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.
Monday, September 26, 2005
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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