Out of Norm Travels

Myanmar recently reintroduced itself to the world after it held its  first general election in 2010 following the release of politician and human rights activist Aung San Suu Kyi and the lifting of  EU sanctions  in 2012. I was fortunate to have visited this beautiful country with world renowned national geographic photographer, Michael Yamashita and Jock Montgomery of Compass Rose expeditions in early 2014.  Of the many locations visited during this whirlwind 10 days photography experience,  Bagan   stood out as a must visit location.    Bagan (Burmese: ပုဂံ; formerly Pagan) is an ancient city located in the Mandalay Region of Burma (Myanmar). It was the former capital of the Kingdom of Pagan in the 9th to 13th century. There remains over 2200 temples, monasteries, stupas and monuments and pagodas day. Info taken from  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagan . It houses the highest density of Buddhist architecture in the world and ...

The ancient Kingdom of Sukhothai (Thai: สุโขทัย ) - Sukhothai is from Sanskrit sukha (सुख "happiness") + udaya (उदय "rise, emergence"), meaning "dawn of happiness".   According to the Lonely Planet, the Sukhothai (Rising of Happiness) Kingdom flourished from the mid-13th century to the late 14th century. This period is often viewed as the golden age of Thai civilisation, and the religious art and architecture of the era are considered to be the most classic of Thai styles. The remains of the kingdom, today known as meuang gòw (old city), feature around 45 sq km of partially rebuilt ruins, which are one of the most visited ancient sites in Thailand. Wat Mahathat translates as “great relic”, and it is one of the oldest and most important Buddhist temples in Thailand.      Wat Mahathat, Sukhothai    Wat Mahathat, Sukhothai  Wat Si Chum Temple is a 13 th century temple enshrining the largest Buddha image in Sukhothai measurin...

One of the most important festivals in the Thai   Calendar and celebrated in a big way at the northern region of   Ubon Ratchathani .  Accessible via air, it took just about 1 hour for me to get away from the Bangkok city set-up to an unforgettable experience of a traditional festival in the thick of things.  I went down to Ubon a day earlier so that I could spend some time to go around town and head to the temples to see the work in progress before seeing all the candles / floats in all their glory. This is my account of Day 1 (day before the Festival).... Imagine you have spent 8 years in apprenticeship and having the honor of creating a 2m-sometimes 4m tall candle sculpture for one of the biggest candle parade of the Buddhist country. This festival celebrates the start of  Buddhist Lent  where the  monks  will mediate for 30 days in the mountains and only to descend from the mountain top at the end of Buddhist lent.  Fro...

Borobudur Temple  is one of the most well-known Buddhist UNESCO heritage site in the world - it dates back to 8th century. Other than Great Wall of China ( that was completed earlier in June ), this is also on my "must-see" places.  Borobudur itself has 6  platforms topped by three circular platforms. Walking around the thousands of relief panels & Buddha statutes, I am both  marveled  and humbled by the breath-taking view of the magnificent and s pectacular  monument. I can only imagine and wonder how long it took for craftsmen long gone to build such a beautiful piece of artwork . It is with effort that you climb up the structure and  definitely  one to be undertaken when you go to Borobudur although w alking and climbing can b e quite hot by late morning/early afternoon. Plenty of water & an unhurried mind is required to take in its full beauty.    Another  UNESCO World Heritage site of  Prambanan Temples ...