My five minutes of fame at the top of Mandalay Hill

Crowds are massing. With clear skies there’s hope for an exquisite sunset over Mandalay. The pagoda perched on the top of Mandalay Hill is the best location to watch the golden Myanmar sun set over its once capital city. But the prime viewing position on the pagoda’s balcony is taken by three empty chairs. Whispers and rumours of some ministers coming for sunset passes through the crowd like a wave moving through the ocean.

As the sun begins to dip, cameras are shoved into my face by photographers following the important guests to the pagoda. An official-looking man from the party stands next to me and begins to point out different sections of the city below. This moves into a talk about the golf course and how I have been finding Myanmar. Cameras continue to take photos and film this interaction. Wanting to be out of the spotlight, I focus on my camera and the sun setting in front of me. Soon the attention moves off me and onto another unsuspecting visitor.

I need to know what is going on, so I keep an ear open to the banter around me as I immerse the rest of my attention in the sun, which is shedding a golden sheet of light over the entire city. I hear mention of the general and a military guard and I am curious if the person I had just met was someone of importance. Kicking myself for not researching Myanmar more prior visiting the country, I swear to find out more when I get back to the hotel.

I begin to wonder if I will be on the news as part of the PR stunt I found myself in the middle of, and I remember that on my way up the stairs to the pagoda young local girls had asked to take photos of me. Giggling to myself about my life in the spotlight on Mandalay Hill, the sun breaks into the land.

A quick stop in the hotel before heading to the bus station allows me to go online. I search the web for information on Myanmar politics and Mandalay Hill events. No luck. Saddened, I get in the taxi to the bus station. A while later, I glance at a newspaper stand and there he is smiling on the front page of a newspaper. I grab the issue and ask staff who he is. Turns out I met the “Vice General” so to speak who is second in charge of the whole country. Definitely kicking myself for not realising who I was talking to as I have so many questions I would love to ask!

Due to lack of online, Myanmar media or TV and the fact that I caught an overnight bus, I don’t know if I made an appearance for five minutes of unintentional fame. My trip to Mandalay Hill was definitely a unique and strange experience.