MYANMAR: The Best Sights, Destinations, and Experiences (ASEAN Travel)

Best Sights of Myanmar

Mandalay, Bagan, Inle, and Yangon—these names all conjure up the wonder that is Myanmar, at least in a traveler’s mind. Now, you have the freedom to venture a little farther as well. With recent reforms easing restrictions in this proud country, it is finally time to see what Myanmar has been hiding away all these years.

Myanmar: At a Glance

Experience the Best Attractions of Myanmar

  1. Chauk Htat Gyi Pagoda, Yangon Architecture 101: Former capitals are full of old glory and great architecture, and Yangon is not far behind. Spend the day marveling at the colossal reclining Buddha at Chauk Htat Gyi Pagoda, the gold-hued Botataung Pagoda and Sule Pagoda, the Burmese Yangon City and the colonial-styled Supreme Court.
  2. Bogyoke Aung San Market, Yangon Hunt for Bargains: The Bogyoke Aung San Market (sometimes known by its British name, Scott’s Market) is a sprawling old handicrafts bazaar of around 2,000 shops. Spend the day alongside locals, haggling for colorful Shan shoulder bags, and interesting bits of local arts and crafts, jewelry, ancient antiques, and lacquer ware.
  3. Mohinga, Rice noodles served with fish soup It’s All Rice: Rice, in all its forms, is a staple in the distinctive cuisine of Myanmar. Rice noodles served with fish soup, known locally as mohinga, are a favorite breakfast dish, and are usually eaten on special occasions.
  4. Mandalay Hill, Myanmar Get a Bird’s Eye View: Climb up Mandalay Hill for an all-encompassing view of how flat Mandalay really is. You will see the Irrawaddy twisting across the land from up here, while you help a local monk brush up his English. This hallowed spot is where Buddha once prophesied the founding of a great city.
  5. Inle Lake Boating, Myanmar Row, Row, Row Your Boat: Surrounded by greenery and marshes, cool morning mists, villages of houses on stilts and floating gardens, the Inle Lake is usually pretty. You can get around the lake on a motorized canoe, or ask around if you want to float about on a traditional flat-bottomed Intha skiff.
  6. Myinkaba Age-old lacquer, Myanmar Art Lessons: Bagan, in the Mandalay region, brims with graceful ruins of old temples, pagodas, and stupas. Between Old and New Bagan, the village of Myinkaba boasts an age-old lacquer ware tradition; you can spend hours rummaging through excellently crafted cups, plates, and boxes, wondering just how many you can fit into your luggage.
  7. Bawbawgyi Pagoda, Thayekhittaya Wander through Ruins: Thayekhittaya or the ‘Fabulous City’ a Pyu capital of long ago, was destroyed almost as long ago by Chinese invaders, and today, it has been nominated for a UNESCO World Heritage listing. Rumble through the ruins among the overgrown bush on an ox cart, and explore the Bawbawgyi Pagoda, one of the oldest in the city, and the Leimyethna Pagoda, with Buddhist relief carvings.
  8. Shwedagon Pagoda, Yangon Pagoda Sunsets: Make your way up to the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon as the sun begins to set, the golden spires of the temple light up, monks glide past and local residents trickle in to pay their respects as the sky takes on various colors of pink, oranges and blues. Look for a quiet spot, settle down, and enjoy the peace of the evening.
  9. Mount Popa, Myanmar Find Your Spiritual Side: Go forth and find your holy spirit at Mount Popa, an extinct volcano and the abode of 37 nats or local spirits, once so important that the early kings were rumored to consult them on crucial matters. The solitary peak is covered in stupas; the statues at the base are of the spirits.
  10. Irrawaddy River, Myanmar I am with Stupa: Sagaing lies along the Irrawaddy River, across the only bridge that spans it. It is dotted with white and gold pagodas that shimmer away in the sun, and if you clamber up the tree-hung stairways past ancient monasteries that lead up to various viewpoints, the spectacle of stupas is something else.

Zen Buddhism is Like a Philosophical Iceberg

Great Buddha of Kamakura, Zen Buddhism

Zen Buddhism is a variety of Buddhism that developed as “Chan” in seventh century in China and permeated east into Japan to become known as “Zen” Buddhism.

Zen Buddhism is rooted in the principles and wisdom of the historical Buddhist philosophy, Zen places less prominence on theory and studying texts than do other varieties of Buddhism. Zen Buddhism places far more emphasis on practicing meditation to gain direct experience of one’s true nature. The distinguishing characteristic of Zen Buddhism is that it gives principal meaning to meditation and to the concept that the world is beautiful, when experienced through the senses that are not eclipsed by desire and want.

Zen Buddhism is like a philosophical iceberg: roughly all of the values are beneath the surface. On the whole, Buddhism is predicated upon the proposition that desires and attachment happen to be the principal grounds of suffering, and that deliverance from suffering comes from one detaching the misapprehension of a substantial self and one losing desires and attachments. This principle are infused and embedded in Zen texts.

The Zen texts also take from the Madhyamika discipline of Buddhist beliefs the anti-realist assertion that there is no objectively correct and authoritative perspective on anything. These assertions are highlighted—not argued for—in the Zen literature by use of koans (puzzles.) Zen Buddhist monks meditate upon koans as a way of disposing of the notion of dependence on reason in their pursuit of enlightenment.

From the time when it arrived in the West in the late nineteenth century, Zen Buddhism has appealed to academics, philosophers, truth-seekers, and practitioners who like its unique paradoxes, its emphasis on philosophy rather than holy practices or dogmatic beliefs.

Further Reading on the Zen Doctrine

Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Various Research Methods

Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Various Research Methods

Experimental Method

Advantages of Experimental Method:

  • Precise control possible

Disadvantages of Experimental Method:

  • Artificial setting typical
  • Causal conclusions possible
  • Intrusiveness typically high
  • Precise measurement possible
  • Complex behaviors difficult to measure
  • Theory testing possible
  • Unstructured exploratory research difficult

Correlational Observation

Advantages of Correlational Observation:

  • Relationships between variables can be found

Disadvantages of Correlational Observation:

  • Causal conclusions impossible
  • Precise measurement usually possible
  • Control of variables difficult
  • Intrusiveness usually low
  • Many participants required

Ethnography

Advantages of Ethnography:

  • Unfamiliar situations can be described

Disadvantages of Ethnography:

  • Control of variables impossible
  • Complex behaviors can be described
  • Precise measurement difficult
  • Intrusiveness low
  • Investigator bias possible
  • Participants treated humanistically
  • Causal conclusions impossible

Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Questionnaires

Questionnaires

Advantages of Questionnaires:

  • Data collection efficient

Disadvantages of Questionnaires:

  • Causal conclusions impossible
  • Attitude or opinion can be measured
  • Self-reports difficult to verify
  • Unbiased sample selection difficult
  • Response rates low when mailed

Naturalistic Observation

Advantages of Naturalistic Observation:

  • Realistic setting helps generalization

Disadvantages of Naturalistic Observation:

  • Control of variables impossible
  • Intrusiveness low
  • Data collection inefficient
  • Investigator bias possible

Archival Research

Advantages of Archival Research:

  • No additional data collection required

Disadvantages of Archival Research:

  • Causal conclusions impossible
  • Rare behaviors can be studied
  • Appropriate records often not available
  • Nonmanipulable events can be studied
  • Data collected by nonscientists
  • Data usually correlational at best

Case History

Advantages of Case History:

  • Rare cases can bestudied

Disadvantages of Case History:

  • Control of variables impossible
  • Complex behavior can be intensively studied
  • Data often based on fallible memories
  • Investigator bias highly likely
  • Causal conclusions impossible

Books on Science Recommended by Investor Mohnish Pabrai (Pabrai Funds)

Mohnish Pabrai, Pabrai Funds and Dakshana Foundation

Mohnish Pabrai is an investor, hedge-fund manager and philanthropist. Mohnish manages Pabrai Funds and leads the Dakshana Foundation, a tutoring service in India for less-privileged members of the society to enable them to attend the elite institutions of higher learning in India.

INDONESIA: The Best Sights, Destinations, and Experiences (ASEAN Travel)

Sights and Sounds of Indonesia

The Indonesian archipelago is a incredible blend of exceptional cultures, adventure experiences, and indigenous wildlife that goes way beyond the much-explored realms of Bali. There is no better way to step off the tourist trail and have a assortment of holiday stories that no one else will than with a trip through these 17,000 islands

Indonesia: At a Glance

Experience the Best Attractions of Indonesia

  1. Indonesia Wayang Puppets Get Your Cocoa On: ‘Monggo’ is Javanese for ‘please, go ahead’ and when you taste these scrumptious Indonesian chocolates, you will definitely want to go ahead and eat them by the handful. If Willy Wonka lived outside our heads, we are sure that these scrumptious, dark, locally made treats would be his trademark. Leave room in your bag for them!
  2. Emerald Green Waters of Gill Islands, Lombok Dive into the Deep: Far away and remote, the sparkling clear emerald green waters of the Gill Islands off Lombok are stunning, and diving heaven. Get your scuba gear on—there are hawksbill and Olive Ridley turtles, manta rays, reef sharks, lionfish and many funny looking parrotfish to rub fins with swimming amid all the colorful coral.
  3. Borobudur Buddhist Temple Truly In-spired: Huge temples in rice fields seem to be South East Asia’s thing, and, just like Angkor War, Borobudur is spectacular in itself. An enigmatic Buddhist temple complex rising out of too-green-to-be-true rice paddies, surrounded by volcanic peaks reaching for the skies, it looks like it arrived at the beginning of time. There are monasteries around at which visitors are welcome; you can even join the monks in the prayer chanting.
  4. Komodo Island Tail Tales: Watch out for forked, snake-like tongues on Komodo Island, notable because its home to the world’s largest lizard, the unique and badass Komodo dragon. The largest island in Komodo National Park, surrounded by pink shores and red coral, it is also where you can trek and walk through rural fishing villages on stilts.
  5. Seminyak, Bali Boutiques Shop Your Way through Seminyak: Glitzy Seminyak, home to galleries, local Balinese boutiques, restaurants and excellent hotels lining the beaches, is a whole other world. Go window-shopping on Abhimanyu Street, famous for its exclusive boutiques.
  6. Smoky volcanic hills of Berastagi Misty Mountaintops: Climb up the smoky volcanic hills of Berastagi, where it is always cool and green. Gunung Sibayak and Gunung Sinabung each take a day to hike, and are very easy to get to.
  7. Ubud, Bali Art it Up: As you saw in Eat, Pray, Love was very real— Ubud is serene, impossibly green, and full of art and character. Spend your days soaking in the culture, browsing through local artisans’ shops and whiling the afternoons away in a cafe.
  8. Nasi Goreng, Indonesian Fried Rice Eat Your Heart Out: If you will come back missing something, all bets are on the food. Indonesian cuisine is mouth-watering, colorful and for lack of a better word, delicious. Snack on lightly spiced nasi goreng topped with a fried egg for breakfast, lap up fiery curries and banana-wrapped fish, and enjoy that staple, spicy chili-flavored sambal.
  9. Nusa Tenggara Islands, Indonesia Go Local: Just east of Bali, the islands of Nusa Tenggara are diverse. Discover native animistic rituals and long-running tribal traditions that co-exist alongside Islamic Lombok and Catholic Bores.
  10. Javan Rhinoceros Of Coffee and Rhinos: Java has a fair bit going for it. Surrounded by the aquamarine waters of the Indian Ocean, there are temples, tropical islands, and brilliant surf breaks. Glug down some of that world famous Javan coffee, and go looking for the Javan rhino, one of the rarest mammals in the world.

Microsoft History Trivia & Facts

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