Yangon Myanmar - A Trip and A Wedding to Remember (A "travelogue" dedicated to our "Princess Wai" and her husband Zaw)

Dears,

It's been more than a month already and I still haven't posted the wonderful pictures of our Myanmar (Burma) trip.  So sorry about that coz it's been busy around the house.  We went to Singapore at the beginning of Feb after our Myanmar trip, and then I got sick, and then Chinese New Year was last week and some relatives and friends came to Hong Kong to visit us.

Anyway, I finally summon up my strength to post the pictures and write my "travelogue" which are so long due!  You will see pictures of the lovely bride and groom, the famous temple that we went to, and also my 4 ODJs I wore to the wedding.  Hope you enjoy the pix and my detailed description of the trip!  It's definitely a memorable trip for both DH and I. :D

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Foreword

It's our 1st time to Yangon Myanmar, and both DH and I were so excited!!  We went to Yangon at the beginning of January to attend my friend's wedding.  I met this lovely bride from tPF and she is as crazy as me in terms of buying shoes and bags and we both love fashion!  She is our tPF Shoe Princess!!  So, I call her "Princess Wai". :D

Princess Wai's wedding in Yangon is really what we call "Wedding of the Century" with thousands of guests from all over the world!  Imagine a whole week of celebration with 10 events!!!  We didn't attend the whole week of celebration though, but we attended 5 events in 3 days. :P  I can't even count how many dresses our lovely bride has worn and changed for these 10 events!!!  We got to see 5 of her wedding gowns in the events that we attended. And they are all breath-taking!!!  And of course, our Princess Wai is just stunning!  (OK, to be fair, our groom Zaw is also stunning, but hey, all the attention automatically goes to the bride, right?  LOL!)

DH and I also met with Kai and her fiance Steve who attended Wai and Zaw's wedding as well.  Kai is from tPF too and it's actually my 1st time to meet with her in person.  Believe it or not, Kai and I just clicked and we are like long time friends!!!  We even enjoyed a foot massage at the hotel together on the last day of the trip....hehe!  I'm so happy to meet with Kai and Steve!  (We are now waiting for Kai to announce when her wedding is so that DH and I can go to the US to visit her!  Yay!!) 

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 Jan 8, 2010

Event: Rehearsal Dinner

Place: Sedona Hotel Top Floor

The dinner was arranged at the top floor of the hotel. It's a small rehearsal dinner that welcome guests from abroad. While we felt a bit hungry, the waiter brought baskets of chips. Yes, chips. The chips, probably made of tofu or fish, were sooooo delicious!!  We found that appetizers in the form of chips are at each meal. They simply cannot be missed. Quality varies but we just can't stop ourselves there. We kept munching baskets and baskets of them.  LOL!!  We were among the earliest to arrive the venue.  So while DH and I were waiting for Kai, Steve and of course Wai and Zaw, DH took the time to snap a modelling picture....hahahhaha!  The lighting was not that good, so please excuse the bad quality picture....:P

So sorry for being "under-dressed" as I packed only 4 formal outfits to the 4 events, and didn't know that there is a rehearsal dinner the day we arrived.  So, I just grabbed anything black in my luggage to make my look a bit formal...LOL!  A pair of black lace pants from Zara (you can't see the lace here clearly but it's a pair of gorgeous lace pants with details), a black cami with lace neckline, a black cardigan, a pair of black high heel gladiator sandals from Aldo with jewels.  And to spice up the outfit, I put on a light pink scarf made of organza and also a chain belt made of a row of crystal stars.  I wore a pair of diamond dangling earrings and also a diamond necklace given to me by my in-laws as part of my wedding gift.  Of course, I carried my Chanel bag - 2.55 reissue matte burgundy with aged silver hw (this is the only bag I brought to Yangon aside from the other Chanel bag which I'm using during the formal wedding events).

Close-up of Aldo shoes...which are pretty new..bought them during Xmas...hehe!

 

 

Wai's dress was magnificent that made all of us look a bit under-dressed. My favorite part is the GIGANTIC BOW in front and many vertical rows of crystals hanging, and not to mention the serious bead works on the dress!!! Wai told us this dress was made by a local designer who is her good friend, and the charge was like only US$100+???!!  How can that be possible??!!!  I think I want to meet her designer friend and have a bunch of nice dresses designed!!  It's worth a trip to Yangon again to visit Wai too!  Hehehehhehe!

Left: Kai, Middle: Wai, Right: Moi

Wai and Zaw has invited a solo singer that performs guitar and countless love songs. The climax of the evening was when Zaw sang several love songs. Yes, he's a good singer, even a lot better than some of the Hong Kong singers here.  He has musical talents!!  Andy Lau of Yangon!!!  LOL!!

Group picture: 

- Guys from left to right: Sen (my DH), Zaw (Wai's DH), Steve (Kai's fiance)

- Girls from left to right: Wai, Me, Kai

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Jan 9, 2010 

Event: Su Hlar Yit Pate (am)

Place: Sedona Hotel Ballroom

I woke up very early to change and work on my make-up the 2nd morning. At 10:30am, I went downstairs to have my hair done by the team of make-up artists and hair-dressers who had been invited by Wai to help her and the entire wedding entourage do the hair and make-up for the grand ceremony.  The room was packed with people as there were like more than 20+ make-up artists and hair-dressers!!! 

We know that the ceremony is a Burmese traditional one and is one of the most important ceremony of all the 10 events during the week.  We arrived at the grand ballroom and it's decorated with candles, drapes and a Brumese style backdrop. The ballroom is packed with more than 50 tables and hundreds of people. The aisle leads to the center stage and there's a live band playing some very traditional music at one side of the ballroom.

Steve and Kai....:D  Lovely couple!  

(Kai is wearing a very sexy deep burgundy/maroon dress.....:D)

Me and my hubby Sen

So what am I wearing?  First of all, I have to thank my friend Charm for giving me all sorts of ideas/inspirations on how to make this plain blue/violet dress interesting.  She even helped me buy some embroidery items from the craft stores in the Philippines that I can choose what to be sewn on the dress!!  In the end, I opted for a more simple approach which Charm and I both think will be the best...just a pair huge dangling earrings and a "bling bling" chain belt made of crystals as adornment for my dress.  And I kind of coordinate the "theme" of my dress to "flowers"....:D  Even Sen's tie is from Chanel which is with camellia prints to match my "theme"!  LOL!

Dress: ASOS blue/violet chiffon one-shoulder long dress (from UK)

Sandals: Chanel silver python/black with camellia pearl

Bag: Chanel 2008 Hawaii Limited Edition Dark Silver Classic kiss-lock clutch

It's been a long time since I had long curly hair...

Detailed shots of my accessories..

My chain belt is with a camellia-like shaped flower...hehe

My Chanel sandals with pearl camellia

Crystal "camellia-like" flower headpiece..

Sen's Chanel navy/purple camellia tie from 2008...

Back to the wedding...hehe!  Smoke is on and here enters the groom and the bride. Wai and Zaw were dressed in golden yellow and Wai was sparkled with pearls, jewels and gold from the head to the toe. The entrance is a very very slow motion because of the rhythm of the traditional Burmese music.  You must see the big diamond on the hair of Wai!!!  I was blinded by all the bling-blings!!!  Wai is also wearing a big false long hair on the side which she said is only being worn for the most traditional wedding ceremony practiced by the royal family.

Look at Zaw....so happy and proud...and so "bling bling" yellow/gold!!  These Burmese outfits are so nice and exotic!

And our gorgeous bride Princess Wai.........wwwwowowowowow!

(The "white spot" in the middle of top part of Wai's hair is a very very large diamond!  "Ping Pong" size!!  So beautiful IRL!)

Look at the back of the dress......love it!

Zaw sits on the left hand side of the center stage and Wai sits on the right hand side. Their parents were also on the stage sitting next to them.

This is really like a royal wedding.....

After a series of ceremony which are like magic shows to us, we heard waves and waves of hand clapping. Luckily an English explanation announced by a former teacher of Zaw was arranged. We finally were able to know that the ceremony is a solemn one and bears the hundreds of years of Burmese heritage. Imagine such blessings!

Happily married!  

Zaw and Wai marching out of the ballroom...

 

Look at the details of Wai's dress and jeweleries!! 

I just love the long train of Wai's dress....hehe!

A group picture at the end of the ceremony 

 

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Jan 9, 2010

Lunch-out with Kai and Steve

We ventured out of the hotel for Lunch with Kai and Steve. It's already 2:30 and we wanted to try some local Burmese food. The hotel concierge recommended this place called "Padonmar". Yes, we did ask for a place that's quite assured of the quality of the food and the concierge pointed us to a place where most tourists will not be disappointed. Yes, we know most likely such a place is not going to be "local local". Yes, it serves both Thai and Burmese food. And yes, it's mentioned in the Lonely Planet.  (About the Lonely Planet, it's the best book for travellers. DH used it for his European trips in the past and he said he still likes the style, content and the organisation of this unrivalled guidebook. LOL!!)

We took a taxi to the restaurant. The taxi is "horrible" I must say. Steve almost fell into a hole through the taxi when he sat himself into the front seat next to the driver.  LOL!! And the door on DH's side barely closed well. None of the indicator on the dash board works! Luckily we arrived at the restaurant without a dent.  Phew!!

So here we are outside of the Padonmar restaurant...

The restaurant sits on the side of a paved road. But there's countless number of abandoned land along the road and scattered houses that look very poorly maintained.

We ordered: tea-leaf salad; pad-Thai; some kind of pawn curry; rice, some other dishes I completely forgot their names or contents but remember the sour-ish taste. We also ordered the Myanmar Beer which turns out to be "not bad" and is certainly refreshing in the hot weather.  The food is delicious.

Again, the appetizer, yes the chips, were simply delicious. We could have just walked out with the chips and the beer in our stomach.  Hahahahhahaha!  (I even said I want to bring back several packs of the Myanmar chips back to Hong Kong!)

After the lunch, the taxi driver took us to the Yankin Center (a very small mall nearby the hotel) since mosquitoes love Kai too much and she needs the mosquito repellent urgently to survive in Myanmar..haha!  Kai was sooo happy to find the repellent and she's like seeing gold...LOL!!  It's indeed a life-saver!!  We then went back to the hotel to change our clothes to attend the evening banquet. :D

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Jan 9, 2010

Event: Chinese Dinner 

(celebration together with Wai and Zaw's company employees)
Place: Sedona Ballroom

The dinner was a modern style serving Chinese food. The grand ballroom has been transferred into a white centerpiece with Wai and Zaw's initials on the backdrop. Rows of chairs were arranged as staff of their companies packed the chairs and enjoyed the show on the stage.  Our dinner table were arranged to the side of the stage with a very clear view.  So, while we were eating, performers after performers sing on the stage. By the volume of the noise/screams/applause, we realized some of these performers are the equivalents of famous singers like Jacky Cheung or Alan Tam or Andy Lau in Hong Kong!!!  It's totally like a mini private concert!!  LOL!  These Burmese performers can really sing soooo well!  We enjoyed the music a lot even though we can't understand the lyrics as they sang in Burmese....hahahaha!  I've always thought that in South East Asia, only Filipinos are the more musically talented people, but now, I know that Burmese are sooo talented too in music!!  It's really an eye-opener for me!  Coming from a musical family (my dad is a musician), I'm so impressed!! :D

One of the performers...

 

My outfit...

 

I have to thank my friend Charm again for accompanying me to Tyler when I was in Manila last October!!  I bought this white shirt with exaggerated ruffled sleeves there.  It was love at first sight!!  I love "drama" with my outfits...hehehehe!!

I bought this beige wide-leg jumpsuit from shopbop. It was on sale!  Hehehehe!

(You can see the backdrop and the stage behind me...)

There is a thick layer of "petticoat" underneath the sleeves to make the ruffles fluffy and voluminous.

The side and back of my Tyler shirt..

Details of my accessories....

This jeweled belt was a Christmas gift from my sweet friend Charm who bought it in Manila.....it's just perfect for my outfit!!  And I'm wearing a silver bangle with crystals bought from a local shop here. I think bangle is more suitable for my outfit rather than a bracelet.

And to coordinate the color of my accessories (which is black & white), I chose this black & white crystal necklace bought from a local designer here. And I'm wearing this "bow" crystal earrings to match the theme as I think lace, ruffles, bows belong to the same "feminine" category.....

Kai and me...

Wai was wearing her gorgeous white lace gown and look at the back....just so sexy!!  I just love every detail and the shoulder part is sooo chic!!   

Kai, Me and Wai...The 3 musketeers...(or "bag whores"???!!  LOL!!!)

 Sexyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!  Love the details!!!  The cut!!!  Perfect!!

 

The lovebirds...

 

Hahahaha...check out our Christian Louboutin peeptoe pumps!!!  Wai's lace VPs (one of my HGs!!) and my Josefa's (which are new and it's my first time to wear them...:D)

 

Close-up of my pewter Christian Louboutin Josefa.....

(the leather is kind of a grayish taupe color)

 

After the dinner and a slide show of Wai and Zaw's childhood/past photos and their pre-wedding photo shooting sessions (gorgeous pictures by the way....Wai had so much hair when she was a baby!!  Soooo cute!!!), part of the ballroom was cleared as a dancing floor. We all danced to the music.  Wai and Zaw were wonderful entertainers.  You should see them on stage.  Natural high and people below just screamed whenever they talk like fans!!  LOL! They essentially hosted the whole event and though we don't understand their language, we know they are wonderful MCs on stage! Such a pair of celebrities!  Inborn talent!!  A truly enjoyable evening indeed!

Wai and Zaw.....they are really good MCs!  I wish I understood what they were saying on stage...hahahahaah!  The people were so high when they were talking!  LOL!

The husbands....LOL!

Cake-cutting...

 Wai asking single women to gather in front of the stage for throwing the bouquet...hehe!

Look at all those hands...LOL!

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Jan 10, 2010 (early morning)

Place: Shwedagon Paya (temple) visit with Wai, Zaw and Kai

(This is not part of the wedding event...hehe!)  

Wai and Zaw were so energetic. After the event last night (which ended at 1 or 2am), most couples will just stay till almost noon in bed. But they woke up early and took their time to bring us to the famous Shwedagon Paya at 7am in the morning. We're just so touched by their hospitality because we know they're tired from the night before, and their wedding ceremony that day was around 12 noon, but they still want to take time to bring us to the temple BEFORE the ceremony that day at the hotel ballroom.  Thank you Wai and Zaw!!  

We're so thrilled that morning even though we need to wake up so early.  I mean, how can a trip to Burma be complete without such holy visit (of course, apart from the wonderful wedding events)?
 

 Amazing architecture...

For more information about this famous Paya, one can simply Google it and read the Wiki entry. This Paya to Buddists in Burma is like the Cathedral St Pietro to Catholics in Vatican. Apart from the famous gold plus jewel covered Paya, the Paya is surrounded by many many temples, each with its unique characteristics. Zaw and some of his friends were able to enter one of the most sacred place inside the Paya. Wai and us can only sit in an VIP area. The reason is that sacred place is strictly forbidden from foreigners and women. And normally not even the locals can enter. Zaw is able to enter because of a recent donation to the Paya.
 

 

 

 It's like a Golden Land here...it's my first time to enter a temple because I'm a Christian.  It's a very special experience for me.

 

Wai shared some of her family history and the history of the Paya with us while we waited for Zaw. Apparently there's countless treasure in this Paya that it might store more valuable gold and jewel than both the Bank of England and the Royal family combined. The offering chamber is well protected and is only opened once there's new King in the past. Each King will make more offerings than his predecessors and hence you can imagine the amount accumulated in there.

Buddhist believes in rounds and rounds of re-incarnations till reaching Nirvana. There's no God and no self in Buddhism. All the belongings (treasures included) of this world can't be brought to other levels of the world. The offerings made to the Buddha can be viewed as practices of "no self". For sure, some schools of Buddhism has less rituals comparing to the Theravada school practiced in Burma. There's countless resources you can read about Buddhism in Burma. A good starting point is the "Buddhism in Burma" entry on Wiki.

This is the first time that we wear the traditional Burmese Longyi.  We want to look like "locals" but we do look funny, don't we?  Wai and Zaw lent the Longyi's to us coz they originally wanted to to "sneak" us into the most sacred place of the Paya where Zaw was specially invited to go that morning (this place is not open to the public).  But the guards at the temple were so smart that they already knew we were foreigners the moment we entered the gate!  LOL!!  Anyway, DH was so scared that his Longyi will fall down because he wasn't wearing any pants underneath and just his underwear!  LOL!

The guys.....the other 2 guys are Zaw's friends.

Wai and Zaw...

(I love Wai's Burmese outfit with her Chanel 2.55 reissue in patent black with matte gold hw!!)

 

After the visit to the Paya, DH started to feel very sick. Wai and Zaw brought all of us to a noodle shop. Noodle is a major component of the Burmese diet, and the noodles and dishes were all so yummy!!  (BTW, Zaw and Wai love to eat very much....Wai mentioned to me that they can practically put anything edible into their mouth!!!  LOL!  I love to be with people who loves to eat because that's the joy of life!!  Hahaahhaaha!) 

Anyway, there's this special boiled egg dish which was sooo delicious!!!  Zaw, Kai and me were just so into this dish!!  LOL!!  Too bad DH didn't really eat because his stomach was feeling worse and worse every minute. :(

After the noodle shop, Kai and Steve went to the market to buy some local merchandise. My DH and I returned to the hotel because DH was not feeling well at all after throwing up outside the noodle shop. It's probably the oily food he ate the night before as this happened to DH also the first time he visited Indonesia which is my mother-in-law's hometown.

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Jan 10, 2010
Event: Burmese Reception (lunch)
Place: Sedona Ballroom

The lunch ceremony afterwards started with a modern Burmese style of ceremony.  It's a shorter version of the ceremony the day before.  Though simple and modern, Wai and Zaw were well-dressed in traditional Burmese styles and used a type of rose red as the theme color.  

Look at Wai's dress......so beautiful!!  I love the train......ooh la la!!

 

 

The ceremony was a modern Burmese one, where Wai and Zaw and the wedding entourage sit on a chair, not like the ceremony the day before where they have to sit on the floor with cushions..and Wai doesn't have to wear the long faux hair for the ceremony this time.

Again, I love the details of Wai's dress...and her lovely jeweleries!!  Look at her necklace!

As for me, I wore something black and simple for this event....a shorter chiffon biased-cut asymmetrical dress by a local brand Moiselle which I bought ages ago.

With silk shawl in degrading black to gray color 

(bought in Singapore Chiangi Airport T3 airport)

 

 

Detailed shots...

There are some bead works on my  chiffon dress..

I chose gray colored pearl earrings and necklace (shown above) for my outfit to match the overall tone of the ensemble..

My bracelet..

My pewter peeptoes with crystal bow...

(from local brand Episode)

A simple chignon for my hair..

 

Group Picture...

DH slept through the whole afternoon because of his uneasy stomach, and I was just in the hotel room accompanying him. That's why DH and I couldn't go for the fortune teller trip which was arranged by Wai in the afternoon (Kai went and she said it's basically good but maybe some points were lost in translation....LOL!). We heard fortune telling is a big business in Burma. For sure it's going to be popular because with the Buddist belief, it's not too difficult to read into this life because of the causality (often commonly known as Karma).

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Jan 10, 2010
Event: Wedding Party / Banquet at night 
(24th wedding anniversary of Wai's parents)

Place: Inya Lake

DH couldn't go to the dinner event because he felt very weak the entire afternoon and couldn't stand up, and DH started to vomit in the evening as well.  Fortunately, Wai's mom has kindly arranged a doctor who is her personal friend to go see my DH at the hotel.  Good that DH's situation was not too serious and wasn't food poisoning.  Doctor said that maybe my DH is used to non-oily food and he took too much oily food recently (esp. the chips), that's why his stomach couldn't cope. After the doctor left, I went to Wai's banquet by myself since DH said I should not miss the event.  Although I was really worried about DH, I went to Wai's banquet because I don't want to miss out anything, especially it's the last night in Yangon and the event was an outdoor event hosted outside of a hotel by the Inya Lake.  

Indeed, the banquet was really in a perfect set-up (except the mosquitoes...LOL!) with a big stage in front and a band.  The most memorable thing was knowing that this venue was chosen because it was where Wai's parents got married, and it's also their 24th anniversary the next day.  Isn't that adorable?  The same sweet and memorable moments at the same place yet two decades apart!

Of course, how can we miss THE ULTIMATE WEDDING GOWN!!!  VERA WANG!!!  This is the wedding gown which all of us are so looking forward to see Wai wearing!  The beauty of this gown is beyond words!!!  The details are amazing!  And Wai has chosen the perfect set of jeweleries to match her wedding gown....Amethyst!!  (I must say that all through the wedding events, Wai and her mom's and her sister's jeweleries are just plain gorgeous!!  They are just "jaw-dropping"!!!)

 

Love Wai's set of Amethyst necklace and earrings!!  Adorable!

I'm  in love with the structure of Wai's Vera Wang wedding dress...look at the train.... !!

And my outfit for this event?  Hmm.....it's something ruffles with lace...hehehehe!  I wanted to match Wai's Vera Wang wedding dress...:P

Light pink ruffled chiffon top, crystal metal belt, silk cut-out wide pants, lace stockings, Aldo gladiator heels with jewels...

Details of my top..

Close-Up shot of my crystal belt..

I esp. chose lace tights so that it can "peep" through the cut-out portion/slit of my pants...

Close-up of my pearl earrings....

My multicolor pearl necklace...with some hint of purple/pink to match my outfit...

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That's all folks.  We truly enjoyed our Yangon trip.  We would have never thought of going there if it's not for Wai's wedding.  Thank you Wai and Zaw for inviting us and making us feel at home!  We miss you!!

Cheers,
Mia