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The Nation
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Kandawgyi Lodge
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Kandawgyi
Lodge |
Chicken curry |
Myanmar salad with
dry shrimp and lime dressing |
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I have just returned from a trip to Mandalay in Myanmar. A
friend who had invested in a hotel in Mandalay over seven years
ago invited me. Originally the hotel which they built was
operated by the French company Novotel group but with the
political situation in Myanmar not being so stable the French
management company had to withdraw from the country due to
political sanctions from the E.U. Consequently my friends family
were landed with a hotel called Mandalay Hills Resort to run by
themselves. Last year business was very good but this year had
suffered from a political situation turning sour between the
Myanmar Government and the rest of the Western Nations who
discouraged their citizens to travel there. I was with two minds
when it came to going to Myanmar. But I decided to go see for
myself what the situation was like. Burmese culture has been
intertwined with Thai history since the beginning of times and I
feel quite a strong bond with my neighbor not as enemy but as a
member of ASEAN Nations.
I had heard that there was a direct flight to Mandalay by Phuket
Air, Unfortunately not enough people know about this direct
flight that our return flight from Mandalay would be their last
schedule flight. This is a real shame because the Airport in
Mandalay is brand new and very convenient for travelers to visit
Mandalay. |
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Mandalay is the
last capital city of the Kingdom of Myanmar. Its last King
was King Thibor who only ruled for 7 years before the
British took over the country and the palace, which they
turned into a British garrison. During W.W. II the palace
was bombed and burned down and the present Government
rebuilt the palace in 1992 as a tourist attraction. There is
much history and sights to be seen in Myanmar. I felt
sadness to know that during 1950s Burma was a rich country
and its economy was as strong as Hong Kong and Singapore but
new everything has changed and there are so many people
without work and they are so poor. |
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- Fish Curry
- Typical Myanmar starter and snacks at every meal
- Horse drawn carriage to view the town |
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The sanctions do not help the people but put them deeper
into depth of destitution.The country really needed help but
it is politics that does not help the situation. I truly
think that dialogue and increase in contacts with the
Myanmar authorities would better serve the poor people of
the country. One must remember that this is a country that
is rich with every kind of resources. It is also a perfect
country for tourism considering the many historical sights
and cities beginning with Pagan. I only wish that it could
open up and allowed to grow slowly. |
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I went to one of the hill top station near Mandalay where
the British used to spend their summer there because it is
very cool in the highland plans of this town called Pyin Oo
Lwin. This town has many buildings and country homes built
by the British when Burma was a vassal state of United
Kingdom. It looked very much like a little England with
Botanical Gardens and great homes with fireplaces. I went to
visit one such English country home turned Lodge in a
horsedrawn carriage when were available for hire. It rode
around the town looking at these great homes thinking I was
in the English countryside. The air was quite cool and
definitely cold in the shade.
I had a typical Burmese lunch at Kandawgyi Lodge on the
deck infront of this old English style country home. The
food was very interesting it was a mixture if Indian and
South East Asian cuisine and also Chinese cuisine. At the
beginning of every meal the Burmese would serve a plate of
snacks which consisted of nuts, fried garlic and tea leaves
salad. This plate is also served at the end of the meal.
Then we had soup, which was lentil soup seasoned with
turmeric, and it also has glass noodles in it. I liked it
because it was very different and not too thick and greasy.
The Burmese eat like us Thais with rice as the main starch,
They have dips like out Nam Prik but their food is less
spicy. |
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Palace in the city of Mandalay |
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Their salads
are much like Thai salads with lime and fish sauce
dressing but not as spicy. The curries are not like Thai
curries but milder and not as highly fragrant as the
Indian curries. The chicken and fish curries both used
tomatoes, shallots, garlic and ginger blended in a blender
as a base and a small amount of spices to give it the
fragrance needed. Tamarind juice is also used and it was
used perfectly for the sauce in the fish curry. All of us
thought what was missing in this otherwise perfect repast
was chili peppers but then we came to realized that we are
very Thai for wanting to make other peoples food taste as
strong and pronounced like ours. |
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I
enjoyed my meal at The Kandawgyi Lodge very much. I also
felt a little strange eating my lunch in front of this
English country house in Burma but considering the history
of this country there should not be anything strange about
it. I was brought back to the present on my was back to
Mandalay when I went to see the sun set on the lake with
the longest and oldest teak bridge in Amrapura, the
ancient Royal Capital. It is am amaising sight seeing the
sunset over the U Bein Bridge and a perfect finish for the
day tour. I will return again to Mandalay to stay at the
Mandalay Hill Resort and visit more sights. There is still
Pagan the First City of the Burmese dynasties |
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U Bien Bridge |
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Kandawgyi Lodge
Nandar Road, Pyin Oo Lwin
Myanmar
Telephone 95-85-21839,21840. Fax 085-22497 |
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