緬甸長裙籠基／李明熙
緬甸男士都著長裙 Longyi，中文譯「籠基」。我入鄉隨俗，在蒲甘買了一條平民價錢 5,000 kyat （港幣 30 元）的籠基，定價因應不同的質料、圖案或顏色。若在仰光的昂山巿場買布料，再即場請裁縫造，價格和布料會有更多選擇。
籠基是簡單一幅圓筒長布，付款後向小販請教如何穿著，女小販以「問和尚借梳」的眼神望著我，隨手在旁抓來男士求救。我站在圓筒長布中，男士在我背後雙手捉著布的兩頭，把布搖了兩下，然後右幅一摺，左幅再疊，用布頭打了兩個結，再將結向肚內一翻，籠基就此穿好。
買籠基時穿著褲子，未能感受到穿籠基的快感。返回酒店脫掉褲子，穿上籠基駕著 ebike，在蒲甘巿內飆車，才真正體會到女士穿裙的涼快。緬甸人看到我的籠基，而 ebike 身後坐著白人Kim，加上一句通行天下的「Mingalabar（你好）」，大都以為我是她的導遊，直接用緬甸語跟我溝通。
穿籠基唯一的缺點是沒口袋，不論是背包或斜肩袋，一揹上身就少了男士穿籠基的豪邁。所以緬甸男人要不就攜手包夾在腋下，要不就用長方形錢包，連手機一同插在腰後的籠基。我有樣學樣把手機插著，走了不到十步手機就掉在地上，連籠基結也被弄鬆。
籠基結一般不易鬆掉，但時不時需要調整。男女老幼都會大庭廣眾解結再繫，極為平常。男士籠基有另一個好處，就是把兩腳之間的布，捲成一條尾巴，從跨下繞到臀部，插在腰後，籠基便成為了一條短褲。男士就這樣去游水踢波，進行戶外運動，非常方便。
The Blue Bird Hotel in Bagan/Kimberlogic
The Blue Bird Hotel is an oasis within the dust. Most of the roads throughout Bagan are not paved which creates a very dusty experience. The Blue Bird is a small, charming hotel located on a dirt road at the edge of New Bagan. Upon entering the reception villa, all of the dust is left in the parking lot. Although we had arrived very early in the morning, the staff seemed to be waiting for us. They checked us in promptly and introduced us to the manager, who was a foreigner from France.
The manager showed us around the hotel grounds and escorted us to our room to make sure everything was to our liking, which it most certainly was. Everyone we had encountered in Myanmar was so friendly, at times almost too friendly, that sometimes I felt bad asking for things. Having a foreigner as the manager at the Blue Bird was very helpful. Just like the locals, he was extremely friendly, but he made me feel more comfortable asking for things or even just asking for information.
The Blue Bird Hotel has beautiful large rooms and bathrooms. The décor is lovely; the local handicraft of lacquerware is incorporated throughout each room. There is even a beautiful mosquito net over the bed, which luckily was not necessary for us.
The breakfast area is in an open air structure next to a garden sitting area and the pool area. If there weren’t so many amazing temples to see in Bagan, we could have relaxed at the hotel for our entire stay. Since the hotel only has 23 rooms and does not allow outside visitors, each guest is made to feel that the whole place is just for them.
The best way to see the temples of Bagan is to rent an E bike for the day. To help the local community, the Blue Bird allows a local business to rent E bikes from their parking lot. Although the hotel is not affiliated with this rental service, the security guards were very helpful to translate any negotiations we tried to make. The Blue Bird also handled booking us a ferry to Mandalay and called our room when the company arrived to collect the fee. Since the ferry left very early in the morning, we had to take a taxi at 4:30 am to the pier. As we were leaving the hotel, we were handed freshly packed breakfasts for our journey at no extra charge.
The Blue Bird Hotel provided every service any other hotel does, but the small details that they pick up on for each of their guests is what sets this place above all of the rest. It’s as if they custom tailor their services to fit any need that a guest has or hasn’t thought of yet. We enjoyed our experience so much that if we ever make it back to Bagan, we wouldn’t stay anywhere else but the Blue Bird Hotel.
