These are photos of our journey to the ‘lost’ city of Mrauk U, in western Burma. I say ‘lost’ because it is really quite off the map… First you fly to the provincial town of Sittwe on the coast of the Bay of Bengal, not too far from Bangladesh, and then you board a small boat to go upriver some 7 hours until you come to this amazing town of ancient temples in the middle of…well,…nowhere.

Mrauk U was the last royal capital of the Arakan Empire that flourished some 600 years ago, and is filled with temples and pagodas dating back to the 15th century. The most revered is Shittaung Pagoda, built to comemmorate the defeat of the Portuguese back in 1535. It is famous for its amazing collection of 80,000 Buddha figures.

Unlike Bagan, home to hundreds of towering temples and pagodas in central Burma, Mrauk U is still a functioning town. So, a visit here is really like turning back the centuries.

Enjoy scenes along the river as we wend our way up to Mrauk U, explore the market and town, and visit the centuries-old temples with a few human interest shots included as well. Do note our trusty politicians posing with Burmese heroine Aung San Su Kyi.

After a few days of Arakanese adventures, we reverted to true form and found our way back to paradise: Ngapali Beach—one of the great unknown, untouched beaches left in the world. Not a jet ski in sight!

Fishermen at Mrauk U, Myanmar

Temples in Mrauk U, Myanmar

A hallway inside a temple in Mrauk U

Sunset in Mrauk U

Guardian statues at a local temple, Mrauk U

Ngapali Beach, Myanmar

Sunset at Ngapali, Myanmar

Did you know there are at least 25 different ways to tie a scarf?  In this surprisingly entertaining Youtube video, a young Thai woman deftly demonstrates how to wear a silk scarf in all 25 ways!

Hi

I know this is a large email, but hope you will enjoy it. I was lucky enough to be invited to a cremation ceremony in Bali, held only once every 3 or 5 years. It was fascinating, and colorful…not grim at all.

Just to give you an idea…

Three villages gathered their dead from the last few years, brought them to the cemetery where they first prayed, and then transferred the remains to various vessels, some of them large lavishly decorated animals. Others are more simple.

The most colorful part was the procession carrying the remains from the two neighboring villages, accompanied by local musicians. You can see the floats and the band in the pictures, as well as the long procession of women carrying offerings.

After all have gathered and the remains have been placed in the vessels ( I am not sure what to call them!), wood and favored artifacts of the deceased are place around the vessels and finally lit.

The following day, the ashes were taken to the sea, placed in green coconut shells and floated out to sea, as Balinese believe we come from water and go back to water when we die.

The photos are not in order, but I have included descriptions.

Rich

Another village comes with remains

Cremation is ending

readying to put the bones in the vessels

Gamelan Village Musicians accompany the processions

offerings

remains and donations for the dead

vessels are lit