Balloon fiesta in Myanmar

Wow! What a way to begin the day. I had a 5am pick up to get to the hot air balloon launch. When we arrived on site, the company had small wooden folding chairs placed in a circle, where we were invited to take a seat after grabbing a cup of tea or coffee. I secured my seat and patiently waited my next instructions. The crew started with a roll call, then provided a detailed safety briefing. We were subsequently split into two groups; one group was riding with the Aussie pilot, and my group was assigned Javier. I also got matched with a small group of Spaniards, so Javier provided bilingual services throughout the flight.

The baskets were large, with capacity for 15. Our group totaled 14, and I was the only solo flier. As a result, I was partnered with a young couple and assigned the front right corner of the basket. I quickly introduced myself to the duo, who appeared to be Scandinavian. His name was Latso and she introduced herself as Dora. I was tempted to use the name Carmen Sandiego but realized I might be the only one that got the joke. We waited as the crew filled the chamber with air, and Javier fired up the burners. Javier gave us the all clear, and we all climbed in. As the basket rose, the anticipation grew and we weren’t disappointed. We ended up being the last balloon off the ground, and there must have been another dozen already in the air Below us, the temples and pagodas shown in the morning light. The basket slowly turned, seemingly pulling back the curtain on more and more structures below. There are over 2200 temples and pagodas in this small area. We floated slowly down the middle of the “monument zone,” and the view was amazing. I burned an entire battery shooting photos. I have seen a lot of incredible places before (Manchu Picchu, Egyptian pyramids, for example), but this place is impressive. It seems like everywhere you look there is a stupa or temple. They are tall or short; round or square; white or red; brick or sandstone. There is something for everybody.

Following the flight, I was deposited at my hotel, where I had a quick breakfast and prepared for the rest of the day. The car arrived and we headed out to Mt Popa. We made a short stop at a sugar palm farm, where I had Myanmar’s version of kimchi. I have to say I liked it better than the Korean version. It is made from green tea leaves that have soaked for a month before salt and oil are added. The tea leaves are meant to be the base of a “salad.” Served with the salad are small bowls of roasted garlic bits, sesame seeds, dried beans, peanuts, and dried something else. I dished up some tea leaves, and put a little of everything on top. I mixed the contents around, trying to buy a little time before giving it a try. However, I was pleasantly surprised. Not only did I like it, I went in for seconds. Surprising.

We finished our green tea salad and headed southeast. From what I understood from the guide, Mt Popa sits in front of an extinct volcano (which is the actual Mt Popa). This seemed evident to me. The actual Popa mountain has a similar outline to Kilimanjaro. Mt Popa came into existence when the volcano blew years ago. The guide compared Mt Popa to the cork that got blown out of the volcano, shot through the air, and landed upside down, creating a little mountain. OK. Whatever it’s origin, I had read that a monastery, with amazing views, sits at the top, accessible only by climbing 777 stairs around the side of the mountain. Before we hiked up the stairs, we stopped by the shrine for nat worshipping. Nats are spirits, and this is apparently the most famous nat shrine in Myanmar. There are 37 nats here, and I got the story on several of them. It was noted that we would see individual shrines higher up the mountain, dedicated to specific nats. I was glad to hear that, anticipating that I might need to take a break on the stairs at some point. The stairway is covered with tin roofing, so you can’t tell how far you have to go, but you can measure your progress, as you look out the side and watch the town grow smaller. I stopped for pictures on the way up, as well as taking time to watch a few macaque monkeys.

Unfortunately the view at the top was a bit obscured with a heavy haze, so we took a look around and headed back down. After a quick stop for a bite to eat, we returned to view a few more temples and pagodas. The night was capped with an elevator ride to the top of the “watch” tower, which is a 13 story observation tower. Again, the view was spectacular, but I have to say it just looks better from a balloon.Read more