Irritated and annoyed and sad about the changes in the city, I decide to explore the area by bike, to a place where tourists are guaranteed not to get lost.
On unknown paths
I cross the bridge leading to the outer neighbourhoods. Boats are cruising down the brown-yellow canal.
It doesn't take long and the noise and exhaust fumes are left behind, a narrow road leads through shady avenues, along marshy canals towards the hills of the Shan mountains. Sometimes a tourist passes me at a fast pace, in stress as it seems, while I am enjoying the slow walking pace.
And as the peaceful landscape leisurely scurries past me, my mind is as empty as if I were in a Vipassana meditation. If you don't know what the hype word "mindfulness" means - this is it! Thoughts flow by, you watch them, you feel calmness and peace settling in. But the peace is disturbed by children at the roadside, but instead of a shy Mingalaba (good day) they now yell "Money". Damn it!
But the surroundings, the quiet canals on which fishermen let their boats drift, the small poor huts, apparently resting in the middle of the swamp, bring peace of mind back quickly.
Money!
The destructive power of mass tourism illustrated by a living example. No more smiles on the face, the innate friendliness has disappeared, replaced by MONEY, MONEY. Somewhere near a monastery I get off my bike, a few boys appear immediately, "Money" of course, and one of them indeed reaches for my wallet.
Well, what can we say about that? Nothing. It's the way of the world.
Off to Taunggyi
At half past four I am picked up by a shared taxi to the balloon festival in Taunggyi, an event held annually at this time, attracting thousands of spectators from all over the area (and in the meantime the whole world).
And today is the climax and - it is the full moon, an important monthly event for all Buddhists. Half of Burma seems to be on its way to the balloon festival. The journey takes quite a long time, caused by the heavy traffic that is getting worse and worse in the mountains around Taunggyi, but at just the right time we reach the huge square where the famous balloons will rise.
On arrival it is already dark, the colorful silhouettes of the carousels show the way. It is reminiscent of thefairgrounds in Switzerland, the colours, the noise, the music from all directions.
Like a Stones concert
Thousands of spectators have already gathered, some still far away, on their way on foot.
The atmosphere reminds me of a Stones concert, the confusion before the concert begins, the expectant mood. There are huge loudspeaker towers everywhere, beating as at the street parade in Zurich, fairground atmosphere, food stalls (with all kinds of indefinable stuff; some of it looks suspiciously like intestines), stalls with games of skill, where the young people enjoy themselves despite little success. I let myself drift through the crowd, waiting for the the spectacle, which then starts more or less on time.
And then it starts - finally
The procession of vehicles struggling through the middle of the packed crowd is also reminiscent of the Street Parade. Then, in the center of the square, the preparation starts.
Then from somewhere emerges something that might be the balloon envelope, a fire suddenly breaks out somewhere, the excitement of the crowd rises, one hears chants, recognizes thousands of arms, ecstatically raised into the air, in addition to the rhythmic beating of some percussion instruments.
Flight into eternity
And then it's finally time. The balloon envelope is slowly inflated by the hot air, now you recognize the wonderful colors, the drawings and characters on it, they get bigger and bigger, until the balloon in all its glory hangs over the crowd.
For a minute it tilts to one side, but the crew miraculously manages to bring it back into a vertical position.
Finally people run up, they carry a square frame that is attached below, and now, to the delight of the thousands of spectators - Ah! Oh! - the balloon rises into the night sky, and as soon as it reaches a certain height, it spits fireworks out of the attached frame. A shower of sparks descends, red, green, yellow explosions, stars, everything there, everything we know, but never like in this mad spectacle.
It is somehow incredibly beautiful and somehow also very sad how the balloon gets smaller and smaller, disappearing behind clouds for a minute while the sparks and explosions shooting out of it, and then it reappears, already very small, and while the spectators have long since turned their attention back to their smartphones, it vanishes into the darkness of the night. A tiny little spark, a last glow, and it's gone, somewhere on its flight to nowhere ...
PS song on the topic; The Kills - Black Balloon
And here the journey continues ...