On the Road to Mandalay or Traveling without Internet

Burma has been called the “Land of the Smiling Faces” and our first week here has certainly shown  that to be true. It could also be called the “land of no connectivity.”  At the Shangri-La Hotel, we had no problems with the internet, but that changed as soon as we embarked on the river boat. Our only way to communicate has been by text and telephone, and with text, one cannot send pictures from here. It’s not that the ship doesn’t have great wi-fi. The signal is very strong. There just isn’t anything for it to connect to.

I am writing this with the hope that when we get to Bagan, in two days, I can send something to tell you all that everything is fine and that we are having a marvellous time. Hopefully there will be enough bandwidth to even transmit a few photos to wet your appetite for what will come when we get home. There are great shots everywhere.

We have seen many pagodas and stupas, also many small towns and markets. Life on the river has a certain rhythm and we are in sync with it. Although life on this floating palace is much different than what we have observed on the passing boats and shores, we still anchor at night and continue our journey at daybreak, as the locals do. 

We have been treated with warm smiles and friendliness everywhere. It’s hard not to really like the Burmese and to hope that they finally get the opportunity to live in freedom, for the history of the country is one of oppression, either by the  British during the Colonial Period or by their own military since independence in 1948. One facet of the new “openness” is that the Burmese are no longer afraid to talk about their past and their government, as well as their aspirations for the future, and talk they do. We are learning much.

We have been without internet since we boarded the ship. There is a very strong signal on board, but it doesn't connect to anything since they don't have satellite, but analog to cell towers, which are pretty much non-existent. We lucked out today as we are having a break at a nice hotel in Bagan and they have a great connection.

We are having a fantastic time and really love every aspect of the trip. I will post when I can, but it's anyone's guess when we will be able to do it again.