Tout-weary and templed-out in BAGAN

My first day in Bagan I wanted to get right into the action and go bicycling around to see the temples.  For those of you who don't know, Bagan is an area of roughly 26 square miles with over 4000 temples, most of them dating back to sometime between 800 and 1200AD.  It was Myanmar's first capital, headquarters of the royal kingdom, until it was sacked by Mongols that Kublai Khan had sent over.  Now it's Myanmar's tourist mecca and correspondingly, very tout-heavy.  My fourth stop in the country, I was starting to grow a bit weary of the touts.  For those of you who don't know what a "tout" is, it's a person who approaches you in the street trying to offer a good or a service.  They can be very pushy and obnoxious.  They are very common in Southeast Asia but I noticed the Burmese don't seem very experienced in touting, as much as other countries in the region.  

Mandalay was full of touts... every time I stepped outside my guest house, five guys with trishaws (a form of vehicle similar to a rickshaw or 'tuk tuk') and motos would approach me, asking where I was going today or tomorrow, how much longer I was staying, hoping that wherever I decided to go, whenever that would be, that I would hire them to take me there.  Most of the time I was just walking somewhere a few blocks away or half a black down to the internet cafe.  I've experienced the touts in most other Asian countries and handled it well-- a firm 'no thank-you' and a smile works just fine and they usually leave me alone.  But here it felt different.  It irked me.  Maybe because Yangon and Inle Lake had been so hassle-free, just happy faces and curious inquiries from friendly locals.  In Mandalay and Bagan though it was different.  And unlike in Cambodia, where (in my experience, at least), they take 'no thank-you' as an indication that they needn't waste their time trying, here they just keep asking.  Especially the kids with the postcards, which breaks my heart, because I wish they could use their free time to play ball instead of being forced to work by god-knows-who, harassing tourists with their stacks of postcards at the temple.  You answer their questions, say no thanks to the postcards, and they just keep showing you more postcards.  And following you around the temple.  And pleading for you to just buy one.  And this happens at every temple.  Unlike some fresh, inexperienced tourists who want to help them, I know the money won't go to their school costs, as they claim.  

Another thing is that, in the first two places I visited in Myanmar (Yangon and Inle Lake), the people tried to sell me something first, and when I politely declined, they still chatted me up about my background, wanting to tell me about theirs and have a cultural exchange.  In Bagan it's the opposite, they ask where you're from, how long you stay in Bagan, etc etc. posing as simply curious, and then towards the end of the interaction, mention the goods or services (paintings, tours, whatever) they'd like to know if you're interested in buying.  Which makes the first five minutes you spent talking to them feel like a farce and a total waste of your time.  Which sucks because I really liked talking to the local people, but here they assume that they have to warm you up with small talk and then you'll be more willing to give them business.  Maybe it's my expectations that are off... I had higher hopes for the Burmese, especially because of my amazing earlier experiences!!!  I guess it's inevitable that in a highly-touristy place like Bagan they'd get a bit jaded.  

Maybe if I had someone to share the burden with, or a travel companion to distract me, it would be easier.  Don't get me wrong- I LOVE traveling alone.  It's the reason I have made so many friends from around the world.  Solo travelers are more approachable than duos or groups.  I have myriad reasons for why I prefer to travel alone.  Not being at the whim of someone else's appetite, bad mood, budget, or pace.  Committing only to myself as my guide, having down time when I want it, and avoiding getting on the nerves of a travel partner (or vice versa) without the opportunity to go our separate ways.  But lately being alone had been getting me down.  Biking around Bagan by myself, I couldn't figure out which temple was which, even with the help of three different maps.  I had no one to laugh with when I got lost and biked into a bush that covered me in spurs.  And I had no one to distract me from my slump when all the tout interactions started wearing on me.  After a morning of bicycling around with a frown on my face, I finally resolved to call it a day, head home, and hire a guide with a trishaw for tomorrow.  But then on the way home, as luck would have it, I met Thierry!!!  Thierry was a jolly old French man who turned my day around with his positive insights and good company.  

We went for an early lunch at the Moon Restaurant - Be Kind to Animals.  Yes, that's the name.  It's a vegetarian place, right behind one of the largest and most brilliant temples, Ananda Pahto.  Thierry has two grown kids (my and my sister's ages) and works as a chocolatier in Paris.  He goes on holiday every December for the month to the far corners of the globe.  Thierry put everything in perspective, reminding me that the touting here is hardly as bad here as in any other Southeast Asian country.  True.  And look at how safe it is.  Having been to the Philippines recently, he noted that there is no part of town too dangerous to explore, like when people would warn he to get out of this or that neighborhood unless he wanted to get shot.  Also true.  He reminded me that we never know what tomorrow brings, if there even IS a tomorrow, and we've got to take a deep breath and enjoy today for all it's glory.  But of course! Mais, bien sûr!!!  Hanging out with the jolly old Frenchman put me in much higher spirits.

We biked together a little while longer after lunch, stopping at a few temples to have a look around and take some photos.  He told me that he usually doesn't get hassled by all the shop-keepers, but walking around with me, he was getting a lot more attention than usual... a-ha!!  So it's not just all in my head!!!  We parted ways a little while after and I went home for a nap.  On my walk back from dinner that night, an old Burmese man with very few teeth starting chatting to me.  Where are you from, where have you been, how many days in Bagan, how are you liking Myanmar... when is the sales pitch coming? I thought; now I'm the jaded one!.  But I was reminded that not everyone is out to sell me something.  The conversation didn't end with "want to buy one of my paintings?" or "maybe you need a guide for tomorrow?"  but just, "here is my tea shop, goodbye!" and he disappeared into the night.  Even in the tourist-filled, tout-heavy Bagan,  some people are still just friendly and curious.  Thanks for the reminder, lovely little old man!!!!

More Ruminations in Mandalay

People all over Myanmar chew betel nut.  I didn't get the full scoop on this strange legal drug but from what I heard it is a stimulant similar to nicotine in small quantities, and similar to alcohol in large quantities.  It is highly habit-forming and rather costly, and apparently much more popular than toothbrushes and toothpaste because sometimes I would flash my pearly whites to friendly-looking locals only to have the smile of a vampire from the show "True Blood" flashed back at me.  It was sometimes terrifying but mostly just gross.  It's like chewing tobacco, in that your mouth forms a lot of nasty-tasting spit which you have the promptly eject.  Hence the little blops of red splatter all over the ground, all over the country.

Now I'll talk a little bit about safety.  The most dangerous thing about Myanmar, in my humble opinion, are the sidewalks, which are pretty much nonexistent.  Either they are blocked by motorbikes or goods or garbage, or they are just falling apart and to attempt to use them would be slightly more dangerous than walking in the street and competing with road traffic.  Which is what pedestrians are forced to do, especially in Mandalay.  A lot of people told me to "be careful" and stay safe... besides having one of the most corrupt governments in the world, who arrest citizens for the slightest utterance of dissent, where did Myanmar get the reputation of being so dangerous?  Tourists are "warmly welcomed" and protected to the max.  Here I am, so naîve to think that they don't steal because it's one of the five precepts of the Buddhist religion.  They don't steal because stealing from a tourist can get you five years in prison!  Very much unlike South America, where the police turn a blind eye to thieves in exchange for their cut of the profit.  Ha!

Which brings me to my next point... the government.  Why do they "warmly welcome" and protect tourists so well?  I think you already know the answer......  ($$$$$$)  If anything happened to us, the tourism industry would suffer and in turn, the government would lose money.  They make good earnings letting us in, especially if we're following the tourist trail:  the $5 entrance fee at Shwedagon Pagoda (the #1 tourist attraction in Yangon), the $5 entrance fee to the Inle Lake area, the $10 entrance fee to the Bagan Archaeological Zone, the $10 combo ticket for most of the attractions in and around the city of Mandalay (which I avoided by just choosing to miss out), the $10 departure tax at the airport, not the mention the $40 fee for a rush visa, and slightly less for a regular visa.  Twelve percent of guest house earnings go to the government as well, which is fine when it's only 12% of $150 I spent on rooms for the entire trip, but what about the older travelers who stay in the flash hotels?  And who knows who else in the tourist industry they are taking their cut from...  Considering my entire two weeks traveling in Myanmar cost less than $500 (not including the plane ticket pass) a lot of my expenditures went directly to the government.  This is certainly a reason to consider avoiding traveling in Myanmar until democracy is restored.

But would democracy be a good or a bad thing?  I'm not well versed enough in politics to even be opening up this discussion, but I will share my thoughts nonetheless, which are basically on the fence.  How do you suddenly give a very oppressed people full right to protest?  Wouldn't the country just EXPLODE in protest and wouldn't violence ensue?  And wouldn't the government be justified in cracking down on any violent or potentially violent protests?  How do you successfully dismantle a military regime that has been in power this long?  And what if the country opens up to the world, the sanctions are lifted, and multi-national corporations just swoop in and take over, exploiting the people and resources for the sake of profit and stomping all over a pretty well-preserved and traditional culture?  One thing is for sure, tourism and the increase of Westerners interacting with the Burmese will have an influence on the cultural fabric of this country, but how much is too much?  The ads on TV portray youth dressed like Los Angeles gangster rappers.  To me, that's certainly more of an indication of the impending collapse of a civilization than the (potential) threat of McDonald's coming to Myanmar. 

I got to talking about all of this with my Canadian friend Scott, who magically appeared at my guest house in Mandalay.  This is how it happened.  A Vancouver native living and working in Sydney posted a message on the Lonely Planet forums a while ago saying he was traveling alone through Myanmar for two weeks in December.  If there were any other solo travelers wanting to connect they should message him.  So I wrote to him and we found each other on Facebook and sent each other our tentative itineraries.  I had already bought the plane pass (which he would later buy as well) so my dates were pretty much locked down.  When he finally locked down his dates I noticed that he would be trailing a few days behind in every location.  What a shame!!  But somehow we got it wrong.  I think I changed a date to stay in Mandalay a night longer and forgot to mention it.  My last night in Mandalay I was venturing back to the chapatti stand, looking forward to a lonely sidewalk table-for-one, when he came down to reception (yes, we were staying at the same guesthouse too!) and asked one of the staff where was a good place to eat.  Before I even introducing myself, I announced that he was to join me at the chapatti stand.  I told him my name and he though, no, it couldn't be, and when I asked what part of Vancouver he lived in, he said, "actually I'm living in Sydney now."  I said, Scott!  You're my Facebook friend!  This is our reunion!  Well, actually our union!!"  We both agreed that sounded a little weird but lucky for me, it WAS like meeting an old friend and we got on famously, as you would expect from two young North Americans finding each other in an exotic land.  

Scott told me that locals had been talking about the government and the political situation with him.  Why hadn't this happened to me yet? I lamented.  Everyone I know who has been to Myanmar has had the experience of the little old Burmese lady (or monk) quietly discussing their first-hand experiences with the insanely-oppressive government.  I had appeared approachable enough for the touts, but not for the locals to open up to me too?  It would have been nice to have this experience first-hand, but I was happy not to have to worry about implicating anyone, as it's never the foreigner who gets punished for participating in these kinds of conversations.  Scott and I had a lot in common... budding spiritual curiosity, the openness and perspective unique to North Americans who have seen a bit of the world... and every time I brought up these wide-ranging topics such as "would more Western exposure be good or bad for the Burmese", we always wrapped up the discussion with Scott very diplomatically stating, "well, it's much more complex than that," and me whole-heartedly agreeing with the sentiment.  

Yucky Tummy in MANDALAY

Finally, after just a bit more than two weeks into my Asian escapade and I contract the dreaded yucky tummy.  I got off pretty easy actually, as it didn't persist for more than 24 hours, nor did I have to break into my stash of Ciproflaxin (those are some seriously strong antibiotics for when you get it BAD!)  I think it was the tuna croissant I had on the plane- which I had handled just fine on the first flight into Inle, so I didn't think twice about having it on the same flight a few days later.  I threw it up in the middle of the night and went back to sleep with horrible cramps.  The next morning I managed to have some toast and tea for breakfast, but I was not in good shape.  I won't go into any more detail besides saying that I popped some Immodium, struggled through the pre-arranged (and pre-paid) day tour to the ancient capitals outside the city, had only a cookie and a Coca-Cola, and by the end of the day was ready to test my stomach at the famous Chapatti stand.   The food was amazing and my stomach didn't mind it either, so I said a prayer to the gods of digestion and had myself a good 12-hour sleep that night!!

But enough about that, I'm sure you all want to hear more about Mandalay than about my yucky tummy .... Some people say to skip Mandalay altogether.  Others say that it's worth it for the side trips--the villages and attractions found outside the city that can be seen in a day or half-day trip.  I gave it three full days to see for myself, figuring that if I had my fill of sightseeing I could reward myself with a do-nothing day, sometimes necessary when you're traveling at full-throttle and need a break to absorb all that you've seen and done (and catch up on emails to friends and loved ones back home).  

Mandalay and its environs seem to contain a lot of superlatives.  The U Bein Bridge in the former capital of Amarapura is the longest teakwood bridge in the world.  Nearby Mingun, just a quick riverboat ride across the Irrawaddy from the Mandalay jetty holds the largest hung, un-cracked bell in the world (a larger one hangs in Moscow but it is cracked!).  And in a quiet monastery in the city itself is the "world's largest book", really a series of stone slabs with writing that fill the place from one end to the other and around again.  

Mandalay is Myanmar's (and possibly the world's) capital of Buddhist monasteries.  If the rest of the country doesn't seem to have enough monks walking around in flowing red robes, Mandalay is positively full of them.  Apparently becoming a monk is a rite of passage for Burmese men.  What is the rate of Burmese men that become monks? 100%.  Well then how does anyone ever get married or have children?!  They're not monks forever.  It's a little bit like compulsory military training, except exactly the opposite.  Likening it to a "Buddhist bootcamp" is kind of like the biggest contradiction I could ever make.  All Burmese men go into the monastery for a time, usually as young teens during their 3-month summer holiday from school.  It sounds a bit like going into the seminary, but a lot less serious of an undertaking.  I asked Min-Min, the amazingly helpful receptionist at the Royal Guest House (who, not to mention, spoke the best English of any Burmese I met in the entire country), if he was ever a monk.  "Yes of course."  For how long? I enquired.  "Well, for me, only 10 days!"  I wondered if he resisted it like I fought going to sleep-away camp.

The sights were beautiful, but like some other places I have traveled (India and Vietnam come to mind), the people of Mandalay didn't impress me at all.  Up to that point, it had been A+, 110% all the way.  The people were kind, helpful, and respectful, and all they expected was that that be reciprocated.  It's not that the Mandalay people were rude or unfriendly, but they seem to have very little experience seeing and interacting with Westerners.  Oh geez, here she goes, poor little entitled traveler girl, complaining about going to a foreign country that has been closed off to the world until just recently, and being bothered by how awkward the people are acting.  But really, it sucked!!  Maybe I wasn't managing my expectations well, and set a standard for the Burmese after encountering such warmth earlier in the trip.  Maybe I needed an attitude adjustment, and it was all in my head. Nonetheless, I'll tell you what happened.  

I went to the market with my favorite black skirt, the one I accidentally burned with an iron.  I found a tailor who said he would duplicate it for me but I had to venture out and track down the same material, or at least one that would suffice.  Walking around the fabrics section of the market, the looks the people gave me made me feel like a circus freak!  Or a zoo animal.  Or like I was deranged and didn't realize it.  I made sure to dress as to not offend anyway, but maybe I should have dyed my hair dark and worn a mask instead.  Suddenly I was a stranger in a strange land.  Everywhere I went, people were saying "Hello!" as a test. When I responded, "Hello!" or "Hi!" as usual, they turned to each other and laughed hysterically.  What was so funny?  I was like a dog that had just performed a trick on first request.  And that made me seriously wonder... where's my biscuit?  The staring was different, not just surprise, but really like I had just touched down from another planet.  It left me feeling fatigued and wanting to hide out in my room for the rest of the time.  But don't feel bad for me.  Not all days can be good- even in Myanmar!!!

More on Mandalay in the next post...

Cooling Down at INLE LAKE

I escaped the sweltering heat and unforgiving humidity of Yangon for the cooler climate in the mountainous region of Inle Lake, located in the Shan state (Shan is an ethnic minority of Myanmar).  At the airport, I went to the Air Mandalay office with my pre-paid invoice and they issued me my plane tickets.  I got a sweet deal of four internal flights for $215.  Sure, buses are about $10 one-way, and the ones between my destinations would be maximum 13 hours (often less), but I'd heard that the roads were in bad shape, the buses miserable (no climate-controlled sleepers with movies and meals like you find in Argentina!) and they have a tendency to break down and get stuck in ditches of the middle of the night.  So considering how cheap everything else was to be, I decided to save myself the time and trouble and splurge on this plane pass that would get me around the country to the four places I wanted to go in a fraction of the time.  I had to wait in the office for about an hour while they hand-wrote my tickets.  They were so cute in there!  They served me coffee and cake and fresh watermelon, filled up my bottle at their water cooler, and one of the women even explained to me a persisting mystery that I had wondered about since my arrival.  What is that strange paste all over most of the women's (and some men's and many children's) faces?  Well, I have the answer now!!  "It's a Myanmar tradition."  Yeah, I figured as much!  "It's the nectar from the flower of a native tree.  The paste is good for the skin, it protects against the sun, and it has a cooling effect so it keeps everyone cool in the heat."  So it's just sunscreen?  I thought there would be more to it!!

When I arrived in the village of Nyaung Shwe (the traveler's hub of the Inle Lake region) I found a nice guest house and went to dine alone at Golden Kite restaurant.  They had great pizzas and pastas, I had been told, and so I opted for my first Western meal since Hong Kong, a tagliatelle bolognese.  A solo German guy came in and sat facing me at the next table.  After some curious staring he finally started chatting me up.  "Are you traveling alone?"  "Yes."  "Wow that's surprising."  "Oh yeah?  Why is that so strange?"  "It's not strange, it's just that you don't see it a lot."  Oh, not this conversation again.  "I see it every day... when I look in the mirror."  A little sassy, I know, but this wasn't the end of me just barely tolerating this guy's ignorance.  He was on a six-week trip traveling through Thailand, Laos and Myanmar.  He complained that after six weeks, it all started to look the same.  "It's all just Buddhist countries.  One kind of Buddhism here, another there.  In Thailand you have 'wats' and here they're 'pagodas', but it all starts to look the same really.  Thai monks wear one color robes, here it's another, but I think I'm just tired of seeing the same thing."  I told him his itinerary was missing a crucial part, the highlight of the Southeast Asian experience.  "You must go to Cambodia to see Angkor Wat!" I said.  And his response: "Yeah, but it's just another temple."  WTF.  It's ONLY the temple to end all temples.  The most amazing temple complex in the WORLD!  One of the ancient wonders and near the top of every 'Must See Before You Die' list ever made.  He went on, "Everyone in all of these countries has been really friendly, but I liked Thailand the most, because the poverty isn't as bad there, so I felt a little bit better."  Umm... check please!  I tried not to take it personally what this imbecile was saying.  Not everyone can be as profoundly affected and enamored by Asia as I am.   Not everyone can handle seeing the harsh reality of the majority of the human experience and respond with affection.  Hell, in some places in the world, I'm less than capable, myself.  

Things got much better though.  My first day at Inle Lake was nothing short of amazing.  I started the day with an early morning bike ride, traversing a bridge that crosses the northern end of the lake and continuing south through the villages on the opposite side, sprinkled with pagodas and lovely people.  The Burmese smiles put all other Asian people's smiles to shame!!  Everyone smiled big, waved, or at the very least, gave an acknowledging nod.  There I am, riding down a dirt path on my little pushbike, as mopeds, trucks and horse-drawn carts pass me by.  And everyone just shouts 'hello!'  Kids run up to me to shake my hand and pose for photos!  So innocent!  So tender!!!

On the other side of the lake I took my bike on the 'ferry' which brought me back to my side so I could loop back up to Nyuang Shwe.  More friendly faces, smiles, waves, nods and hellos.  I just love these people!!   The afternoon was spent lunching, napping and getting a massage.  Ahhh holiday mode.  8,000 kyat ($6.50 USD) bought me an hour-long 'circulation' massage and it was heavenly.  I'm not a big fan of massages to be quite honest, but this one was different.  While she was working on my legs, I could feel the energy in my arms.  She hung from beams in the low ceiling and stepped on me!  She even got the blood flowing in my ears!!  Then she covered me in a yummy-smelling oil and served me tea.

That night, after a slightly cheesy but authentic Burmese marionette show, I headed home from dinner and ran into a guy from San Diego who was staying at my guest house (the only other American I met in Myanmar), on his way out with two others from the same place.  I pointed out the full lunar eclipse that was happening and we were all enchanted by this "auspicious" moment, as I referred to it.  At Inle Lake. In Myanmar.  Watching a full lunar eclipse.  And then I discovered that one of the people standing there with us was a porteño from Nuñez!  YES!!!!!  A porteño in Myanmar!!!  Expect the unexpected!  Believe the unbelievable!  The guy spoke great English, couldn't believe that I knew how to pronounce his name correctly (Sebastián) and we agreed to have a mate on the roof at 7AM before my boat tour the following day.  When I told him I had mate with me, he looked at me wide-eyed: "Me estas jodiendo?!" ("Are you fucking with me?!")  Do you love it or DO YOU LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!  (I love it).  

Warmly Welcome to YANGON, MYANMAR

"Warmly Welcome" is a motto here, not only for people working in the tourist interest, but locals say it a lot too.  "Where are you from?"  "California!"  "Warmly welcome you!!"  It's really cute.  

Not just for simplicity's sake, I've decided to stick with calling it Myanmar, since I learned that this was the country's original name and that Burma was the name given by the British when they colonized it (as well as Rangoon for Yangon).  

First, two expressions you must learn in order to be successful and respectful with the locals.  I got so used to the Thai translations, "Sawadee-kaaaa" and "Kapun-kaaaa" but here in Myanmar it is as follows:

Hello = Mingalaba.  (accent on the 'ming')

Thank you = Chesu Timbale.  (Sometimes sounds like 'Chizu Timbaje')

I landed in Myanmar on an Air Asia flight from Bangkok.  The flight took a little more than an hour and the time difference is 30 minutes behind.  The first thing I noticed when I got off the plane was that 90% of the woman and children have this weird whitish paste smeared on their faces. If not just a small strip on both cheeks, it's a bigger strip, or an additional line down the nose, or it's their whole face covered in the stuff.  I'll endeavour to figure out what it is and why they wear it.  Some men have the paste on their faces too, but only about 25%, I'd say.  Most of the men don't wear pants.  They wear these cool wraps that kind of look like skirts, called longyi (pronounced "long-ee").  My guest house offered airport pick up but we had to wait for the next flight to land to get more guests.  So I took a seat and watched a hilarious ad for the Fatherland department store, where a couple wearing color-coordinated outfits danced among various products and sang a song as the background scene and outfits change every few seconds... then in Yangon I saw the same couple on practically every billboard in town.  Who are these people?, I wondered.  

I got a chance to film part of the commercial before my departure from Myanmar.  Here is the video (you can only hear airport sounds but at least you can catch my drift):

On my first day in Yangon my mind was officially blown.  Was I in India?  Or was it still Southeast Asia?  It felt like everything I love about both places, rolled into one!  I was smiling so much, my cheeks hurts. The smiles were like those of the Cambodians... but the faces were more like Thai, Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi... it was such a melange.  The looks were intense but friendly... I was just doing my smiling thing, as I always do, and the response was amazing.  To say I was well-received would be an understatement.  People in Yangon just loved happy, smiling, tall, blond tourist. Someone wanted to get a photo of me and his friend took the photo with his cell phone.  OK, I'm back in India.  But then the old ladies shouted "Very beautiful!" as I passed by and it seemed a bit more like Cambodia.  "Thank you!" I replied, as in, thank you for not being a creepy old man saying that!  It was wild and exotic and kind of smelled like India (in that burning garbage way), but the people were warmer, more accepting, less intrusive and yet equally astounded to see me there walking in the middle of their city. It was a bit in your face like Southeast Asia in general, a lot of people offering to sell me things, but when I politely declined, they still just wanted to know where I was from and if they could help me in any way.  How wonderful!!

One travel agent approached me, clearly of Indian descent:  

Him: "You need bus ticket? Plane ticket? Change money?  Come to my office here any time!  We help you!  I give you 800 kyat for one dollar.  Where you from?"  

Me: "Uh...USA."  

Him: "California?  Fan Panflisco?"  

Me: "San Francisco, exactly!"  It's just like the people in India would say it when I would try to explain where I was from, but this guy had already heard of the city, incorrect pronunciation included.  

Him: "Yes, 300 there."  

Me: "Huh?... actually..." 

Him: "300 million people in your country."  

Me: "Oh yes, that's right."  

Him: "Yes, I know this, I have a lot of friends there."  Big smile.  :D

It was a mix between previous conversations I'd had in India, where few people have even heard of San Francisco, and in Thailand, where everyone's uncle or cousin has a restaurant there.  

My first full day in Yangon, I spent all morning on the Circle Train.  It wasn't as exciting as previous bloggers have detailed... where were the ladies coming on the train with goods balanced on their heads, dancing and laughing?  Only towards the end of the journey were there a few of these women I had heard about; I guess I was too early to catch the action.

I had gotten to the station and found the office where I was to buy my ticket.  $1 for tourists, USD only.  They told me to take a seat, I think the three station clerks just wanted to chat me up and have a laugh.  I asked where I could get some coffee and they pointed to a bag hanging on the wall, full of what looked like coffee.    "How much?" "No much!  Present!!"  I drank the coffee and they continued pouring me Chinese-style tea in the same tiny cup until the train came.  The Burmese are all about the tea, all the time.  They carry steel thermoses in small purpose-made bags, just like the Argies with their mate!  This made me think of BA, and it made me very happy.

One of the station clerks from the office was on the train later, and after trying to communicate with the few English words he knew, he handed me a photo of himself.  Uhhh... "thank you!" I responded, wondering what was next.  Then a few minutes later, a note including his name and a proclamation of his love for me!!!  I'm not entirely sure how he was trying to come across by telling me he loved me, but I said an emphatic "Thank you!" again and he left shortly thereafter, leaving me with keepsakes which I will cherish forever!!  :D

On the train, two old Buddhist nuns with lots of missing teeth stared at me often, smiled, laughed, and held up one finger with a questioning face.  I guess this was to ask if I was traveling alone?  I nodded.  They giggled.  Passing all the stations in the outskirts of the city, everyone just wanted a smile.  They shouted "Hello!" "Hey you!" or, my favorite, "Where you going, where ya been?!"  When I answered, they laughed and smiled.  This sums up most of my interactions for the first day.  Some people who could speak a bit more English wanted to know where I'm from, where I'm going, do I want to sit and join them for a tea/coffee/guitar session, I obliged but the guitar was terribly out of tune so I couldn't sing my song for them.  A lot of people ask, "Only one?" which I guess is their way of saying, "You're alone?  You silly, strange foreign girl."

I had a familiar feeling riding the Circle Train that morning.  Going through the rural outskirts of Yangon, I saw many stilt houses and shacks without gas, electricity or running water.  It was nothing unlike what I'd seen in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia in years past, but how quickly it brought me back to that place where my problems shrivel into mere trivialities and my global perspective gets turned on its head.

This got me thinking... why don't I have the same mental reaction at the sight of the same types of dwellings and the same level of poverty in South America?  Or in rural Europe?  Rural USA?  Life is just as hard for impoverished people in any country; you can't say it's worse here than there or harder or easier for any one person.  Is it their Buddhist mentality and lifestyle that makes the effect that much stronger for me here?  Why is it always so life-altering for me when I travel in Asia?  And why does returning to the West and settling back in to regular life always lead to me losing sight of these new-found or newly-discovered realizations?  What would happen if I were to live in Asia long term?  Would it last?  Would my spirituality blossom even more than it does in the brief 2-3 month stints that I keep spending here? Or would I get caught up in the usual day-to-day game of pleasure-seeking and pain-evading that I do in my normal life, in the developed world... Is it simply a by-product of my privileged 'travel mode'?  Everything I do here is just for leisure and I have all the free time to think about and appreciate and reflect on how great I have it and how lucky I am to have been born under my circumstances.  How will I come to terms with this phenomenon that keeps repeating itself with every Asia visit and keeps disappearing shortly thereafter...  

I'll stop it with the spiritual and philosophical pursuits for now and leave you with a few observations of my first days in Myanmar:

-There's a different kind of traveler here (another thing it has in common with India).  The people who come here have most likely already spent quite some time in other countries of Southeast Asia, loved them, and are up for an even greater challenge.  It's not as easy-going and accommodating as places like Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, starting with the visa application process.  But we all share the common motivation to go through with it anyway for the reward that is, just being here.

- The local currency is the kyat (pronounced "chet") but hotels and government-run tourist sites only accept USD.  Not just any USD, but completely flat, tear-free, mark-free, perfect-condition USD, not older than Series 2006.  Also there are no ATMs or places that accept credit cards.  Plan ahead!!

- I had read about this in the guidebook but really started to notice how when the Burmese people pass anything, they touch their arm or elbow with the other, non-passing hand.  You are suppose to receives items in the same manner.  It's a sign of respect.   

- The steering wheels are located on the right side of the vehicles (probably a vestige from the British colonial period) but they drive on the right side of the road too.  You'd think this would be very dangerous but they seem to manage just fine.

- I'm not sure if this is because all of the internet cafes use special proxy services, but in Myanmar I have had no problem accessing Facebook, whereas the government in Vietnam has done everything in its power to block it and the tourists have to resort to various work-arounds to log in.

- 3-in-1 coffee packets are very popular here. Something I had only seen once before, in Hanoi (Vietnam), this is a nifty packet pre-mixed with sugar, instant coffee, and powdered milk.  The taste isn't terrible and I just think it's the niftiest little creation.

Some Precursors to the MYANMAR Tales

First, a brief introduction from the free map I got at the MTT office in Yangon:

MYANMAR

The legendary "Golden Land" - this is still the Myanmar of today.  Certainly one of the most exotic countries in the world - a land of astounding beauty and charm that moved Kipling to pen these words: "quite unlike any land you will ever know."  Paradise... Myanmar is a paradise to discover, a destination for discerning travelers to explore and experience the mystical charms of the East in its diversity - rich archaeological sites, glittering pagodas, a wealth of cultures, colorful landscape, lush fertile plains, vast virgin jungles, majestic snowcapped mountains, pristine beaches washed by crystal clear waters, fragrant pine trees and sunflowers bathed in abundant shine.  But most of all, perfectly complemented by a most gracious and hospitable people.

Now, I'll include some excerpts from a letter my French friend Chams wrote me after he spent a month traveling around Myanmar last year:

It took me some time but as I promised I m gonna give you some scoops about Myanmar. First if you go there its for two reasons: peoples and spirituality (good country for you!) it's a very rich and interesting mix of people and religion. If Im a magician and drop you in a street of Yangon now, you could never guess where you are. Chinese, Indian, Bengali, Pakistanis in the street my guest house was in Yangon there is a pagoda, a mosque, a hindu temple, a sik temple, a baptist church and a Synagogue for the 40 jews living there and for you...It s very easy to meet monks who wants to improve their english and share their knowledge. Everywhere you go you r welcome with a true smile everybody wants to speak with you, sometime it can be too much... People are honest and the country is safe, I forgot my "handbag" with all my money, my passport, ALL MY LIFE, in a bus and after 15 minutes and a getaway by motorbike in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night with no light and no gas I re-found it nothing missing. They also have beautiful countryside, landscape but its not the best I saw. The food is interesting to because of the mix of population but no so easy to find safe and good food for every meal. People spend a lot of time in teashops, they are everywhere, chinese tea, cofee mix(cofee+sugar+condensed milk), samoussa, cakes, sometime rice and basic food, I like teashops!  Transportation is the worst point, old buses, broken roads and eXtra long journey. Its possible to enjoy the country to see a lot without giving a lot of money to the governement so go there. I spent 28 days in the country, I was with a german girl that I met in Cambodia we shared rooms and most of the things and I spent 450$, cheap cheap!

Lonely planet can be helpful for the country excepted for the prices because of the conversion with the dollar. For example all the guesthouse I have been to where 1,5 to 2 times more expensive. The same for the transportation, it can be expensive if you compare to thailand and cambodia, even for a dusty, broken local bus. This country changed a lot this last years, a good idea is to go now(or soon) or maybe never...  There is not that much travellers there, difficult to find someone, going the same way, travelling like you and interesting. Better to bring someone you met before!... Plan to go there from Bangkok with an air asia flight, ask all the people in thailand to have the last tips about Myanmar and you ll enjoy it. Bises.

So here I go....

Greetings from Myanmar

Hello Faithful Readers!!

Just wanting to check in and tell you all that I'm having a very interesting time here, full of ups and downs of course, and I've been writing a lot!  Not long now until I'm back in Bangkok and can share some of my musings with you all... internet is far too slow here (I swear sometimes I feel like I'm back in India) but I'll be back with you shortly and I've got lots of photos as well....  hoping to have some posted by Thursday night, Thai time.  Until then, be well and don't go too crazy as we approach the end of the year!!  2012 is going to be awesome--I'm sure of it-- so just sit tight and don't let the shopping malls get you down.  Even in Myanmar there are shopping malls with Christmas decorations!  There's just no escaping it.  Love to you alllllll........

~Louise

Bangkok and Burma - Back2Back!

Well, Aroon is quite pleased that I've started this new blog; we spoke the other day and he is still raving about the Vipassana blog from last year.  I tried to tell him that it's simply not going to get any better than that, unfortunately, but he insists that I'll come up with something.  People!  Please believe me when I say that it's not going to get any better than that this year!  But hopefully being a year older (a whopping 25) and having traversed a new continent this past year (that being South America) will have made me slightly more experienced, if not just a little bit wiser as well.

So... Bangkok.  Four days spent puttering around, waiting for the day I could go to the Myanmar Embassy to get my visa.  Silly me didn't realize when I booked the flight that I arrived on a Saturday, and the embassy is closed all weekend.  Smart me gave myself two full weekdays to sort it out just in case anything went wrong on the first available day... turns out Monday was the (Thai) King's Birthday holiday!  All government offices were closed!  Damn, I couldn't have planned this better.  So I went this morning at 8AM, waited in line for an hour with the crowd, dropped off my paperwork, went back this afternoon via the lovely river boat, and .... drumroll please .... GOT MY VISA!!!  Ladies and gentlemen, I am GOING TO BURMA/MYANMAR!!!  And I'll tell you all about it.  But maybe not until I return, "por las dudas," as we say in Spanish.  So don't expect to hear from me again until I get back on 22 December.  And Mom, don't worry, I will check in with you from every new destination. Which you can read about HERE.  That site basically outlines what my next two weeks will look like (minus the three-day trek to Inle Lake from Kalaw... come on you guys, you know I don't trek well!)

In the meantime I'll tell you a little bit about what the past few days in Bangkok have been like.  But I will forewarn you, it's isn't the least bit interesting.

One observation I've made is just what an international sensation Angry Birds has become.  (If you are my friend and want me to bring you back an Angry Birds t-shirt, please send me a request via email.)  Another is that there is no flooding.  Surprise, surprise.  It's December, people!  Dry season.  Much less hot than last year, when I arrived at the beginning of November.  It's pretty comfortable for most of the day, actually.  And this is coming from the girl who can't stand anything over 26C.  Also, where are the mosquitos?  I haven't gotten one bite.  Is it because I've let my leg hair grow and they don't like to wade through it to get at me?  And what about yucky tummy?  I've been eating the street food to my heart's content without even the slightest bit of intestinal irritation.  It's as though I've entered ... the twilight zooooonnnnneeeeee........

The other day I forgot what day it was.  That's because when you're traveling, every day is a Saturday (except when you've got to go to the embassy for a visa; then it better be a weekday haha).  You'd think that for every day being a Saturday, I'd have stayed out a bit later, had a few more drinks, slept in a few more mornings, but no.  I've been keeping it pretty low key.  I've stuck to my jetlag sleep schedule of 8PM-5AM.  I quite like this.  The only beer I had was that which I ordered when having my $5 foot massage on the sidewalk the other day (sorry to rub it in, folks... PUN INTENDED!!!)  Besides two attempts at socializing with some Argentine girls staying at my guesthouse- practicing my Spanish while simultaneously amusing them with my repertoire of Lunfardo slang, I've pretty much kept to myself.  You see, the infamous Khao San Road, Bangkok's 'backpacker district' tends to bring out the seedy side of locals and travelers alike.  The Thais and Burmese/Nepalese/Indian expats who have to work here, selling overpriced, low-quality tank tops and shorts to obnoxious British party-seekers, have become pretty jaded.  And I don't really blame them.  I've woken up some mornings at 6AM, ventured out for a Thai ice tea, and seen the drunkards, either singing songs around a guitar, beers still in hand, or grabbing the ass of their 'lady-friend for the night' (read: prostitute) in a desperate attempt at self-validation.  Khao San Road is such a lovely place to wake up to!!!  Not.

I'm thinking Burma/Myanmar is gonna be a bit more authentic.  A bit less tapped.  Less grungy.  Cheaper.  More pleasant.  But let me come clean.  For my first trip I'm only visiting "The Big Four" and it doesn't get much more mainstream than that.  I've turn a lot of heads telling people that I'm going there and frankly, I'm sick of it.  Yes I know the reputation, I've done my research, but I take my inspiration from people that have actually been.  The preconceived notions that people have laid on me, thinking it's dangerous, dirty, scary, why on Earth would you go there?!... well why don't you stop making assumptions and go ask someone who has actually been there and see the reactions they have?  

I had two inspirations which instilled in me a desire to visit Burma/Myanmar.  The first was my tenth-grade teacher, who visited the country many moons ago with her hubby, back when the ENTIRE country was way off the beaten track, and she told me when I was in high school (and later repeated many times in random conversations) that the Burmese were the nicest people in Asia, possibly the world.  Now, those of you have who traveled to Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia, know that people can't get much nicer than that.  But from what I've heard, from my teacher and from many others who have dealt with them first-hand, I think the Burmese can and will be nicer than the nicest I've met.  

The second experience that convinced me that I would someday get there was during my first trip to Asia in 2009.  It was nearly my last day in Vietnam, puttering around Saigon (even more yucksville than Bangkok), when I ran in to the old Canadian ladies that I had met a few weeks prior in Ha Long Bay.  I chatted them up for a few minutes, asking where they were going next.  One of them was going home.  The other was going to Burma/Myanmar... by herself!  "You're going to BURMA?!  By yourself?!" --I was just as bad as the rest of them back then.  And she looked at me like, hey, it ain't no thang!!  This coming from an old Canadian lady.  I had just traveled three weeks alone through rough-as-sandpaper Vietnam and I thought, if this old Canadian lady can go to Burma by HERSELF, I will go by MYSELF one day.  And so I bought the counterfeit Lonely Planet book from a street vendor that night and brought it around the world with me for two years until the time finally came to open it up and start highlighting.  Which happened a few weeks ago in Buenos Aires.  

And there you have it!!!   Wait patiently for what insights will befall me, and you will be handsomely rewarded!  Go now grasshopper... ;) 

Three Days in Hong Kong

I just passed three days in a place I'd never before ventured: Hong Kong, China!!!  Formerly part of the British empire, now known as a "Special Administrative Region", you could say this is where Asia and London meet and blend like the syrup and milk in a Thai iced tea.  I noticed this blend no better than in the yellow double decker buses that traverse the city.  Think about it... double decker bus... but in yellow.  From the moment I saw signs full of Chinese characters and a shop at the airport called "Yum Yum Treats" I felt instantly at ease!!

When I first arrived, I took the Airport Express train to the city followed by a taxi to my friend Tyler's flat.  I got to the taxi stand and the driver helped me get my suitcase in the trunk.  "First time Hong Kong?"  "Uh.... uh.... mmm...  yeah."  I knew I shouldn't have let it slip-- you should never admit this when traveling in a foreign country!  Lest people take advantage of your lack of experience and find ways to rip you off.  "It's 30 Hong Kong dollars to Mid-Levels neighborhood, right?" I asked, as per the sign at the station on the way out.  "No, it's by the meter."  Ugh.  "OK just don't go the long way please!"  What came next was a truer than true introduction to my visit here: "Lady this Hong Kong NOT China!  You can trust!  You see!"  

It's true... the city is full of very internationally-minded folk, not too different from being on the streets of San Francisco, i.e. lots of internationals, lots of Asians, lots of tourists, helpful and trustworthy locals, and pretty easy-going vibes all around.  After living in Buenos Aires for three months I was relieved to feel free to walk with my purse at the back and have my camera in hand without the fear of having it snatched from me.  

And on that point, something else I noticed about Hong Kong is that it's full to the brim with technological gadgets... screens and bright lights everywhere, and the people, whether roaming the streets or sipping tea in the cafés, are for the majority of the time glued to their smart phones or tablets.  So, trying to get into it, I went to the Wan Chai electronics market to see what goods were on offer.  Utter madness!  I was looking for a cheapo external hard drive... something just for my trip, to back up my computer while traveling lest (heaven forbid) it gets lost, broken, stolen or damaged.  The 500GB were priced at $500 (Hong Kong dollars- divide by ~8 for the exchange to USD) and the 320GB cost even more than that.  How is it possible, I wondered?  Someone explained to us only after enquiring in about 10 of the shops, that the Thailand floods have entered the Western Digital factory there, halting production and inflating the prices of most products by more than 200%!!!  Crazy times, I tell you.

Besides coming to Hong Kong to see a place to which I'd never been, I had friends here to catch up with... first was Tyler, my incredibly hospitable host who has lived here for nearly 11 years working for an American bank.  He described the city as "New York on acid", that is, the same population, but crammed into the size of Manhattan instead of spread out over the entire five boroughs.  My second friend Thomas later contested that fact, saying that the eight million residents were spread over slightly more space, but I'll leave it to the demographers to decide.  

There is an area of the city that is the most densely populated place in the world.  But for some reason, the whole place didn't seem as crowded to me as NYC.  The streets and sidewalks felt wider.  The people less pushy.  The pace only slightly less frantic, but maybe I missed the rush hour lunch, when millions of business people have to find a place to eat in the same two hour period of the day.  

My first night I went out with Tyler and some of his banking/finance friends, to Shore (very swanky rooftop bar which served up the best Cosmo I've had in a long time) and then to dinner at Phoenix, the last stop on the way up the magical escalators that take you all the way up to Tyler's flat on the hill.  My second night was spent schmoozing at tastings and wine bars with Thomas's friends and associates... Thomas has his own wine importing business (he used to be just a simple high-end hotelier).  That's when I realized something about Hong Kong...  It is to businessmen what Hollywood is to actors.  It's where you come to 'make it' and where networking is, clearly, the name of the game.  Both Tyler and Thomas were constantly handing out and being handed business cards.  Strange I thought, since I've never seen the need to have business cards of my own (would mine read: world traveler? intrepid adventurer?) and it seemed like I never saw business cards nor this strange phenomenon in Buenos Aires.  Maybe I didn't have any friends who were business people there, but I can't even remember the last time I SAW a business card in South America.  Really got me thinking.

I'll leave you with a few Chinese language basics in case you ever find yourself in Hong Kong trying to impress a (by-default) bilingual local:

(Note that Chinese is a tonal language so even if you attempt this you'll probably be saying it wrong.  Still, effort is key!)

Good morning = Jo Sahn

Stop here (e.g. in a taxi) = Li Doh

Speak English? = English Ahhhhh?

Thank you = Mmmm Goy

Goodbye = Buh Byeeeee (they don't have a concept of goodbye so just say this is the most Asian way possible)

Hello/ How are you = Ni Ho Ma (also no concept so this is literally "have you eaten")

Excuse me/ I'm sorry = Moh Sya

Excuse me (like Spanish 'permiso' i.e. get out of my way) = Goy Te Te

Will send an update from Bangkok soon!!!  Bye everyone :D