Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Leaving Mumbai/More Postings Later
I am leaving Mumbai tomorrow morning. I will be on a train that will take me to Kollam where I will be met by the owner of the school where I plan to volunteer. It's about a 39 hour train trip, so I will have no access to computers tomorrow or the next day. Since Saturday is a school day in India, I probably will not be free then either. I will get online again as soon after Saturday as possible to continue updating the blog. In the meantime, some of you who haven't been coming here daily may have to open the archives to find all the postings I've made in the last 3 days. (Note: I might get back on for a while tonight if I don't feel too tired.)
Going Halfway to the Hills Again
Friday, Sept. 16, Bagan to Meiktila
Well, the book became far more interesting than my predictions. I was up until 10:30 reading. Today, I will finish the last 100 pages.
The constant drainage from my sinuses into my throat ended sometime in the night allowing me to breathe oday even as I adjusted my position. Today, there is still stuffiness, but without the runniness. And I have a big of a cough from the buildup that has occurred in my throat.
I have nothing special to do today. i will pick up my laundry, make arrangements for traveling to Inle Lake tomorrow, and read. I probably should have left today, but the bus leaves about 4 a.m., I think, and I just didn't want to have another long travel day yet.
_____
Well, I changed my mind. I did travel today. I was dreading the 10-hour trip tomorrow, so I decided to come half-way today (to Meiktila). I caught a truck out of Bagan at 11 a.m. and went to the next big city (Kyaukpadaung). From where the truck let me off, it was about a 1 miles (2 km) hike over streets covered in loose sand and with rain falling for me to get to where I could catch another truck to Meiktila. My rolling suitcase doesn't do well on loose sand.
It was an adventurous day. We were jammed into the first truck like sardines and more men were riding on top in the rain. People were on both benches and also on small stools in the aisle. I could not move my feet for two hours! I had two possible positions--leaning back with my arms crossed over my chest or leaning slightly forward with my left arm going over my leg with my hand clutching my ankle. I shifted between both, but even then I was pressed from all sides by arms, legs, and bodies.
On the second truck, I fell victum to a problem here in Myanmar--two pricing systems. Everything has a price for locals and one 3-4 times that price for tourists. But sometimes they get more greedy. I had paid 1000 kyat for the first 2 1/2 hour trip, and they wanted 3000 kyat for the next trip of about the same length. There's not much of a choice but to pay. The locals already in the truck did me a favor, however. Since I paid so much, they insisted that I be allowed to ride in the cab (which is always about 1 1/2 times as expensive as riding in the back).
The second ride proved to be a real adventure. First, there was no latch for the door. They had a string attached to the door fram which they looped over the headrest to hold the door shut. Second, we had two flats. When the first one occurred, I noticed that the replacement tire was smooth and wondered what would happen it it went flat, too. We were only about half-way through that trip. The driver was rushing like mad to make up time and hitting lots of potholes in the road. Sure enough, an hour later the driver stopped and I could hear, "Psssssss," again. How lucky we were that they had a second completely smoooth spare tire!
Sitting in the cab with the driver and me was a 38-year-old military man. He spoke some English, so we talked about families. Myanmar, where I had been, etc. He knew the hotel (Honey Hotel) here in Meiktila where I planned to stay, so he borrowed a motorcycle from a friend and gave me a ride to here from the bus station.
Meiktila isn't a tourist town, but it is interesting. First, it is centrally located in the country and has become the seat for lots of schools and military installations. Among the former are the Institute for Management Studies, the Meiktila College of Education, the Institute for Transporation and Communication, the Institute for Economics, the University of Meiktila, etc. Second, it's interesting this weekend becase they are having their pagoda festival. All the streets are lined with booths selling food , toys, etc. And there are ridese, sideshows, etc. People are everywhere. I quickly realized, however, that such festivals also draw lots of beggars. It wasn't fun to be so obviously an outsider.
I went to eat at a restaurant and stuffed myself again. I had a delicious bowl of soup, an onion=tomato salad with red chile sauce, and a huge plate of fried rice with pork. I added chiles to the fried rice. I felt overly full--as if I had eaten in the U.S.
My room is really a small cottage. It faces the local lake, and the full moon was rising out my window as I returned from dinner. It has a very efficient air conditioner and a clean bathroom. It is either newly built or newly remodeled. There are several of these bungalows clustered behind the older large hotel building. There's also a deck with tables to sit and watch the lake and the moonrise. By having a/c and being behind the hotel, maybe I'll be protected from the fireworks and the other noice of the festival.
I'm tired again. My cold is better, though. I've breathed well all day and have coughed up phlegm (sp?) several times. Obviously, each day will be better now.
Hotel (2 Nights) $14.00
Laundry 1300 kyat
Trucks (2) 4000
Dinner 1400
Total = $20.44
Well, the book became far more interesting than my predictions. I was up until 10:30 reading. Today, I will finish the last 100 pages.
The constant drainage from my sinuses into my throat ended sometime in the night allowing me to breathe oday even as I adjusted my position. Today, there is still stuffiness, but without the runniness. And I have a big of a cough from the buildup that has occurred in my throat.
I have nothing special to do today. i will pick up my laundry, make arrangements for traveling to Inle Lake tomorrow, and read. I probably should have left today, but the bus leaves about 4 a.m., I think, and I just didn't want to have another long travel day yet.
_____
Well, I changed my mind. I did travel today. I was dreading the 10-hour trip tomorrow, so I decided to come half-way today (to Meiktila). I caught a truck out of Bagan at 11 a.m. and went to the next big city (Kyaukpadaung). From where the truck let me off, it was about a 1 miles (2 km) hike over streets covered in loose sand and with rain falling for me to get to where I could catch another truck to Meiktila. My rolling suitcase doesn't do well on loose sand.
It was an adventurous day. We were jammed into the first truck like sardines and more men were riding on top in the rain. People were on both benches and also on small stools in the aisle. I could not move my feet for two hours! I had two possible positions--leaning back with my arms crossed over my chest or leaning slightly forward with my left arm going over my leg with my hand clutching my ankle. I shifted between both, but even then I was pressed from all sides by arms, legs, and bodies.
On the second truck, I fell victum to a problem here in Myanmar--two pricing systems. Everything has a price for locals and one 3-4 times that price for tourists. But sometimes they get more greedy. I had paid 1000 kyat for the first 2 1/2 hour trip, and they wanted 3000 kyat for the next trip of about the same length. There's not much of a choice but to pay. The locals already in the truck did me a favor, however. Since I paid so much, they insisted that I be allowed to ride in the cab (which is always about 1 1/2 times as expensive as riding in the back).
The second ride proved to be a real adventure. First, there was no latch for the door. They had a string attached to the door fram which they looped over the headrest to hold the door shut. Second, we had two flats. When the first one occurred, I noticed that the replacement tire was smooth and wondered what would happen it it went flat, too. We were only about half-way through that trip. The driver was rushing like mad to make up time and hitting lots of potholes in the road. Sure enough, an hour later the driver stopped and I could hear, "Psssssss," again. How lucky we were that they had a second completely smoooth spare tire!
Sitting in the cab with the driver and me was a 38-year-old military man. He spoke some English, so we talked about families. Myanmar, where I had been, etc. He knew the hotel (Honey Hotel) here in Meiktila where I planned to stay, so he borrowed a motorcycle from a friend and gave me a ride to here from the bus station.
Meiktila isn't a tourist town, but it is interesting. First, it is centrally located in the country and has become the seat for lots of schools and military installations. Among the former are the Institute for Management Studies, the Meiktila College of Education, the Institute for Transporation and Communication, the Institute for Economics, the University of Meiktila, etc. Second, it's interesting this weekend becase they are having their pagoda festival. All the streets are lined with booths selling food , toys, etc. And there are ridese, sideshows, etc. People are everywhere. I quickly realized, however, that such festivals also draw lots of beggars. It wasn't fun to be so obviously an outsider.
I went to eat at a restaurant and stuffed myself again. I had a delicious bowl of soup, an onion=tomato salad with red chile sauce, and a huge plate of fried rice with pork. I added chiles to the fried rice. I felt overly full--as if I had eaten in the U.S.
My room is really a small cottage. It faces the local lake, and the full moon was rising out my window as I returned from dinner. It has a very efficient air conditioner and a clean bathroom. It is either newly built or newly remodeled. There are several of these bungalows clustered behind the older large hotel building. There's also a deck with tables to sit and watch the lake and the moonrise. By having a/c and being behind the hotel, maybe I'll be protected from the fireworks and the other noice of the festival.
I'm tired again. My cold is better, though. I've breathed well all day and have coughed up phlegm (sp?) several times. Obviously, each day will be better now.
Hotel (2 Nights) $14.00
Laundry 1300 kyat
Trucks (2) 4000
Dinner 1400
Total = $20.44
It's a Cold
Thursday, Sept. 15, Bagan
Sniffle, sniffle, sniffle.... That's the story of my day. I managed to sleep well last night, but I had to maintain almost the same position all night to keep both nostrils open. Today they have stayed runny, but open, all day. I guess that fever, etc., I had a couple of days ago was the beginning of a cold. And all that coughing I thought was TB was probably everyone in the mountains suffering from the cold virus I eventually got.
Breakfast was a little better than usual this morning. For the time time I got both tomatoes and onions in my omelet. Otherwise, it ws the same--tea toast, margarine, jam, and bananas.
This is a big tourist complex. About 800-1000 years ago, this was the capital of Myanmar. It was a huge city with lavish temples built by the kings. It's similar to Ankor Wat in Cambodia, a couple of places I've visited in Thailand, and a couple of places I have visited in Sri Lanka (all of them with names that are difficult to remember). Like all those places, the houses and shops were made of bamboo and palm fronds and disappeared over time. The hundreds (here, 2000) of temples are all that remain scattered over a great area, since they were more sturdily built from bricks and plaster. Most of them deteriorated and were looted over the years (the Germans got a lot from here), so what is seen today is mostly reconstructions sponsored by funds from UNESCO. They are impressive, however. Bagan is definitely worthy of being called a World Heritage Site.
The problem with any major tourist site like this in Asia is that it is difficult to enjoy it due to the touts. It started at my hotel with a man, the first of many making the same offer today, wanting to guide me in a horse-drawn carriage for 6500 kyat (6.5 times the average daily wage here). Then came the multitudes of kids wanting to sell postcards (and following up with requests for small money, then coins, then pens, then candy in hopes of getting something), the boat men wanting to give tours on the river, etc. And each monument has a double line of t-shirt, gong, paintings, etc., sellers lining the entrance for 30 yards (30 m).
I didn't really intend to do much, since my cold made me feel bad, but once I started going, I just kept going for almost 5 hours. I saw all the major temples I had marked on my map at least from a distance that allowed me to get a decent photo. It must have involved walking at least 15 km, since a simple round-trip from here to the riverfront in Old Bagan is at least 11 km. I actually made a loop using two roadways and had to branch off each of them to get to each monument. It's an amazingly large area with impressive monuments scattered over it and many smaller monuments filling spaces between them. it would be a great place to see from an airpline or a hot air balloon (which is possible at great cost some months of the year but not now). It used to be possible to climb to the tops of many of the larger monuments, but now the passages are blocked to protect them. There are still two less important monuments where people climb for sunrise or sunset views. but the hassle of getting to those and back isn't an effort I want to make. I saw great panaramas of monuments today; as I continued to walk and scan with my eyes, it all pieced together in my mind.
It was cloudy earlier, but the sun came out around 2 p.m. I wore Arne's cap all day, however, to protect my nose, face and neck. Still , the heat, humidity, walking, and my cold have left me totally exhausted. I took a long shower, first with warm water and switching to cold. Now I am relaxing under a combination of the air conditioner and the ceiling fan.
_____
I went out to dinner at 5:30. I chose a place about 6 blocks (one a very long block) away from here based on my guidebook. I ordered hot and sour pork with rice. It also came with soup. The pork was delicious. It was enough for two people, but I ate every bite of it. It was a stir-fry with everhthing shopped--pork, tomatoes, onions, pepper, potatoes (but not many), and I don't know what else. If you're supposed to fee a cold, I certainly did it tonight.
It started raining hard while I was there, and there didn't seem to be a chance for a let-up. Water was pouring across the roadway about 1 inch (2.5 cm) deep or more. So I took off my sandals in the restaurant, opened my umbrella, held my bag and my sandals high under the umbrella, and walked home. At the end of the first (the long) block, all the electricity in town went off. I unzipped my bag and pulled out my flashlight (which I had taken knowing it would be dark before I returned). I think everyone was surprised to see the American walk by barefotted with a headlight!
Thank goodness I have my books with me. I would be bored to death on nights like this without them. There's no TV in my room and there is heavy rain outside. But I can open In America and follow the story of the sophisticated Poles who left their elegant lives behind in Poland to come to America and become farmers in Anaheim. Will they run out of money before they begin to make a profit? Will Maryna become disenchanged and want to return to the stage? Is a vinyard in Anaheim a bad idea? If so, will they be saved by the orange grove and the olive trees the baron insisted they plant so they wouldn't be dependent upon one crop in case of failure? All the answers await me in the last 180 pages of the book!
Water (3 liters) 400 kyat
Dinner 1600
Total = $ 1.92
Sniffle, sniffle, sniffle.... That's the story of my day. I managed to sleep well last night, but I had to maintain almost the same position all night to keep both nostrils open. Today they have stayed runny, but open, all day. I guess that fever, etc., I had a couple of days ago was the beginning of a cold. And all that coughing I thought was TB was probably everyone in the mountains suffering from the cold virus I eventually got.
Breakfast was a little better than usual this morning. For the time time I got both tomatoes and onions in my omelet. Otherwise, it ws the same--tea toast, margarine, jam, and bananas.
This is a big tourist complex. About 800-1000 years ago, this was the capital of Myanmar. It was a huge city with lavish temples built by the kings. It's similar to Ankor Wat in Cambodia, a couple of places I've visited in Thailand, and a couple of places I have visited in Sri Lanka (all of them with names that are difficult to remember). Like all those places, the houses and shops were made of bamboo and palm fronds and disappeared over time. The hundreds (here, 2000) of temples are all that remain scattered over a great area, since they were more sturdily built from bricks and plaster. Most of them deteriorated and were looted over the years (the Germans got a lot from here), so what is seen today is mostly reconstructions sponsored by funds from UNESCO. They are impressive, however. Bagan is definitely worthy of being called a World Heritage Site.
The problem with any major tourist site like this in Asia is that it is difficult to enjoy it due to the touts. It started at my hotel with a man, the first of many making the same offer today, wanting to guide me in a horse-drawn carriage for 6500 kyat (6.5 times the average daily wage here). Then came the multitudes of kids wanting to sell postcards (and following up with requests for small money, then coins, then pens, then candy in hopes of getting something), the boat men wanting to give tours on the river, etc. And each monument has a double line of t-shirt, gong, paintings, etc., sellers lining the entrance for 30 yards (30 m).
I didn't really intend to do much, since my cold made me feel bad, but once I started going, I just kept going for almost 5 hours. I saw all the major temples I had marked on my map at least from a distance that allowed me to get a decent photo. It must have involved walking at least 15 km, since a simple round-trip from here to the riverfront in Old Bagan is at least 11 km. I actually made a loop using two roadways and had to branch off each of them to get to each monument. It's an amazingly large area with impressive monuments scattered over it and many smaller monuments filling spaces between them. it would be a great place to see from an airpline or a hot air balloon (which is possible at great cost some months of the year but not now). It used to be possible to climb to the tops of many of the larger monuments, but now the passages are blocked to protect them. There are still two less important monuments where people climb for sunrise or sunset views. but the hassle of getting to those and back isn't an effort I want to make. I saw great panaramas of monuments today; as I continued to walk and scan with my eyes, it all pieced together in my mind.
It was cloudy earlier, but the sun came out around 2 p.m. I wore Arne's cap all day, however, to protect my nose, face and neck. Still , the heat, humidity, walking, and my cold have left me totally exhausted. I took a long shower, first with warm water and switching to cold. Now I am relaxing under a combination of the air conditioner and the ceiling fan.
_____
I went out to dinner at 5:30. I chose a place about 6 blocks (one a very long block) away from here based on my guidebook. I ordered hot and sour pork with rice. It also came with soup. The pork was delicious. It was enough for two people, but I ate every bite of it. It was a stir-fry with everhthing shopped--pork, tomatoes, onions, pepper, potatoes (but not many), and I don't know what else. If you're supposed to fee a cold, I certainly did it tonight.
It started raining hard while I was there, and there didn't seem to be a chance for a let-up. Water was pouring across the roadway about 1 inch (2.5 cm) deep or more. So I took off my sandals in the restaurant, opened my umbrella, held my bag and my sandals high under the umbrella, and walked home. At the end of the first (the long) block, all the electricity in town went off. I unzipped my bag and pulled out my flashlight (which I had taken knowing it would be dark before I returned). I think everyone was surprised to see the American walk by barefotted with a headlight!
Thank goodness I have my books with me. I would be bored to death on nights like this without them. There's no TV in my room and there is heavy rain outside. But I can open In America and follow the story of the sophisticated Poles who left their elegant lives behind in Poland to come to America and become farmers in Anaheim. Will they run out of money before they begin to make a profit? Will Maryna become disenchanged and want to return to the stage? Is a vinyard in Anaheim a bad idea? If so, will they be saved by the orange grove and the olive trees the baron insisted they plant so they wouldn't be dependent upon one crop in case of failure? All the answers await me in the last 180 pages of the book!
Water (3 liters) 400 kyat
Dinner 1600
Total = $ 1.92
Back to the Heat
Wednesday, Sept. 14, Maymyo to Bagan
It's a long travel day. AFter having breakfast with Tatiana and Klaus and saying good-bye to the friendly staff of the hotel (who begged me to stay another night), I caught a 9 a.m. truck to Mandalay. I immediately switched to a truck going south of town toward the bus station. There I changed to a trisaw to get from the highway to the bus station. I arrived at 11:30, and I have a reserved seat on a mini-bus leavingt at 2 p.m. I won't be in Bagan until 9 or 10 tonight. I'll be glad to get there, since traveling is an uncomfortable and long affair here in Myanmar.
_____
It's 10 p.m. I just arrived at the hotel and have showered. I was so filthy from the open windows on the bus. My hair is still dirty; I'll wait until tomorrow to wash it.
The trip to Bagan was exhausting. The bus was the size of a school us, and it's quality (upholstery, suspension, etc.) was about the same. I was luck in one respect. When I entered to take my seat (Number 5), the guy loading the luggage said, "Close." I didn't know what he meant. I thought maybe he didn't know how to close the handle on the suitcase and followed him to the back of the bus. He pointed to the back row of seats and said, "More room." He was right. Seat 5 had only about 8 inches (20 cm) between the front of the seat and the back of the seat before it. The back row had about 18 inches (45 cm). That helped a lot. But the upholstery was thin and the suspension was shot. We bounced they whole way here but especially the last four (of the 7 1/2) hours that were on a poor quality one-lane road.
I thought I had already been to remote Myanmar, but the places we passed on that one-lane road were as remote as any place I've been. We went about 2 1/2 hours without there being a town. At the most there would be a cluster of thatched houses--sometimes with one light bulb burning, but often with no lights or candles. It was like going back 75-100 years in times.
We stopped at 5:30 for a roadside pee. Then we stopped at 7:15 for a quick dinner. I had curry beef. The sides included a wonderfully spicy green chili sauce, some nice chunks of zucchini (or something like it), some delicioud yellow lentils, and other small items along with a big bowl of soup. It was nice to have the break.
We were passed on the road by two big gunner machines (like tanks except with tires) and a truckload of soldiers. I wonder if they had been involved in or were headed for some kind of skirmish. There are a couple of groups in opposition to the military government here. It wasn't possible to go much further into Shan State than were I was this past week, because the opposition by the Shan Liberation Army has caused the goverment to put much of the northeast off timits to tourists.
I have either allergies or a cold. My nose is stuffy, especiall on the right side. I sneezed several times on the bus today. I hope it passes soon and doesn't make me feel too bad.
I have a nice room here in Bagan. The floors are dark wood. It's a large room with an a/c and a newly remoldeled bathroom. There's a tiled private porch to the room that has lounge chairs and a table. It should be comfortable staying here. I'm glad, becase I'll dread the trip back out of here.
Hotel (1 Night) $5.00
Archiological Zone Fee $10.00
Trucks, buses and trishaw 6200 kyat
Toilet 20
Dinner 2100
Map 1000
Total = $ 23.96
It's a long travel day. AFter having breakfast with Tatiana and Klaus and saying good-bye to the friendly staff of the hotel (who begged me to stay another night), I caught a 9 a.m. truck to Mandalay. I immediately switched to a truck going south of town toward the bus station. There I changed to a trisaw to get from the highway to the bus station. I arrived at 11:30, and I have a reserved seat on a mini-bus leavingt at 2 p.m. I won't be in Bagan until 9 or 10 tonight. I'll be glad to get there, since traveling is an uncomfortable and long affair here in Myanmar.
_____
It's 10 p.m. I just arrived at the hotel and have showered. I was so filthy from the open windows on the bus. My hair is still dirty; I'll wait until tomorrow to wash it.
The trip to Bagan was exhausting. The bus was the size of a school us, and it's quality (upholstery, suspension, etc.) was about the same. I was luck in one respect. When I entered to take my seat (Number 5), the guy loading the luggage said, "Close." I didn't know what he meant. I thought maybe he didn't know how to close the handle on the suitcase and followed him to the back of the bus. He pointed to the back row of seats and said, "More room." He was right. Seat 5 had only about 8 inches (20 cm) between the front of the seat and the back of the seat before it. The back row had about 18 inches (45 cm). That helped a lot. But the upholstery was thin and the suspension was shot. We bounced they whole way here but especially the last four (of the 7 1/2) hours that were on a poor quality one-lane road.
I thought I had already been to remote Myanmar, but the places we passed on that one-lane road were as remote as any place I've been. We went about 2 1/2 hours without there being a town. At the most there would be a cluster of thatched houses--sometimes with one light bulb burning, but often with no lights or candles. It was like going back 75-100 years in times.
We stopped at 5:30 for a roadside pee. Then we stopped at 7:15 for a quick dinner. I had curry beef. The sides included a wonderfully spicy green chili sauce, some nice chunks of zucchini (or something like it), some delicioud yellow lentils, and other small items along with a big bowl of soup. It was nice to have the break.
We were passed on the road by two big gunner machines (like tanks except with tires) and a truckload of soldiers. I wonder if they had been involved in or were headed for some kind of skirmish. There are a couple of groups in opposition to the military government here. It wasn't possible to go much further into Shan State than were I was this past week, because the opposition by the Shan Liberation Army has caused the goverment to put much of the northeast off timits to tourists.
I have either allergies or a cold. My nose is stuffy, especiall on the right side. I sneezed several times on the bus today. I hope it passes soon and doesn't make me feel too bad.
I have a nice room here in Bagan. The floors are dark wood. It's a large room with an a/c and a newly remoldeled bathroom. There's a tiled private porch to the room that has lounge chairs and a table. It should be comfortable staying here. I'm glad, becase I'll dread the trip back out of here.
Hotel (1 Night) $5.00
Archiological Zone Fee $10.00
Trucks, buses and trishaw 6200 kyat
Toilet 20
Dinner 2100
Map 1000
Total = $ 23.96
Back to Maymyo
Tuesday, Sept. 13, Hsipaw to Maymyo
I'm feeling better. I slept well all night even though I had napped during the day and went to bed early. I was able to fall back asleep following any noises that distrubed me. My stomach feels a little strange, but I think that's because it is empty. I had a normal bowel movement. I feel like my energy is back, and I don't sense that I have a fever. I guess something just affected me temporarily. I hope this will be a good day!
_____
I decided to take the train back to Maymyo, so after breakfast of an omelet, toast, butter, jam, and honeydew melon, I packed and left for the station. My plans were to take the train to Maymyo and switch to a bus or truck to Mandalay. The train was delayed, however, so I didn't get to Maymyo until 4:30 p.m. I decided to stay here where it is cool rather than continue to hot Mandalay.
Another reason to stop here is that I met a very nice German couple (Klaus who is 37 and Tatiana who is 33) on the train who were coming here. They were staying at the same guesthouse in Hsipaw, so we recognized each other from breakfast. We began talking and visited the whole way. Klaus is a handiman, and Tatiana is a kindergarten teacher. They work and save for four years, then they travel for a year. On this trip, they flew to Indonesia and will fly back from Mumbai on an open-jaws ticket. They are touring Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Nepal, and India.
We came to the Grace Hotel I where I stayed before. They were so glad to see me again and were so friendly when we arrived. They remembered my room (Number 111) and gave it back to me again.
Oh, on the train we had a very interesting conversation with a nice looking man who was traveling with his son. He overheard our conversation for 3 hours, so when he had a chance he joined us. He's 38 and works in a pharmacy, but it is only as a day laborer. He does not get paid for days he doesn't work, and he gets no benefits. (There is no official training to be a pharmacist. It's done like an apprenticeship. Although he has enough training to have his own shop now, he cannot open one because of the high cost and the the fact that you have to pay a government official to approve opening a business.) He spent 3 years working in Malaysia as a baker to make money to support his family, and he has applied for another 3-year contract in Dubai at a hotel. Even then, however, he said he must pay 10% of his wages to the Myanmar Embassy each month, will not be able to travel home during the period, and will have to use illegal channels to get his dollars to his family in Myanmar (since the official exchange rate for legal means is $1 = 7 kyat and the unofficial rate which requires illegal transfers is $1 = 1200 kyat). He was neatly dressed, professional looking and acting, and his 16-year-old son traveling with him was just as neat and attractive. It's sad that such talented people cannot get good work here.
_____
I went to dinner with Tatiana and Klaus at a Chinese restaurant. It was so nice to have something different. We shared a chicken and rice, a chicken and noodles, and a spicy sweet and sour dish as well as a large bowl of soup. Ummm!
We walked through town which is really rather lively after dark. I bought some Indian sweets for us to share at the hotel. By 9 p.m. we were tired and going to our rooms.
Train $4
Dinner 1900 kyats
Sweets 350
Water 200
Total = $ 6.35
I'm feeling better. I slept well all night even though I had napped during the day and went to bed early. I was able to fall back asleep following any noises that distrubed me. My stomach feels a little strange, but I think that's because it is empty. I had a normal bowel movement. I feel like my energy is back, and I don't sense that I have a fever. I guess something just affected me temporarily. I hope this will be a good day!
_____
I decided to take the train back to Maymyo, so after breakfast of an omelet, toast, butter, jam, and honeydew melon, I packed and left for the station. My plans were to take the train to Maymyo and switch to a bus or truck to Mandalay. The train was delayed, however, so I didn't get to Maymyo until 4:30 p.m. I decided to stay here where it is cool rather than continue to hot Mandalay.
Another reason to stop here is that I met a very nice German couple (Klaus who is 37 and Tatiana who is 33) on the train who were coming here. They were staying at the same guesthouse in Hsipaw, so we recognized each other from breakfast. We began talking and visited the whole way. Klaus is a handiman, and Tatiana is a kindergarten teacher. They work and save for four years, then they travel for a year. On this trip, they flew to Indonesia and will fly back from Mumbai on an open-jaws ticket. They are touring Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Nepal, and India.
We came to the Grace Hotel I where I stayed before. They were so glad to see me again and were so friendly when we arrived. They remembered my room (Number 111) and gave it back to me again.
Oh, on the train we had a very interesting conversation with a nice looking man who was traveling with his son. He overheard our conversation for 3 hours, so when he had a chance he joined us. He's 38 and works in a pharmacy, but it is only as a day laborer. He does not get paid for days he doesn't work, and he gets no benefits. (There is no official training to be a pharmacist. It's done like an apprenticeship. Although he has enough training to have his own shop now, he cannot open one because of the high cost and the the fact that you have to pay a government official to approve opening a business.) He spent 3 years working in Malaysia as a baker to make money to support his family, and he has applied for another 3-year contract in Dubai at a hotel. Even then, however, he said he must pay 10% of his wages to the Myanmar Embassy each month, will not be able to travel home during the period, and will have to use illegal channels to get his dollars to his family in Myanmar (since the official exchange rate for legal means is $1 = 7 kyat and the unofficial rate which requires illegal transfers is $1 = 1200 kyat). He was neatly dressed, professional looking and acting, and his 16-year-old son traveling with him was just as neat and attractive. It's sad that such talented people cannot get good work here.
_____
I went to dinner with Tatiana and Klaus at a Chinese restaurant. It was so nice to have something different. We shared a chicken and rice, a chicken and noodles, and a spicy sweet and sour dish as well as a large bowl of soup. Ummm!
We walked through town which is really rather lively after dark. I bought some Indian sweets for us to share at the hotel. By 9 p.m. we were tired and going to our rooms.
Train $4
Dinner 1900 kyats
Sweets 350
Water 200
Total = $ 6.35
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Not on the Top
Monday, Sept. 12, Hsipaw
I didn't feel well last night. My stomach was grumbling, I was burping, and I had a slight flu-like feeling in my joints. The stomach problems were related to my dinner. I could taste it as I burped. The sauce for my pork was a little greasy and it took effort to digest it. During the night, I figured out the other problem. It wasn't my joints; it was my kidneys. I don't think I've been drinking enough water. I've had this problem before. Today, I'll drink two liters or more of water and tonight they should be flushed and the pain gone.
Speaking of health problems, many people here have low, foghorn-like coughs. I wonder if it's because of TB. As I said before, there are TB units at all the hospitals and there are psters cautioning to get "D.O.T.S."--something related to TB.
There is electricity here only from 6-10 p.m. The rooms have candles and matches to use otherwise. The big problem is that the fan doesn't work after 10. It was somewhat warm last night. Although I'm still in the mountains, it is hotter here than it was in Maymyo.
_____
I tried to go exploring. I walked through the market, but I had no interest in looking at anything. I just felt exhausted. I stopped at a park beside the river and started reading a new book, In America by Susan Sontag, but again I just felt tired and miserable. I bought a 3 1/2 liter jug of purified water and returned to the room at 9:30 a.m. and slept until 11:40. Then I drank more water and began to read again. It's now 2 p.m. I'm still feeling lazy and somewhat weak, and it is too0 warm today to want to try to do anything at this hour. I guess I'll read another chapter and try to go out around 4 p.m.
_____
Well, I must be sicker than I thought. The way I keep seating, I must have a fever. I am still burping, and I have no appetite. I had a loose bowel movement this morning, but I have been fine all day in that regard.
I went walking into the countryside for an hour. I was tired, but seemed to have enough energy. I wanted to try eating a bowl of noodle soup, but it just didn't sound good. Instead, I bought a small poundcake at the bakery. I'll force myself to eat it and drink more water. And I'll dig into my supplies for some medicine for the fever. I'd love to wake up tomorrow feeling fine again.
The Shan people live very poorly in the countryside. Their homes remind me of those in Mountain Province int he Philippines the first time I went there 40 years ago. They are built on stilts above ground and have very nice wooden floors. The walls are made of woven rattan, and the roofs are made of palm frongds. Often, there will be only one or two rooms.
The Shan people also still worship spirits (Nat Worship). There are shrines all around that have been built to honor the spirit of someone or some thing whose spirit they have decided has powers. Even though they have adopted Buddhism, they haven't given up the spirit worship. Some of their bigger festivals are related to the spirits they worship.
I finished a camera battery while I was walking. I'm trying to re-charge it, but the electricity keeps going off!I hope I feel well enough tomorrow to try to head back toward civilization.
Water 300 kyat
Cake 200
Total = $0.48
I didn't feel well last night. My stomach was grumbling, I was burping, and I had a slight flu-like feeling in my joints. The stomach problems were related to my dinner. I could taste it as I burped. The sauce for my pork was a little greasy and it took effort to digest it. During the night, I figured out the other problem. It wasn't my joints; it was my kidneys. I don't think I've been drinking enough water. I've had this problem before. Today, I'll drink two liters or more of water and tonight they should be flushed and the pain gone.
Speaking of health problems, many people here have low, foghorn-like coughs. I wonder if it's because of TB. As I said before, there are TB units at all the hospitals and there are psters cautioning to get "D.O.T.S."--something related to TB.
There is electricity here only from 6-10 p.m. The rooms have candles and matches to use otherwise. The big problem is that the fan doesn't work after 10. It was somewhat warm last night. Although I'm still in the mountains, it is hotter here than it was in Maymyo.
_____
I tried to go exploring. I walked through the market, but I had no interest in looking at anything. I just felt exhausted. I stopped at a park beside the river and started reading a new book, In America by Susan Sontag, but again I just felt tired and miserable. I bought a 3 1/2 liter jug of purified water and returned to the room at 9:30 a.m. and slept until 11:40. Then I drank more water and began to read again. It's now 2 p.m. I'm still feeling lazy and somewhat weak, and it is too0 warm today to want to try to do anything at this hour. I guess I'll read another chapter and try to go out around 4 p.m.
_____
Well, I must be sicker than I thought. The way I keep seating, I must have a fever. I am still burping, and I have no appetite. I had a loose bowel movement this morning, but I have been fine all day in that regard.
I went walking into the countryside for an hour. I was tired, but seemed to have enough energy. I wanted to try eating a bowl of noodle soup, but it just didn't sound good. Instead, I bought a small poundcake at the bakery. I'll force myself to eat it and drink more water. And I'll dig into my supplies for some medicine for the fever. I'd love to wake up tomorrow feeling fine again.
The Shan people live very poorly in the countryside. Their homes remind me of those in Mountain Province int he Philippines the first time I went there 40 years ago. They are built on stilts above ground and have very nice wooden floors. The walls are made of woven rattan, and the roofs are made of palm frongds. Often, there will be only one or two rooms.
The Shan people also still worship spirits (Nat Worship). There are shrines all around that have been built to honor the spirit of someone or some thing whose spirit they have decided has powers. Even though they have adopted Buddhism, they haven't given up the spirit worship. Some of their bigger festivals are related to the spirits they worship.
I finished a camera battery while I was walking. I'm trying to re-charge it, but the electricity keeps going off!I hope I feel well enough tomorrow to try to head back toward civilization.
Water 300 kyat
Cake 200
Total = $0.48
Off to Hsipaw
Sunday, Sept. 11, Maymyo to Hsipaw
I'm sitting at the train station. I got up at 6:30 to find that the fire providing hot water had gone out during the night, so I just sponge washed. I was dressed at 7 and had breakfast. Then I left the hotel for the 25-minute walk to here.
I bought a 1st class ticket ($4 versus $2 for ordinary class) in hopes that it would be better. At least I will be assured a seat, and maybe the seats will be a littler more comfortable.
_____
I just arrived in Hsipaw after six hours on the train. First class wasn't as luxurious as I had hoped. The backs of the seats were wooden and didn't recline. The seats had cusioned pads on them that were worn so thin that there was little affect. What was nice was the fact that I had two seats; no one sat beside me. What was even nicer was the company I had opposite me.
I can't pronounce his name properly, so I will use a name I made up based on what he said was his nickname (James) and the meaning of his real name (Autumn)--James Autumn. He is 22 and from Shan State (where I am). His father owns a grocery store, and his mother died when he was 13. He is a university student who has completed 3 years of a degree in economics. He will go two more years if he passes his honors exam with one year being for classes and the other for a practicum. He hopes to work with an airline or some other way in the travel industry. His English is very good. He was reading Macbeth for fun! Therefore, I gave him my two books I had finished. He was so happy to get them, because books are expensive here. Whether that happiness was due to looking forward to reading them or to what he could sell them for is another question, however.
James and I talked the whole 6 hours (except for a brief time I took to finish Reading Lolita in Tehran so I could give it to him). He answered lots of questions I had about Myanmar. My guess is that he will be a great success because of his facility in English.
When we made a stop for about 20 minutes he took me to a tea shop where we had tea and shared a pice of cake. He insisted on paying (as thanks for the books, I guess). Just to remind me, some of the topics we discussed were: his having been a monk two times for one week each, his somewhat lack of belief (He has taken good ideas from various religions.), his lack of interest in politics, his interest in BBC, his favorite types of music (rock, classical, jazz), the makeup people wear here, which temples are best to see in Bagan, his learning to cook from the lady who rents him a room, what he will do on vacation for the next 4 months, what movies (S. Korean) and movie stars he likes, the fact that he gor malaria recently and hated both the symptoms and the treatment, etc.
The owner of the guesthouse was at the train station with a trishaw, but I thought he was a tout who would either want me to pay or would get a commission causing my rate to be higher. I insisted on walking (which was good for me anyway). It started to sprinkle fairly heavy drops, however. I was lucky to get here when I did. A very heavy, although brief, rainfall came down as soon as I was under the shelter having a complimentary glass of hot tea here at Mr. Charle's Guest House where I have a nice room with hot water bath and breakfast for $6.
Back to Lolita: I gave it 2 1/3 stars out of 4. I thought she would never stop talking about Nobakov, apparently one of her favorite writers. I enjoyed the chapters about what was happening to her life and those of her friends, family and students. The chapters outlining her teaching of various books were interesting to some extent but seemed to be too much too often to me with only little to parallel them with life in Iran. Her command of the English language is impressive.
_____The rain stopped almost as quickly as it came, so I decided to go explore town. I walked down the main street and turned left toward the river. There's not a lot of town here. It's bigger than a village, but it tends to have mostly the village look. A couple of blocks look like a downtown, but the rest is small houses and shops in less permanant locations. There's a nice feel to it--somehwat easy going.
Being here, I have gotten myself in quite a remote area. It's only about 3 hours to the border with China. And I am at least two days from the airport in Yangon.
Some people asked if I weren't afraid to come to Myanmar. There has been no hint of danger. Everyone is friendly, and I get the sense of people being honest also. Yes, they may charge foreigners more, but it becomes an agreed-upon price; there seem to be no attempts to steal from people.
While out tonight, I had another typical meal--pork curry this time with all the usual side dishes. I'm ready for a change. I will try to find a place selling Chinese food tomorrow night, I think.
Train Ticket $4
Hotel (2 Nights) $12
Dinner 1750 kyat
Total = $17.68
I'm sitting at the train station. I got up at 6:30 to find that the fire providing hot water had gone out during the night, so I just sponge washed. I was dressed at 7 and had breakfast. Then I left the hotel for the 25-minute walk to here.
I bought a 1st class ticket ($4 versus $2 for ordinary class) in hopes that it would be better. At least I will be assured a seat, and maybe the seats will be a littler more comfortable.
_____
I just arrived in Hsipaw after six hours on the train. First class wasn't as luxurious as I had hoped. The backs of the seats were wooden and didn't recline. The seats had cusioned pads on them that were worn so thin that there was little affect. What was nice was the fact that I had two seats; no one sat beside me. What was even nicer was the company I had opposite me.
I can't pronounce his name properly, so I will use a name I made up based on what he said was his nickname (James) and the meaning of his real name (Autumn)--James Autumn. He is 22 and from Shan State (where I am). His father owns a grocery store, and his mother died when he was 13. He is a university student who has completed 3 years of a degree in economics. He will go two more years if he passes his honors exam with one year being for classes and the other for a practicum. He hopes to work with an airline or some other way in the travel industry. His English is very good. He was reading Macbeth for fun! Therefore, I gave him my two books I had finished. He was so happy to get them, because books are expensive here. Whether that happiness was due to looking forward to reading them or to what he could sell them for is another question, however.
James and I talked the whole 6 hours (except for a brief time I took to finish Reading Lolita in Tehran so I could give it to him). He answered lots of questions I had about Myanmar. My guess is that he will be a great success because of his facility in English.
When we made a stop for about 20 minutes he took me to a tea shop where we had tea and shared a pice of cake. He insisted on paying (as thanks for the books, I guess). Just to remind me, some of the topics we discussed were: his having been a monk two times for one week each, his somewhat lack of belief (He has taken good ideas from various religions.), his lack of interest in politics, his interest in BBC, his favorite types of music (rock, classical, jazz), the makeup people wear here, which temples are best to see in Bagan, his learning to cook from the lady who rents him a room, what he will do on vacation for the next 4 months, what movies (S. Korean) and movie stars he likes, the fact that he gor malaria recently and hated both the symptoms and the treatment, etc.
The owner of the guesthouse was at the train station with a trishaw, but I thought he was a tout who would either want me to pay or would get a commission causing my rate to be higher. I insisted on walking (which was good for me anyway). It started to sprinkle fairly heavy drops, however. I was lucky to get here when I did. A very heavy, although brief, rainfall came down as soon as I was under the shelter having a complimentary glass of hot tea here at Mr. Charle's Guest House where I have a nice room with hot water bath and breakfast for $6.
Back to Lolita: I gave it 2 1/3 stars out of 4. I thought she would never stop talking about Nobakov, apparently one of her favorite writers. I enjoyed the chapters about what was happening to her life and those of her friends, family and students. The chapters outlining her teaching of various books were interesting to some extent but seemed to be too much too often to me with only little to parallel them with life in Iran. Her command of the English language is impressive.
_____The rain stopped almost as quickly as it came, so I decided to go explore town. I walked down the main street and turned left toward the river. There's not a lot of town here. It's bigger than a village, but it tends to have mostly the village look. A couple of blocks look like a downtown, but the rest is small houses and shops in less permanant locations. There's a nice feel to it--somehwat easy going.
Being here, I have gotten myself in quite a remote area. It's only about 3 hours to the border with China. And I am at least two days from the airport in Yangon.
Some people asked if I weren't afraid to come to Myanmar. There has been no hint of danger. Everyone is friendly, and I get the sense of people being honest also. Yes, they may charge foreigners more, but it becomes an agreed-upon price; there seem to be no attempts to steal from people.
While out tonight, I had another typical meal--pork curry this time with all the usual side dishes. I'm ready for a change. I will try to find a place selling Chinese food tomorrow night, I think.
Train Ticket $4
Hotel (2 Nights) $12
Dinner 1750 kyat
Total = $17.68
Hill Stations
Saturday, Sept. 10, Maymyo/Pyin U Lwin
I'm surprised I don't have a stiff neck this morning. The pillows here are too big. I've experienced over-stuffed pillows in another country, but I don't recall which. I tried to sleep with it, then without it, then with it again, etc. Finally, I slept with it most of the night which was a rainy one. For hours there was a steady rain. then, maybe around 2 a.m., there was a heavy, HEAVY downpour. All of this was straight-falling rain with no winds and no thunder.
The sky this morning is a bright, cloudy one like it was yesterday. I'm hoping that means it will be rainless during the day like yesterday.
My mefloquine (anti-malarial medication) has really kicked in now. I have lots of clear, detailed dreams when I take it. I think I dreamed about almost everyone I know last night. and unrelated people are mixed together. For instance, in the last dream, it was a Saturday evening. I was supposed to meet Greg and Diane (divorced for years) at the State Fair of Texas at 7 p.m. It was almost 8, and I was hoping they would return then. As I was entering, I was thinking about how much my mother would enjoy going to the fair when I saw Ken Maroney leaving the fair grounds with the members of the university basketball team. That's when some sound outside awoke me. And that's just one of many dreams I had throughout the night.
I'm trying to remember if Myanmar is the first country I've visited that does not use coins. The most common bills used are the 1000 (about $1), the 500, the 100, and the 50. There are also 20 and 10 bills (the latter equilvalent to about 1 cent) that are sometimes encountered. Fortunately, the 15, 45, and 90 bills one of my guides warned me about (in relation to being cheated on exchanges because tourists can't easily count them in those multiples) no longer exist in circulation.
_____
I spent part of the day in Copenhagen with Arne. We went to Tivoli, to Frederiksberg Have, Dryrehaven, and to Frederiksborg Slot Have. Then we went to the apartment and were there together. How was this possible? When I arrived at the National Botanical Gardens here, a combination of the sight of the flowers and the smell and the freshness of the air did it. It was like a beautiful day in May in Denmark. The air was so cool and nice. The blossoms were everywhere. The gardens were like Tivoli without all the buildings. My mind soared to Denmark and my memories put me in all those places with Arne. What a wonderful experience!
I spent four hours at the gardens. They are among the nicest anywhere. They almost rival those in Capetown. There is a broad span of land around three lakes that has colorful (pink, orchid, purple, red. orange, yellow, white, and blue) flowers in beds scattered across it. There are special areas--an orchid garden, a bamboo garden, a rainforest, a swamp, etc. Each is well done. They have been smart not to build a glass house; so many tropical places do it because it has been done in Europe and America. But they don't need one; their orchids and palms thrive outdoors, since it never freezes here. A nice feature was the treetop walkway allowing visitors to walk at the level of the branches and the leaves. I saw a teak tree, the provider of most of the outside income to Myanmar. And wonderful dragonflies with dark red bodies and butterflies were everywhere. My favorite butterfly had rather small black wings with a fixed stabilizer tail, and the body was a phosphorescent pinkish purple.
My bad was ready and looks like it has been repaired well this time. I think I was over charged (3 times the average daily income here), but it's nice to have the bag to use again.
I'll leave here to go further up the Burma Road tomorrow to Hsipaw, less of a town than this. It's a center for trekking to Shan villages. The housing facilities are more limited there than here, so it will be interesting to see if I like it there or not. I'll take the train over a 100-year-old bridge that used to be the second highest railroad corssing in the world.
Hotel (1 Night) $5.00
Botanical Gardens 2000 kyat
Bag Repair 3000
Sweets (Indian) 140
Dinner 2500
Water 150
Total = $12.49
I'm surprised I don't have a stiff neck this morning. The pillows here are too big. I've experienced over-stuffed pillows in another country, but I don't recall which. I tried to sleep with it, then without it, then with it again, etc. Finally, I slept with it most of the night which was a rainy one. For hours there was a steady rain. then, maybe around 2 a.m., there was a heavy, HEAVY downpour. All of this was straight-falling rain with no winds and no thunder.
The sky this morning is a bright, cloudy one like it was yesterday. I'm hoping that means it will be rainless during the day like yesterday.
My mefloquine (anti-malarial medication) has really kicked in now. I have lots of clear, detailed dreams when I take it. I think I dreamed about almost everyone I know last night. and unrelated people are mixed together. For instance, in the last dream, it was a Saturday evening. I was supposed to meet Greg and Diane (divorced for years) at the State Fair of Texas at 7 p.m. It was almost 8, and I was hoping they would return then. As I was entering, I was thinking about how much my mother would enjoy going to the fair when I saw Ken Maroney leaving the fair grounds with the members of the university basketball team. That's when some sound outside awoke me. And that's just one of many dreams I had throughout the night.
I'm trying to remember if Myanmar is the first country I've visited that does not use coins. The most common bills used are the 1000 (about $1), the 500, the 100, and the 50. There are also 20 and 10 bills (the latter equilvalent to about 1 cent) that are sometimes encountered. Fortunately, the 15, 45, and 90 bills one of my guides warned me about (in relation to being cheated on exchanges because tourists can't easily count them in those multiples) no longer exist in circulation.
_____
I spent part of the day in Copenhagen with Arne. We went to Tivoli, to Frederiksberg Have, Dryrehaven, and to Frederiksborg Slot Have. Then we went to the apartment and were there together. How was this possible? When I arrived at the National Botanical Gardens here, a combination of the sight of the flowers and the smell and the freshness of the air did it. It was like a beautiful day in May in Denmark. The air was so cool and nice. The blossoms were everywhere. The gardens were like Tivoli without all the buildings. My mind soared to Denmark and my memories put me in all those places with Arne. What a wonderful experience!
I spent four hours at the gardens. They are among the nicest anywhere. They almost rival those in Capetown. There is a broad span of land around three lakes that has colorful (pink, orchid, purple, red. orange, yellow, white, and blue) flowers in beds scattered across it. There are special areas--an orchid garden, a bamboo garden, a rainforest, a swamp, etc. Each is well done. They have been smart not to build a glass house; so many tropical places do it because it has been done in Europe and America. But they don't need one; their orchids and palms thrive outdoors, since it never freezes here. A nice feature was the treetop walkway allowing visitors to walk at the level of the branches and the leaves. I saw a teak tree, the provider of most of the outside income to Myanmar. And wonderful dragonflies with dark red bodies and butterflies were everywhere. My favorite butterfly had rather small black wings with a fixed stabilizer tail, and the body was a phosphorescent pinkish purple.
My bad was ready and looks like it has been repaired well this time. I think I was over charged (3 times the average daily income here), but it's nice to have the bag to use again.
I'll leave here to go further up the Burma Road tomorrow to Hsipaw, less of a town than this. It's a center for trekking to Shan villages. The housing facilities are more limited there than here, so it will be interesting to see if I like it there or not. I'll take the train over a 100-year-old bridge that used to be the second highest railroad corssing in the world.
Hotel (1 Night) $5.00
Botanical Gardens 2000 kyat
Bag Repair 3000
Sweets (Indian) 140
Dinner 2500
Water 150
Total = $12.49
Off to the Mountains
Friday, Sept. 9, Mandalay to Maymyo/Pyin U Lwin
I have arrived in Maymyo, a hill station two hours from Mandalay. it was so nice feeling the air get cooler and fresher as we climbed the hills. It was a beautiful drive--a two-lane divided highway (the Burma Road to China) with trees in the median and on either side. Rich green rice fields were followed by stone quarries as we began to climb. Eventually, the kinds of trees changed with eucalyptus among them. We passed a coffee plantation and two golf courses.
I haven't seen the town yet. It was the summer residence of the British government when they were the colonial power here. I had the truck drop me off outside of town near the hotel I had selected from the guidebooks. I say "truck" because I came in the back of a modified pickup, a fairly common form of transportation in Asia. A cover is built over the bed of the truck and b enches are built along each side. Luggage and freight are piled on top and people sit inside. When there are extra people, they go on top, too!
A young 23-year-old man was on the bench opposite me. His name was Antonwhe. He identified the right stop for me and got off there, too. I said bood-bye and began walking toward my hotel. Just a short distance away, Antonwhe and a friend pulled up on a motorcycle and insisted that I ride.
The nicer places to stay in this town are away from the town center. Only a couple of cheap, reportedly dirty and noisy, places are in town. I had originally planned to stay at a fancy place ($20 per night), but my alternative guidebook off the Internet highly recommended the Grace Hotel, and that is where I am. It is only $5 per night. It is very clean with yellow, blue and white tile floors and with tile walls up to head high and yellow plaster beyond that. It's a big room with a double window looking out to the back. It has the feel of being in the countryside while being only a 10-minute walk from town. I chose to come here first because the nicer place is twice as far from town. There is hot water 24 hours a day, apparently provided from a wooden fire, since I can see a small house beside the water tower with smoke coming out a central chimney. I may be the only guest; they were happy to see me.
_____
I've just returned from a 1 1/2 hour walk through town. It's a wonderful place to walk, since it is a flat plateau and has the fresh, but not cool, air. I went down the main road seeing the shops (and a new Grace II Hotel) downtown. I continued to the far edge of town and took the Circular Road back around town. i TURNED BACK TOWARD THE CENTER TO WALK THROUGH THE MARKET, AND THEN i RETURNED TO the hotel.
There are interesting old brick buildings everywhere. Across the road from my hotel is a hospital in what must have been a British military base. Others are schools and government offices of various kinds. The Myanmar School of Surveying is in one and the National Forestry School is in another.
I passed four old churches--Anglican, Catholic, Baptis, and 7th Dayd Adventist. And there are many nice old homes, both grand and small. It would have been interesting to have come here during British rule and seen what life was like. It looks as if all the British left; I thought there might still be some with summer or returement homes, but it doesn't look like it.
The novices (female monks) were out chanting and collecting today. They walk in single file wearing safron orange robes with pink layers over them. Their heads are shaven, and they wear a folded orange cloth that goes from the top of the forehead over the top of the head (sides exposed) and down the neck and center of the back to the tops of the should blades. They balance steel trays on their heads with offering uns on the center of the trays. They chant a song as they move from place to place taking up collections. By the end of the day when I saw them at the market, they had vegetables and herbs on their trays. My guess is that they are givien a shopping list by the monastery and are supposed to use the collections for the purchases.
On the edge of town is a huge military school. I didn't see the buildings, but there are massive entrance gates at more than one location. I don't recall the wording on the signs, but it was something like, "Where we develop the brightest and the best." My guess is that it is the West Point of Myanmar. I'v e read that the military as provided well for itself while in power. This school looks like where a lot of money has been spent.
_____
As I left the hotel to go to dinner, a young lady was leavidng, too. We began to talk and walked together. Her name is Rachel, and she comes from Switzerland (near Zurich). She bhad left some shoes to be repaired, so I went with her to pick them up. The man used real leather and did a nice job, so I will take my bag to him tomorrow and try again to get it repaired.
We went to diner together at Family Restaurant and had the usual feast. I made the mistake of ordering chicken curry again. Now I will remember that they are scrawny chickens with little meat on them. There were enough evegetables and sauces, so I got full.
Rachel told me about her travels. She started in Beijing, went to Tibet, moved over to Nepal, went down into India, and then came here. She will return to India for 3 more weeks before going hom. We've traveled to some of the same places in India and Nepal.
As I was writing the electricity went off, a common occurrence here in Myanmar. Fortunately, the hotel has a generator which they fired up five minutes later. Just in case, however, I'll stop for the night and prepar for bed.
Mandalay Hotel (2 nights) $16.00
Truck 1000 kyat
Dinner 950
Hotel in Maymyo (1 night) $5.00
Total: $22.87
I have arrived in Maymyo, a hill station two hours from Mandalay. it was so nice feeling the air get cooler and fresher as we climbed the hills. It was a beautiful drive--a two-lane divided highway (the Burma Road to China) with trees in the median and on either side. Rich green rice fields were followed by stone quarries as we began to climb. Eventually, the kinds of trees changed with eucalyptus among them. We passed a coffee plantation and two golf courses.
I haven't seen the town yet. It was the summer residence of the British government when they were the colonial power here. I had the truck drop me off outside of town near the hotel I had selected from the guidebooks. I say "truck" because I came in the back of a modified pickup, a fairly common form of transportation in Asia. A cover is built over the bed of the truck and b enches are built along each side. Luggage and freight are piled on top and people sit inside. When there are extra people, they go on top, too!
A young 23-year-old man was on the bench opposite me. His name was Antonwhe. He identified the right stop for me and got off there, too. I said bood-bye and began walking toward my hotel. Just a short distance away, Antonwhe and a friend pulled up on a motorcycle and insisted that I ride.
The nicer places to stay in this town are away from the town center. Only a couple of cheap, reportedly dirty and noisy, places are in town. I had originally planned to stay at a fancy place ($20 per night), but my alternative guidebook off the Internet highly recommended the Grace Hotel, and that is where I am. It is only $5 per night. It is very clean with yellow, blue and white tile floors and with tile walls up to head high and yellow plaster beyond that. It's a big room with a double window looking out to the back. It has the feel of being in the countryside while being only a 10-minute walk from town. I chose to come here first because the nicer place is twice as far from town. There is hot water 24 hours a day, apparently provided from a wooden fire, since I can see a small house beside the water tower with smoke coming out a central chimney. I may be the only guest; they were happy to see me.
_____
I've just returned from a 1 1/2 hour walk through town. It's a wonderful place to walk, since it is a flat plateau and has the fresh, but not cool, air. I went down the main road seeing the shops (and a new Grace II Hotel) downtown. I continued to the far edge of town and took the Circular Road back around town. i TURNED BACK TOWARD THE CENTER TO WALK THROUGH THE MARKET, AND THEN i RETURNED TO the hotel.
There are interesting old brick buildings everywhere. Across the road from my hotel is a hospital in what must have been a British military base. Others are schools and government offices of various kinds. The Myanmar School of Surveying is in one and the National Forestry School is in another.
I passed four old churches--Anglican, Catholic, Baptis, and 7th Dayd Adventist. And there are many nice old homes, both grand and small. It would have been interesting to have come here during British rule and seen what life was like. It looks as if all the British left; I thought there might still be some with summer or returement homes, but it doesn't look like it.
The novices (female monks) were out chanting and collecting today. They walk in single file wearing safron orange robes with pink layers over them. Their heads are shaven, and they wear a folded orange cloth that goes from the top of the forehead over the top of the head (sides exposed) and down the neck and center of the back to the tops of the should blades. They balance steel trays on their heads with offering uns on the center of the trays. They chant a song as they move from place to place taking up collections. By the end of the day when I saw them at the market, they had vegetables and herbs on their trays. My guess is that they are givien a shopping list by the monastery and are supposed to use the collections for the purchases.
On the edge of town is a huge military school. I didn't see the buildings, but there are massive entrance gates at more than one location. I don't recall the wording on the signs, but it was something like, "Where we develop the brightest and the best." My guess is that it is the West Point of Myanmar. I'v e read that the military as provided well for itself while in power. This school looks like where a lot of money has been spent.
_____
As I left the hotel to go to dinner, a young lady was leavidng, too. We began to talk and walked together. Her name is Rachel, and she comes from Switzerland (near Zurich). She bhad left some shoes to be repaired, so I went with her to pick them up. The man used real leather and did a nice job, so I will take my bag to him tomorrow and try again to get it repaired.
We went to diner together at Family Restaurant and had the usual feast. I made the mistake of ordering chicken curry again. Now I will remember that they are scrawny chickens with little meat on them. There were enough evegetables and sauces, so I got full.
Rachel told me about her travels. She started in Beijing, went to Tibet, moved over to Nepal, went down into India, and then came here. She will return to India for 3 more weeks before going hom. We've traveled to some of the same places in India and Nepal.
As I was writing the electricity went off, a common occurrence here in Myanmar. Fortunately, the hotel has a generator which they fired up five minutes later. Just in case, however, I'll stop for the night and prepar for bed.
Mandalay Hotel (2 nights) $16.00
Truck 1000 kyat
Dinner 950
Hotel in Maymyo (1 night) $5.00
Total: $22.87
Last Day in Mandalay
Thursday, Sept. 8, Mandalay
I've always thought of Mandalay as an exotic place womewhat like Kathmandu. It's really not, though. The streets are wide, and there is a lot of new construction and very little that is old. In fact, the city has new buildings everywhere--the result, I understand, of trade (both legitimate and illegal) with China. This, for instance, is the unofficial headquarters for lots of heroin/opium trade.
I left at 10:30 and spent over three hours walking. I went through the market for flowers, fruits, spices, etc. I returned to the neighborhood where I had been the first day determined to see the Shwe in Bin Monastery which is why I had gone there before being pulled into the language class. Again, I had trouble finding it. I stopped at the Water Transportation Department, and an official left his desk and took me there on my motorcycle!
The monastery was another old carved wooden structure. It is a delightful structure with trim consisting of small carved figurines and multiple rooflines. The floors are wide, smooth teak planks. The structure is like a fairytale castle, is playful, unique and exciting to see. I was the only tourist there.
I walked along a waterway from there to the Irrawaddy (various spellings) River. I stopped once along the way to buy a bottle of water which was half frozen and ho so cold and refreshing! I drank all that wasn't frozen, and an hour later had another half bottle from the melted ice.
The riverfront was interest. Lots of boats were clustered together--old, large, creaky boats with lots of character. One reminded me of a smaller version of one of the boats that plies the Amazon with multiple decks and open sides. Women were pounding their laundry on large planks in one area. People were clustered at tented snack bars all along the bank. I left sooner than I would have liked because of the beggar children there. I wanted to relax and watch the river traffic, but it wasn't possible with the children bothering me. The sad thing is that they really were dirty and poorly clothed and in need of assistance. If I had tried to help one, I would have had a huge cluster around me immediately. Instead, I just walked back into town to my hotel for a mid-afternoon rest.
_____
I've just returned from dinner. It is unbelievably hot and humid tonight, and mosquitoes are out in force. Typically, the evenings have been comfortable, but my shirt was wet with sweat after walking about 10-12 blocks.
The electricity goes off regularly here. The lights flashed off briefly while I was at the restaurant, but they completely went off as I was walking back to the hotel. That meant I had to cross two major intersections with no lighting. It was scary.
I ate at the Too Too Restaurant, a simple place with Bamar food in pots. I ordered the mutton curry as my main dish and got three (it's usually three pieces when ordering something cubed or balled) pieces of mutton with sauce and all the extras that come with it--a bowl of soup (this time something like split pea with rice noodes), a hot pickle paste, a dried shrimp and pepper paste, seasoned broccoli, cooked bamboo, rice, and two plates of raw vegetables and herbs (cagbbage, carrots, green beans, etc.). I also got a plate of small green bananas like the ones I loved in the Philippines 40 years ago--simply delicious in texture and flavor!
I've taken photos of some of my meals. It will be impossible to tell exactly what each item is. Mainly, I jsut want to be able to show people how much is served with an order. Usually, htere is the main dish, a plate of rice, a bowl of soup and 3-8 small side dishes.
On the way back, I stopped to talk twice. Some young men were studying. Thyey are in their last year of a physics program at the university. And half a block from my hotel a trishaw driver wanted to give me a ride. We had a couple of laughs--first, when I told him the name of my hotel and he realized I was almost there; and second, when he wanted to pick me up tomorrow to drive me to the bus stop to go to Maymyo and I told him I knew it was just one block away from my hotel and that he was trying to take advantage of me!
Water 150 kyat
Dinner 1200
Total = $1.30
I've always thought of Mandalay as an exotic place womewhat like Kathmandu. It's really not, though. The streets are wide, and there is a lot of new construction and very little that is old. In fact, the city has new buildings everywhere--the result, I understand, of trade (both legitimate and illegal) with China. This, for instance, is the unofficial headquarters for lots of heroin/opium trade.
I left at 10:30 and spent over three hours walking. I went through the market for flowers, fruits, spices, etc. I returned to the neighborhood where I had been the first day determined to see the Shwe in Bin Monastery which is why I had gone there before being pulled into the language class. Again, I had trouble finding it. I stopped at the Water Transportation Department, and an official left his desk and took me there on my motorcycle!
The monastery was another old carved wooden structure. It is a delightful structure with trim consisting of small carved figurines and multiple rooflines. The floors are wide, smooth teak planks. The structure is like a fairytale castle, is playful, unique and exciting to see. I was the only tourist there.
I walked along a waterway from there to the Irrawaddy (various spellings) River. I stopped once along the way to buy a bottle of water which was half frozen and ho so cold and refreshing! I drank all that wasn't frozen, and an hour later had another half bottle from the melted ice.
The riverfront was interest. Lots of boats were clustered together--old, large, creaky boats with lots of character. One reminded me of a smaller version of one of the boats that plies the Amazon with multiple decks and open sides. Women were pounding their laundry on large planks in one area. People were clustered at tented snack bars all along the bank. I left sooner than I would have liked because of the beggar children there. I wanted to relax and watch the river traffic, but it wasn't possible with the children bothering me. The sad thing is that they really were dirty and poorly clothed and in need of assistance. If I had tried to help one, I would have had a huge cluster around me immediately. Instead, I just walked back into town to my hotel for a mid-afternoon rest.
_____
I've just returned from dinner. It is unbelievably hot and humid tonight, and mosquitoes are out in force. Typically, the evenings have been comfortable, but my shirt was wet with sweat after walking about 10-12 blocks.
The electricity goes off regularly here. The lights flashed off briefly while I was at the restaurant, but they completely went off as I was walking back to the hotel. That meant I had to cross two major intersections with no lighting. It was scary.
I ate at the Too Too Restaurant, a simple place with Bamar food in pots. I ordered the mutton curry as my main dish and got three (it's usually three pieces when ordering something cubed or balled) pieces of mutton with sauce and all the extras that come with it--a bowl of soup (this time something like split pea with rice noodes), a hot pickle paste, a dried shrimp and pepper paste, seasoned broccoli, cooked bamboo, rice, and two plates of raw vegetables and herbs (cagbbage, carrots, green beans, etc.). I also got a plate of small green bananas like the ones I loved in the Philippines 40 years ago--simply delicious in texture and flavor!
I've taken photos of some of my meals. It will be impossible to tell exactly what each item is. Mainly, I jsut want to be able to show people how much is served with an order. Usually, htere is the main dish, a plate of rice, a bowl of soup and 3-8 small side dishes.
On the way back, I stopped to talk twice. Some young men were studying. Thyey are in their last year of a physics program at the university. And half a block from my hotel a trishaw driver wanted to give me a ride. We had a couple of laughs--first, when I told him the name of my hotel and he realized I was almost there; and second, when he wanted to pick me up tomorrow to drive me to the bus stop to go to Maymyo and I told him I knew it was just one block away from my hotel and that he was trying to take advantage of me!
Water 150 kyat
Dinner 1200
Total = $1.30
Exploring Mandalay
Wednesday, Sept. 7, Mandalay
I always thought the death march through Burma sounded bad, but now I have been here and know how horrible the heat and humidity are. To be hiking for days through the jungle with little water is now totally unimaginable to me.
I was surprised to find no breakfast on the roof (as described by my guidebook). I went downstairs and the owner (manager?) asked if I was ready for breakfast. He took me a block away to a cafe and asked me to choose from the menu. He said most tourists order banana pancakes, so I ordered that with tea. We sat together and visited as I ate. The pancake was a thin, almost flaky, batter somwhat like a bunuelo in Mexico that wasn't crisp or a little bit like a thin vienerbroed in Copenhagen. The size of an individual pizza, there were two layers of dough with a mashed banana mixture inside. Sugar was sprinkled on top. It was good, but there must have been many calories. Among the things he told me in his very limited language are: 1. Tourism is down. That's why he quit making breakfast and started taking tourists to the cafe. 2. Tourists don't like Myanmar because everything closes early. I know from experience that the young tourists travel with partying each night (and drugs if they can get them) as one of their top two goals. 3. Myanmar people are very poor. I see that daily. Often the singlet shirts the poorer men wear are rags with holes and barely holding together.
It's cloudy today. I'm not sure what to do. I don't want to get caught in a heavy downpour. I may walk somewhat away with plans to start turning back at the first sign of rain. The owner wanted to arrange an all-day trip for me for 1500 kyat ($1.44), but I don't want to give up my independence.
_____
Before I finished writing it began to rain. Now, an hour later, huge puddles of water stand at the intersections. It's a good day to stay inside, I think.
I have finished reading The News from paraguay by Lily Tuck. It's historical fiction and probably fairly representative of the calamaties brought onto many South American countries by maniacal dictators. I gave it 2 1/2 stars out of 4 because it dragged a little in the last half of the book. It was a National Book Award winner, however. Anyone with some knowledge of South American history and culture would enjoy it, I think
With it raining outside, I will begin a new book immediately--Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi. It was given to me by Judy Maroney who read it in her reading group.
_____
I read 40 pages of my new novel before my mind began to wander. The book itself caused this, I think. At first I found myself "into the book" and drawing parallels in my mind. At the btoom of page 25 (Chapter 7) where the author describes their weekly meetings as an escape from their repressive state to their own pocket of freedom that allowed them to flaunt their insuborination, I related it to gays in the 1950s and 60s in America creating bars where they could escape societal laws and expectations for behavior and experiment with finding their more natural selves. On page 28 in Chapter 8 where the author described the Islamic Republic as a government established to expect members of society, whatever religious beliefs they had or how they varied in norms, to conform to fulfill someone else's DREAMS of an illusionary past that was "better," I could only think of Bush and the Religious Right. I've always said that what would please them most is the restructuring of the country as the Christian Republic of America--a fantasy land in which everyone behaves as they are told to behave and those in control can imagine that life if perfect. Is that any different from the great Islamic Republic of Iran?
Soon beyond there, I found my mind wandering from generalities such as those above to specifics within my own life. What do I want? What should I do? What would make my life more fulfilling? How should I restructure my life? I had already underlined a sentence earlier in the book, "My main link with the outside world had been the university, and now that I had severed that link, there on the brink of the void, I could invent the violin or be devoured by the void." In my case, it was two links that defined my life and were now severed--the university and, even more so, Arne. Traveling alone for over half the year isn't the answer, but traveling should remain a part of the plan. I need to decide on more.
_____
What a disappointment. I discovered that the repairs to my shoulder bag have torn and I cannot carry it without new repairs. I need the shoulder bag to keep everything handy and organized. I don't know whether to get it repaired again or to try to find a new bag. I may try to wait until I am in India.
The rain stopped, so I went out about 2 p.m. and didn't get back to the hotel until 7:30. I walked all but about an hour of that time. The blocks here are very long. In the center of town is Fort Mandalay, a walled community that housed the Mandalay Palace when this was the royal capital. The fort is square-shaped--about 14 blocks by 14 blocks. It took me an hour to walk around two sides of it to get to the base of Mandalay Hill.
Two girls on a motorcycle stopped me just before I was past the fortress asking if they could interview me for a language class. This is now apparently a common assignment in Asia, since I have encountered it before. Americans, since English is their first language, are preferred over the Spanish and Frech who are the most commonly found tourists here. I agreed and sat with them about 45 minutes at a cafe across from the foot of Mandalay Hill. They used a mini-tape recorder and I probably asked more questions than they did. They all appeared to be from upper classes of society, and over half of them are entering medical school this coming year. They bought me an orange soda (sweet, yet tart) and one gave me a book written by her father (an M.D.) about Myanmar.
When I left, it was too alte to consider a partial climb up the hill. Instead, I wanted to see an old monastery nearby. It was so late that I didn't even have to pay the usual $5 fee. (That's only because I entered a back way that isn't manned so late in the day.) The monastery is an ornately-carved building that used to be inside Fort Mandalay. It is representative of the style of architecture of the old palace. It's a beautiful building. After seeing it and the adjacent temples, I took a back route to return to town. The road (63rd Street) was lined with monasteries as I went south. Then 30th Street, which I took westward, was lined with large patio restaurants and two major hospitals (including one with a huge TB unit).
By the time I got near by motel, it had turned dark. I went to a narby restaurant and had a piece of charcoal broiled pork (cut into small pieces and served with a spicy dipping sauce) and a skewer of new potatoes also grilled and cut into pieces. I had a draft beer along with it. I should have ordered more, since it was so cheap and so good. What I had was enough, however.
Diner 800 kyat
Water 150
Total = $0.91
I always thought the death march through Burma sounded bad, but now I have been here and know how horrible the heat and humidity are. To be hiking for days through the jungle with little water is now totally unimaginable to me.
I was surprised to find no breakfast on the roof (as described by my guidebook). I went downstairs and the owner (manager?) asked if I was ready for breakfast. He took me a block away to a cafe and asked me to choose from the menu. He said most tourists order banana pancakes, so I ordered that with tea. We sat together and visited as I ate. The pancake was a thin, almost flaky, batter somwhat like a bunuelo in Mexico that wasn't crisp or a little bit like a thin vienerbroed in Copenhagen. The size of an individual pizza, there were two layers of dough with a mashed banana mixture inside. Sugar was sprinkled on top. It was good, but there must have been many calories. Among the things he told me in his very limited language are: 1. Tourism is down. That's why he quit making breakfast and started taking tourists to the cafe. 2. Tourists don't like Myanmar because everything closes early. I know from experience that the young tourists travel with partying each night (and drugs if they can get them) as one of their top two goals. 3. Myanmar people are very poor. I see that daily. Often the singlet shirts the poorer men wear are rags with holes and barely holding together.
It's cloudy today. I'm not sure what to do. I don't want to get caught in a heavy downpour. I may walk somewhat away with plans to start turning back at the first sign of rain. The owner wanted to arrange an all-day trip for me for 1500 kyat ($1.44), but I don't want to give up my independence.
_____
Before I finished writing it began to rain. Now, an hour later, huge puddles of water stand at the intersections. It's a good day to stay inside, I think.
I have finished reading The News from paraguay by Lily Tuck. It's historical fiction and probably fairly representative of the calamaties brought onto many South American countries by maniacal dictators. I gave it 2 1/2 stars out of 4 because it dragged a little in the last half of the book. It was a National Book Award winner, however. Anyone with some knowledge of South American history and culture would enjoy it, I think
With it raining outside, I will begin a new book immediately--Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi. It was given to me by Judy Maroney who read it in her reading group.
_____
I read 40 pages of my new novel before my mind began to wander. The book itself caused this, I think. At first I found myself "into the book" and drawing parallels in my mind. At the btoom of page 25 (Chapter 7) where the author describes their weekly meetings as an escape from their repressive state to their own pocket of freedom that allowed them to flaunt their insuborination, I related it to gays in the 1950s and 60s in America creating bars where they could escape societal laws and expectations for behavior and experiment with finding their more natural selves. On page 28 in Chapter 8 where the author described the Islamic Republic as a government established to expect members of society, whatever religious beliefs they had or how they varied in norms, to conform to fulfill someone else's DREAMS of an illusionary past that was "better," I could only think of Bush and the Religious Right. I've always said that what would please them most is the restructuring of the country as the Christian Republic of America--a fantasy land in which everyone behaves as they are told to behave and those in control can imagine that life if perfect. Is that any different from the great Islamic Republic of Iran?
Soon beyond there, I found my mind wandering from generalities such as those above to specifics within my own life. What do I want? What should I do? What would make my life more fulfilling? How should I restructure my life? I had already underlined a sentence earlier in the book, "My main link with the outside world had been the university, and now that I had severed that link, there on the brink of the void, I could invent the violin or be devoured by the void." In my case, it was two links that defined my life and were now severed--the university and, even more so, Arne. Traveling alone for over half the year isn't the answer, but traveling should remain a part of the plan. I need to decide on more.
_____
What a disappointment. I discovered that the repairs to my shoulder bag have torn and I cannot carry it without new repairs. I need the shoulder bag to keep everything handy and organized. I don't know whether to get it repaired again or to try to find a new bag. I may try to wait until I am in India.
The rain stopped, so I went out about 2 p.m. and didn't get back to the hotel until 7:30. I walked all but about an hour of that time. The blocks here are very long. In the center of town is Fort Mandalay, a walled community that housed the Mandalay Palace when this was the royal capital. The fort is square-shaped--about 14 blocks by 14 blocks. It took me an hour to walk around two sides of it to get to the base of Mandalay Hill.
Two girls on a motorcycle stopped me just before I was past the fortress asking if they could interview me for a language class. This is now apparently a common assignment in Asia, since I have encountered it before. Americans, since English is their first language, are preferred over the Spanish and Frech who are the most commonly found tourists here. I agreed and sat with them about 45 minutes at a cafe across from the foot of Mandalay Hill. They used a mini-tape recorder and I probably asked more questions than they did. They all appeared to be from upper classes of society, and over half of them are entering medical school this coming year. They bought me an orange soda (sweet, yet tart) and one gave me a book written by her father (an M.D.) about Myanmar.
When I left, it was too alte to consider a partial climb up the hill. Instead, I wanted to see an old monastery nearby. It was so late that I didn't even have to pay the usual $5 fee. (That's only because I entered a back way that isn't manned so late in the day.) The monastery is an ornately-carved building that used to be inside Fort Mandalay. It is representative of the style of architecture of the old palace. It's a beautiful building. After seeing it and the adjacent temples, I took a back route to return to town. The road (63rd Street) was lined with monasteries as I went south. Then 30th Street, which I took westward, was lined with large patio restaurants and two major hospitals (including one with a huge TB unit).
By the time I got near by motel, it had turned dark. I went to a narby restaurant and had a piece of charcoal broiled pork (cut into small pieces and served with a spicy dipping sauce) and a skewer of new potatoes also grilled and cut into pieces. I had a draft beer along with it. I should have ordered more, since it was so cheap and so good. What I had was enough, however.
Diner 800 kyat
Water 150
Total = $0.91
Monday, September 26, 2005
Northern Myanmar
Tuesday, Sept. 6, Mandalay
The hotels want more money here than in Yangon. I got a decent room with a/c, hot water, and breakfast for $8 by bargaining. It was my second choice. The other place didn't want to bargain, and I didn't want to pay $12. I would have paid $10 if they had just come down to that, but I am happy where I am.
I guess I need to undress and sleep. It's been a long, miserable night with little rest. At first Mandalay seemed like a cooler place, but it was just the early morning hours. I can tell it is hot and humid now.
There were representatives from several guest houses at the bus station. They all lined up and held signs. It's a rule they must follow here. It's so much nicer than in Nepal or Thailand where they crowd around and shout. Unfortunately, none of the guest hoses were ones I had selected from my guidebook (although I recognized the names as being popular backpacker places).
One more thing before I forget it. They drive on the right here. But they import their used vehicles from Thailand and Japan, both countries that drive on the left. So the steering wheel is on the curb side of the road here rather than on the center-of-the-road side. Every driver here drives like postal workers do in the U.S. An aspect of that is that the exit door for buses is toward the road where vehicles are whizzing by. Another is that it is difficult for the driver to judge by looking to see if passing will be okay. (On buses, the driver's helper leans out the door and tells him when to start passing.)
_____
It's 1:30 p.m. After sleeping a couple of hours, I cleaned up and went out to explore and get water. I walked about 20 blocks. It's as hot and humid here as it was in Yangon, so being out at mid-day is a bad idea. I need to read until late afternoon and then go out. The problem is even worse here in Mandalay, because the shops cluster things on the sidewalks forcing people to walk in the street rather than in the shade next to the buildings.
I stopped for a dip of durian ice cream, since I hadn't eaten breakfast today. Durian is a large, bumpy looking, smelly, yet tasty, fruit. Most hotels have signs indicating guests cannot bring the fruit into their rooms because of the smell. The ice cream was delicious and refreshing and cost less than 20 cents for a dip. That's relatively expensive here, however, since most meals cost only about 50-75 cents.
My guidebook discussed several problems here in Mandalay--begging monks, touts, and child labor--and I've seen evidence of all of them already. The ice cream shop had children working there. They've received criticism for it in the guidebooks. My waiter was older (maybe 18-19), so maybe they now have older ones wait on tourists. But I saw ones about 12 years old waiting on local people. The touts were at the door of the hotel wanting to be my guide or my driver. One walked 1 1/2 blocks talking to me before he gave up. and the monks even use child labor. Two monks less than 10 years old approached me begging at the ice cream shop. It would be interesting to learn why they are monks at that age, what happens to the money they collect, and whether they get an education (and, if so, how much of one and what kind). (Note: I learned earlier than everyone becomes a monk for two weeks sometime when a child. Then they often become a monk again for a short period of time after they are an adult. So the ones who were begging lead a normal life most of the time.)
_____
This afternoon and evening, I had the kinds of experiences I enjoy the most as a tourist. None of it involved going to a recognized tourist site.
I left the hotel about 4 p.m. knowing the shaddows would be long enough to make walking tolerable. I began with 81st Street, walking down it 14 blocks to 40th Street. I just enjoyed saying hello to people and seeing how they live and work. I passed a movie theater, a Hindu temple and ldots of shops. I went west from there toward the river. I passed a school where the students had just been dismissed for the day and noted that the parents were there to collect their children just like in the U.S. I entered a neighborhood with people in their front yards. Like I've seen in Thailand, some of the houses had wooden platforms in the yard where people sit to visit and to watch life passing by. This was a neighborhood not used to tourists walking through it. The people were surprised and pleased, I think, to see me there. As usual, they seemed to appreciate a nod, a smile, and a hello.
I made a turn up a street along a canal. There were poorer people living there. The homes were small and had walls made from woven strips of bamboo. They seemed even more surprised to see a tourist and maybe a little suspicious of why I would be in their neighborhood.
I made a zigzag on the streets and came to the Thinga Yarzar Chong, a wide waterway that feeds into the Ayyarwaddy River. Immediately, some monks wanted to know why I was there. I told them I just wanted to walk along the waterway. I passed kids playing soccer, a father cutting the hair of each of his children, and monks bathing. I saw another monk standing on the pathway. He was looking at me and waiting. When I got to him, he told me he was arriving for his English class and asked if I would come inside and speak to them.
We went through a back storage room to a small classroom with a white board. Among other things written on it were, "He knows. I know. He would like to know. He knew. I didn't know." Etc. The class (about 6 women, 4 months, and 2-3 other guys) asked me questions, and I asked them questions. They served me green tea and took my photo. The teacher gave me a key chain with the name of his school and two small booklets he has published to use with the class. It had gotten dark, and I could hear thunder, so I needed to leave to walk the 20 blocks or so back to my hotel. They escorted me out the front door and oriented me to the right direction for returning to the hotel. I was back 45 minutes later, but I still saw more special things as I returned--a street carnival with rides, games, and foods; a night market with fruits, flowers, books, etc.; and most interesting of all, a family grieving over a dead body.
It was a home with a front yard platform like I mentioned above. They dhad laid the body of the woman, dressed beautifully and looking very natural, on the platform and had flowers and candles placed around her. The friends, neighbors, and family were on their knees around the platform grieving. It was much like families used to do in the U.S. when they placed the dead on a bed in the parlor. How lucky I felt to have happened on this to see it.
I walked two more blocks south of the hotel to a Persian beriyani restaurant. I had mutton kebab with biriyani--three small mutton meatballs served with a rice mixture that had cashews and shredded carrots. It also came with fresh mint leaves, fresh cucumber, pickled chutney, a mixture of dried shrimp with peppers, and a bowl of dark soup with potatoes. I drank a whole liter of water with it. The owner of the restaurant visited with me while I ate, explaining the food and talking about the hurricane in New Orleans.
How could I have had a better day? Tourist sites are interesting, but what I did was so much more fascinating than seeing some over-priced reconstruction of an old temple or palace!
Taxi 2000 kyat
Ice Cream 200
Water (2 l) 170
Dinner 1100
Hotel (1 N) $8.00
Total = $11.34
The hotels want more money here than in Yangon. I got a decent room with a/c, hot water, and breakfast for $8 by bargaining. It was my second choice. The other place didn't want to bargain, and I didn't want to pay $12. I would have paid $10 if they had just come down to that, but I am happy where I am.
I guess I need to undress and sleep. It's been a long, miserable night with little rest. At first Mandalay seemed like a cooler place, but it was just the early morning hours. I can tell it is hot and humid now.
There were representatives from several guest houses at the bus station. They all lined up and held signs. It's a rule they must follow here. It's so much nicer than in Nepal or Thailand where they crowd around and shout. Unfortunately, none of the guest hoses were ones I had selected from my guidebook (although I recognized the names as being popular backpacker places).
One more thing before I forget it. They drive on the right here. But they import their used vehicles from Thailand and Japan, both countries that drive on the left. So the steering wheel is on the curb side of the road here rather than on the center-of-the-road side. Every driver here drives like postal workers do in the U.S. An aspect of that is that the exit door for buses is toward the road where vehicles are whizzing by. Another is that it is difficult for the driver to judge by looking to see if passing will be okay. (On buses, the driver's helper leans out the door and tells him when to start passing.)
_____
It's 1:30 p.m. After sleeping a couple of hours, I cleaned up and went out to explore and get water. I walked about 20 blocks. It's as hot and humid here as it was in Yangon, so being out at mid-day is a bad idea. I need to read until late afternoon and then go out. The problem is even worse here in Mandalay, because the shops cluster things on the sidewalks forcing people to walk in the street rather than in the shade next to the buildings.
I stopped for a dip of durian ice cream, since I hadn't eaten breakfast today. Durian is a large, bumpy looking, smelly, yet tasty, fruit. Most hotels have signs indicating guests cannot bring the fruit into their rooms because of the smell. The ice cream was delicious and refreshing and cost less than 20 cents for a dip. That's relatively expensive here, however, since most meals cost only about 50-75 cents.
My guidebook discussed several problems here in Mandalay--begging monks, touts, and child labor--and I've seen evidence of all of them already. The ice cream shop had children working there. They've received criticism for it in the guidebooks. My waiter was older (maybe 18-19), so maybe they now have older ones wait on tourists. But I saw ones about 12 years old waiting on local people. The touts were at the door of the hotel wanting to be my guide or my driver. One walked 1 1/2 blocks talking to me before he gave up. and the monks even use child labor. Two monks less than 10 years old approached me begging at the ice cream shop. It would be interesting to learn why they are monks at that age, what happens to the money they collect, and whether they get an education (and, if so, how much of one and what kind). (Note: I learned earlier than everyone becomes a monk for two weeks sometime when a child. Then they often become a monk again for a short period of time after they are an adult. So the ones who were begging lead a normal life most of the time.)
_____
This afternoon and evening, I had the kinds of experiences I enjoy the most as a tourist. None of it involved going to a recognized tourist site.
I left the hotel about 4 p.m. knowing the shaddows would be long enough to make walking tolerable. I began with 81st Street, walking down it 14 blocks to 40th Street. I just enjoyed saying hello to people and seeing how they live and work. I passed a movie theater, a Hindu temple and ldots of shops. I went west from there toward the river. I passed a school where the students had just been dismissed for the day and noted that the parents were there to collect their children just like in the U.S. I entered a neighborhood with people in their front yards. Like I've seen in Thailand, some of the houses had wooden platforms in the yard where people sit to visit and to watch life passing by. This was a neighborhood not used to tourists walking through it. The people were surprised and pleased, I think, to see me there. As usual, they seemed to appreciate a nod, a smile, and a hello.
I made a turn up a street along a canal. There were poorer people living there. The homes were small and had walls made from woven strips of bamboo. They seemed even more surprised to see a tourist and maybe a little suspicious of why I would be in their neighborhood.
I made a zigzag on the streets and came to the Thinga Yarzar Chong, a wide waterway that feeds into the Ayyarwaddy River. Immediately, some monks wanted to know why I was there. I told them I just wanted to walk along the waterway. I passed kids playing soccer, a father cutting the hair of each of his children, and monks bathing. I saw another monk standing on the pathway. He was looking at me and waiting. When I got to him, he told me he was arriving for his English class and asked if I would come inside and speak to them.
We went through a back storage room to a small classroom with a white board. Among other things written on it were, "He knows. I know. He would like to know. He knew. I didn't know." Etc. The class (about 6 women, 4 months, and 2-3 other guys) asked me questions, and I asked them questions. They served me green tea and took my photo. The teacher gave me a key chain with the name of his school and two small booklets he has published to use with the class. It had gotten dark, and I could hear thunder, so I needed to leave to walk the 20 blocks or so back to my hotel. They escorted me out the front door and oriented me to the right direction for returning to the hotel. I was back 45 minutes later, but I still saw more special things as I returned--a street carnival with rides, games, and foods; a night market with fruits, flowers, books, etc.; and most interesting of all, a family grieving over a dead body.
It was a home with a front yard platform like I mentioned above. They dhad laid the body of the woman, dressed beautifully and looking very natural, on the platform and had flowers and candles placed around her. The friends, neighbors, and family were on their knees around the platform grieving. It was much like families used to do in the U.S. when they placed the dead on a bed in the parlor. How lucky I felt to have happened on this to see it.
I walked two more blocks south of the hotel to a Persian beriyani restaurant. I had mutton kebab with biriyani--three small mutton meatballs served with a rice mixture that had cashews and shredded carrots. It also came with fresh mint leaves, fresh cucumber, pickled chutney, a mixture of dried shrimp with peppers, and a bowl of dark soup with potatoes. I drank a whole liter of water with it. The owner of the restaurant visited with me while I ate, explaining the food and talking about the hurricane in New Orleans.
How could I have had a better day? Tourist sites are interesting, but what I did was so much more fascinating than seeing some over-priced reconstruction of an old temple or palace!
Taxi 2000 kyat
Ice Cream 200
Water (2 l) 170
Dinner 1100
Hotel (1 N) $8.00
Total = $11.34
Last Day in Yangon
Monday, Sept. 5
This may be the hottest, most humid day of my life. I spent all morning in my room with the air conditioner running, but I had to check out by noon. With plenty of time and nothing to do, I walked to the bus ticket office across from the train station wearing my backpack and rolling my suitcase. It had rained about 11, and it rained again about 12:50--just 10-15 minutes after I got here. My shirt was wet and clining to me when I arrived here. The only way to dry it was by using my hand fan. In fa ct, an hour later I am still fanning. My back has never dried, and My front only stays dry if I fan continuously.
It should be dryer in Mandalay. And it should be cooler in the mountains northwest of there. Who knows, I might head for the mountains and stay there! In the meantime, I have to deal with the trip to Mandalay and the fact that the bus station there is far from town. I've picked out two possible hotels only two blocks apart. I will take a taxi to one. If it doesn't meet expectations, I will walk to the other and check it. My other two choices for hotels are too far from there to walk. Maybe, however, I can make a deal with the taxi driver to take me to each for one price while I search to find one I like.
I use two safety pins to attach my secret pocket inside the back of my pants. As I switched the pocket from my shorts to my long pants today, one of the safety pins disappeared. It seems so impossible for it to completely go missing. But I looked in the sheets, in the blanket, inside my shorts and long pants, inside the pocket, etc. I even moved the bed. Determined to find it, I took off the blanket and shook it. Then I did the same with both sheets. Next, I removed the mattress. Then I removed a panel insert that supports the mattress. Finally, there inside the bed was my safetpen! I used to pack a couple of extra pins, but I don't know where they could be now.
_____
It's 4:35 p.m. After a horribly tight, hot, and bumpy (shot suspension) ride for an hour to get here, I am at the Yangon bus station which is far out on the edge of town. Fortunately, however, the bus to Mandalay is rather roomy and comfortable. I sat beside a large man coming to here, but I am hoping for a small person to sit beside me on the big bus. The a/cis on and seems to be functioning fine, and there seems to be enough leg room. Thank goodness!
The bus station is really a bunch of unpaved streets parallel to each other. Well, it's really cobblestone, but not formally done. Lots of misshaped, even pointy stones are set in sand. There is as much sandy surface as there is stone, or maybe even more. I dread arriving back here before my departure. Maybe there is a nearby town where I can spend my last night rather than going all the way into Yangon and coming back out this way to the airport.
_____
My luck didn't hold. A rather large woman sat beside me, and she also pushed a suitcase partially into my leg room. People in this part of the world squat when they pause to relax, and they do the same thing (especially if they are peasants) on buses. The woman took off her shoes and spread her legs in a modified squatting position with her feet in the seat. Of course, she couldn't do that only in her area of the seat; she took up 1/3 of my seat, too. There was no armrest to lower, so it was easy for her to claim the space she wanted. I doubt that she rested well, however. I shifted and bumped and stretched and pushed back all night. It was a miserable night with little rest due to her and the very rough and twisting road.
We stopped for dinner at 6:30. I had two types of chicken (one was vindaloo), stir-fried vegetables, rice, and soup. It was good. We stopped two more times--at midnight and at 5:30 a.m. I just stretched my legs and didn't eat again.
Hotel (3 Nights) $30.00
Bus 1000 kyat
Dinner 900 kyat
Total = $31.82
This may be the hottest, most humid day of my life. I spent all morning in my room with the air conditioner running, but I had to check out by noon. With plenty of time and nothing to do, I walked to the bus ticket office across from the train station wearing my backpack and rolling my suitcase. It had rained about 11, and it rained again about 12:50--just 10-15 minutes after I got here. My shirt was wet and clining to me when I arrived here. The only way to dry it was by using my hand fan. In fa ct, an hour later I am still fanning. My back has never dried, and My front only stays dry if I fan continuously.
It should be dryer in Mandalay. And it should be cooler in the mountains northwest of there. Who knows, I might head for the mountains and stay there! In the meantime, I have to deal with the trip to Mandalay and the fact that the bus station there is far from town. I've picked out two possible hotels only two blocks apart. I will take a taxi to one. If it doesn't meet expectations, I will walk to the other and check it. My other two choices for hotels are too far from there to walk. Maybe, however, I can make a deal with the taxi driver to take me to each for one price while I search to find one I like.
I use two safety pins to attach my secret pocket inside the back of my pants. As I switched the pocket from my shorts to my long pants today, one of the safety pins disappeared. It seems so impossible for it to completely go missing. But I looked in the sheets, in the blanket, inside my shorts and long pants, inside the pocket, etc. I even moved the bed. Determined to find it, I took off the blanket and shook it. Then I did the same with both sheets. Next, I removed the mattress. Then I removed a panel insert that supports the mattress. Finally, there inside the bed was my safetpen! I used to pack a couple of extra pins, but I don't know where they could be now.
_____
It's 4:35 p.m. After a horribly tight, hot, and bumpy (shot suspension) ride for an hour to get here, I am at the Yangon bus station which is far out on the edge of town. Fortunately, however, the bus to Mandalay is rather roomy and comfortable. I sat beside a large man coming to here, but I am hoping for a small person to sit beside me on the big bus. The a/cis on and seems to be functioning fine, and there seems to be enough leg room. Thank goodness!
The bus station is really a bunch of unpaved streets parallel to each other. Well, it's really cobblestone, but not formally done. Lots of misshaped, even pointy stones are set in sand. There is as much sandy surface as there is stone, or maybe even more. I dread arriving back here before my departure. Maybe there is a nearby town where I can spend my last night rather than going all the way into Yangon and coming back out this way to the airport.
_____
My luck didn't hold. A rather large woman sat beside me, and she also pushed a suitcase partially into my leg room. People in this part of the world squat when they pause to relax, and they do the same thing (especially if they are peasants) on buses. The woman took off her shoes and spread her legs in a modified squatting position with her feet in the seat. Of course, she couldn't do that only in her area of the seat; she took up 1/3 of my seat, too. There was no armrest to lower, so it was easy for her to claim the space she wanted. I doubt that she rested well, however. I shifted and bumped and stretched and pushed back all night. It was a miserable night with little rest due to her and the very rough and twisting road.
We stopped for dinner at 6:30. I had two types of chicken (one was vindaloo), stir-fried vegetables, rice, and soup. It was good. We stopped two more times--at midnight and at 5:30 a.m. I just stretched my legs and didn't eat again.
Hotel (3 Nights) $30.00
Bus 1000 kyat
Dinner 900 kyat
Total = $31.82
Am in Mumbai/Updating Blog Slowly
Hi Everyone,
I am in Mumbai. I arrived last night. Today I bought a train ticket for Thursday to go to Kerala. I will get there Friday night. In the meantime, I will spend time each day updating the blog, trying to get all the entries from Myanmar in this week so it will be up-to-the-moment again.
I am in Mumbai. I arrived last night. Today I bought a train ticket for Thursday to go to Kerala. I will get there Friday night. In the meantime, I will spend time each day updating the blog, trying to get all the entries from Myanmar in this week so it will be up-to-the-moment again.
Sunday in Yangon
Sept. 4, 2005
It is so warm and humid here! Being out in the daytime is a real trial. Both days I've gone out about 10:00 and returned around noon as rain clouds started developing. I'll go back out later when the rain has passed and the heat has lessened some.
For breakfast today, I chose the Myanmar selection--coconut noodle soup. I was asked if I wanted it spicy or sweet, and I chose spicy. I wonder how people eat it here. It was a dark broth with ramen noodles, various bits of vegetables, and an egg pouched in the broth. The fruit they had today was bananas, so I ate 2 of them. I ordered tea again; it's so black it looks like coffee. I had a little condensed milk in mine. I think the local people add a lot of sugar.
It's mostly Myanmar people staying at my hotel. I've seen only one western couple, and they were met by a local man this morning. If the others aren't from Myanmar, they are from other Asian countries.
I bought a bus ticket for Mandalay for tomorrow night. It's like Brazil here, with express buses traveling during the night. I'll be tired and uncomfortable, but I will save a hotel bill for one night. It will be a 13-14 hour trip!!!
I also got my shoulder bag repaired. The small leather loops where the strap attaches were too thin and narrow and were beginning to tear. The young man removed the brads and loops, made new wider loops, re-sewed it, and put new brads on. I hope it will last through the remainder of my trip now. I could take my suitcase down there and get a new zipper put on it, but I will wait until India to try doing that, I think. I can completely unpack there and can leave the bag if necessary.
I went by a famous pagoda downtown, but I didn't go inside. The best view was from the outside, and I didn't want the hassle of going inside. I tried to enter a park across the street, but they wanted an admission fee. I walked by the massive city hall that looks like a theater building with sculptures of dragons and a peacock on the roofline. Then the sprinkles started and I turned back toward the hotel.
_____
I went back out around 2 p.m. Like yesterday, the threat of rain had passed by then. I made a long walking tour. I passed a corner where men were getting manicures and pedicures. Almost all men wear flipflop sandals here, so their feet are dry and dirty. I was surprised to see them getting foot care.
I walked across the railraod tracks and beyond the main station to Kandawgyi Lake Park. It's a beautiful, peaceful area, but westerners are required to pay to enter. I had seen most of the park through the fence as I walked around it, so I saw no reason to pay $3 to enter.
I walked furtehr to the biggest tourist site in Yangon, the Shwedagon Pagoda. I didn't want to enter eyt, because it is supposed to be best viewed at sunset. As I walked around it a young student, 23 years old, started talking to me. His is in his last year of law school and has a scholarship to study English at an American Institute here. He has two American teachers.
I left the student to walked beyond the pagoda to the Aung Thuka Restaurant, recommended as serving the best Bamar (Myanmar) food in the capital. From the selections along the side board, I ordered venison curry and a combination of stir fried mixed vegetabes and yellow beans. With that, I was served a bowl of soup (broth with vegetables); rice; a crispy mixture of beans, lentils and sesame seeds; a mushy greens product; and a plate of raw vegetables--green beans, okara, carrage and a leafy herb. There was also a small dish of hot sauce. The venison was delicious, especially with the hot sauce added. I drank a bottle of Myanmar beer with the meal. Afterwards, they brought a bowl of very sweet sweets--something like dulce con leche from Mexico.
I returned to the Shwedagon Pagoda and entered around 4:45 p.m. It's an amazing place with a huge central octagonal stupta covered in gold leaf. But there are golden colored smaller towers everywhere around it. The whole place is paved in white marble, and there are many special buildings for worshiping clustered around the stupta. I just walked and looked and took photos. Eventually, I sat to relax and enjoy the view as the jewels stringing from the top on golden chains and the gold of the dome glittered from the setting sun.
Two men approached me and started visiting. Both were Myanmar citizens of Indean descent. One was 53 and the other 19. It was an uncle and his nephew. The young one spke English very well. He said he speaks it every day with his grandfather and that he reads English novels to improve his vocabulary. They were both handsome and nice men. They are here for the weekend to check on the older one's sister/the younger one's mother. who has been being treated for heart disease for three months. They seemed to enjoy visiting with me as much as I enjoyed visiting with them. As the sun set, the three of us walked back to the center of town together. They are staying with an "aunty" just a few blocks from my hotel.
Bus ticket to Mandalay 9000 kyat
Bag Repair 500
Dinner 2200
Pagoda Admission $5
Total: $16.06
It is so warm and humid here! Being out in the daytime is a real trial. Both days I've gone out about 10:00 and returned around noon as rain clouds started developing. I'll go back out later when the rain has passed and the heat has lessened some.
For breakfast today, I chose the Myanmar selection--coconut noodle soup. I was asked if I wanted it spicy or sweet, and I chose spicy. I wonder how people eat it here. It was a dark broth with ramen noodles, various bits of vegetables, and an egg pouched in the broth. The fruit they had today was bananas, so I ate 2 of them. I ordered tea again; it's so black it looks like coffee. I had a little condensed milk in mine. I think the local people add a lot of sugar.
It's mostly Myanmar people staying at my hotel. I've seen only one western couple, and they were met by a local man this morning. If the others aren't from Myanmar, they are from other Asian countries.
I bought a bus ticket for Mandalay for tomorrow night. It's like Brazil here, with express buses traveling during the night. I'll be tired and uncomfortable, but I will save a hotel bill for one night. It will be a 13-14 hour trip!!!
I also got my shoulder bag repaired. The small leather loops where the strap attaches were too thin and narrow and were beginning to tear. The young man removed the brads and loops, made new wider loops, re-sewed it, and put new brads on. I hope it will last through the remainder of my trip now. I could take my suitcase down there and get a new zipper put on it, but I will wait until India to try doing that, I think. I can completely unpack there and can leave the bag if necessary.
I went by a famous pagoda downtown, but I didn't go inside. The best view was from the outside, and I didn't want the hassle of going inside. I tried to enter a park across the street, but they wanted an admission fee. I walked by the massive city hall that looks like a theater building with sculptures of dragons and a peacock on the roofline. Then the sprinkles started and I turned back toward the hotel.
_____
I went back out around 2 p.m. Like yesterday, the threat of rain had passed by then. I made a long walking tour. I passed a corner where men were getting manicures and pedicures. Almost all men wear flipflop sandals here, so their feet are dry and dirty. I was surprised to see them getting foot care.
I walked across the railraod tracks and beyond the main station to Kandawgyi Lake Park. It's a beautiful, peaceful area, but westerners are required to pay to enter. I had seen most of the park through the fence as I walked around it, so I saw no reason to pay $3 to enter.
I walked furtehr to the biggest tourist site in Yangon, the Shwedagon Pagoda. I didn't want to enter eyt, because it is supposed to be best viewed at sunset. As I walked around it a young student, 23 years old, started talking to me. His is in his last year of law school and has a scholarship to study English at an American Institute here. He has two American teachers.
I left the student to walked beyond the pagoda to the Aung Thuka Restaurant, recommended as serving the best Bamar (Myanmar) food in the capital. From the selections along the side board, I ordered venison curry and a combination of stir fried mixed vegetabes and yellow beans. With that, I was served a bowl of soup (broth with vegetables); rice; a crispy mixture of beans, lentils and sesame seeds; a mushy greens product; and a plate of raw vegetables--green beans, okara, carrage and a leafy herb. There was also a small dish of hot sauce. The venison was delicious, especially with the hot sauce added. I drank a bottle of Myanmar beer with the meal. Afterwards, they brought a bowl of very sweet sweets--something like dulce con leche from Mexico.
I returned to the Shwedagon Pagoda and entered around 4:45 p.m. It's an amazing place with a huge central octagonal stupta covered in gold leaf. But there are golden colored smaller towers everywhere around it. The whole place is paved in white marble, and there are many special buildings for worshiping clustered around the stupta. I just walked and looked and took photos. Eventually, I sat to relax and enjoy the view as the jewels stringing from the top on golden chains and the gold of the dome glittered from the setting sun.
Two men approached me and started visiting. Both were Myanmar citizens of Indean descent. One was 53 and the other 19. It was an uncle and his nephew. The young one spke English very well. He said he speaks it every day with his grandfather and that he reads English novels to improve his vocabulary. They were both handsome and nice men. They are here for the weekend to check on the older one's sister/the younger one's mother. who has been being treated for heart disease for three months. They seemed to enjoy visiting with me as much as I enjoyed visiting with them. As the sun set, the three of us walked back to the center of town together. They are staying with an "aunty" just a few blocks from my hotel.
Bus ticket to Mandalay 9000 kyat
Bag Repair 500
Dinner 2200
Pagoda Admission $5
Total: $16.06
Yangon
Saturday, Sept. 3
I'll either have to wear earplugs or get up early each day. Street noise begins about 6:00 a.m. here with loud diesel trucks and buses. Otherwise, it was quiet enough last night. I was afraid of hotel noise from nearby rooms, since the floors are wooden.
Myanmar is one of those strange countries in terms of time zones. It is on a half-hour time zone. That means that the major news reports and the movies begin on the half hour rather than on the hour the way they do elsewhere.
I went out to explore for two hours, mainly to exchange money at the market. I walked up and down the rows of the stalls looking more at people than at the merchandise.
The atmosphere here is much like that of India. There are wonderful, but crumbling old colonial buildings with weeds and trees growing along their rooflines. The sidewalks are broken. The men were longyi's(wrap-around skirts), and there are many poor people. Of course, there are many Indians here, since India and Bangladesh are neighboring countries. But most of the people look more like southeast asians.
Another sign of the poverty in the country is the thinness of most people. A few shop owners have rounded bellies, but most people here have beautiful, slender bodies. They are really a pretty people in general. And most are smiling and friendly like the Thais.
I exchanged $100 cash for 115,000 kyats, a stack of 115 thousand-kyat bills. It's about 3/4 inch (2 cm) thick! How do I deal with that? It makes me worry about being robbed. But I just saw a local man walking down the street holding a stack four times my size in his hand. Let's hope these are honest people here. (End of trip note: They are.)
It's steamy hot here, and there are heavy, dark clouds to the north. I returned to the hotel because it began to thunder and sprinkle. I didn't have my umbrella with me and didn't want to get caught in a heavy downpour. I'll see if it rains before trying to go back out. P,lus, I'll stash some of my money and get my umbrella. Now that I have money, I need to read about what else I want to do when I leave here anyway.
_____
The clouds passed and the day remained sunny. I went back out at 12:45 and walked directly to the train station. I bought a ticket for the 1:40 p.m. circle train--a 3-hour trip around the edges of the city. It reminded me of riding the elephant in Nepal; one hour would have been plenty! But it was interesting. I saw so many things--a farmer herding a flock of geese, a house fire with about 10 fire trucks present, heavily poluted waterways, makeshift dumpgrounds, Buddhist temples, homes of poor people made from woven bamboo and palm fronds, etc.
There was one problem with seeing well. when it comes to people in Myanmar, I represent the giant economy size. The windows and seats on the train are made for people 75-80% of my size. Sod I had to scrunch down to see out the window. I may have a stiff neck tomorrow because of it.
Myanmar people are very friendly. I can tell they appreciate that I smile at them and tell hem hello. Occasionally, one will start a conversation. A very poor man talked to me about 20 minutes as I waited on the platform for my train to arrive. I was afraid he would want money, but he never asked for any if he did. Another man on the street explained the process for making the chewing "pillow" enjoyed by lower-class men and some women. A betel plant leaf is spread with lime paste. It is sprinkled with chopped betelnut and chopped tobacco and then tucked and rolled into a pillow for chewing. He said it makes you feel like a big man--like a 747 jetliner!
I haven't taken any photos yet. I don't want locals to see me aiming at scenes that depick how poor this country is, yet I have seen nothing else so far. Being here reminds me of the poorest parsts of India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal that I have seen. But being there reinforces a belief I have always had: It's possible to be poor and be happy. These are definitely happy people. They may wish for more, but what family in the west doesn't do the same no matter how high their income or standard of living? I'm sorry they don't have more, but I'm glad they are a happy people overall.
After the train trip, I walked to the waterfront. I tried to see the Strand Hotel, but two girls selling postcards bothered me too much. I didn't go inside, because I felt I should be dressed better to do so. I wandered several streets on the eastern side of downtown and ate dinner at Bharat Indian Restaurant. I had chicken curry and rice. It was a scrawny chicken leg and half thigh with cutty, rice, dal, some green vegetables, and lemon chutney. I dranks a bottle of Mandalay beer with it; it was so cold and refreshing.
It's only 7:30, but I'm back at the hotel under the a/c and will stay here. I'm too tired to go out again. I'll stay inside and watch a Tri-Nations rugby match between Australia and New Zealand.
Circle Train $1
Dinner 1900 kyat
Total: $2.82
I'll either have to wear earplugs or get up early each day. Street noise begins about 6:00 a.m. here with loud diesel trucks and buses. Otherwise, it was quiet enough last night. I was afraid of hotel noise from nearby rooms, since the floors are wooden.
Myanmar is one of those strange countries in terms of time zones. It is on a half-hour time zone. That means that the major news reports and the movies begin on the half hour rather than on the hour the way they do elsewhere.
I went out to explore for two hours, mainly to exchange money at the market. I walked up and down the rows of the stalls looking more at people than at the merchandise.
The atmosphere here is much like that of India. There are wonderful, but crumbling old colonial buildings with weeds and trees growing along their rooflines. The sidewalks are broken. The men were longyi's(wrap-around skirts), and there are many poor people. Of course, there are many Indians here, since India and Bangladesh are neighboring countries. But most of the people look more like southeast asians.
Another sign of the poverty in the country is the thinness of most people. A few shop owners have rounded bellies, but most people here have beautiful, slender bodies. They are really a pretty people in general. And most are smiling and friendly like the Thais.
I exchanged $100 cash for 115,000 kyats, a stack of 115 thousand-kyat bills. It's about 3/4 inch (2 cm) thick! How do I deal with that? It makes me worry about being robbed. But I just saw a local man walking down the street holding a stack four times my size in his hand. Let's hope these are honest people here. (End of trip note: They are.)
It's steamy hot here, and there are heavy, dark clouds to the north. I returned to the hotel because it began to thunder and sprinkle. I didn't have my umbrella with me and didn't want to get caught in a heavy downpour. I'll see if it rains before trying to go back out. P,lus, I'll stash some of my money and get my umbrella. Now that I have money, I need to read about what else I want to do when I leave here anyway.
_____
The clouds passed and the day remained sunny. I went back out at 12:45 and walked directly to the train station. I bought a ticket for the 1:40 p.m. circle train--a 3-hour trip around the edges of the city. It reminded me of riding the elephant in Nepal; one hour would have been plenty! But it was interesting. I saw so many things--a farmer herding a flock of geese, a house fire with about 10 fire trucks present, heavily poluted waterways, makeshift dumpgrounds, Buddhist temples, homes of poor people made from woven bamboo and palm fronds, etc.
There was one problem with seeing well. when it comes to people in Myanmar, I represent the giant economy size. The windows and seats on the train are made for people 75-80% of my size. Sod I had to scrunch down to see out the window. I may have a stiff neck tomorrow because of it.
Myanmar people are very friendly. I can tell they appreciate that I smile at them and tell hem hello. Occasionally, one will start a conversation. A very poor man talked to me about 20 minutes as I waited on the platform for my train to arrive. I was afraid he would want money, but he never asked for any if he did. Another man on the street explained the process for making the chewing "pillow" enjoyed by lower-class men and some women. A betel plant leaf is spread with lime paste. It is sprinkled with chopped betelnut and chopped tobacco and then tucked and rolled into a pillow for chewing. He said it makes you feel like a big man--like a 747 jetliner!
I haven't taken any photos yet. I don't want locals to see me aiming at scenes that depick how poor this country is, yet I have seen nothing else so far. Being here reminds me of the poorest parsts of India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal that I have seen. But being there reinforces a belief I have always had: It's possible to be poor and be happy. These are definitely happy people. They may wish for more, but what family in the west doesn't do the same no matter how high their income or standard of living? I'm sorry they don't have more, but I'm glad they are a happy people overall.
After the train trip, I walked to the waterfront. I tried to see the Strand Hotel, but two girls selling postcards bothered me too much. I didn't go inside, because I felt I should be dressed better to do so. I wandered several streets on the eastern side of downtown and ate dinner at Bharat Indian Restaurant. I had chicken curry and rice. It was a scrawny chicken leg and half thigh with cutty, rice, dal, some green vegetables, and lemon chutney. I dranks a bottle of Mandalay beer with it; it was so cold and refreshing.
It's only 7:30, but I'm back at the hotel under the a/c and will stay here. I'm too tired to go out again. I'll stay inside and watch a Tri-Nations rugby match between Australia and New Zealand.
Circle Train $1
Dinner 1900 kyat
Total: $2.82
Off to Myanmar
Friday, Sept. 2, Bangkok to Yangon
It's 12:30 and I am checked in and through customs. I still have 6 hours before my flight, but what was there to do but come here? The alternative was an 8 a.m. flight. I would much rather take my time sleeping in, having breakfast, etc., before leaving. I even watched a morning movie, Two Bits with Al Pacino, before leaving the hotel.
I took a regular Number 29 bus to the airport. It came straight here from my hotel for only 18 baht. And it probably is just as fast as the airport bus which costs 100 baht and has to make hotel stops along an awkward route. It took me 1 hour with mid-day traffic to get here.
I had a surprise at the airport. I had forgotten that this is one which charges an exit fee that isn't on the ticket. I didn't have 500 baht, so I had to use an ATM. I went ahead and got 100. That, with what is in my pocket, will give me about 800 baht for when I arrive at the airport next year. If I think I am returning to a country, I carry over extra money. I'm a walking bank with currencies from South Korea, Thailand, India, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Mexico, Denmark, the U.K., and the E.U.! Oh, I forgot the USA.
Myanmar (pronounced with "ah" as the ending sound--the "r" is silent and meant only to elongate the "a") will be a different coudntry moneywise. I won't use ATMs, and I won't use credit cards to make charges. The government adds a fee of 6% to all credit card transactions. It is cheaper to exchange cash (US dollars) for cash (Myanmar Kyats). Even 2% is added as a fee for using traveler's checks.
While waiting for my flight, I have started a new book--The News from Paraguay by Lily Tuck. It's a National Book Award winner, but it had split reviews. People either love it or hate it, I guess. I've now read two chapters ( 1/8 of the book) and I am enjoying it. Maybe that's becasue I have traveled enough to know all the references they are making to Paraguayan (really South American) culture.
I've also spent part of the afternoon trying to make new travel plans. With Arne dead, there is no reason for London to continue being the starting point for my tickets. Bangkok would probably work better, and the tickets are just as cheap from there. Also, I have been trying to determine the better months to be in certain areas of the world. Asia (including India) is better in Jan-Mar. That's the dry season. Most of South America is better in the winter season (instead of Jan.-Feb. when I am going there now--the hot and heavily traveled vacation season). Also, I don't need to be away from Texas 7 months as my traveling requires now. It would be better to travel 5-6 months and be in Texas 6-7 months. After my travels this year, all I really have left I want to see in the Americas is more of northern S America and Central America. I probably should do that with frequent flyer miles and use my around-the-world ticket to fly me to more places in Europe and Asia. That would also allow me to split my visits in Texas so that I would be gone no more than 4 months at a time. Right now I am looking at this plan:
Jan-Mar Asia
April Asia, Europe, Texas
May-June Texas
July-Aug. South America, Central America
Sept.-Dec. Texas
To implement the plan, I would buy my 2007 around-the-world ticket (ending Jan. 5, 2008 in London) so that I would not leave the US for Asia until December. I would schedule a non-stop flight pon Jan. 3, 2008, to London from Bangkok and jsut abandon that portion of the ticket. I would buy a new ticket in Bangkok for late Jan/early Feb., 2008, that would get me started on the new schedule. Someday when I decide to stop the ATW traveling, I would just plan my last ticket from Bankok to include all the miles except for TExas to Bankok before arriving in Texas and then abandon the rest of the ticket.
The flight left after aq 25-minute delay due to late-arriving transfer passengers. I sat next to a businessman who had trouble keeping within his space. I'm glad it was a short (1 hour 15 minutes) flight. The meal was light (salad of sliced apples, shredded carrots, and peanuts on a bed of lettuce with a spicy dressing, two pigs-in-a-blanket made with puss pastry, and two pieces of chocolate--one dark and one white.
The airport in Yangon is about the size of the one in Corpus Christi. It's not air conditioned. It took 45 minutes for me to get my luggage and over half the people on the plane were still waiting when I left. They've dropped the requirement of a mandatory exchange of money ($200 previously) for FECs (Foreign Exchange Units--toy money that is no godd outside Myanmar and , therefore, money that HAD to be spent under the previous rules). The offical taxis wanted $5, but a young man just beyond their barrier offered to drive me for $3 and was friendly and helpful with his advice on the way to the hotel. I paid him $4.
Yangonseems nice based on the drive into town. Tehre were wide streets lined with trees. It's a dark city, however. People were out everywhere, but with limited lighting. Although my hotel is in the center, I cannot see down the street because there are no street lights.
The hotel has the smell of mold and mildew. This is a wet climate, and now is the end of the wettest season. It's obvious looking at my ceiling that there ahs been a leak above my bed. it's a worn-looking room, but it has a mini-fridge, an a/c, satellite TV (BBC and 2 movie channels), etc. It's only $10 per night including breakfast, and it is considered a mid-level hotel. I'm glad I'm not in a budget place!
Spending Update: I spent a total of $247.91 over 6 days in Thailand (including $76.43 in medical and dental expenses) for an average of $41.34 per day. Since departing Texas, I have spent $618.64 over 15 days for a daily average of $41.24 per day or $1237.20 per month.
Friday, Sept. 2, Bangkok to Yangon
It's 12:30 and I am checked in and through customs. I still have 6 hours before my flight, but what was there to do but come here? The alternative was an 8 a.m. flight. I would much rather take my time sleeping in, having breakfast, etc., before leaving. I even watched a morning movie, Two Bits with Al Pacino, before leaving the hotel.
I took a regular Number 29 bus to the airport. It came straight here from my hotel for only 18 baht. And it probably is just as fast as the airport bus which costs 100 baht and has to make hotel stops along an awkward route. It took me 1 hour with mid-day traffic to get here.
I had a surprise at the airport. I had forgotten that this is one which charges an exit fee that isn't on the ticket. I didn't have 500 baht, so I had to use an ATM. I went ahead and got 100. That, with what is in my pocket, will give me about 800 baht for when I arrive at the airport next year. If I think I am returning to a country, I carry over extra money. I'm a walking bank with currencies from South Korea, Thailand, India, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Mexico, Denmark, the U.K., and the E.U.! Oh, I forgot the USA.
Myanmar (pronounced with "ah" as the ending sound--the "r" is silent and meant only to elongate the "a") will be a different coudntry moneywise. I won't use ATMs, and I won't use credit cards to make charges. The government adds a fee of 6% to all credit card transactions. It is cheaper to exchange cash (US dollars) for cash (Myanmar Kyats). Even 2% is added as a fee for using traveler's checks.
While waiting for my flight, I have started a new book--The News from Paraguay by Lily Tuck. It's a National Book Award winner, but it had split reviews. People either love it or hate it, I guess. I've now read two chapters ( 1/8 of the book) and I am enjoying it. Maybe that's becasue I have traveled enough to know all the references they are making to Paraguayan (really South American) culture.
I've also spent part of the afternoon trying to make new travel plans. With Arne dead, there is no reason for London to continue being the starting point for my tickets. Bangkok would probably work better, and the tickets are just as cheap from there. Also, I have been trying to determine the better months to be in certain areas of the world. Asia (including India) is better in Jan-Mar. That's the dry season. Most of South America is better in the winter season (instead of Jan.-Feb. when I am going there now--the hot and heavily traveled vacation season). Also, I don't need to be away from Texas 7 months as my traveling requires now. It would be better to travel 5-6 months and be in Texas 6-7 months. After my travels this year, all I really have left I want to see in the Americas is more of northern S America and Central America. I probably should do that with frequent flyer miles and use my around-the-world ticket to fly me to more places in Europe and Asia. That would also allow me to split my visits in Texas so that I would be gone no more than 4 months at a time. Right now I am looking at this plan:
Jan-Mar Asia
April Asia, Europe, Texas
May-June Texas
July-Aug. South America, Central America
Sept.-Dec. Texas
To implement the plan, I would buy my 2007 around-the-world ticket (ending Jan. 5, 2008 in London) so that I would not leave the US for Asia until December. I would schedule a non-stop flight pon Jan. 3, 2008, to London from Bangkok and jsut abandon that portion of the ticket. I would buy a new ticket in Bangkok for late Jan/early Feb., 2008, that would get me started on the new schedule. Someday when I decide to stop the ATW traveling, I would just plan my last ticket from Bankok to include all the miles except for TExas to Bankok before arriving in Texas and then abandon the rest of the ticket.
The flight left after aq 25-minute delay due to late-arriving transfer passengers. I sat next to a businessman who had trouble keeping within his space. I'm glad it was a short (1 hour 15 minutes) flight. The meal was light (salad of sliced apples, shredded carrots, and peanuts on a bed of lettuce with a spicy dressing, two pigs-in-a-blanket made with puss pastry, and two pieces of chocolate--one dark and one white.
The airport in Yangon is about the size of the one in Corpus Christi. It's not air conditioned. It took 45 minutes for me to get my luggage and over half the people on the plane were still waiting when I left. They've dropped the requirement of a mandatory exchange of money ($200 previously) for FECs (Foreign Exchange Units--toy money that is no godd outside Myanmar and , therefore, money that HAD to be spent under the previous rules). The offical taxis wanted $5, but a young man just beyond their barrier offered to drive me for $3 and was friendly and helpful with his advice on the way to the hotel. I paid him $4.
Yangonseems nice based on the drive into town. Tehre were wide streets lined with trees. It's a dark city, however. People were out everywhere, but with limited lighting. Although my hotel is in the center, I cannot see down the street because there are no street lights.
The hotel has the smell of mold and mildew. This is a wet climate, and now is the end of the wettest season. It's obvious looking at my ceiling that there ahs been a leak above my bed. it's a worn-looking room, but it has a mini-fridge, an a/c, satellite TV (BBC and 2 movie channels), etc. It's only $10 per night including breakfast, and it is considered a mid-level hotel. I'm glad I'm not in a budget place!
Spending Update: I spent a total of $247.91 over 6 days in Thailand (including $76.43 in medical and dental expenses) for an average of $41.34 per day. Since departing Texas, I have spent $618.64 over 15 days for a daily average of $41.24 per day or $1237.20 per month.
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Note: Even though the blog shows that I am making this post on Aug. 31, I am actually doing it on Sept. 1 in Bangkok. The blog date is based on the time it is in the States. So in the posting I just did where I refer to tomorrow being the 2nd, it really will be for me. And by the time you read this, it will be Sept. 1 for you, too.
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