia Tenggara. Pemerintahan British dikalahkan dengan teruk oleh tentera Jepun. Lebih 300,000 buruh India dan Anglo-Burma melarikan diri ke dalam hutan dan tiba di India."</p><p>"Memang puak-puak itu bukan puak perjuangan, puak cari duit saja. Patut pun mereka lari!" Sampuk Mohammad Yusuf.<br /></p><p>"Tetapi tentera India British kembali menyerang semula dan merampas Myanmar pada Julai 1947. Ramai rakyat Burma berjuang bersama tentera Jepun, ramai juga yang berkhidmat dengan Tentera British Burma termasuk pahlawan Aung San yang terkorban itu. Yang saya nak jelaskan, orang kuat atau tulang belakang pahlawan tersebut adalah seorang yang bernama Abdul Razak. Dia adalah orang Melayu yang beragama Islam. Dan... pahlawan yang dibantu itu adalah ayah kepada Suu Kyi, seorang yang dikenali sekarang sebagai pejuang demokrasi bergelar Aung San Suu Kyi, yang ayahnya terkorban semasa dia masih berumur 2 tahun."</p><p>"Oh. Jadi bangsa Melayu Islam memang ada bakti dan bukti dalam perjuangan membebaskan kemerdekaan Myanmar!" Kata saya.</p><p>Tiba-tiba Mohammad Yusuf mengeluarkan dua jenis wang kertas Myanmar dan menunjukkan kepada saya gambar yang tertera di duit itu, "Ni gambar panglima Aung San, kerajaan Myanmar menghormatinya sebagai pejuang bangsa di duit ini, cuma bangsa Melayu yang menjadi orang kuatnya tidak ditonjol. Bahkan hak bangsa Melayu dan Islam di negara itu telah dinafikan." katanya sambil mengetap bibir, walaupun Mohammad Yusuf bukan keturunan Melayu tetapi beragama Islam.</p><p>"Tetapi hak mengamalkan Islam di sini tidak dilarang!" Saya cuba mententeramkan. "Itu gambar 2 gadis yang tergantung di dinding itu masih boleh berpakaian menutup aurat. Orang kampung masih boleh mendirikan masjid dan tidak dilarang sembahyang. Tuan Haji masih boleh berurusan dengan orang Islam di luar negara.."</p><p>"Itu betul. Tetapi ibadat bukan cuma ibadat khusus sahaja, ada ibadat umum.. peribadi, keluarga, masyarakat bahkan negara, pendidikan, perundangan dan syariat Islam. Kalau beragama yang menegur atau menghalang kezaliman pemerintah tentu mereka marah." Ustaz itu menjelaskan. Sedang mataku masih merenung gambar dua gadis yang cantik manis sama seperti gadis Melayu di kampung-kampung di Malaysia.</p><p>"Gambar gadis itu adalah anak saya. Memanglah saya didik suruh pakai tudung menutup aurat, bersekolah agama dan mengamalkan cara hidup Islam. Baru-baru ini kami penduduk Islam di sini buat majlis pertemuan dengan Duta Malaysia, tidak dilarang oleh pemerintah. Bahkan tuan duta itu terkejut melihat ramai dan banyaknya kampung-kampung Melayu di sini. Ramai yang berhubungan dengan negara Malaysia.. dan anak saya pun ada yang berkahwin dengan pemuda Malaysia." Katanya dengan ramah dan sentiasa tersenyum.</p><p>Ringkas.. akhirnya saya minta diri dulu. Tiba-tiba anak gadisnya yang menghidang air rupanya seperti di dalam gambar itu melintas. "Itu anak gadis saya yang bongsu.. " Katanya. Terfikir-fikir pula saya, kalau ada anak-anak muda Malaysia ingin beristeri orang Myanmar, yang sesuai boleh saya rokemenkan. Kerana sangat tertarik.. kalau dengan saya memanglah tak padan!! Siapa berminat sila beritahu...<br /></p><p>As-salamu alaikum??<span style="COLOR: rgb(255,0,0)"><strong><br /></strong></span></p><p><span style="COLOR: rgb(255,0,0)"><strong>Ibnu Hasyim Catatan Perjalanan</strong></span><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(255,0,0)"><strong>alamat e-mail: </strong></span><a href="mailto:ibnuhasyim@gmail.com"><span style="COLOR: rgb(255,0,0)"><strong>ibnuhasyim@gmail.com</strong></span></a><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(255,0,0)"><strong>Malaysia Julai 06, 2009.</strong></span></p>Muslim Tourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16660380872159352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330478300414214475.post-81215926101154232262010-06-18T00:18:00.000-07:002010-06-21T22:04:29.595-07:00Myanmar Muslim Tour : Pembangunan Hambat Orang Melayu..<h2 class="date-header"><span style="font-size:+0;">Sunday, June 28, 2009</span></h2><a name="2001578175333339"></a><h3 class="post-title entry-title"><a href="http://www.ibnuhasyim.com/2009/06/pembangunan-hambat-orang-melayu_28.html">Pembangunan Hambat Orang Melayu..</a> </h3><div class="post-header"><div class="post-header-line-1"><span class="post-author vcard">Posted by <span class="fn">Ibnu Hasyim</span> </span><span class="post-timestamp">at <a class="timestamp-link" title="permanent link" href="http://www.ibnuhasyim.com/2009/06/pembangunan-hambat-orang-melayu_28.html" rel="bookmark"><abbr class="published" title="2009-06-28T19:48:00+08:00">7:48 PM</abbr></a> </span><span class="post-labels"></span></div></div><span style="COLOR: rgb(255,0,0)"><strong>CATATAN PERJALANAN: MYANMAR 2<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 364px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 113px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352654889840125490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsy4Rh0wQZBmdkbmkiPwO9w_P7-xB5Jwvz0VPO3AhQQ5av16dVl7THI_d3bRrAn8fdjC4QYDRs1_pY2aLWzQ0cnDIPhibwKp-tqzYfr-9_Bw16YNS7bjcGyuUVNB4GsIpQFhfVuDqeI2j0/s400/1002.jpg" /></strong></span> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPjwjJYXSszhBV-189JQuFKg8xbX4say17CF4i1K2rBlNwS_r5_xsmUIMOJ9nYjCHNBhEI2i21HQyeviZm9Na6wfwhkVD7QMmS9XfbOIRtyFpKVm4susEjXfHUqGbFt0IZnSlNAXI8HZTt/s1600-h/PICT0515.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 360px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 269px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352654882768318850" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPjwjJYXSszhBV-189JQuFKg8xbX4say17CF4i1K2rBlNwS_r5_xsmUIMOJ9nYjCHNBhEI2i21HQyeviZm9Na6wfwhkVD7QMmS9XfbOIRtyFpKVm4susEjXfHUqGbFt0IZnSlNAXI8HZTt/s400/PICT0515.JPG" /></a><em><span style="COLOR: rgb(255,0,0)"> Ibnu Hasyim(kiri) bersama rakan pembawa motosikal tambang Mohammd Yusuf.<br /><br /></span></em><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkt9LIBJ1PPgtzHpB4Bycg7q3boj2XUPc4RhZgsq_3wC_TRqAP5tQHWa6czwWTFC_0yWHjVzLWApfKrHocPwGNQEHY6zP0QQiHomYsaOe8EJuw5_LWNBpdKwuCR2ktoQsGXlwW6Dn2TzdB/s1600-h/1001.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 381px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 176px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352654878220244130" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkt9LIBJ1PPgtzHpB4Bycg7q3boj2XUPc4RhZgsq_3wC_TRqAP5tQHWa6czwWTFC_0yWHjVzLWApfKrHocPwGNQEHY6zP0QQiHomYsaOe8EJuw5_LWNBpdKwuCR2ktoQsGXlwW6Dn2TzdB/s400/1001.jpg" /></a><br />"JOM kita pergi ke pulau Tongtong pula!"<br /><br />"Pulau Tongtong?" Saya tanya kerana puluhan tahun dulu saya pernah dengar nama itu sewaktu saya berziarah di Pulau Pinggai. "Dulu khabarnya, tiada langsung orang bukan Islam di sana. Sekarang bagimana?"<br /><br />"Oh.. Sekarang sudah maju. Pulau itu berhampiran Pulau Dua, kerajaan dah buat jambatan ke sana." Jawab temanku yang sedang membawaku. Apabila berjalan beberapa kilometer, kami pun sampai. Kami belok di tepi laut melintasi sebuah jambatan. Bukan jambatan, tetapi tanah yang ditambak, macam Tambak Johor cuma tidak sepanjang Tambak Johor. Tambak tanah merah sahaja berdindingkan batu-bata dan kayu bakau yang dipacak. Hanya untuk motosikal, kereta belum boleh lalu.<br /><br />Walau naik motosikal, tapi terasa macam naik kuda. Sampai ke 2/3 perjalanan atas jambatan, tiba-tiba jambatan seolah-olah terputus. Rupanya air laut sedang pasang, tenggelam kira-kira sekaki. Namun mosikal kami tetap merempuh dan merentas juga. Kalau tersangkut dan terbalik, ha.. kuyuplah aku! Itupun kena tol lagi!! Kalau dengar kepada puak-puak UMNO kampung di Malaysia, tentu dia kata, tenguk kerajaan BN lagi baik, buat jalan cantik, walaupun tolnya tinggi. Dia tak tahu ke kerajaan komunis pun pandai jaga kepentingan pembangunan rakyatnya. Kerajaan Thai dah setahun beri pengangkutan percuma rakyatnya naik keretapi dan sebahagian bas-bas di kota.<br /><br />Sesampai ke dalam pulau, kami melawati kampung-kampung Melayu. Suara azan bergema dari sebuah masjid. Ramai orang Melayu-Islam penduduk asal di sana. Walaupun begitu ramai juga orang Burma atau Myanmar dan yang bukan Islam berpindah tinggal di sana. Hingga ke hujung pulau kerajaannya membuat kawasan peranginan di tepi pantai, kedai makan, rumah dan bilik-bilik sewa. Semasa berehat di bawah payung atap yang disediakan, saya renung ke laut, nampak perempuan cantik di atas batu dalam laut, berendam tidak bergerak-gerak. Rupanya bukan manusia, patung ikan duyung!<br /><br />"Di sinilah perempuan-perempuan lacur dibawa dari utara ke mari." Kata kawan saya itu sambil menunjukkan arah rumah-rumah sewa yang tersebut.<br /><br />"Siapa pelanggan-pelanggannya?"<br /><br />"Orang-orang dari Yangon dan kawasan diutara daerah ini! Bukan orang luar, pelancung seperti encik. Encik sebenarnya tidak boleh keluar dari pekan Pulau Dua sekitar 3 batu persegi. Pihak polis sentiasa membuat siasat mengejut mencari pelancung yang melanggar perintah. Sebenarnya encik dah melanggar peraturan.." jelas kawan saya lagi. Saya diam tiada peduli, dia yang bawa saya. "Itulah pembangunan yang menghambat orang Melayu. Mereka cuba menggugat agama orang Melayu. Mereka cuba menutup pengaruh orang luar kepada rakyat tempatan. Memang dulu tiada orang kafir di sini, sekarang sudah diimport ramai-ramai!"<br /><br />Teringat saya kepada sejarah di Malaysia. Asalnya orang Melayu-Islam ramai dengan peratus yang tinggi, sekarang sudah berkurang, walaupun masih majoriti. Sehingga orang bukan Islam memiliki kuasa penentu dalam politik Malaysia. Teringat saya kepada ceramah Prof Dr Zulkifli Muhammad Timbalan atau Naib YDP Agung PAS di zaman Dr Burhanuddin Al-Helmy, antara kata-katanya lebih kurang, 'Orang Melayu (Malaysia) tidak akan dapat dihambat dengan muncung senapang, tetapi dihambat melalui projak-projek pembangunan terhimpit tersepit hingga kebukit... '<br /><br />Seperti yang dilakukan di Singapura, penempatan orang Melayu dipecah-pecahkan, supaya mudah diperintah. Begitu juga kata musuh-musuh Islam dari Barat (British) dan Timur (Marxis), 'umat Islam tidak akan dapat ditewaskan dengan kekerasan selagi ia berpegang kepada Al-quran, tetapi hendaklah dipisahkan mereka dari agama mereka' melalui arak, dadah, lagu-lagu hiburan, politik asobiah dan lain-lain.Muslim Tourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16660380872159352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330478300414214475.post-69558087373619918262010-06-18T00:16:00.000-07:002010-06-21T22:04:49.915-07:00Myanmar Muslim Tour : Myanmar Juga Milik Orang Melayu<h2 class="date-header"><span style="font-size:+0;">Thursday, July 2, 2009</span></h2><a name="6412429998752690531"></a><h3 class="post-title entry-title"><a href="http://www.ibnuhasyim.com/2009/07/myanmar-juga-milik-orang-melayu.html">Myanmar Juga Milik Orang Melayu</a> </h3><div class="post-header"><div class="post-header-line-1"><span class="post-author vcard">Posted by <span class="fn">Ibnu Hasyim</span> </span><span class="post-timestamp">at <a class="timestamp-link" title="permanent link" href="http://www.ibnuhasyim.com/2009/07/myanmar-juga-milik-orang-melayu.html" rel="bookmark"><abbr class="published" title="2009-07-02T19:11:00+08:00">7:11 PM</abbr></a> </span><span class="post-labels"></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeGc57bDrNxIg17yCPSmujnn4NpMbhwSFyrSEcIz5kE6DoTXfrRR68Jp9vDNA-1X8Ah9Sll7uEc59aY4TbgpgIufEU4QTASBE9PAQSNabJnnqaZdiYkL9WeOQeFTyLkE3bP236zgZya25o/s1600-h/3.2.jpeg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 271px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 204px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353921977225717730" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeGc57bDrNxIg17yCPSmujnn4NpMbhwSFyrSEcIz5kE6DoTXfrRR68Jp9vDNA-1X8Ah9Sll7uEc59aY4TbgpgIufEU4QTASBE9PAQSNabJnnqaZdiYkL9WeOQeFTyLkE3bP236zgZya25o/s400/3.2.jpeg" /></a><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(255,0,0)"><strong>CATATAN PERJALANAN: MYANMAR 3<br /></strong></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfb4VGWZy2zUzjap1eYxVUk_Vqyx2yDHixVUOd-kxKxQHCOgWRYn5jLeCOyurleS45vK7NlLX_WQz77WoONkG4R3W-lgfFF-dgmpLZzlScuTp03ReOtSqXJNdyvSIaAXXjN3cK2ers8Rrq/s1600-h/3.1.jpeg"><img style="MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; WIDTH: 136px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353922248566442706" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfb4VGWZy2zUzjap1eYxVUk_Vqyx2yDHixVUOd-kxKxQHCOgWRYn5jLeCOyurleS45vK7NlLX_WQz77WoONkG4R3W-lgfFF-dgmpLZzlScuTp03ReOtSqXJNdyvSIaAXXjN3cK2ers8Rrq/s400/3.1.jpeg" /></a><br />PERJALANAN diteruskan. Kini kami ke rumah Ustaz Haji Mohd Yusof, bukan Muhammad Yusuf pemandu motosikal yang membawa saya ke sana itu. Dari Pulau Tongtong, ke Sepuluh Batu. Kampung yang di bawah pohon-pohon nyiur melambai-lambai, di atas tanah pasir putih bersih di tepi laut. Rumah papan tradional orang Melayu.<br /><br />Disambutnya kami dengan mesra, saya memberitahu hasrat nak tahu mengenai orang Melayu Pulau Dua ini, setelah menjemput kami masuk, katanya... "Dulu sebelum bandar Pulau Dua yang ada sekarang menjadi pusat pemerintahan wilayah Kawthoung di Myanmar, pusat pemerintahannya adalah di Malay One.. beberapa batu lagi tambah jauh dari sini tinggalkan pekan Pulau Dua."<br /><br />"'Malay One'! Melayu Satu, perkataan Inggeris??" Saya tanya.<br /><br />"Ya. Inggeris menamakan tempat itu. Ertinya, Inggeris mengiktiraf orang Melayu sudah ada di sini." Jawabnya. "Nama Myanmar berasal dari istilah 'Myanma Naingngandaw' yang digunakan sejak abad ke 12 lagi. Tetapi asal-usulnya tidak begitu jelas." Menurutnya, nama itu digunakan semula dari nama sebelum itu 'Burma', pada 1989 dan telah diiktiraf oleh Pertubuhan Bangsa-bangsa Bersatu, tetapi tidak diiktiraf oleh Amerika Syarikat dan Inggeris, United Kingdom kerana ia diperintah oleh kerajaan junta.<br /><br />Bila saya lihat dalam Wikipedia, Myanmar merdeka dari United Kingdom pada 4 Januari 1948 sebagai 'Kesatuan Burma' . Kemudian bertukar kepada 'Republik Sosialis Kesatuan Burma' pada 4 Januari 1974. Akhirnya, sekali lagi bertukar kepada 'Kesatuan Burma' pada 23 September 1988. Maka pada 18 Jun 1989, Majlis Pelembagaan menukar nama kepada 'Kesatuan Mynamar' seperti yang ada sekarang.<br /><br />Myanmar bersempadan dengan Republik rakyat China di utara, Laos di timur, Thailand di tenggara, Laut Andaman di selatan serta Teluk Bengal di barat daya. Satu per tiga tanah Myanmar atau 1,930 km dikelilingi oleh pesisiran pantai dari keluasan Myanmar 678,500 km persegi. Negara terbesar di tanah benua Asia Tenggara dan ke 40 terbesar di dunia selepas Zambia, tetapi lebih kecil dari negeri Texas di Amerika Syarikat.<br /><br />"Rumah dan tanah tempat kami duduk di pesisir pantai ini adalah warisan turun temurun dari banga Melayu, seingat saya." Katanya "Walaupun pada 1989 kerajaan junta tentera telah mengubah nama 'Burma' yang digunakan Inggeris kepada Myanmar, dan banyak tempat lain turut ditukar, termasuklah bandar Rangoon kepada Yangon, namun nama-nama Melayu di selatan Myanmar masih lagi kekal, walau ada juga akhir-akhir ini cubaan menukar dari nama-nama itu kepada nama dalam bahasa Myanmar."<br /><br />"Contohnya??"<br /><br />"Ya. Contohnya, Pulau Dua, Pulau Tongtong (binatang sejenis penyu), Sungai Gelama (ikan), Sepuluh Batu, Kepala Batu, Tanjung Badai, Pasir Panjang, Malay One, Cham Prong (dalam bahasa Siam bererti 'sekor gajah' tetapi penghuninya orang Melayu Thai), Teluk China, Teluk Besar, Mek Puteh (nama wanita Melayu), Sungai Balai, Pulau Balai, Pulau Cek Ali (Nama lelaki Melayu Islam), Tanjung Peluru, Teluk Peluru, Tanjung Gasi, Pulau Rotan Helang, Pulau Senangin dan banyak lagi.." Jelas Mohd Yusof lagi.<br /><br />Sistem politik di Myanmar kini, di dikawal oleh Majlis Pembangunan dan Keamanan Negara yang menguasai kerajaan sejak 1992, dan dipimpin oleh kerajaan junta tentera di bawah Jeneral Than Shwe. Tentera Burma telah berjaya menguasai pemerintahan semenjak Jeneral Ne Win memimpin rampasan kuasa pada 1962 dan menumpaskan kerajaan awam pimpinan U Nu. Sepanjang pemerintahan Empayar British sehingga 1948, Burma terus berhadapan dengan masalah ketegangan kaum. Kebudayaan Myanmar, seperti jirannya juga, berasaskan kepercayaan Buddha Theravada dengan ubahsuai dan tambahan elemen tempatan.<br /><br />Begitulah kira-kira maklumat yang saya dapati setelah beberapa jam berziarah di rumahnya. Satu bukti, bumi dan negara Myanmar juga adalah milik bangsa Melayu. Saya bangun dan terlangak-langak mencari sesuatu di dalam rumahnya. "Kenapa?" Tanya isteri Mohd Yusof kepada saya.<br /><br />"Saya nak cari bilik air, nak berwuduk. Nak sholat dah agak lewat ni!!"<br /><br />"Oh! Di belakang rumah ini ada perigi... Tolong tunjukkan!" katanya pada suaminya.<br /><br />Ya. Saya pun ke pergi belakang rumah menggunakan perigi. Terbayang saya sewaktu kecil-kecil, menceduk air dari perigi kira-kira 30 ke 40 tahun dulu di kampung Balik Pulau Pulau Pinang. Hampir macam inilah, keadaannya. Menceduk dan mengangkut air, suatu kerja menolong ibu waktu kanak-kanak yang paling saya malas dan bosan...<br /><br />...bersambung.<br /><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(255,0,0)"><strong>Ibnu Hasyim Catatan Perjalanan</strong></span><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(255,0,0)"><strong>alamat e-mail: </strong></span><a href="mailto:ibnuhasyim@gmail.com"><span style="COLOR: rgb(255,0,0)"><strong>ibnuhasyim@gmail.com</strong></span></a><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(255,0,0); FONT-WEIGHT: bold">KL Julai 02 2009.</span>Muslim Tourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16660380872159352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330478300414214475.post-90314774737039299512010-06-18T00:12:00.000-07:002010-06-21T22:06:33.502-07:00Myanmar Muslim Tour : Orang Melayu Myanmar.<h2 class="date-header"><span style="font-size:0;">Sunday, June 28, 2009</span></h2><a name="3182918589894521102"></a><h3 class="post-title entry-title"></h3><h2 class="date-header"><span style="font-size:0;">Sunday, June 28, 2009</span></h2><a name="3182918589894521102"></a><h3 class="post-title entry-title"><a href="http://www.ibnuhasyim.com/2009/06/orang-melayu-myanmar.html">Orang Melayu Myanmar.</a> </h3><span class="post-author vcard">Posted by <span class="fn">Ibnu Hasyim</span> </span><span class="post-timestamp">at <a class="timestamp-link" title="permanent link" href="http://www.ibnuhasyim.com/2009/06/orang-melayu-myanmar.html" rel="bookmark"><abbr class="published" title="2009-06-28T10:34:00+08:00">10:34 AM</abbr></a> </span><h3 class="post-title entry-title"></h3><a href="http://www.ibnuhasyim.com/2009/06/orang-melayu-myanmar.html">http://www.ibnuhasyim.com/2009/06/orang-melayu-myanmar.html</a> <span style="COLOR: rgb(255,0,0)"><strong><br /><br />CATATAN PERJALANAN: MYANMAR 1<br /><br /></strong></span><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3obEjt5_i6gV7RFa8gcTsRVB49qiTovwrgRuF15pm5LZjzVnA_kttH4aWXadBEd_FG0SWQl6WsffPQ5j-B0EX-2bwzDbcBUDEVyDJezSrOacETx-uHTDGq0B6Jrep4iLu4G4waM6ExrXf/s1600-h/PICT0501.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352214687221000306" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3obEjt5_i6gV7RFa8gcTsRVB49qiTovwrgRuF15pm5LZjzVnA_kttH4aWXadBEd_FG0SWQl6WsffPQ5j-B0EX-2bwzDbcBUDEVyDJezSrOacETx-uHTDGq0B6Jrep4iLu4G4waM6ExrXf/s400/PICT0501.jpg" /></a> <span style="COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)"><em>Antara rumah Melayu tepi laut di Kampung Melayu 'Dua Batu'..</em></span></div><div align="center"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf2lmCcOKLto6r11IffP-2OJ_AlJSQA9maxrvO71-4NY359pexuMDptRNgtvbRjmW-A1sXr3XMqzzXinUvWzYKOjRRG9YY-p0CqQ8a9fFJVmLU2U1EWPXUpPXPd73_A_ZZNG_N4mP9F83X/s1600-h/PICT0516.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352213819388658114" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf2lmCcOKLto6r11IffP-2OJ_AlJSQA9maxrvO71-4NY359pexuMDptRNgtvbRjmW-A1sXr3XMqzzXinUvWzYKOjRRG9YY-p0CqQ8a9fFJVmLU2U1EWPXUpPXPd73_A_ZZNG_N4mP9F83X/s400/PICT0516.JPG" /></a><span style="COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)"><em>Salah sebuah masjid di pekan 'Pulau Dua' atau 'Victoria Point'. Di belakangnya macam nenara masjid juga, tetapi rumah ibadat orang Buddha.<br /></em></span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIL70Vglw3EhN6x89W51l171df9UXwJSs9fejIyhJgOnlu-NXGzvEKN5QMD50zKY06D5p2PSuZbe_vcYiIE5mFhfbXnKDMaGK29ACGFXtWvU2D-63xPwxljMITQPBNsPqgdpMy4vFtgLh3/s1600-h/PICT0487.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352212900568152498" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIL70Vglw3EhN6x89W51l171df9UXwJSs9fejIyhJgOnlu-NXGzvEKN5QMD50zKY06D5p2PSuZbe_vcYiIE5mFhfbXnKDMaGK29ACGFXtWvU2D-63xPwxljMITQPBNsPqgdpMy4vFtgLh3/s400/PICT0487.jpg" /></a><span style="COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)"><em> Gambar di pelabuhan Ranong Thailand, menuju Myanmar.<br /></em></span><br /><div align="left">SEMALAM selepas menulis pemberitahuan mengenai kemungkinan tidak dapat hadir berceramah di Tanjung Karang Selangaor, jam sudah hampir pukul 10 malam waktu Myanmar, kedai internet yang saya guna dah nak tutup. Saya terpaksa keluar dari situ. </div><br />Teringat saya tengahari tadi, waktu mula-mula sampai di Pulau Dua atau Victoria Point dalam daerah Kawthoung, sebuah semenanjung Selatan Myanmar. Semasa berada di pejabat imigresen membuat laporan, pegawainya memberitahu.. "Kami terpaksa simpan paspot anda.. dan anda kena tinggal di hotel yang ditetapkan, yakni cuma boleh di dua buah sahaja di sini. Tidak boleh keluar jauh dari kawasan ini (sekitar 3 kilometer sahaja)." katanya.<br /><br />"Bagaimana kalau saya nak ke Yangon?" Saya tanya.<br /><br />"Tak boleh.. kena ada visa khas. Kena minta permit profesional. Kena ada jaminan syarikat perniagaan di sini.."<br /><br />Saya nak jimatkan masa untuk pulang ke Malaysia cepat. "Sebagai pelancung pun tak boleh?"<br /><br />Dia menggeleng kepala. "Tak boleh!". Tegas tapi tersenyum. Saya pun bayar wang yang ditetapkan 10 AS dolar, lalu pergi, dan selesaikan masalah hotel pula.<br /><br />"Saya nak melawat saudara-saudara kita yang beragama Islam! Di mana mereka?" Saya tanya seorang pemandu motosikal tambang. Dia seorang Myanmar beragama Islam. Menurutnya, dia berketurunan bangsa Pusto-Myanmar, yang masuk Islam di zaman remaja puluhan tahun lalu berkahwin dengan gadis Melayu warga Myanmar. Dia pernah bekerja di Malaysia dan pandai bahasa Malaysia, dia memilih nama Muhammad Yusof.<br /><br />"Jom kita pergi ke kampung Melayu 'Dua Batu'!" Sebenarnya batu ke 2, tetapi begitu sebutan orang di sana. Dari pekan itu kami bertolak dengan motosikal melalui jalanraya hingga ke batu 2 itu, kami turun bukit arah pantai menyusup di celah-celah rumah orang Melayu. Macam rumah-rumah tradisional lama orang Kedah. Berselerak, tidak teratur di atas pasir putih pantai. Melintasi beberapa kawasan perigi tempat mandi, ramai wanita-wanita dan gadis sedang mandi berkemban. Macam budaya orang Melayu di Malaysia dulunya. Tak sampai hati saya nak ambil gambar.. malu.<br /><br />Apabila mereka tahu saya orang Malaysia, ramai-ramai tunggu di muka pintu rumah masing-masing. Belum sempat saya beri salam, mereka beri salam dulu, dengan senyam ajak naik ke rumah. "Mai minum kopi dulu!" kata mereka dalam bahasa Melayu loghat Kedah atau Satun, selatan Thai.<br /><br />Saya pun singgah di salah sebuah rumah. Rumah itu berbumbung dan dinding dari atap nipah. Makin ramai yang datang berkumpul. "Ada berapa rumah orang Melayu di sini?"<br /><br />"Kira-kira 100 buah.. Semuanya Melayu beragama Islam! Hidup ikut budaya orang Melayu. Ajak la kawan-kawan dari Malaysia mai jenguk-jenguk tenguk kami ni!" Jawabnya.<br /><br />Saya tanya lagi, "Banyak ke lagi kampung Melayu macam ni di Pualau Dua ni?"<br /><br />"Lebih dari sepuluh kampung!". Begitulah mesranya mereka.. kerana bertemu sesama Islam yang berjauahan dan satu turunan pula. Akhirnya kami berpisah.<br /><br />"Jom kita ke kampung Melayu yang lain pula. kita jumpa pemimpin dan tok guru mereka pula!" Pelawa Mohd Yusof pemandu motosikal tambang itu.<br /><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(204,0,0)"><strong>Ibnu Hasyim Catatan Perjalanan</strong></span><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(255,0,0); FONT-WEIGHT: bold">alamat e-mail: ibnuhasyim@gmail.com</span><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(204,0,0)"><strong>Pulau Dua Selatan Myanmar</strong></span><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(204,0,0)"><strong>Jun 28, 11.10 pagi waktu Myanmar.</strong></span><br /><br />Sila lihat catatan lalu.. Wednesday, April 16, 2008Muslim Tourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16660380872159352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330478300414214475.post-47531279651570612912010-06-17T23:57:00.000-07:002010-06-21T22:06:58.774-07:00Myanmar Muslim Tour : bahasa kedah di myanmarPendekar Ibnu Hasyim: CATATAN PERJALANAN<br /><br />BARU-BARU ini keluar berita mengenai ramai pendatang-pendatang Myanmar tanpa izin mati di dalam kontena telah dijumpai oleh pihak berkuasa Thailand, di kawasan Ranong. Ranong adalah sebuah bandar pelabuhan bersempadan dengan Selatan Myanmar… Hal ini mengingatkan saya kepada pengalaman melintasi sempadan melalui laut dari Ranong ke Victoria Island sebuah pulau, di hujung bawah selatan dalam negeri Myanmar.<br /><br />Saya juga pergi-balik ke situ Thai-Myanmar dengan tanpa izin, iaitu tidak menggunakan pasport atau istilahnya secara haram. Tongkang kecil yang saya tumpangi sarat muatan kira-kira 30 penumpang melayari laut biru yang tenang masa itu. Sahabat saya orang tempatan menasihatkan supaya membuka cermin mata yang saya pakai, biar nampak macam orang tempatan yang biasanya nelayan-nelayan tidak pakai cermin mata, bila melalui pusat kawalan sempadan di pertengahan jalan.<br /><br />Hal ini dilakukan supaya saya tidak ditahan imigresen kerana tidak tunjukkan pasport, menunjukkan betapa mudahnya menyeberang sempadan laut dari Myanmar. Tongkang kami terus membelah lautan kecil itu hingga ke distinasinya. Dari jauh nampak kesibukan penghuni-penghuni pulau kecil itu. Ramai orang Islam di situ. Menarik, bila sampai, saya lihat pekerja-pekerja kontek yang lelakinya mengangkat batu-bata cuma pakai kain pelikat, disenteng ke paras lutut sahaja.<br /><br />Mereka lihat saya sebagai orang luar beragama Islam dengan begitu mesra. “As-salamu ‘alaikum?” Sapa saya.<br /><br />“Wa’alaikumus salam warahmatullah!” Jawab salah seorang dari mereka.<br /><br />Saya pergi solat sunat ke sebuah masjid di situ. Keluar dari masjid, tiba-tiba seseorang memberi salam dan bertanya saya dari mana…<br /><br />“Dari selatan Thai.” Jawab saya.<br /><br />“Heiyy.. Hang habak betui-betui, Aku tengok cara hang pun aku tau.. hang dari Malaysia.” Jawabnya dalam bahasa loghat utara. Kami bersalaman. “Jangan takut.. Di sini aman. Tak dak kacau-kacau. Jom kita jalan sama-sama.”<br /><br />Begitulah, sesudah kami berjalan-jalan sekitar pekan itu, dia perkenalkan ramai kawan-kawannya, yang semuanya berbahasa Melayu loghat Kedah. Saya seolah-olah berada di negara sendiri, bukan di Myanmar lagi. Saya melawat beberapa kedai yang berderetan. Ada sebuah kedai berisi biji gajus, juga disebut ‘janggus’, yang penuh di dalamnya. Mungkin dari situlah dieksport ke Thailand. Banyak juga kedai yang menjual batu-batu permata dari Myanmar.<br /><br />Begitu juga gelas-gelas dan barangan kaca mungkin buatan China. Ada peti besi bertulis ‘Made in Malaysia’ macam yang pernah digunakan oleh nenek saya di kampung Pulau Pinang dulu. Sakarang dah tak ada lagi. Ada minyak atar atau minyak wangi cap ular, juga sekarang sudah tak nampak lagi digunakan di Malaysia, kerana dulunya memang termasyhor. Ada minyak panas berjenama terkenal di Malaysia dulunya, iaitu ‘Tiger Balm’.<br /><br />Di situ sempat pula seorang wanita muda jelita bertudung kepala, mungkin anak taukeh kedai itu bertanya saya, “Encik dari Malaysia? Boleh tolong dapatkan maklumat bagaimana saya nak masuk ke Unversiti Islam Antarabangsa (UIA) di negara encik?” Begitu, anggapan dan harapan mereka terhadap perkembangan Islam di negara kita. Lepas itu dalam perjalanan pulang, saya singgah di sebuah pulau bernama Pinggai, erti bahasa Melayunya ‘Tempayan Pecah’. Pulau tersebut walaupun bersempadan dengan Myanmar tetapi masih dalam negara Thai.<br /><br />“As-salamu ‘alaikum? Selamat datang ke Pulau Ping Gai!” Kata pengulu pulau itu, semasa saya sampai di jeti pelabuhan dan berkenalan dengannya.<br /><br />Ahli keluarganya yang bernama Tok Adam mula-mula meneroka pulau itu kira-kira ratusan tahun lalu. Adam berasal dari negeri Kedah, Semenanjung Tanah Melayu. “Tu pasai kami di sini semua cakap bahasa Kedah. Semua penduduk di sini beragama Islam. Takdak sekoq pun kapiaq Siam dok di sini. Macam tu jugak di Pulau Tongtong di sempadan balik sana.. di Myanmar. Semuanya Islam, cakap Kedah belaka. Depa pun kawan-kawan kita jugak.” Katanya lagi.<br /><br />“Al-hamdulillah!”<br /><br />“Jom ke rumah saya. Kita makan-makan. Lepas tu, kalau nak jalan-jalan melawat pulau ni boleh la. Hujung sana ada sebuah masjid, sekolah taman bimbingan Islam, cikgunya mai dari Pattani dan ada juga sebuah pusat kesihatan kecik kerajaan…”<br /><br />Dari jeti saya diiring ke rumahnya. Di perjalanan anak mereka sedang mandi-manda di air laut yang sedang pasang. Berbogel.. dan terjun, menyelam, berkejar-kejaran. Ikan-ikan kecil berlarian di air yang bagaikan cermin jernihnya. Se sampai di rumahnya, isterinya terus masak nasi tengahari dengan ikan besar yang baru di tangkap dari laut sebagai lauk. Bila dimakan jelas terasa lemak manis dan sedapnya. “Al-hamdulillah! Allah pertemukan saya dengan mereka yang se agama di sini, tidak disangka-sangka!” Kotak fikir bergolak.<br /><br />“Kalau nak jalan-jalan di pulau ni, silakan! Nak tidur dan bermalam di sini pun takpa, rumah saya sentiasa terbukak!!” Katanya ikhlas mempelawa saya. Saya sempat melawat sekitar pulau itu dan akhir singgah solat di masjid.<br /><br />“Maaf. Saya memang suka tidur di sini, tetapi saya sudah berjanji dengan seseorang untuk tidur di rumahnya di bandar Ranong malam ini.” Saya jelaskan.<br /><br />“Oh, kalau lagu tu takpa. Takpa nu. Kalau ada umuq lain kali kita jumpak lagi, insya Allah!!”<br /><br />Masih terngiang-nyiang di telinga saya, pesanan akhir darinya sewaktu menghantar saya di pelabuhan. Katanya, “Bila hang sampai di Malaysia jumpak orang Kedah, kalau ada kesempatan kirim salam kat depa nu, kata kat dia… Nun jauh hampiaq ribu-ribu batu dari negeri hampa di ujung selatan Burma sana, ada sekumpulan manusia yang sama keturunan dengan hampa sama-sama Kedah, sama-sama cakap Kedah sedang teringat dan rindu kat hampa. Mai la ziarah kami, bila-bila masa saja, kami sentiasa tunggu dengan gembira! Mai la!!”<br /><br />Hal ini berlaku kira-kira 10 tahun yang lalu. Bersambung.. Insya Allah.<br /><br />Sila ikuti catatan perjalanan penulis ke Kemboja, Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia, Filipina, Pakistan dan Saudi Arabia di blog penulis bawah tajuk-tajuk berikut:<br /><br />i. Orang Melayu Kemboja I & 2 ii. Demontrasi Adalah Tunjuk Perasaan I & 2 iii. Wanita Muda Kehausan I & 2 iv. Kerdipan Sebelah Mata Pelacur 1 & 2 v. Jajah Melalui Fikiran, Budaya & Filem…<br /><br />Catatan Perjalanan: ibnuhasyim. blogspot.com (e-mail: ibnuhasyim@gmail.com) 15-04-08KL.Muslim Tourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16660380872159352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330478300414214475.post-55959588680646845642010-06-17T20:10:00.000-07:002010-06-21T22:07:17.569-07:00Myanmar Muslim Tour : Tour of the Old Kingdoms: Yangon, Myanmar<h2><a title="Permanent Link to Tour of the Old Kingdoms: Yangon, Myanmar" href="http://maurina.wordpress.com/2010/05/29/tour-of-the-old-kingdoms-yangon-myanmar/" rel="bookmark">our of the Old Kingdoms: Yangon, Myanmar</a></h2><div class="date">May 29, 2010</div><!--end post header--><div class="meta clear">by Maurina<br /><a href="http://maurina.wordpress.com/2010/05/29/tour-of-the-old-kingdoms-yangon-myanmar/">http://maurina.wordpress.com/2010/05/29/tour-of-the-old-kingdoms-yangon-myanmar/</a></div><!--end meta--><div class="entry clear"><div class="snap_preview"><p>Yangon, also known as Rangoon, is the former capital of Myanmar. That is, before the Junta ruling over the country suddenly decided that they wanted to move the capital to Naypyidaw. It was my first time here and it really was a charming place. I’ve really never been to a place quite like it. Many things here are just so out of this world that sometimes, I don’t even know what to say. Haha.</p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs538.ash1/31516_10150189860555510_866060509_12574292_7455659_n.jpg" width="432" height="576" /></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center">The view of golden land, Myanmar as we descended towards the airport.</p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">Below are just some of the more memorable things about Yangon. You may or may not agree with my opinions.</p><p><strong>The electricity goes off every few hours. </strong></p><p><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 24px;font-family:Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif;font-size:16;" >It occurs everywhere and also goes off randomly so you cannot time it. Night or day, you never know! I was there a short while and it was quite comical for me especially when it seem like we’re the only ones reacting to the power cut haha but I imagine it to be inconvenient and extremely frustrating for residents living there. </span></p><p><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 24px;font-family:Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif;font-size:16;" >What if you’re halfway through baking a cake? What if you’re streaming an episode of your favorite series? What if you’re taking a hot shower? What if you just came home from a long and HOT day and had just sat down to luxuriate under the aircond?</span></p><p>But as I stayed there longer, I became used to the random power cuts. It’s not like you can do anything about it anyway. They usually last about an hour or so. Maybe more in some areas. However, I got the shock of my life when I was sitting down at the airport waiting for my flight and the electricity went off. Haha.</p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs565.snc3/30846_10150190846600510_866060509_12595089_4493674_n.jpg" width="576" height="432" />It does explain why the boarding pass is handwritten!</p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">It also explains why the computers provided in the airport looks as if they are for decorative/ornamental purposes. Can you imagine if they were to actually be dependent on the computers? I cannot imagine the amount of lost data! Not to mention delayed flights and a whole load of crazy disorganization!</p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><strong>Coming to Yangon feels a bit like going back in time. </strong></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">It’s true! The buildings, music, fashion, buses, the cars there, are all so 80s!</p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs301.snc3/28661_423693844574_561319574_5590929_5087079_n.jpg" width="576" height="384" />An interesting fact: if you look at the buses closely you’ll realise they have a lot of Japanese writing on the back, on the side, on the front. I wondered about this when I was there but I guess I never ventured further. A few days ago, I was reading <a href="http://clickandrender.blogspot.com/2009/10/yangon-botataung-bohtataung-pagoda.html">my friend’s Daphne and our Japanese friend from SSEAYP, Romi’s, account of their Myanmar trip</a> and found out this:</p><blockquote><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">R was getting so excited over the many old Japanese public buses which she used to go on when she was little. I am guessing that Japan may have donated some of these as Japan is also very much involved with funding in the restoration of Cambodia’s ancient temples.</p></blockquote><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">That totally made sense.</p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">Even when boyfriend/girlfriends go dating, it’s a lot like P. Ramlee movies where they “berjumpaaaaa di taman Firdauusieeeee, bersamaaaa memaduuuuu asmaraaaaa~~~”. Haha, they will walk in the park, sit together, then the guy will buy flowers or mango for the lady and they whisper sweet nothings in each other’s ear as they watch the sun set.</p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs301.snc3/28661_423696604574_561319574_5591263_4354737_n.jpg" width="384" height="576" />This was at Inya Lake, apparently a popular dating spot.</p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">It’s really sweet! <img class="wp-smiley" alt=":D" src="http://s.wordpress.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif" /> </p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">Further examples of “going back in time” was when we went to a mall there, and they’re still selling the likes of Walkman, Discman and all that. One shop called the “Music Centre” and we were amused to see that they were selling cassettes instead of CDs! Hehe. I find that really cute indeed!</p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">I wish we could’ve taken photos but apparently photo taking is not allowed in any shops. In fact, the security guard will follow you everywhere! Which brings me to the next point.</p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><strong>Security guards will follow you everywhere </strong></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">We just came from Bangkok where there is a very strong military presence due to the red shirt protests. It somehow dulled our senses a bit while we were there. However, now in retrospect, actually there is a strong military presence as well in Yangon, particularly in commercial areas cause there’s many people there. This may have be caused by the bombing during the water festival <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h5ipPkO3aVrrDbg6eJMFXh79R68Q">only a few days before we came</a>. When we come to malls or whatever, we’ll be constantly followed by security guards, eyeing us suspiciously. Hehe. It’s very intimidating I think.</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><strong>Everyone wears makeup</strong></span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs525.ash1/30846_10150190491785510_866060509_12586018_7728192_n.jpg" width="432" height="576" />There’s this foundation thing that they wear only on their cheeks called the <em>thanaka</em>. It’s apparently made out of the root of a plant, ground to a paste and slapped on the face every morning!</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs578.snc3/31516_10150189862610510_866060509_12574348_4759792_n.jpg" width="576" height="432" /></span></p><p><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">According to Wikipedia:</span></p><blockquote><p><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanaka">Thanaka cream</a> has been used by Burmese women for over 2000 years.<sup><a href="http://maurina.wordpress.com/#cite_note-mizzima-3">[4]</a></sup>It has a fragrant scent somewhat similar to <a title="Sandalwood" href="http://maurina.wordpress.com/wiki/Sandalwood">sandalwood</a>.<sup><a href="http://maurina.wordpress.com/#cite_note-plants-1">[2]</a></sup><sup><a href="http://maurina.wordpress.com/#cite_note-5">[6]</a></sup>The creamy paste is applied to the face in attractive designs, the most common form being a circular patch on each cheek, sometimes made stripey with the fingers known as <em>thanaka bè gya</em>, or patterned in the shape of a leaf, often also highlighting the bridge of the nose with it at the same time.<sup><a href="http://maurina.wordpress.com/#cite_note-mizzima-3">[4]</a></sup> It may be applied from head to toe (<em>thanaka chi zoun gaung zoun</em>). Apart from cosmetic beauty, thanaka also gives a cooling sensation and provides protection from <a title="Sunburn" href="http://maurina.wordpress.com/wiki/Sunburn">sunburn</a>.<sup><a href="http://maurina.wordpress.com/#cite_note-streissguth-0">[1]</a></sup> It is believed to help remove acne and promote smooth skin.<sup><a href="http://maurina.wordpress.com/#cite_note-mizzima-3">[4]</a></sup> It is also an anti-fungal</span></p></blockquote><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs578.snc3/31516_10150189862540510_866060509_12574347_508385_n.jpg" width="576" height="432" />So cool right? Haha, saw some sold in the shops for cheap but smells kinda like betelnut so NO THANKS! </span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><strong>Everything smells like pinang!</strong></span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><em>Pinang</em> is Malay for betelnut, or areca nut. When I come to a country, one of the first things that I notice is the smell of the country. India smells a bit like pee and garam masala, Thailand smells like rivers, somtham and in some areas, dogs. Malaysia smells like rice, China smells like salty and soy sauce, Manila smells <em>lantuh</em> like wet earth, Japan smells like cold and fish.</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">Well, everything in Yangon smells like pinang! In fact, if I get a Burmese boyfriend, he will probably smell like pinang.</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><strong>A thriving Muslim community</strong></span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs578.snc3/31516_10150189861470510_866060509_12574318_7783982_n.jpg" width="432" height="576" />I was very surprised to how easy it was to find halal restaurants in Yangon. In fact one of the more popular foods here is briyani! Not surprising really if you consider how near Myanmar is with India and Bangladesh, but I always associate Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam together so it was surprising to me! </span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs538.ash1/31516_10150189861620510_866060509_12574321_996252_n.jpg" width="576" height="432" />It’s a very mild version of biryani, not too spicy. It’s quite yummy really and the chicken is tender and yummy. Feels like they used <em>ayam kampong</em>. Not too impossible considering how everything here is stripped to the bare minimum.</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">Also, as we’ve discovered, as we’re walking down to the parking lot of Bogyoke Market, I suddenly hear azan! It was unmistakable: <strong>Allahuakbar allahuakbar</strong>! I was so surprised to hear it in downtown Yangon no less. Apparently there was a mosque just 1km away from the market. I think having a mosque downtown, in probably the busiest part of the city, say a lot about not only the thriving Muslim community but also the high level of religious tolerance there.</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs578.snc3/31516_10150189862770510_866060509_12574351_5580007_n.jpg" width="576" height="432" />You can just make out the shape of the mosque behind the Bio-Essence billboard.</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><strong>Almost everyone can speak English!</strong></span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">When I was on SSEAYP, out of 28, only maybe 5 of the Myanmar contingent could speak English. So I was under the impression that perhaps it’s not a widely spoken language in Myanmar. Imagine my surprise when I came there and almost everyone could speak and even JOKE in English! In fact people here are really friendly and some would even approach us to just talk in English.</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs321.snc3/28661_423694069574_561319574_5590963_5128130_n.jpg" width="384" height="576" />A lady who we bought <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longyi">longyis</a> from. Speaks beautiful English and I won’t be surprised if she speaks many other languages as well since she sounds really bright! </span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">FML all this while we’ve been punk’d! So now I am convinced that the PYs that joined SSEAYP are only pretending to not speak English, for whatever reason! </span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><strong>The Burmese Script</strong></span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><strong><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs565.snc3/30846_10150190491125510_866060509_12585991_1591501_n.jpg" width="576" height="309" /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal">Don’t need to learn Burmese to understand what this means. Hee.</span></strong></span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">Before I come to a country, I try to minimise too much surprises by Googling the country to death and finding out as much as possible about it. In all that Googling, I never came across Burmese script. In fact I didn’t come across Burmese script when we were on the ship either. Turns out, they have very unique characters in their writing system. Most of the letters look like cute little circles!</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs598.snc3/31516_10150189861330510_866060509_12574313_7398687_n.jpg" width="576" height="432" />Fascinating!</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">My friends and I, for a while, could actually read numbers. And for fun, we translated our phone numberse. Haha.</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs585.snc3/30846_10150190489845510_866060509_12585944_3398664_n.jpg" width="576" height="432" />Haha!</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><strong>Black Market Money</strong></span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">The currency used in Myanmar is kyats (pronounced “chats”). 1000 kyats is roughly equivalent to US$1. You actually need both currencies here and while US dollars are officially not accepted there, it’s actually still widely used. You can bring your US dollars in but to get kyats, you would need to money exchange illegally. Lookout for men carrying black plastic bags at Bogyoke Market, those are money changers!</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs578.snc3/31516_10150189861440510_866060509_12574317_6364646_n.jpg" width="576" height="432" />I is rich to have the kyats!</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">Anyway there are no coins. The most common denomination is 1000kyats. However, there are smaller change:</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs570.snc3/31132_1424316417601_1523471615_1053524_3845194_n.jpg" width="720" height="480" /></span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center">These notes are so <em>jarih</em>.</p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">But these are very rare, so most of the times, when you go shopping in stores there, if you have a bit of change, they will give you sweets amounting to the amount they owe you. Hehe!</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">Next post will be about all the places we went to in Yangon, Myanmar. <img class="wp-smiley" alt=":)" src="http://s.wordpress.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif" /> </span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><em><strong>NB: Some of the photos in this post is taken by my good friend Ariffin Aziz. Especially if they look good and high res. He has a big ass camera. It’s black. He’s got a long lens too. In fact it could’ve been longer but back then it hasn’t arrived in the mail yet. </strong></em></span></p></div></div>Muslim Tourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16660380872159352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330478300414214475.post-84356738777645383072010-06-17T20:07:00.000-07:002010-06-21T22:07:38.585-07:00Myanmar Muslim Tour : Tour of the Old Kingdoms: Visits in Yangon, Myanmar<div class="date">June 7, 2010</div><!--end post header--><div class="meta clear"><div class="author">by Maurina<br /><a href="http://maurina.wordpress.com/2010/06/07/tour-of-the-old-kingdoms-visits-in-yangon-myanmar/">http://maurina.wordpress.com/2010/06/07/tour-of-the-old-kingdoms-visits-in-yangon-myanmar/</a><br /></div></div><!--end meta--><h1><strong>1. Bogyoke Market</strong></h1><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><strong><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs578.snc3/31516_10150189861925510_866060509_12574329_1320286_n.jpg" width="432" height="576" /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal">Paintings for sale!</span></strong></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><strong><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal">This place reminds me a lot of Ben Thanh Market in <a href="http://maurina.wordpress.com/2008/12/29/in-retrospect-vietnam-ho-chi-minh-the-city-of-love/">Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam</a>. In fact it’s pretty much the same format, and pretty much the same kind of stuff. I bought longyis here. In fact we all did! LOL.</span></strong></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><strong><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs538.ash1/31516_10150189862275510_866060509_12574340_194494_n.jpg" width="432" height="576" />Longyis are like skirts made from woven cloth that many men and women wear not only here in Yangon but also the rest of Myanmar. They’re pretty cheap, some even only US$2 each but the silk ones can go up to US$25 each.</span></strong></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><strong><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs598.snc3/31516_10150189861995510_866060509_12574332_1575692_n.jpg" width="576" height="432" />Inferior photo quality: I apologise!</span></strong></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><strong><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal"></span></strong>But really people go to Bogyoke Market for the precious gems they have for sale. Diamonds, rubies, sapphires, jades, emeralds!!! The whole shebang! You need to bargain and bargain and bargain really hard!</p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs598.snc3/31516_10150189862665510_866060509_12574349_6860389_n.jpg" width="576" height="432" />And fruits and vegetables too!</p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">The place is really big! Also look what we found:</p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs578.snc3/31516_10150189862740510_866060509_12574350_3236087_n.jpg" width="576" height="432" />Sigup daun!!! Unfiltered cancer sticks for US$0.50? Can’t remember how much it was but it was pretty cheap. Bought for the novelty of saying, “we bought Myanmar leaf ciggies”…</p><h1><strong>2. Select</strong></h1><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><strong><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs570.snc3/31132_1424317657632_1523471615_1053546_8320421_n.jpg" width="576" height="384" /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal">In Myanmar, because of the sanctions, it is not easy to get imported goods. There are only very few places that sell imported goods and often at exorbitant prices. Here is one: Select. Didn’t go in. I put down a photo of this because, my friend Michelle bought cough syrup here because we ALL suddenly had a cough!!! We all <em>ambung</em> and didn’t buy the syrup but in the end we all shared it! It was really good syrup too, the kind that really soothes your throat immediately. </span></strong></p><h1><strong>3. Junction 8 Mall</strong></h1><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><strong><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs538.ash1/31516_10150189861180510_866060509_12574308_1943316_n.jpg" width="576" height="432" /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal">Haha!</span></strong></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><strong><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal">My crazy friends all had a near death experience crossing the road to get to the Junction 8!!! As you know roads in Myanmar are right hand drive, like the American system. When we were crossing the road, I stopped cause saw a big truck approaching fast. However, my friends all went ahead and crossed the road anyway at a leisurely pace. I was puzzled at first but quickly realised that they must’ve forgotten that the road was right hand drive and thought no cars were approaching. I screamed at them and thankfully they all saw the approaching truck and ran to the other side like chickens. Hahahah!!! Of course now in retrospect it’s pretty funny but at that time it sure wasn’t. Moral of the story is, always remember that in Myanmar, people drive on the wrong side of the road!</span></strong></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><strong><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs525.ash1/30846_10150190489575510_866060509_12585936_1168639_n.jpg" width="576" height="432" />The mall, as expected was unremarkable, except for the security guard who did his job a little to well. We were followed everywhere we go. From a distance but still noticeable. That must be how the royal family feels everyday hehe. This is the only photo I took inside a mall, because as it turns out, no cameras are allowed!</span></strong></p><h1><strong>3. Shwedagon Pagoda</strong></h1><p><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">This must be one of the most golden places I have ever been to aside from the <a href="http://maurina.wordpress.com/2009/01/03/in-retrospect-bangkok-thailand/">Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand</a>. Haha! And it’s HUGE! </span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs585.snc3/30846_10150190490065510_866060509_12585955_6128139_n.jpg" width="576" height="432" />To enter, one must purchase a US$5 entrance ticket and must wear a sticker all the time.</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs585.snc3/30846_10150190490040510_866060509_12585954_7586611_n.jpg" width="432" height="576" />SM stands for Sex Machine hahahah!</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">A few tour guides will insist their services upon you while you’re paying your ticket. You can easilly brush them off by ignoring them but of course they are very good and will give you a lot of information about the place. We didn’t get a guide because I like to explore a place on my lonesome and daydream during my explorations. I have a vivid imaginations and sometimes when something is really interesting I even have dialogues in my head! </span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">I’m weird like that.</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">Anyway, turns out, no shoes were allowed in the Shwedagon complex. So we had to leave ours near the ticketing booth on a rack and with a stinking suspicion that we’d end up shoeless when we came back down, we climbed aboard an elevator that smells like areca nut. Smelliest 30 seconds of my life haha.</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs565.snc3/30846_10150190490370510_866060509_12585963_6944197_n.jpg" width="432" height="576" />The pagoda is really really gold.</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">When we were up there, feels like we were walking on hot ember!!! The green tiles were soooooo hot!!! Thankfully the marble white ones weren’t. Anyway, apparently this gold behemoth of a building is 98 metres high. To this day I still don’t know what’s inside.</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs585.snc3/30846_10150190490615510_866060509_12585975_2696555_n.jpg" width="432" height="576" /></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">I didn’t know it then, but these people are doing the cleansing act. They basically pour water over these statues like 13 times or something. It’s to cleanse your souls and apparently it is said that after the cleansing act you’d feel lighter.</p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs565.snc3/30846_10150190490790510_866060509_12585980_3108311_n.jpg" width="403" height="576" />A woman prostrating to her God.</p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs525.ash1/30846_10150190491730510_866060509_12586017_2462273_n.jpg" width="432" height="576" />Maha Tissada Gandha Bell</p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs525.ash1/30846_10150190491455510_866060509_12586004_2416841_n.jpg" width="576" height="432" />Carpetmen hauling carpet to praying areas.</p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs525.ash1/30846_10150190491495510_866060509_12586005_8269427_n.jpg" width="426" height="576" />Praying monk.</p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs585.snc3/30846_10150190491575510_866060509_12586007_19544_n.jpg" width="432" height="576" />Photographer monk.</p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs585.snc3/30846_10150190491100510_866060509_12585990_4637314_n.jpg" width="576" height="432" />Some are only children.</p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs585.snc3/30846_10150190491175510_866060509_12585992_5074282_n.jpg" width="432" height="576" />This girl caught my attention cause she was learning English in front of an emerald buddha. The top book is in English, the second book is in Burmese, which I assume is the translation of the English words, and she’s copying the English words down in her notebook. I pretended to stand nearby admiring the emerald buddha, trying to listen as she reads aloud. It was a story, but her voice was too soft so I really couldn’t make out the whole story. Just a little.</p><h1><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"></span><strong>4. Chaukhtatgyi Temple</strong></h1><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><strong><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs525.ash1/30846_10150190504855510_866060509_12586230_4261465_n.jpg" width="576" height="432" /></strong></p><p><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">Temple of a reaaaaally big reclining Buddha. Well what can I say about this Temple. We went here after Shwedagon and well, it looked a little plain after all the gold and glamour in Shwedagon. Note to future travellers: Go to Chaukhtatgyi (pronounced God knows how… something like CHO-TA-GEE?) before heading off to Shwedagon. Haha. We didn’t really go in, just at the corridor and took photos. </span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs525.ash1/30846_10150190504760510_866060509_12586227_5786992_n.jpg" width="432" height="576" />After this sign, I realise that Myanmar is so full of not just monks, but pilgrims. They’ve come here for clarity and soul searching. This is their sacred land. Much like how we see our own sacred lands of Makkah and Madinah. I feel a bit pathetic that I actually paid so much to see all these temples and not even one mosque.. </span></p><h1><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><strong>5. Inya Lake</strong></span></h1><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><strong><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs525.ash1/30846_10150190505125510_866060509_12586240_7014647_n.jpg" width="720" height="540" /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal">Some guys kayaking on the lake in the distance.</span></strong></span></p><p><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">This is honestly my top most favorite location in Yangon! <img class="wp-smiley" alt=":)" src="http://s.wordpress.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif" /> Inya Lake is, according t Wikipedia,</span></p><blockquote><p><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">“located 6 miles (9.7 km) north of downtown Yangon, Inya Lake is bounded by Parami Road on the north, Pyay Road on the west, Inya Road on the southwest, University Avenue on the south, and Kaba Aye Pagoda Road on the east.”</span></p></blockquote><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs565.snc3/30846_10150190505730510_866060509_12586278_2478559_n.jpg" width="432" height="576" /></p><p><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">We stayed with Ani, who lives on Pyay Road, so we asked our driver to drop us off there, so we could walk back home after watching the sunset. Perfect plan right? Haha! </span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs565.snc3/30846_10150190505420510_866060509_12586262_836687_n.jpg" width="432" height="576" /></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">The sun didn’t set over the lake!!! LOL!!!</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"></span><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">Actually as we quickly realised, the sun sets on the other side of the lake, so we didn’t see the sun set and it looked very near to walk by car but actually the “leisurely” walk home was more than 5km UPHILL! Haha. Many interesting sights on the way though so we didn’t mind so much.</span></p><p><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">Back to Inya Lake, it is my favorite spot, particularly because it is a very popular place in Yangon to go DATING!!! </span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs565.snc3/30846_10150190504910510_866060509_12586232_478322_n.jpg" width="576" height="432" />Get a snack of stomach entrail steamboat first? <img class="wp-smiley" alt=":P" src="http://s.wordpress.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_razz.gif" /> </span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs565.snc3/30846_10150190504985510_866060509_12586235_21143_n.jpg" width="576" height="432" />Or perhaps some spicy mango?</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs565.snc3/30846_10150190504960510_866060509_12586234_7155904_n.jpg" width="432" height="576" />Or some posh Burmese cigarettes? Hehe! (No warning signs!)</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">Basically when you’re at Inya Lake, you’d need to look for an empty spot to go berdating.</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs585.snc3/30846_10150190505030510_866060509_12586236_5687222_n.jpg" width="576" height="432" />It can either be any of the seats, facing the beautiful lake…</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">or</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs525.ash1/30846_10150190505060510_866060509_12586237_2645755_n.jpg" width="576" height="432" />…any shady spot will do! Hehe!</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs585.snc3/30846_10150190505455510_866060509_12586264_7187007_n.jpg" width="576" height="432" />We chose a sunny pink seat sponsored by A21 Soap haha!</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">While sitting and laughing and hanging out there, we were approached by many kinds of people, and saw many kinds of things people are up to.</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">One man approached us just to tell us that a building on our right side is the Convocation Hall in the University of Yangon! *___*” </span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs585.snc3/30846_10150190505565510_866060509_12586272_7726948_n.jpg" width="576" height="394" />There was a man selling a bouquet of mango slices. </span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">SO CLEVER!!!<strong> I now officially declare that I only want bouquets of sliced fruits instead of boring inedible flower bouquets! </strong></span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs585.snc3/30846_10150190505635510_866060509_12586275_8298109_n.jpg" width="576" height="432" />We had music too! <img class="wp-smiley" alt=":)" src="http://s.wordpress.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif" /> </span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs565.snc3/30846_10150190505275510_866060509_12586247_7406540_n.jpg" width="432" height="576" />Polka dot longyi!</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">As the sun sets and it becomes more shady, more Yangonites and young couples ventured out. It was all very romantic and nice! <img class="wp-smiley" alt=":)" src="http://s.wordpress.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif" /> Me thinks these young couples go to the University of Yangon, located on the University Avenue, just a few minutes walk from Inya Lake.</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">Another reason why I think Inya Lake is so fascinating is because as you have noticed, it is nearby University Avenue, where Nobel Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi is currently under house arrest.</span></p><blockquote><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">The area surrounding Inya Lake is one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Yangon… Lakefront properties include residences of <a title="Aung San Suu Kyi" href="http://maurina.wordpress.com/wiki/Aung_San_Suu_Kyi">Aung San Suu Kyi</a>, the late strongman <a title="Ne Win" href="http://maurina.wordpress.com/wiki/Ne_Win">Gen. Ne Win</a> and the <a title="United States Ambassador to Burma" href="http://maurina.wordpress.com/wiki/United_States_Ambassador_to_Burma">United States ambassador</a>.</span></p></blockquote><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">This is the lake in the 2009 trespass incident involving John Yettaw. He swam across to her house uninvited and was arrested when he made his return trip three days later. His trespass caused Suu Kyi to be arrested for violating the terms of her house arrest. Apparently, Yettaw said he swam to Suu Kyi’s house to warn her that her life was “in danger”.</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">I hope you Google for more information. The house arrest of Suu Kyi and the Junta’s subsequent decision to not release her is a major current issue and is the reason why the US and EU are imposing economic sanctions, import bans, arms embargo, and suspension of all aid (except humanitarian) over Myanmar. They find it a human rights issue.</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">It’s quite sad really. Reminds me of the Malay saying, “gajah berperang, pelanduk mati di tengah-tengah” because well, Burma was in the past a centre of excellence, particularly in the area of medicine. Now, it’s just a military state, where the common people are so poor and a select few are unbelievably rich. <img class="wp-smiley" alt=":(" src="http://s.wordpress.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_sad.gif" /> </span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">Overall, I quite enjoy my time in Myanmar. Things move slowly here, even slower than Brunei and that can make you sort of sleepy almost. But I think it’s part of Yangon’s charm. <img class="wp-smiley" alt=":)" src="http://s.wordpress.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif" /> </span></p>Muslim Tourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16660380872159352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330478300414214475.post-72710552254676145782010-06-17T20:03:00.001-07:002010-06-21T22:07:58.014-07:00Myanmar Muslim Tour : MYANMAR – Land of Ruby.Tuesday, February 3, 2009<br />MYANMAR – Land of Ruby.<br />Salah satu sebab utama melawat Myanmar ialah kerana batu permatanya. Selain batu jed, batu rubi Myanmar antara yang mendapat perhatian. Rubi dilombong di Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Vietnam, Afghanistan dan Myanmar. Dikatakan rubi keluaran Myanmar paling tinggi kualitinya kerana melalui proses kristalisasi yang sempurna dalam bentuk hexagonal. Jarang terdapat batu rubi yang seperti ini.<br />Rubi keluaran Myanmar diterima sebagai yang terbaik di seluruh dunia dan menjadi hiasan mahkota diraja (royal crown) bagi raja-raja seluruh dunia, dahulu dan sekarang. Tidak hairanlah batu rubi Myanmar dikenali sebagai “raja segala batu permata”.<br /><br />Di Myanmar, tempat perlombongan rubi terletak di Mogok, lebih kurang 120 batu ke timur laut Mandalay. Mogok mengeluarkan batu permata terkenal di seluruh dunia terutamanya rubi dan sapphire. Ianya terletak 4000 kaki di atas paras laut dan terdapat sebuah tasik di tengah pusat Bandar. Tasik ini ialah lombong lama sejak zaman colonial. Banjaran pergunungan disekitar Mogok dipenuhi dengan batu permata.<br /><br />Di Mogok, masalah batu permata asli atau tiruan tidak timbul kerana hampir semua batu permata di sini adalah asli yang dihasilkan terus dari lombong (mined at source). Kerajaan menghadapi masalah mengawal penjualan batu permata di sini dan disebabkan ini Mogok adalah kawasan off-limit kepada pelancong persendirian (independent traveler). Memasuki Mogok samada untuk bermalam atau tidak memerlukan permit dari pihak berkuasa dan hanya syarikat pelancongan berdaftar boleh menguruskan permit ini. Mereka memasuki permit ini dalam pakej pelancongan mereka.Muslim Tourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16660380872159352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330478300414214475.post-57855892762410532782010-06-17T20:01:00.002-07:002010-06-21T22:08:15.864-07:00Myanmar Muslim Tour : MYANMAR /YANGON – University of Yangon<h2 class="date-header"><span style="font-size:+0;">Tuesday, November 4, 2008</span></h2><a name="3951367918257920922"></a><h3 class="post-title entry-title"><a href="http://blog.bumisepi.com/2008/11/myanmar-yangon-university-of-yangon-oct.html">MYANMAR /YANGON – University of Yangon (Oct 2008)</a> </h3><div class="post-header"></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUFWx0K5h1U1gOJcIrTrBxGSLt_c9dGmhhmE6X5qq58sLSa7P31MtWSXkr75qANs9q0HwZM_I3bReMSSeH8gzMto5SNApKEmbOgpdEl9vU9mffDDj4QXIH7zne1_N5kOLTbR8kj_G7p6f4/s1600-h/DSCN0073_050.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264761588743925490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUFWx0K5h1U1gOJcIrTrBxGSLt_c9dGmhhmE6X5qq58sLSa7P31MtWSXkr75qANs9q0HwZM_I3bReMSSeH8gzMto5SNApKEmbOgpdEl9vU9mffDDj4QXIH7zne1_N5kOLTbR8kj_G7p6f4/s400/DSCN0073_050.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Seorang graduan bergambar di pintu masuk universiti pada hari konvokasi University of Yangon.<br /></span><br />University of Yangon atau Yangon University terletak di utara bandaraya Yangon di persimpangan University Avenue dan Pyay Road dan bersempadan dengan Inya Lake, tasik paling besar di Yangon.<br /><br />Dari segi sejarah, universiti ini ditubuhkan pada tahun 1878 bila British menjajah Burma (nama lama bagi Myanmar). Di sekitar tahun 1950an, U of Y menjadi antara universiti tersohor di Asia Tenggara -- menjadi idaman pelajar-pelajar dan profesor-profesor untuk belajar dan membuat kajian di sini. British memodelkan universiti seperti Oxford University yang terkenal di England sehingga hari ini. Walaupun begitu, kecemerlangan akademik universiti ini mula merosot bermula selepas kerajaan tentera memerintah mulai tahun 1962. Kerajaan tentera di bawah pemerintahan Ne Win menukar bahasa pengantar universiti ini dari Bahasa Inggeris ke Bahasa Burma, menyebabkan pengiktirafan diploma dan ijazah ditarik balik oleh masyarakat akademik antarabangsa. Kursus-kursus kejuruteraan dan sains dari universiti ini tidak lagi mempunyai nilai. Sekarang universiti ini hanya mengeluarkan graduan-graduan sastera dan sains sahaja.<br /><br />Saya bernasib baik kerana hari saya 'terlanjur' ke sini, majlis konvokasi sedang berlangsung.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDgwjvwT0srriobN1jtEreO4EZspES5Rv4krUeBqiwWnxpkajEjXuXbAOPeV9qODOsw19Ybutc4BqT9NUSSooSIIjr5TQmc_dTmELFYONnom8DMOPKJhn74C4NsDL_LwHJED8fHGm0H7A0/s1600-h/DSCN0063_040.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264761926918296226" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDgwjvwT0srriobN1jtEreO4EZspES5Rv4krUeBqiwWnxpkajEjXuXbAOPeV9qODOsw19Ybutc4BqT9NUSSooSIIjr5TQmc_dTmELFYONnom8DMOPKJhn74C4NsDL_LwHJED8fHGm0H7A0/s400/DSCN0063_040.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Majlis konvokasi Universiti of Yangon diadakan di sebuah dewan usang dan berlumut.</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipj_pdCOCgHUb0stoEmavleXVFgIytiLSaTvjEDA4RVrXUsRAy6Azr0DfV0gA31EbPRcxFIYGoWK_38-El2EUy5j-OjhtKrzMQzyZAgICyMz5GBG9G5ceoFTb20zrZ_YIrl1PdTT6FvVV7/s1600-h/DSCN0062_039.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264763848389888946" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipj_pdCOCgHUb0stoEmavleXVFgIytiLSaTvjEDA4RVrXUsRAy6Azr0DfV0gA31EbPRcxFIYGoWK_38-El2EUy5j-OjhtKrzMQzyZAgICyMz5GBG9G5ceoFTb20zrZ_YIrl1PdTT6FvVV7/s400/DSCN0062_039.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0sy9lSko_vP-EtYMj_-a5-uV0i4xDa-iFa_hWw3WCA6NfmJougWGBgjEzfKrhyeMSeWiYiCGfmKb3oBr9P-mwPoR2H4mzw5tsjeo0txAJbVytMT9ZDdOeDsa4Hn6PJ7bI54G4g8tQMaLy/s1600-h/DSCN0067_044.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264764983337805762" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0sy9lSko_vP-EtYMj_-a5-uV0i4xDa-iFa_hWw3WCA6NfmJougWGBgjEzfKrhyeMSeWiYiCGfmKb3oBr9P-mwPoR2H4mzw5tsjeo0txAJbVytMT9ZDdOeDsa4Hn6PJ7bI54G4g8tQMaLy/s400/DSCN0067_044.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Sebuah blok fakulti lama (atas) dan agak baru (bawah) di dalam kampus universiti. Perhatikan tahap penyelenggaraan yang rendah -- bangunan lama, rumput panjang dan kawasan tidak terjaga. Pernah menjadi antara universiti terbaik di Asia Tenggara, kini hanya tinggal nama.</span>Muslim Tourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16660380872159352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330478300414214475.post-53169889188719451962010-06-17T20:01:00.001-07:002010-06-21T22:11:18.065-07:00Myanmar Muslim Tour : MYANMAR /YANGON – First Day Impression (Airport to City Center)<h2 class="date-header"><span style="font-size:+0;">Monday, October 27, 2008</span></h2><a name="7264346381241040941"></a><h3 class="post-title entry-title"><a href="http://blog.bumisepi.com/2008/10/myanmar-yangon-first-day-impression.html">MYANMAR /YANGON – First Day Impression (Airport to City Center)</a> </h3><div class="post-header"></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqIhivsBV3ZIthI4_TPB8x8tW73eXZlcmyq4tbSEayFYe7pp9_MWVc_1R_uNBdeU4fU_RL9HxRxH3IZGJ3qZqHBd4swMDXIbWY_gKr_pFNnuKGI48IIEYnMPKJXJyPsQk8YVpXZizPjQId/s1600-h/DSCN0043_022.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264750352588956050" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqIhivsBV3ZIthI4_TPB8x8tW73eXZlcmyq4tbSEayFYe7pp9_MWVc_1R_uNBdeU4fU_RL9HxRxH3IZGJ3qZqHBd4swMDXIbWY_gKr_pFNnuKGI48IIEYnMPKJXJyPsQk8YVpXZizPjQId/s400/DSCN0043_022.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><u><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><br /></span></u><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">NOTA:</span> <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Bumisepi.com menggalakkan penggunaan Bahasa Melayu kerana objektif utama kami ialah untuk mempromosikan bumi ini sebagai tempat kajian (field study) kepada umat Melayu berugama Islam. Kami menyesal catatan di bawah ditulis dalam bahasa Inggeris (blogger tersebut akan diberi amaran). Walaupun begitu, kami berharap semua pengunjung dapat iktibar dari catatan di bawah.</span><br /></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><br /></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">15 October 2008<?xml:namespace prefix = o /><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">The trip was supposed to be a simple one.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>Checklist items had been ticked off. A ticket from Kuantan to KLIA to Yangon. A single-entry visa. A passport, not expiring within 6 months. A traveler without a family members. Some foodstuff. Some clothing. A notebook computer with built-in wi-fi.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>(last item is of no use in Myanmar). Those seemed to be a good recipe for the trip to Yangon for first-timer like me.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">Canned foodstuff and clothing took a lot of weight so much so that I needed to settle for excess baggage fees before the boarding pass could be issued.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>Excess of 10 kg at RM31 per kg. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">Departure gate G6 of KLIA was quiet except for some Burmese monks returning home and Malaysian workers working in Myanmar. I met an ex-staff of Carigali Hess now on his own visiting friends in Yangon. A young Malaysian engineer from Man Turbo (M) Sdn Bhd was on his way to a place – could not remember the name -- north of Yangon to overhaul a compressor at the power plant. Well, I was proud that Malaysians now have gone places, contributing to the world. There was a Haji A Rahman KK – as introduced by himself -- in his late 50s or early 60s I met at the gate. He was carrying a newspaper something like Harakah in his cabin bag. I gave him salam and we clicked easily thereafter. He was on the way back to Myanmar after visiting his daughter in Malaysia. After helping him to fillup Myanmar arrival card and custom declaration form, he invited me to visit him in Bokpyin<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>-- somewhere<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>north east of Yangon near Thailand border – where his kampong is. He gave me a simple direction to his house. Just<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>find a mosque at Bokpyin (there is only one mosque there) and his house is exactly opposite of the mosque. There are a number of Malay families settling down there, some originating from Thailand and Malaysia and moving there during World War II.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>They talk the same language. They eat the same food. They are Moslem. Good things is that they still have contacts with family members in Malaysia and frequently visit them. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">No white men at Gate G6. No westerners. No camera-lugging tourists wearing shorts.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>No children running around. This departure gate was really different than other gates. A big security lady of Sikh origin based on her name tag asked everyone to weigh handcarry bag before being allowed to the aircraft, and she was strict. Not more than 10kg, she said. But the process went on smoothly.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">Next gate -- G7 -- was much livelier as a group of young westerners were chatting<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>away participatively. And that Gate is going to Bangkok, not Yangon.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">Malaysian Airlines flight MH740 left KLIA at 11:05am sharp. No delay at all. The aircraft was an aging Boeing 737 and made a lot of noise when taking off and in mid-air. They should have supplied an earplug like the one supplied by MHS when travelling on helicopter to offshore. May my seat 20F was too close to the wing that <span style="font-size:+0;"></span>I could also see metal patches on the wing, indicating the aircraft was a heavily utilized one, clocking a big number of flying time. Whether it is normal to have patches -- clearly differentiated from the main component -- I am not so sure. Let the engineers worry about that. I just want to arrive Yangon -- a city I will call home for the next 2 years -- safely. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">It is almost noon after talking off. Airline serves brunch after 30 minutes in flight, which comes in 2 flavors – roti jala or fresh toast.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>I chose the first one. The roti jala is fine but the curry is oily and tasteless.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>I’ve read about passengers complaining about MAS lunch boxes in the papers and now I’m experiencing it. No in-flight entertainment except Going Places magazine with some pages missing.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>Some<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>passengers played mp3 songs on their handphone, most were taking naps. Down at 34000 feet below, we could see Penang and other interesting islands. Yangon is just 2 hours and 40 minutes from Kuala Lumpur.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">Suddenly all the above – a quite departure lounge, a noisy aircraft, no tourists, lunch box – make sense to me and boil down to one thing. <span style="font-size:+0;"></span>Yangon is not a popular tourist destination. People go there for two things only -- work or business.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>And I’m one of them.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">The plane touched down at 12:29 noon (Malaysia time) rather smoothly at Yangon International Airport. The airstrip is not that long but the terminal building is new. I saw many white aircrafts of B737 size with logo MAI. I discovered later it is a Myanmar Airlines International. <span style="font-size:+0;"></span>The airport can only land B737 and below.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">Yangon International Airport is not big and not crowded either. Immigration and custom clearance was a breeze. Service staff were friendly and even helped us retrieve the carousel after we handed in the baggage tag to them. At the immigration counter I submitted arrival card and passport and visa. Then I collected my lugggage at Carousel no. 3. Unfortunately I lost a luggage, a smaller one.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>After lodging a complaint with MAS Office there, I managed to get back the bag after a couple of hours. The bag was finally returned to me at the Hotel I was staying. <span style="font-size:+0;"></span>The bag was my lifeline for a couple of days ahead -- in a way -- as it contained essential foodstuff from backhome just in case I could not find halal food in Yangon.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">The final part of the arrival checklist is to go the<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>custom and hand over the Custom declaration form with nothing to declare. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">The driver assigned to me is driving 2.2L Honda Accord, old model. He was a young and slender man, always on the phone. He spoke English word by word but easy to understand. Once he lost a word to complete a sentence, he lost the whole sentence. After brief introduction, my first conversation was about politics in Myanmar.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">“You drive on the right hand side of the road like Americans?”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">“Yes”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">“I thought you hate Americans?”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">“Only military people hate Americans”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">Yes, Burmese drive on the right hand side of the road, in contrast with other British colonies like Malaysia.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>The strange thing is the steering wheel of most cars is at the right-hand side of the car. By right if you drive at the right-hand side of the road, the steering wheel should have been at the left-hand side of the car so that it is easy to navigate and overtake cars in front of you.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><br /></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><br /></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">Most cars on the road are old, very old indeed, compared to Malaysian standard. Popular saloon cars are Toyota, like KE, LE and SE models. (Later I also found latest modern cars on the Yangon road). Buses come in many shapes and form, from old boxy type with no window to a newer Hino model from Japan. Small dilapidated lorries and pickups carry goods and some are customized to carry people. Long bench are put at both sides of the body of the lorry facing each other. Some have grills to avoid passengers from falling off when turning or braking suddenly, but most don’t.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>Buses only move when all the empty handrails<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>-- not seats – are occupied.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIeCriASiyuGQg7PA9LQ3xa7RmeUGQokM5OiVNn4lRv4Dv2Bo2ER5D77cMM5WwekwGnMKPwn-p20UQigXCGGZ1Ub-TdfX2_-LiEDUddWT6-gPGgE0IV7AofStlhrt9RjE95wCeq6RZ_HeL/s1600-h/DSCN0047_026.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264754030044874690" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIeCriASiyuGQg7PA9LQ3xa7RmeUGQokM5OiVNn4lRv4Dv2Bo2ER5D77cMM5WwekwGnMKPwn-p20UQigXCGGZ1Ub-TdfX2_-LiEDUddWT6-gPGgE0IV7AofStlhrt9RjE95wCeq6RZ_HeL/s400/DSCN0047_026.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br />It is common to see passengers with sarongs (known as longyis) standing on the steps clinging to the last handrail space available, dangerously, on a moving bus.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrgO30jGOTRtQdigLCXSsCQrOs3WAORgODlg1nNNMEUgAs8InnmVLXa7nyi0qHPh6-xMPtwhzIeJkbPo3amO1pmyaNAbTrelz776L9i6EfBRuxdRpQ52p2EAuryWGBR8LfVgGJmBrbkCZR/s1600-h/DSCN0059_036.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262098768473088690" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrgO30jGOTRtQdigLCXSsCQrOs3WAORgODlg1nNNMEUgAs8InnmVLXa7nyi0qHPh6-xMPtwhzIeJkbPo3amO1pmyaNAbTrelz776L9i6EfBRuxdRpQ52p2EAuryWGBR8LfVgGJmBrbkCZR/s400/DSCN0059_036.JPG" /></a><br /></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><br /></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><br /></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><br /></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><br /></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><br /></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><br /></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><br /></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><br /></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><br /></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal">Truck converted to bus plying the road in Yangon against the backdrop of reddish colonial building.<br /></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><br /></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">Roads with patches and holes and the broken pavements <span style="font-size:+0;"></span>are common sight, but still travelable. But nevertheless they are clean and tree-lined. I was told<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>the roads in Yangon was like jungle last time before Nargis cyclone hit early 2008. Trees were everywhere. No rubbish or plastics wrappers around. Good thing is no motorcycles can be seen on the city roads. Yes, it was banned for the public. Only military personnel and policemen and postmen are allowed to use motorcycle. That makes Yangon more environment-friendly. Environmentalists like me like that.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">Our car’s aircond unit stopped functioning halfway from the Airport to City Center, a distance of about 20 kms. The driver rolled down the window and I smelled the Yangon’s carbon monoxide for the first time. At<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>a crowded junction waiting for the green light, it was even worse. It was no different that CO in Jakarta (January 2008) or Mumbai (June 2008). Yes CO smells the same everywhere.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">Traders Hotel Yangon is located at Sule Pagoda Road. The road leads to a Sule Pagoda and continues to the mighty Yangon river, a lifeline for Myanmar economy. Sule Pagoda is not the biggest in the city but is very strategically positioned on the middle of the roundabout, flanked by shops and surprisingly a mosque.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>I was told that the very same road in front of my hotel leading to the pagoda was the venue for pro-democracy rally and monk demonstration a year ago which resulted in a crackdown by ruling military regime on Aung San Suu Kyi’s supporters. It was here that one Japanese photographer was shot down by the military during the rally and his dying moment image was shown on the TV everywhere in the world. (See Myanmar – Politik section).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">There is a more popular Shwedagon Pagoda covered with gold and is a must-visit place for tourists . (See top-most image).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">Shangri-La legendary hospitality greeted me with cool air and fine ladies. <span style="font-size:+0;"></span>The contrast of life inside and outside is very great that I wanted to start counting my blessings immediately. I was late and took lunch alone. Non-halal sections are clearly labelled but to be safe I plan to be a vegetarian (plus seafoods and eggs) when staying here. There must be many Moslems<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>guests staying here as there is a qiblat direction on the ceiling whick made me like at home. No Quran copy though in the drawer. Only a copy Bible. My room 1926 is located a non-smoking floor facing another tall building with Petronas and Hitachi logo across the road. Down there I could see people doing about their daily activities. Further down there is gigantic river with ships and ferries.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8zOuO0rZx5OB4ttrDEqkvpozMFEUQc6Jq_rB78l36OoCNwR_KNnnic-FnPuJDcY1TEtBwMYAVqsT7U90-OC78A3DvFrrU20kq0fHVqB6c6uoAEdv_dpKchWigLoiWa2S3YAhvKPb3dJY1/s1600-h/DSCN0056_033.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262100159191258274" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8zOuO0rZx5OB4ttrDEqkvpozMFEUQc6Jq_rB78l36OoCNwR_KNnnic-FnPuJDcY1TEtBwMYAVqsT7U90-OC78A3DvFrrU20kq0fHVqB6c6uoAEdv_dpKchWigLoiWa2S3YAhvKPb3dJY1/s400/DSCN0056_033.JPG" /></a><br />Gold-covered (or rather gold-colored?) Sule Pagoda could be seen from Level 19 of Traders Hotel.<br /><br />Up on the rooftop of the tall building I could see two soldiers -- fully armed – wandering about looking down at the people on the streets. I knew they saw me too for quite sometimes as I was enjoying the view from Level 19. Looking down at the junction with traffic light, I saw another soldier similar to the ones on the rooftop scanning the public.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">(NOTE: On second day after coming back from work to the hotel, I noted keys installed at my two luggages were tampered with and not in the position that I put before I left the room in the morning. I didn’t make a fuss out of it as nothing was missing, but the two solders who were staring at me really came to my mind. The safe deposit lock combination was not working from the start from day one).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">I booted-up my laptop hoping it could detect any wireless network nearby. There was one available with 2 bar signal but it was secured. There was no broadband in the room not even dialup facility to access internet. There was a sign that said internet access is a controlled facility in Myanmar and therefore not available in the hotel’s guest room. Limited access is available at business center, but at the rate you don’t want to pay. So there went my plan to make use of my new laptop Acer Aspire 2920 with powerful Intel Core Duo processor and 2GB RAM and webcam to communicate with my wife and kids via Yahoo Messenger. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">Phone is the only option now. But not quite. I took out my O2 PDA with Celcom 3G SIM card and let it search for Celcom allies among local networks. It kept searching until the battery drained out. None was found. Later I found out that only local phones can call outside. And the rate is unspeakable. No foreign mobile phone operators can do roaming in Myanmar. Forget Celcom. Forget Maxis. Forget Digi. Myanmar is not Celcom territory. Yellow Digi man doesn’t have friends here.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>I remembered a Celcom guy in Kemaman who told me that Celcom do have roaming partners in Myanmar and even gave me the roaming rates. I wasn’t sure what he meant. Either a complete ignorant or he was just trying to be nice to customers. Celcom – take note and educate your support staff! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">A lesson well learnt here –leave your laptop or mobile phone at home when coming to Myanmar. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">Well, that was my first day impression of Yangon, Myanmar, and very fascinating indeed.</span>Muslim Tourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16660380872159352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330478300414214475.post-50375248584146446332010-06-17T19:59:00.002-07:002010-06-21T22:11:48.907-07:00Myanmar Muslim Tour : MYANMAR – Sejarah ringkas dan politik<h2 class="date-header"><span style="font-size:+0;">Monday, October 27, 2008</span></h2><a name="2225209740266588669"></a><h3 class="post-title entry-title"><a href="http://blog.bumisepi.com/2008/10/myanmar-sejarah-ringkas-dan-politik.html">MYANMAR – Sejarah ringkas dan politik</a> </h3><div class="post-header"></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinDhK1qgHDGIUONFTwktS6GGTiFwHQGliSH2PZYeVt0_GYDrrFW7i2ZcyX89UW2kyQYrCQnlfxn6-5hmDO5mKDZjwhjZjYQh9hGadchOZ4_srAKInEpyjR8vekDmv2Ob73tqQUlT8r4faV/s1600-h/myanmar_burma_map.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 193px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262097687765178882" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinDhK1qgHDGIUONFTwktS6GGTiFwHQGliSH2PZYeVt0_GYDrrFW7i2ZcyX89UW2kyQYrCQnlfxn6-5hmDO5mKDZjwhjZjYQh9hGadchOZ4_srAKInEpyjR8vekDmv2Ob73tqQUlT8r4faV/s400/myanmar_burma_map.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">MYANMAR – Sejarah ringkas dan politik</span></b></p><br />(Map courtesy of http://www.dpsmap.com/myanmar/index.shtml)<br /><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><?xml:namespace prefix = o /><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">Politik Negara Myanmar memang menarik. Beribu tahun sebelum masihi, kerajaan lama purba telah memerintah negara ini dengan membina pagoda-pagoda dan kota-kota lama. Sebab itulah tarikan utama pelancong ke Myanmar ialah pagoda-pagoda berbagai bentuk dan yang paling terkenal ialah Pagoda Shwedaggon di Yangon dan di Bagan, sebuah bandar purba di tengah Myanmar. Cerita pagoda di Myanmar seusia dengan pembinaan Angkor Watt di Kemboja. Arkiteknya lebih kurang orang atau puak yang sama saja.<br /></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">Negara ini dijajah oleh British sehingga mencapai kemerdekaan pada tahun 1948. Kerajaan pertama yang dibentuk sangat rapuh dan tidak mampu mentadbir pelbagai bangsa etnik termasuk di pergunungan. Pemerintahan tentera bermula bila General Ne Win mengambil alih kuasa pada tahun 1962 dan mengamal polisi pengasingan dari dunia luar. Ekonomi Negara merudum<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>dan rakyat semakin miskin, tersekat dari bantuan dunia luar. Gerakan pro-demokrasi bermula pada tahun 1988 dipelopori oleh Aung San Suu Kyi dan mula mendapat perhatian pihak luar. Tentera mula panik dan menganjurkan pilihanraya bebas pada tahun 1990. Parti NLD pimpinan Aung San Suu Kyi telah menang besar walaupun beliau ditahan oleh kerajaan tentera. Junta tentera walaupun berjanji akan memberi kuasa kepada pemimpin pilihan rakyat sehingga hari ini tidak menunaikan janji ini. <span style="font-size:+0;"></span>Pemimpin tentera sekarang ialah General Than Shwe. Disebabkan oleh ‘keengkaran’ kerajaan tentera ini, sekatan ekonomi dan senjata dan bantuan luar diambil oleh Amerika, British dan PBB ke atas Myanmar mulai tahun 1988.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>Walaupun pelaburan dan Amerika dan British ditarik balik, syarikat-syarikat lain seperti Total dan Petronas dan Nippon Oil masih beroperasi di Myanmar membangunkan medan gas di persisiran pantai. Musuh utama kerajaan junta tentera ialah Aung San Suu Kyi, yang masih berada di bawah tahanan rumah (house arrest).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">Politik adalah isu sensitive di Myanmar dan jarang dibincang di khalayak ramai.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>Disebabkan perkara di atas, mengambil gambar tentera beruniform, tapak-tapak tentera adalah dilarang sama sekali. Anda tidak boleh menunjukkan kecenderongan ideology politik di sini. Demokrasi sudah lama mati sejak tahun 1962 di Myanmar. Banyak tempat-tempat di Yangon adalah kawasan larangan untuk pelancong-pelancong. Contohnya mengambil gambar kediaman Aung San Suu Kyi dengan adalah dilarang, apatah lagi memasuki kawasan rumahnya. Pemandu teksi saya – seorang penduduk tempatan dari kaum India -- tidak berani untuk rapat ke pagar menuju ke kediaman Suu Kyi walaupun diminta berkali-kali. Kebanyakan penduduk tempatan tidak akan berhenti atau memperlahankan kenderaan untuk pelancong mengambil gambar di sini. Mereka boleh dipenjarakan dan kamera/video<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>anda boleh dirampas. Kediaman Suu Kyi terletak di sebelah Tasik Inya dan berhampiran kampus Universiti Yangon. Jalan tersebut seperti jalan-jalan lain di Yangon dibarisi pokok-pokok kayu yang tinggi dan kehijauan daun melahirkan ketenangan kepada mata yang memandang.<o:p></o:p></span></p><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">Walau pun begitu kamera boleh dipakai di pagoda-pagoda dan tempat-tempat selain dari di atas. Jika anda ingin mengambil gambar orang tempatan, mintalah kebenaran terlebih dahulu.</span>Muslim Tourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16660380872159352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330478300414214475.post-4771980840532889892010-06-17T19:59:00.001-07:002010-06-21T22:12:20.020-07:00Myanmar Muslim Tour : Bahasa<h2 class="date-header"><span style="font-size:+0;">Tuesday, October 28, 2008</span></h2><a name="7187330537420287728"></a><h3 class="post-title entry-title"><a href="http://blog.bumisepi.com/2008/10/myanmar-bahasa.html">MYANMAR – Bahasa</a> </h3><div class="post-header"></div><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-size:+0;"></span><?xml:namespace prefix = o /><o:p></o:p></span><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">Burmese adalah bahasa rasmi Myanmar. Bahasa Inggeris boleh difahami oleh masyarakat Bandar, tetapi sangat jarang di pendalaman. Sesetengah penjual boleh bertutur dalam Bahasa Melayu dengan baik. Saya terjumpa Yakob yang baru balik dari bekerja di Malaysia (Balakong, Selangor) selamat lebih 11 tahun. Abu Kassim yang pernah keluar tabligh di Malaysia selama 4 bulan di Malaysia pada awal tahun 1990an. Kedua-duanya fasih berbahasa <span style="font-size:+0;">Melayu. </span></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">Burmese adalah antara yang paling payah untuk dipelajari kerana intonasi dan bunyi sangat penting. Tersilap bunyi lain maknanya. Sebijik macam bahasa Arab yang penuh dengan dengung, idgham dan syaddah. Panjang pendek sebutan semuanya di ambil kira.</span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal">Antara sebutan harian seperti di bawah. Saya belajar dengan pemandu saya, namanya Arkar. Cubalah praktikkan jika anda ke sini. Anda akan lebih dihormati.<br /></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal">Min-ga laba - <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Hello ! (ucapan pertama bila berjumpa, seperti kita memberi salam)</span><br /></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal">Ni kong la - <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Apa khabar?</span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal">Kong pa de -<span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"> Khabar baik.</span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal">Nan me be lu ko le - <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Apa nama kamu?</span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal">Che no name Abu Bakar <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">- Nama saya Abu Bakar</span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal">Be lau le? <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">- Berapa harga?</span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal">Chi su pe <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">- Terima kasih.</span></p><p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt" class="MsoNormal">Sapi billa? <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">- Sudah makan?<br /></span></p>Tulisan Bahasa Burma juga memang susah. Hurufnya melebihi 33. Tapi mereka sangat bangga dengan bahasa mereka. Bahasa Inggeris ditutur dengan meluas di tempat di mana terdapat ramai pelancong seperti lapangan terbang, hotel dan pasar-pasar.Muslim Tourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16660380872159352050noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330478300414214475.post-60581537316934339692010-06-17T19:58:00.000-07:002010-06-21T22:12:53.998-07:00Myanmar Muslim Tour : MYANMAR / Yangon – Masjid Jamek Bengali Sunni<h2 class="date-header"><span style="font-size:+0;">Tuesday, October 28, 2008</span></h2><div class="post-header"></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoWiun1w6BJiUM0WD1feX26lkRd7yHd0ujQNd_OyKypU_ARKHvMsewK7lmSHw0IAs8f6ITuVta8kUJ8bgYbV2MhFCC06dJ_mp1lErfUlV1Io3mbqgpCCR6y_qMQysESQkwU-RYvJ4_M_mT/s1600-h/DSCN0092_068.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298599278617714498" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoWiun1w6BJiUM0WD1feX26lkRd7yHd0ujQNd_OyKypU_ARKHvMsewK7lmSHw0IAs8f6ITuVta8kUJ8bgYbV2MhFCC06dJ_mp1lErfUlV1Io3mbqgpCCR6y_qMQysESQkwU-RYvJ4_M_mT/s320/DSCN0092_068.JPG" /></a><br /><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><br /><br /><em>Masjid Jamek ini terletak bersetentangan dengan Pagoda Sule di tengah-tengah pusat bandar Yangon.</em><br /><br />Umat Islam mewakili 10% atau lebih dari penduduk Myanmar kebanyakannya di Yangon dan bandar-bandar besar lain. Hasilnya terdapat banyak masjid-masjid di sekitar Yangon. Ada masjid sunni dan ada masjid syiah.<br /><br />Masjid Jamek Bengali Sunni terletak di Jalan Pagoda Sule. di hadapan Pagoda Sule itu sendiri. Mr Ibrahim Gambari, wakil PBB, pernah mendirikan solat di sini semasa misinya ke Yangon tetapi beliau tidak dapat berjumpa dengan Senior General Than Shwe sendiri, sebaliknya bertemu penolong-penolongnya sahaja. Masjid ini didirikan oleh penduduk tempatan yang nenek moyang berasal dari Bangladesh. (sebab itu namanya masjid Bengali). Beberapa kali saya solat di sini sebab dekat dengan Hotel Traders (500m sahaja). Majoriti adalah pengikut sunni Imam Hanafi dan agak berbeza dengan Imam Shafie. Waktu azan dan waktu solat berjemaah dipisahkan dengan jarak waktu yang agak lama kecuali waktu maghrib. Di papan kenyataan masjid ditulis dengan jelas waktu-waktu tersebut supaya makmum bersedia. Contohnya, masuk waktu subuh (atau fajar) ialah 4:47 pagi tetapi waktu solat berjemaah ialah 5:27 pagi. Jadi kalau anda bangun lewat sekali pun anda masih boleh ikut solat berjemaah. Satu lagi contoh: masuk waktu Asar ialah 3:15pm, tetapi azan akan dilaungkan pada jam 4:30pm dan solat berjemaah pada jam 4:45pm. Solat fardhu berjemaah sangat penting dan hampir jatuh kepada hukum wajib mengikut Imam Hanafi, tetapi sayangnya masyarakat Malaysia sangat memandang mudah perkara ini. Islam itu mudah dan pegangan ini diterapkan oleh Imam Hanafi semasa mengerjakan solat. Selepas takbiratulihram terus dibaca fatihah (tanpa basmallah). Selepas imam membaca fatihah (tanpa ameeeen) terus dibaca surah. Imam tidak menunggu makmum menghabiskan fatihah kerana bagi mereka bacaan fatihah makmum ditanggong oleh imam. Duduk antara dua sujud sangat sekejap dan memang tidak sempat bagi kita mazhab Shafie untuk menghabiskan bacaan biasa kita. Selepas salam imam terus angkat tangan dan berdoa dan terus bangun mengerjakan solat sunat bakdiah. Tiada istighfar. Tiada zikir-zikir lain. Tiada ameen yang kuat selepas fatihah. Sangat ringkas dan mudah. Dan saya rasa generasi muda Malaysia memang suka cara solat sebegini. Tetapi mereka memang suka solat sunat terutamanya selepas maghrib dan isyak. </span>Muslim Tourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16660380872159352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330478300414214475.post-18336516698804913512010-06-17T19:57:00.001-07:002010-06-21T22:13:15.064-07:00Myanmar Muslim Tour : MYANMAR / Yangon Waterfront<h3 class="post-title entry-title"> </h3><div class="post-header"></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHl-_-L6T1HjgaUmvgZowg39UbfI6iJRjLRKY0difjk1JNQMsbjl-yOV65IXL06ke4HP5YHXTfn_zm8dl8i5E0ZpWX5FyPSikKayL71nEsqBfB2AxEZdrSHEnH9-cwlP6Fk8CtCkD5s5cL/s1600-h/YangonRiver14.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329780214025874034" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHl-_-L6T1HjgaUmvgZowg39UbfI6iJRjLRKY0difjk1JNQMsbjl-yOV65IXL06ke4HP5YHXTfn_zm8dl8i5E0ZpWX5FyPSikKayL71nEsqBfB2AxEZdrSHEnH9-cwlP6Fk8CtCkD5s5cL/s320/YangonRiver14.JPG" /></a><em> Penulis (kanan) bersama keluarga di tebing Sungai Yangon di Myanmar.</em><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyYXjQTpIOkjzYHrMbuu_xGhTiqquC4ykFmf-_3RDdOnRGYnfeDOOgbxU6JDPqta0STfVari5aie72BZgwa13AN9I8wVIyoiGAIx1YinqJPs-xymwq6PbYaknNR3bGidX0OYVUA5xLgtsl/s1600-h/YangonRiver31.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329779669624785010" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyYXjQTpIOkjzYHrMbuu_xGhTiqquC4ykFmf-_3RDdOnRGYnfeDOOgbxU6JDPqta0STfVari5aie72BZgwa13AN9I8wVIyoiGAIx1YinqJPs-xymwq6PbYaknNR3bGidX0OYVUA5xLgtsl/s320/YangonRiver31.JPG" /></a> <em>Bot-bot tambang seperti ini menjadi jambatan antara dua tebing sungai.</em><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisC6cFyTGireYcuK9ZioA6jn4HXBFogy4XQScUZ0FQTpX1AKVwg6E6bj_g9ehg9zO6NxthDxpzIfBuludAE9XRd95ePrSBsHPyJph3C5gclCw8fP4Sto9sPL1vIFfHPC_gwvCvLohVu7FZ/s1600-h/YangonRiver11.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329778894051425506" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisC6cFyTGireYcuK9ZioA6jn4HXBFogy4XQScUZ0FQTpX1AKVwg6E6bj_g9ehg9zO6NxthDxpzIfBuludAE9XRd95ePrSBsHPyJph3C5gclCw8fP4Sto9sPL1vIFfHPC_gwvCvLohVu7FZ/s320/YangonRiver11.JPG" /></a> <em>Feri-feri penumpang berlabuh di salah sebuah jeti di Sungan Yangon.</em><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIEmUKjjtL_TzgxQWj766VeUK9dTprZl3OsJkgHcOTxZ9cCJ8sDinYcsS31oqVf3WEW8kGyuV3J3RZCvp_8l2i4lSgItdH5Nva3Ppigg9I3FUXqHLhrB6kK38GzlYgTwTYEjoI-govpumK/s1600-h/YagonRiver4.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329778132940097266" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIEmUKjjtL_TzgxQWj766VeUK9dTprZl3OsJkgHcOTxZ9cCJ8sDinYcsS31oqVf3WEW8kGyuV3J3RZCvp_8l2i4lSgItdH5Nva3Ppigg9I3FUXqHLhrB6kK38GzlYgTwTYEjoI-govpumK/s320/YagonRiver4.JPG" /></a> <em>Sebuah feri penumpang di Sungai Yangon.</em><br /><br />Sungai adalah nadi kehidupan Myanmar di mana aktiviti utamanya ialah pertanian. Semasa kita belajar Geografi di sekolah menengah di Malaysia, kita pasti tidak lupa akan Delta Irrawaddy yang menjadi kawasan penanaman padi utama di Asia selain dari Delta Mekong di Thailand.<br /><br />Sungai Yangon adalah satu cabangan Sungai Irrawaddy yang bermula di utara Myanmar. Jalan Strand terletak sebelah menyebelah sungai tersebut. Terdapat banyak jeti di kawasan waterfront tersebut kerana system pengangkutan air digunakan untuk mengangkut produk pertanian seperti beras, kekacang dan kayu jati dari kawasan delta ke kilang pemprosesan di sekitar Yangon.<br /><br />Kapal-kapal kontena dan kapal-kapal dagang yang besar dari seluruh dunia memunggah kontena di jeti-jeti yang telah dikhaskan. Terdapat banyak gudang-gudang dan stor simpanan kontena di sepanjang Strand Road dan kawasan downtown.<br /><br />Feri-feri membawa penumpang menyusuri Sungai Yangon ke bahagian delta. Ada feri penumpang yang menghala ke bahagian tengah dan utara Myanmar seperti Pyay, Bagan dan Myanmar. Bayaran untuk pelancong asing selalunya lebih mahal dari penduduk tempatan. Feri-feri nampak uzur dan tahap keselamatan juga di ragui. OK for short distance, not for long ones. But it must be interesting to be on one of those.<br /><br />Terdapat juga pakej pelancongan river cruise oleh syarikat pelancongan tempatan. </div></div></div>Muslim Tourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16660380872159352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330478300414214475.post-18263652396622244162010-06-17T19:56:00.000-07:002010-06-21T22:13:40.311-07:00Myanmar Muslim Tour : MYANMAR / Yangon Downtown (Pusat Bandar)<h2 class="date-header"><span style="font-size:+0;">Tuesday, April 28, 2009</span></h2><div class="post-header"></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6DIrrQZpzJktQZu0vMLFuSnkkGZFuj1zDQgWYTVIfIlNR18NDPCnnxvJ1Mch8bvGlf2miiEMHpHQ43bWGAjhXG8YtxUPwbnZlvEjEaotBnXg-BBwkCMvKUYoWsqEAzWt639JU-sE_8fZB/s1600-h/DSCN0572.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329786692004112642" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6DIrrQZpzJktQZu0vMLFuSnkkGZFuj1zDQgWYTVIfIlNR18NDPCnnxvJ1Mch8bvGlf2miiEMHpHQ43bWGAjhXG8YtxUPwbnZlvEjEaotBnXg-BBwkCMvKUYoWsqEAzWt639JU-sE_8fZB/s320/DSCN0572.JPG" /></a><em> Sebuah bangunan peninggalan British di Strand Road, Yangon. Kawasan downtown dipenuhi oleh bangunan-bangunan bersejarah seperti ini.</em><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy2GGWSO300GmyNBCwwW7YLUX5vl6YAdY73AspKzVDIN-PCAExW7CW-mJkzPVfyr4VU0dbS2OOe4UcZfX6YXMBoNnwalfV8yyC0ri_n4iSEB8clTTH9XZ9imh75ps3_FPH2odwFR6w8_-6/s1600-h/bogyoke10.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329785404967568466" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy2GGWSO300GmyNBCwwW7YLUX5vl6YAdY73AspKzVDIN-PCAExW7CW-mJkzPVfyr4VU0dbS2OOe4UcZfX6YXMBoNnwalfV8yyC0ri_n4iSEB8clTTH9XZ9imh75ps3_FPH2odwFR6w8_-6/s320/bogyoke10.JPG" /></a> <em>Satu sektor di dalam Bogyoke Market.<br /></em><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWSWrQX5zgRQ9hN5Cfj6pJGwc-YtK4CPid5JGa-zGy11ax8d_p5Wp2Rl90KXni7EuAUYJWaNRV1EEEXEusB4rag79rgIcDGC7IRqGO74vM2O-mcTElnwve_D2gdYMDdfGULYxqrOtvq5mw/s1600-h/Downtown6.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329784902825009442" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWSWrQX5zgRQ9hN5Cfj6pJGwc-YtK4CPid5JGa-zGy11ax8d_p5Wp2Rl90KXni7EuAUYJWaNRV1EEEXEusB4rag79rgIcDGC7IRqGO74vM2O-mcTElnwve_D2gdYMDdfGULYxqrOtvq5mw/s320/Downtown6.JPG" /></a> <em>Bogyoke Market ialah bangunan berbumbung merah di sepanjang Aung San Road. Pandangan dari Hotel Traders, Yangon.<br /></em><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7YegJmAj4u_Bvo8-rcBumFM0pWl0sOs8KAG-WCBoTd4EhJ6M5R0oRh3hAL0EGfjx0ISNwsa0ZeYzsksaYsR29iaQGeBDIHSXpZnZVkti1sr2CxVYCqEHeI0ulxGyz_m2cK4EZU6frpgMk/s1600-h/ChinaTown2.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329783945554953746" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7YegJmAj4u_Bvo8-rcBumFM0pWl0sOs8KAG-WCBoTd4EhJ6M5R0oRh3hAL0EGfjx0ISNwsa0ZeYzsksaYsR29iaQGeBDIHSXpZnZVkti1sr2CxVYCqEHeI0ulxGyz_m2cK4EZU6frpgMk/s320/ChinaTown2.JPG" /></a> <em>Peniaga-peniaga kaum China kebanyakannya berniaga barang kemas (jewellery) di Chinatown. Sektor Chinatown dicat merah dan anda tidak akan terlepas pandang kawasan ini.<br /></em><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5-qEAtffY0cw_yk6hoYSRQs4K6CQVGWyX5QwYm9Svwbhac6_OwEBdA28QHhl_jKdOLJJQ54Dmo8dv8_kK0cEpurcYGygIDB7yO-KFVLGlVnpjr-7-qDwhLxSZNODtWWJe5CGf2i669tne/s1600-h/Downtown7.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329783258091130754" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5-qEAtffY0cw_yk6hoYSRQs4K6CQVGWyX5QwYm9Svwbhac6_OwEBdA28QHhl_jKdOLJJQ54Dmo8dv8_kK0cEpurcYGygIDB7yO-KFVLGlVnpjr-7-qDwhLxSZNODtWWJe5CGf2i669tne/s320/Downtown7.JPG" /></a> <em>Pemandangan kawasan downtown Yangon dari Tingkat 19 Hotel Traders di Sule Pagoda Road. Sule Pagoda terletak ditengah-tengah bulatan. Sungai Yangon kelihatan di background gambar ini.<br /></em><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>Lawatan anda tidak sah ke Yangon jika anda tidak datang ke Bogyoke Market. Nama lama pasar ini yang diberi oleh penjajah British ialah Scott Market. Nama pendeknya ialah Bogyoke Market sahaja. Bogyoke disebut ‘bojok’. Pasar ini terletak di Aung San Road di kawasan downtown Yangon. Pasar ini dan kawasan sekitarnya menjadi kawasan wajib-lawat (must-visit) kepada pelancong kerana semua yang ada di Myanmar boleh didapati di sini, dari kain, makanan, kraftangan, oil paintings, alat muzik, alat eletrik hinggalah ke batu permata. Walaupun harga barang di sini berpatutan dan boleh ditawar lagi, disebabkan bilangan pelancong yang semakin ramai, harga pun semakin naik. Kawasan lain yang menawarkan harga lebih kompetitif ialah Yuzana Plaza (kerana kurang pelancong ke sana). Jika anda berminat akan batu permata tetapi tiada ilmu batu permata, elok dibawa bersama pakar batu permata semasa membeli batu permata di sini. Dua ketul batu rubi yang seakan-akan sama sekali pandang boleh mempunyai harga yang berbeza: USD20 versus USD200. Jadi jangan ambil risiko. Satu kedai batu permata di Bogyoke Market yang menjadi tumpuan ialah Yadana Asia. Carilah Haji Marbood di sini. Beliau dan anak-anaknya boleh bercakap Bahasa Melayu.<br /><br />Lukisan minyak hasil keluaran artis tempatan juga menjadi tarikan di sini. Tema lukisan mereka ialah kehidupan harian masyarakat Myanmar di setiap negeri di Myanmar. Harga dari USD5 hinggalah USD100 untuk saiz besar. Lukisan yang dihasilkan oleh susunan batu permata seperti rubi, jade, mutiara dan sapphire juga menarik tetapi harganya agak tinggi.<br /><br />Aung San Road, Anawrahta Road, Mahabandoola Road dan Strand Road adalah 4 jalan utama yang selari yang membentuk kawasan downtown. Antara mercu tanda kawasan downtown selain Bogyoke Market ialah Hotel Traders, Sakura Towers, Sule Pagoda, Chinatown, Hotel Strand dan Hotel Central. Sakura Tower menempatkan ofis syarikat penerbangan dan syarikat antarabangsa termasuklah Petronas. Sakura Tower terletak bertentangan dengan Hotel Traders.<br /><br />Kawasan downtown juga di penuhi oleh bangunan-bangunan lama peninggalan penjajah British. Anda boleh melihat bangunan seperti ini di sepanjang Strand Road dan Sule Pagoda Road. Hotel Strand merupakan contoh terbaik bangunan lama diubahsuai menjadi hotel eksklusif, tetapi sayang sekali kebanyakannya terbiar sahaja tanpa penyelenggaran. </div></div></div></div>Muslim Tourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16660380872159352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330478300414214475.post-34687262746453513682010-06-17T19:55:00.000-07:002010-06-21T22:14:01.531-07:00Myanmar Muslim Tour : MYANMAR – Extreme Water Festival in Yangon. <div class="post-header"></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU7hPFHp1JfXwAmd82s9l3jcZ5_Gvvdcw7Uhes2YL1RsiaHDEjO5LtbYcPM8AkZsN14omvZ0Q0_wtqyi_CxlQcSM_gGdZpsa6jg1C7-bSlIazXZOvjGGME1Ov7YHqiTIiRTZ_5iwhE5fci/s1600-h/DSCN2533.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328994109504573106" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU7hPFHp1JfXwAmd82s9l3jcZ5_Gvvdcw7Uhes2YL1RsiaHDEjO5LtbYcPM8AkZsN14omvZ0Q0_wtqyi_CxlQcSM_gGdZpsa6jg1C7-bSlIazXZOvjGGME1Ov7YHqiTIiRTZ_5iwhE5fci/s320/DSCN2533.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><em>A Myanmar girl enjoying waters and fun !</em><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmImZGbCDBke4p1YOJOLBK5CG3ezW0_5c70wDfba9JvnBBl-UHbBbMsXkJkw8jDIh6fN-0tUNRRYq5kUqAxoTzfvSGj_1FjLj7ZkeLTKDE5-u8vLD3lT5-ccOcGK4ucUKPEQ-YaoA4mRno/s1600-h/DSCN2569.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328993002317018482" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmImZGbCDBke4p1YOJOLBK5CG3ezW0_5c70wDfba9JvnBBl-UHbBbMsXkJkw8jDIh6fN-0tUNRRYq5kUqAxoTzfvSGj_1FjLj7ZkeLTKDE5-u8vLD3lT5-ccOcGK4ucUKPEQ-YaoA4mRno/s320/DSCN2569.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><em>Shwegonedine Road is congested with vehicles. Loud music and live performance attract hard-core ravelers, causing massive jams in the city.</em><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBC3pMKMg37JfmnMAifkPSC0ZHcKy5IxxM5YpfXiT0XLVWkD86TtfssN52aqoMsbCh2K3usoQh1nHCe4jwSsGyAxodjTDeoEIpBNN-N9JjJOquFihaNe0j8J-tfElT0rqz_IPukXf-xJoi/s1600-h/DSCN2576.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328992689856514962" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBC3pMKMg37JfmnMAifkPSC0ZHcKy5IxxM5YpfXiT0XLVWkD86TtfssN52aqoMsbCh2K3usoQh1nHCe4jwSsGyAxodjTDeoEIpBNN-N9JjJOquFihaNe0j8J-tfElT0rqz_IPukXf-xJoi/s320/DSCN2576.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><em>Truck-load being showered at a pandal. Normally a family went around the town together in a roofless truck to enjoy water.</em><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjazdFgBkuH0Z6kghqvyQbI4HVSpghJ1PjbnSj4k9NiCpYwclBWpgPueiZQv9uyrdFzrRxhtLYt0gecvb2cmu3qklMF_bKUEYNvUzyvtUJ-ljzoU3JKCXq-4GENYQjHetgl-FbY-HSrdW7B/s1600-h/DSCN2450.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328990679542709394" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjazdFgBkuH0Z6kghqvyQbI4HVSpghJ1PjbnSj4k9NiCpYwclBWpgPueiZQv9uyrdFzrRxhtLYt0gecvb2cmu3qklMF_bKUEYNvUzyvtUJ-ljzoU3JKCXq-4GENYQjHetgl-FbY-HSrdW7B/s320/DSCN2450.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><em>One of the big pandal sponsored by a big company along Kabaye Pagoda Road. </em><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdJRFzVdxOyviBUJKFft_tQJe6kYgIu_4CUPWJJJFo1KrIsaKCaCgepZgVB4pGEBiKPiQkZzhztmiWcyCgbuO0bgFb2inyEFYGHEuvFF1yTdDsMbDzffjBp1Hssb5nTVHFziyHpmckoVvl/s1600-h/DSCN2420.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328990338861698546" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdJRFzVdxOyviBUJKFft_tQJe6kYgIu_4CUPWJJJFo1KrIsaKCaCgepZgVB4pGEBiKPiQkZzhztmiWcyCgbuO0bgFb2inyEFYGHEuvFF1yTdDsMbDzffjBp1Hssb5nTVHFziyHpmckoVvl/s320/DSCN2420.JPG" /></a><br /><em><br />A pandal under construction.</em><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>Water festival in Myanmar is known as Thingyan. It marks the end of the current Burmese year and the beginning of another new year. Burmese year is based on lunar system and this year they celebrate Year 1371. Thingyan usually falls on April 13th and lasts for three or four days. During this period, waters are thrown to passers-by to “cleanse their sins”. That’s what devoted Buddhists believe but what started as a religious ritual now has become a country’s most celebrated holiday, participated by everybody. Thingyan is no doubt the most celebrated holidays in the country. Government offices and schools were closed. Followed immediately with the New Year holidays, the total holiday was ten days, which was quite long. However some private companies and schools did not observe full ten days. This year, Thingyan alone fell on 14th through 16th of April, 2009.</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><br />Waters were thrown from simply a bucket put by the parents for their children to throw to passers-by using a plastic bowl or nowadays from ‘Pandals’. What is Pandal? I could not find this word in most English dictionaries, so I presume it must be a Burmese word. The Pandal is normally a wooden stage constructed by the roadside and near water source. In Yangon there are many natural lakes, so the likely place you can find a Pandal is along those lakes. Pandal comes in many shapes. Their size varies. Most of them are just a simple stage just for people to walk up and spray waters. Some have bigger space which serve as dance floor for revelers and also provide the space for live band to perform.<br /><br />To construct a Pandal, you must apply for a permit from Yangon City Development Counsel (YCDC). Pandals dot up the busy roads in the City of Yangon, among them are Inya Road, Kabaye Aye Pagoda Road and also along Kandawgyi Lake. Loud music is a must on a Pandal. In fact the louder the better as it attract more people to your Pandal. People walk or drive through right in front of the Pandal, to be showered by people on the Pandal. They come in throng on open-roof pickup trucks or jeeps or modified vans. They come here willingly, so they will absorb whatever thrown at them, and say thank you to you by waving their hands when they leave.<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Water is the main component of the pandal. The big pandals normally suck waters from a nearby lake using powerful water pumps. From the top of the pandal, simple water hose was used to spray to passers-by. Some pandals also provided high pressure fire water hose to their guests to spray to the revelers. The pandal I visited pumped water from Kandawgyi Lake, a natural lake in the middle of the city. The water was so green that I took it as okay because even the algae could survive there. But it is strong advisable to rinse yourself with pipe water once you are back in hotel room or apartment, since you don’t know much the quality of the water.<br /><br />Since the situation was quite charged-up, largely due to the rock music playing through speakers sometimes occupying the quarter of the space on the Pandal, you should expect some electrifying moments. Yes, this is a fiesta. Revelers were dancing to the tune of the music, on the road, on the Pandal or even on the moving vehicles. Local bands were performing live music on some big Pandal sponsored by big companies in airline or construction business.<br /><br />What made it more exciting was the rowdy and raunchy behaviors of the ravelers. Most drank and got drunk, dangerously. Few fell off the pickup truck on the wet road and had to be dragged to the curb by peers. They danced and screamed wildly on the street.<br />This is a country where imported goods are rare, so they consume local beers or home-made ones.<br /><br />With alcohol in their blood veins, some went out of control. They danced berserk on the street with green bottle of Myanmar Lager Beer in their hands. Some danced on the roof of the moving vehicle to the tune of western rock songs but with Burmese lyrics. Songs in the like of Boney M’s Rasputin and Macarena and other famous hip hop songs could not be difficult to differentiate with local traditional songs.<br /><br />Wilder teenager went further by taking off their shirts. Female revelers wore skimpy dress and when in contact with water revealed body curve to the delight of their boyfriends. The moments were so electrifying that for a moment you never thought it would happen in this religious and polite society, where half of the population are Buddhist monks.<br /><br />Driving along streets with Pandal was an uphill task. These roads were clogged with vehicles queueing to drive through the Pandals to be showered. Extra measures should be taken to avoid hittting the drunkard, men and women alike.<br /><br />With water, wine and music coming together, Burmese Water Festival or known as Thingyan is not really for everybody. If it is meant for an avenue to celebrate and enjoy, yes the mission is accomplished. The local would forget the misery of their life for a while. They lived in their utopian world for a good three or so days, breaking traffic rules, getting drunk, dancing recklessly on the streets and nobody including authority bothered.<br /><br />If getting sprayed at the pandal proves too much for you, you may have a traditional way of enjoying water festival. If you want only small water, try walking around the neighborhood in between apartment blocks during Thingyan. Innocent children would appear behind the parked cars with a bowl of water and threw it onto you. Be prepared to get wet and take no offend. The right response was simply a smile or waving hand to signal a thank you.Muslim Tourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16660380872159352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330478300414214475.post-15816861675509706542010-06-17T19:52:00.000-07:002010-06-21T22:14:32.698-07:00Myanmar Muslim Tour : Chaung Tha Beach, MYANMAR<h2><small>February 14th, 2010 by abuadam </small></h2><p>Chaung Tha Beach terletak 40 km ke barat Pathein (Bassein) di Ayeyarwaddy Division. Perajalanan dari Yangon ke sini mengambil masa lebih kurang 5 ke 6 jam. Chaung Tha Beach merupakan destinasi pelancongan tepi laut tersohor di Myanmar selain dari Ngapali Beach. Pantainya panjang dengan pasir yang halus dan seakan-akan berlumpur. Pohon kelapa dan kasuarina tumbuh di sepanjang pantai. Dari kejauhan kelihatan beberapa buah pulau pesisir pantai.</p><p>Banyak aktiviti komersial kecil-kecilan di sepanjang pantai. Penjaja membawa barang dagangan mereka di atas kepala menjual barang-barang handikraf dan makanan laut (seafood) dan akan menghampiri anda dengan barang jualan mereka. Ketam memang makanan laut popular di sini. Ketam hidup dijual dalam baldi-baldi besar yang diangkat dengan tangan dari satu tempat ke satu tempat. Anda pilih bilangan dan saiz ketam yang disukai dan bayar harganya dan penjual akan memasak ketam tersebut mengikut selera anda. Bukan saja ketam, ada udang dan ikan-ikan laut, dan harganya memang berpatutan – dijual mengikut bilangan dan saiz dan bukannya timbangan, dan boleh ditambah seekor dua lagi. Pendek kata, Chaung Tha ialah syurga makanan laut (seafood heaven). Anak-anak ketam dijual oleh kanak-kanak tempatan untuk dilepaskan ke laut. Harga seekor anak ketam hanyalah 200 kyats bersamaan 70 sen sahaja. Tapi jaga sepitnya.</p><p><strong>Klik imej untuk saiz sebenar. Lalukan cursor atas imej untuk cerita di sebalik gambar. </strong></p><div id="post-754" class="post"><style type="text/css"> #gallery-1 { margin: auto; } #gallery-1 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 25%; } #gallery-1 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-1 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } </style><!-- see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php --><div id="gallery-1" class="gallery galleryid-754"><dl class="gallery-item"><dt class="gallery-icon"><a title="Kuda untuk disewa di Chaung Tha Beach, Myanmar" href="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha024.JPG"><img class="attachment-thumbnail" title="Kuda untuk disewa di Chaung Tha Beach, Myanmar" alt="" src="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha024-150x150.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a> </dt></dl><dl class="gallery-item"><dt class="gallery-icon"><a title="Shwe Taung ialah makanan tradisi di Myanmar - spt antara mee kari dan 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src="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha011-150x150.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a> </dt></dl><br /><dl class="gallery-item"><dt class="gallery-icon"><a title="Kenangan indah di Chaung Tha Beach, Myanmar" href="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha025.JPG"><img class="attachment-thumbnail" title="Kenangan indah di Chaung Tha Beach, Myanmar" alt="" src="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha025-150x150.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a> </dt></dl><dl class="gallery-item"><dt class="gallery-icon"><a title="chaungtha001" href="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha001.JPG"><img class="attachment-thumbnail" title="chaungtha001" alt="" src="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha001-150x150.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a> </dt></dl><dl class="gallery-item"><dt class="gallery-icon"><a title="chaungtha006" href="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha006.JPG"><img class="attachment-thumbnail" title="chaungtha006" alt="" src="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha006-150x150.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a> </dt></dl><dl class="gallery-item"><dt class="gallery-icon"><a title="chaungtha003" href="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha003.JPG"><img class="attachment-thumbnail" title="chaungtha003" alt="" src="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha003-150x150.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a> </dt></dl><br /><dl class="gallery-item"><dt class="gallery-icon"><a title="chaungtha014" href="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha014.JPG"><img class="attachment-thumbnail" title="chaungtha014" alt="" src="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha014-150x150.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a> </dt></dl><dl class="gallery-item"><dt class="gallery-icon"><a title="Matahari tenggelam di Chaung Tha Beach, Myanmar" href="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha017.JPG"><img class="attachment-thumbnail" title="Matahari tenggelam di Chaung Tha Beach, Myanmar" alt="" src="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha017-150x150.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a> </dt></dl><dl class="gallery-item"><dt class="gallery-icon"><a title="Sebuah resort di Chaung Tha Beach, Myanmar" href="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha036.JPG"><img class="attachment-thumbnail" title="Sebuah resort di Chaung Tha Beach, Myanmar" alt="" src="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha036-150x150.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a> </dt></dl><dl class="gallery-item"><dt class="gallery-icon"><a title="Terminal bas di Chaung Tha Beach" href="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha032.JPG"><img class="attachment-thumbnail" title="Terminal bas di Chaung Tha Beach" alt="" src="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha032-150x150.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a> </dt></dl><br /><dl class="gallery-item"><dt class="gallery-icon"><a title="Jambatan kayu ke Chaung Tha dari Pathein" href="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha040.JPG"><img class="attachment-thumbnail" title="Jambatan kayu ke Chaung Tha dari Pathein" alt="" src="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha040-150x150.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a> </dt></dl><dl class="gallery-item"><dt class="gallery-icon"><a title="Basikal untuk disewa di Chaung Tha Beach, Myanmar" href="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha026.JPG"><img class="attachment-thumbnail" title="Basikal untuk disewa di Chaung Tha Beach, Myanmar" alt="" src="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha026-150x150.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a> </dt></dl><dl class="gallery-item"><dt class="gallery-icon"><a title="Pelancong tempatan di Chaungtha Beach" href="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha029.JPG"><img class="attachment-thumbnail" title="Pelancong tempatan di Chaungtha Beach" alt="" src="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha029-150x150.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a> </dt></dl><dl class="gallery-item"><dt class="gallery-icon"><a title="BBQ seafood di Chaung Tha Beach, Myanmar" href="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha019.JPG"><img class="attachment-thumbnail" title="BBQ seafood di Chaung Tha Beach, Myanmar" alt="" src="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha019-150x150.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a> </dt></dl><br /><dl class="gallery-item"><dt class="gallery-icon"><a title="chaungtha009" href="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha009.JPG"><img class="attachment-thumbnail" title="chaungtha009" alt="" src="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha009-150x150.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a> </dt></dl><dl class="gallery-item"><dt class="gallery-icon"><a title="Superman di Belle Resort, Chaung Tha Beach, Myanmar" href="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha030.JPG"><img class="attachment-thumbnail" title="Superman di Belle Resort, Chaung Tha Beach, Myanmar" alt="" src="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha030-150x150.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a> </dt></dl><dl class="gallery-item"><dt class="gallery-icon"><a title="Burung merak di Belle Resort, Chaung Tha Beach, Myanmar" href="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha027.JPG"><img class="attachment-thumbnail" title="Burung merak di Belle Resort, Chaung Tha Beach, Myanmar" alt="" src="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha027-150x150.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a> </dt></dl><dl class="gallery-item"><dt class="gallery-icon"><a title="Ikan masin ialah barang mesti-beli di Chaung Tha Beach" href="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha034.JPG"><img class="attachment-thumbnail" title="Ikan masin ialah barang mesti-beli di Chaung Tha Beach" alt="" src="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha034-150x150.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a> </dt></dl><br /><dl class="gallery-item"><dt class="gallery-icon"><a title="Rumah bot di sepanjang Sungai Ayeyarwaddy dekat Pathein" href="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha041.JPG"><img class="attachment-thumbnail" title="Rumah bot di sepanjang Sungai Ayeyarwaddy dekat Pathein" alt="" src="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha041-150x150.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a> </dt></dl><dl class="gallery-item"><dt class="gallery-icon"><a title="Sebuah rumah tumpangan di Chaung Tha Beach, Myanmar" href="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha037.JPG"><img class="attachment-thumbnail" title="Sebuah rumah tumpangan di Chaung Tha Beach, Myanmar" alt="" src="http://bumisepi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/chaungtha037-150x150.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a> </dt></dl><br /></div><p>Aktiviti-aktiviti riadah banyak sekali. Anda boleh menaiki kuda di tepi pantai dengan bayaran 1000 kyats (bersamaan RM3.40) selama 15-20 minit. Kuda-kuda di sini dijaga dengan baik, dengan ekor panjang dan kulit kemerah-merahan seperti kuda lumba. Anda boleh menyewa basikal. Anda boleh menyewa pelampung getah yang besar dan membawanya jauh ke tengah laut dan membiarkan ombak Lautan Andaman menolaknya balik ke tepi pantai. Anda boleh bermain <em>beach volleyball</em> dan <em>beach soccer</em>. Anda boleh membeli handikraf seperti topi daun kelapa dan kulit ketam atau udang yang besar dalam frem untuk dibawa pulang sebagai kenangan.</p><p>Terdapat banyak hotel berbagai bintang disini. Lawati tapak web ini <a href="http://www.hotelsinmyanmar.com/myanmar-chaungthar-deluxe.htm" target="_blank">http://www.hotelsinmyanmar.com/myanmar-chaungthar-deluxe.htm</a>. Saya tinggal di Belle Resort sepanjang lawatan ini. Hotel lima bintang dengan kolam renang ini memang mahal (USD80++ untuk bilik deluxe menghadap laut). Saya di sini atas urusan rasmi jadi segala perbelanjaan dibayar Syarikat.</p><p>Chaung Tha ialah sebuah kampung nelayan di tepi pantai yang suram yang mana pelancongan menjadi industri utama di sini. Ini dapat dilihat dengan banyaknya hotel dan resort yang sedang atau sudah dibina atau diubahsuai. Anda boleh melawat kawasan ‘pusat bandar’ atau lebih tepat kawasan pasar Chaung Tha hanya berjalan kaki dari resort anda atau menaiki beca 2-seater, satu seat menghadap ke depan dan satu seat lagi menghadap ke belakang. Di kawasan pasar, ikan masin, sotong kering yang segar boleh dbeli, selain T-shirt sebagai kenangan ke sini. Tidak kelihatan masjid di kawasan ini.</p><p><strong>UNTUK SAMPAI KE SINI</strong></p><p>Malaysia Airline terbang setiap hari (kecuali Selasa dan Khamis) dari Kuala Lumpur ke Yangon, Myanmar. Dari Yangon ke Chaung Tha Beach anda boleh menaiki bas ekspres dan masa perjalanan 6 jam melalui jalan raya biasa (di Myanmar tiada lebuhraya seperti PLUS di Malaysia) yang mana hanya satu pertiga yang bertar sempurna. Untuk tempahan hotel, anda boleh melawat laman web <a href="http://www.hotelsinmyanmar.com/myanmar-chaungthar-deluxe.htm" target="_blank">http://www.hotelsinmyanmar.com/myanmar-chaungthar-deluxe.htm</a></p><p>Anda memerlukan visa untuk memasuki Myanmar.</p></div>Muslim Tourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16660380872159352050noreply@blogger.com0