Stranded, and rescued, in the nick of time on Myanmar sojourn

By Rahul Banerji

Three days into Myanmar On The Run and things are starting to get interesting. We were booked well in advance to travel upcountry to the ancient city of Bagan, and also Mandalay, by train, only to be informed 48 hours prior that no tickets were available.

Left dangling, so to say.

Now Myanmar virtually comes to a halt twice a year for major festivals. Much like China there is a mas migration homewards and all bets are off when it comes to transport. This is something we were not aware of and consequently, have been all but left stranded.

Had to not been for our genial host here, Ujjwal, we would have had to scratch plans to travel north as everything had been booked up or sold out.

The only alternative left, flying, was expectedly 25-30 per cent dearer but the well-organised young man pulled off a minor miracle in finding us a driver and car at almost zero notice.

It blows the budget apart, but we are on the move!

Need to know

So just as a heads-up in case you are planning a Myanmar swing. In April, it is Thingyan, the Water Festival that spills over into the Burmese New Year, making for up to a week of holidays,

In October, as we are finding out at some cost, comes Thadingyut. It is the end of the Buddhist Lent, and is also known as the Festival of Lights and stretches for five long days. So mark these two spells as they can be very spectacular, and special, but also a speed-breaker for well-laid plans.

Still and all, life goes on and Thursday was our first round of golf on this trip, at the Royal Mingalardon Golf and Country Club. Like parts of Myanmar, it has seen better days or may be it was the tail end of the monsoon, but the 24-year-old establishment was not at its best the day Teetimetales got to play a round.

’The best thing that can be said about RMGCC is that it is a test. The roughs are deep and thick, there is plenty of water so accuracy is premium. I shed the driver and even the hybrid in favour of irons and that helped limit the damage to my diminishing stock of golf balls.

Hidden cost

Playing at RMGCC is easy on the pocket, in total the bill was under a thousand rupees, but there was a bit of a shock in the form of a compulsory carry tip that was as much as the green fee and caddy fee combined.

Away from the course, there was a visit to the Sule Pagoda, Myanmar’s oldest such active place of worship that is reputed to be 2,600 years old, dating back to the time of the Buddha and has a fund of tales and legends associated with its location, founding and change.

Sule Pagoda, which sits at the heart of old Yangon, has entrances from all the four cardinal points of the compass, is encased in what seems from far to be a ring of gold, and the golden filigree work atop the spire is exquisite.

Right opposite is the Maha Bandula Park, now being spruced up for Thadingyut but otherwise a centre for much activity, protests and demonstrations including the seminal 2007 Saffron Revolution.

And everywhere one turns, there are people eating! The sheer variety of street food on offer is mind-boggling, from fresh produce (including aloe vera spotted at more than one stall), to tripe, intestines and more parts of a pig than one can care to name.

For those with a food itch, this is Alladin’s Cave.

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