gems, corundum, Burma.12, Mogok, ruby, sapphire, spinel

Mingalabar! Welcome to Myanmar. With these words, the gemmologists are greeted at Mandalay airport by Mya, the Burmese guide who will accompany us throughout this wonderful trip. It is 10 a.m. local time; there is no time to linger at the airport, as the schedule is packed and the sun sets early. We change some money into thick bundles of kyat and board minibuses, heading for Amarapura. This first stop gives us the opportunity to take a walk across the 1.2-km-long U Bein Bridge, which spans Taungthaman Lake, whose waters are low at this time of year. Mya explains that the 1,086 teak pillars from which it is constructed came from a Royal Palace dismantled in 1849. Teak was reserved for the king. She tells us about the customs of her country and points out that superstition and astrology govern everyday life there. The name Myanmar replaced Burma in 1989 on the advice of an astrologer…