Introvert on an outward journey
I watched news reel of fighting in Asia when I was young, even had nightmares once or twice that the soldiers were coming for me. I have seen the iconic photographs of the Vietnam war. But still, visiting the Vietnam museum for the war of “American Aggression” shocked me to my core. It was of […]
Read MoreWhen you visit Myanmar, the elephant in the room is whether or not you should be there. Should you be spending your money in a country that is reportedly committing genocide? The Chinese of course don’t care, Myanmar is possibly on its way to being a Chinese economic colony, owing debt it may not be […]
Read MorePerhaps no area of Myanmar touched me more than Inle Lake. The fishing village I visited on the lake, is neither pre-modern or post-modern, it is somewhere in between: all the trash from modern life, but few of the conveniences. In a mostly pre-modern world, much of life revolves around fire and rain: the wood-burning […]
Read MoreAt the conclusion of the third Anglo-Burmese war, the then ruler of Burma, King Thinbaw Min, and his wife, were exiled to India, never to return. While the execution of the annexation was done on schedule, by some accounts to assist a domestic election campaign in Britain, the aftermath did not go so well, with […]
Read MoreFor those not yet worn down by “yet another temple”, Bagan is one of the best places to go. First, it was a pleasant country retreat from the bustle of Yangon, but the history on display and in spoken recounting is fascinating. While there is a large pagoda, what makes Bagan unique is the 3,000+ […]
Read MoreIn Mandalay, a 33 old young lady, who converted from Islam to Buddhism 10 years earlier, made an insightful comment “My Buddhism is like the Buddhism of Americans, I learned it from a book, not from my parents.” The point she was making is when you learn religion from your parents, it is entangled with […]
Read MoreBackground; Myanmar has had empires and been attacked/occupied by others building empires themselves, including: Mongolians, Chinese, Japanese, and the British. Myanmar has also experienced significant cultural influence from India, has had interaction on the border with Thailand, and from time to time been on trading routes in the ancient world. Homo Erectus may have been […]
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‘Twas the night before I be traveling, When all through the house, Not a creature was stirring, Not even a spouse. I start to think of distance that would be far, But before I finish packing, I read on my phone, With iron rods they have been whacking, Yangon women they had already been sacking, […]
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[Travel snippets – TS – a series of reflections on past travels and adventures] Arizona and Utah is one of my favorite trips from the time before Margaret and I had children. We were newly married, in love, and had the freedom to just jump in a car, or on a plane, and do whatever. […]
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[Travel snippets – TS – a series of reflections on past travels and adventures] I like salads, and at my age, you kind of have to. However, the first rule of traveling is don’t eat anything that is washed in the local water, and then not cooked. Unfortunately, salad falls into this category, and when […]
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Mark Seery 