Burma and Thailand Trip 2012

December 19- Day 1:

Leaving day. Only a half day of school for me.  Jan and I spent most of the afternoon watching Downton Abbey.  We happened to get a little bit of packing in there too.  Frantically trying to finish grading all of his exams, Zach did not have a peaceful afternoon.  But luck was on our side.  Just as we were getting ready to go out the door, the Robinsons came over to carol.  Zach and I both discretely mentioned that we were leaving for the airport real soon, hoping they would give us a ride to the bus stop.  We had considered getting a taxi, but neither of us knew a phone number for one. As usual, the Robinsons were more than eager to offer their help.  They took us all the way to the MRT, saving us time and money.  After that, all things went smoothly.

December 20- Day 2:

Transit day.  We spent more than 24 hours in transit.  It didn’t turn out to be as bad as I thought it might be.  We had plenty of food with us, and surprisingly weren’t terribly tired.  After spending the night in the airport, we took a free shuttle from one airport to the next. 

On to Mandalay.  Mandalay was nothing special.  In fact, it was quite ugly.  Cars honking, exhaust flowing out of buses, bumpy roads… Even though we were all really tired and hungry, I was ready to move on from Mandalay to Bagan.  We found a nice little place for lunch, and then decided to explore a little.  The combination of the heat and our packs made our little exploration exhausting.  We saw a donut shop and eagerly entered it.  After a quick glance, all 3 of us realized the donuts looked like Taiwanese donuts.  Even if they were free, I wouldn’t have eaten them.  Even though it was hours until our bus left, by this point we were all ready to go to the “bus station.”  In the back of my head, I warned myself that there may not actually be a bus station.  However, the fatigue and exhaustion made me forget this warning.  As our taxi-truck was pulling up, it dawned on all 3 of us that we would not be getting much of a reprieve here.  After wondering around a bit, we found our bus company and were able to squeeze into the back of this tiny garage.  Trying to find some way to pass the time, we decided to play “Ticket to Ride” between the 3 of us.  However, as soon as my turn was done, I started to drift asleep.  I noticed Zach and Jan doing the same.  I already felt completely out of place being a foreigner, but having an ipad was like shouting a declaration of “I am rich. Stare at me please!”  We eventually decided to put the ipad away and wait it out.  Realizing that our bus had finally pulled up was a little bit of a headache, with very little English being understood.  Thankfully, everything had gone well so far, and now we were off on our final leg to Bagan.  Only a super loud movie and frigid AC temperatures stood in our way from having a decently comfortable ride.  Yeah, it was bumpy, but nothing terrible.  The worst part was the toilet situation.  At a pit stop, Jan decided to go to the bathroom.  It only took 8 seconds for her to realize she’d have to hold it.  I think the worst part about the bathroom (outdoor squatties) was that women weren’t even using them.  They were squatting down right in front of the stall door, as if they just couldn’t hold it, when in fact, there were 5 more stalls open.  Ugh.  It sucks to realize that the liquid your shoes are standing in isn’t rainwater.  The rest of the ride went well, and we got to our hotel an hour early. 

Unhighlights: Jan seeing a hand under the toilet when she was trying to go to the bathroom.  Being tired all day long.

December 21- Day 3:

Temple day.  Despite our lack of sleep from the day before, we all woke up bright and early to the sound of chanting next door.  Why do monks have to be early risers?  After enjoying a lovely breakfast at our hotel, we were off to see the temples.  Our mode of transportation?  A horse-drawn carriage. I felt like royalty.  Surprisingly, in the shade, it was a little chilly.  We got our first taste of touts at our first stop, the Shwezigon Pagoda.  I didn’t want to be too rude, since it was just the beginning of our trip, but looking back on it, I now realize, one can never be too rude to a tout.  By the end of the ordeal, I had a woman yelling at me and staring me down as our carriage drove off. 

One of the most annoying things about getting up early to explore Burma is the lucky money. A hawker’s first sale of the morning is considered to be lucky.  They bend over backwards to get you to be their first sale.  Of course, if they’d already had a sale, I’m sure they wouldn’t mind not telling you that.  All day we were confronted by different hawkers with varying goods.  Jan did buy a painting, and Zach bought a wooden carving of a man fishing for a moon.  Honestly, I liked a lot of the things I saw, but I was hesitant to glance longer than a second or two.  They’d immediately see your hesitancy and jump all over you. 

The day was a simple day.  Temple, carriage ride, temple, temple, temple, carriage ride, etc… The biggest annoyance of the day was having to constantly take off our shoes.  I also hate having dirty fingers, and I realized that day that I also hate to have dusty, dirty feet. 

The temples were amazing, though.  Many of them were from the 12^th century.  At the first temple, we were able to climb to the top.  In one direction, I tried to count all the stupas (tops of the temples) I saw.  After getting to 50 or 60, I stopped counting.  They were everywhere!  I can’t even remember how many temples we visited either.  After awhile, I just wanted to continue on with the carriage ride.  Forget seeing temples, let’s just keep riding. 

The day ended on a beautiful note- watching the sun set from atop a temple.  It reminded me so much of Angkor Wat, yet with a completely different feel.   What a great way to experience the “end of the world”- according to what the Mayans said. 

Highlight: Getting a ton of tamarind candy at the restaurant during lunch. 

 

"Cocking time" 

December 22- Day 4:

Biking day.  After renting bikes at our hotel, we were off to explore Bagan, biking style.  I am so thankful we were there during the dry season.  Once we got off the paved roads, it wasn’t easy riding along the dirt roads.  The dirt wasn’t packed down, and it felt, at times, like you were riding on ice.  All of a sudden, your bike would fish tail, and you’d either have to muster your way through it, or jump off and push the bike.  I opted for the second option most of the time.  I can’t even imagine how dirty you’d get riding around during the rainy season.  Since we traveled to less famous temples, we weren’t being hounded by hawkers as much today.  This was especially nice since it was Sabbath.   

As we were riding from temple to temple, it felt like we were actual discoverers of these temples.  At some temples, we couldn’t see anyone in sight, a welcome to all of us.  I even wore my shoes up on the top of one of the temples, and I wasn’t even wearing a skirt.  Gasp.  After biking through tons of loose dirt, ox-drawn wagons, a herd of cattle, and past tourists, we found a dirty slew to have our lunch beside.  It looked nicer from afar, but upon arriving at it, I realized it was just a water hole for the cattle. 

Zach was determined to find the Aztec looking temple.  Jan rode her bike like she was in the Tour de France, and I brought up the rear.  This was by far one of our best days on the trip.  There are over 2,200 temples and pagodas.  We probably only visited 40 or 50 of them.  The evening ended with a bus ride to Yangon. 

Unhighlight: The banana cookies we brought with us were getting kinda old by now.

December 23- Day 4:

Sleepless day.  We arrived in Yangon an hour ahead of schedule at 3:30 A.M.  Even though the bus was the coldest bus I had ever ridden on (seriously, I was wearing as many layers of clothes as possible), I really didn’t want to arrive so early in Yangon.  What were we gonna do until our hotel opened?   It was pitch dark out.  Luckily, our hotel was open, and we were able to crash on a few benches in the lobby.  None of us slept, but it was better than crashing on the street.  After getting into our room, we were ready to head out.  First Stop- Bogyoke Aung San Market.  After almost 2 hours later, we finally arrived at our destination.  Navigating the streets of Yangon weren’t as easy as we first thought.  Surprisingly, it wasn’t too hard to find the shop that Uncle Keith and Aunt Yvonne bought precious stone ‘paintings’ from.  Now to find food.  I never would have thought it would have been that difficult to find something to eat in Yangon.  There’s plenty of street food, but I did not want to get sick, let alone eat some unknown meat.  While on our quest for food, we walked down a street that looked like it came straight out of the Amazing Race.  Shop after shop had old typewriters, printers, and computers.   It looked like an Amazing Race detour just waiting to happen. We even saw a small office that said, “Astronomical Research Office” amidst the random Amazing Race detour shops.  Weird.

Zach and Jan finally found a place to eat.  Even though they got some weird mystery meat, it was at least something to eat.  I ended up giving up on the hunt for food.  Since we were all incredibly tired, hot, and still hungry, we ended up walking all the way back to our hotel.  While at the hotel, we started to watch The Lady, and for once, I stayed awake in the movie.  Not only did I stay awake, but I was the only one who stayed awake.  Zach and Jan fell asleep and stayed asleep for a couple hours.  So ha, I don’t always fall asleep in movies.  It was kinda surreal to be watching this movie in the very country that it was depicting, and to know that the conflict is not resolved yet.  It almost was an eerie foreboding feeling.

Unhighlight: Needing absolutely perfect dollar bills.  I was about to lose my mind over this.

December 24- Day 5:

Surprising day.  We began this day at a much slower pace.  Knowing that we most likely wouldn’t find much food out on the streets, we bought some groceries to take along with us.  Little did we know that we were creating the massacre of 2012.  After walking a significant distance, Zach quickly discovered oozing banana all over the contents of our backpack. 

We eventually made it to Shwedagon Paya.  Shwedagon Paya is home to a plethora of pagodas that shimmer in the heat of the day.  In the evening, the pagodas are lit up, and the lights can be seen throughout the city.  We enjoyed the coolness we found around and inside the Shwedagon Paya.  It was here where I went on a monk hunt.  I wanted a typical Burmese picture of a monk, and I didn’t want to buy a postcard of it.  Monks abounded everywhere at the Shwedagon Paya.  Little monks, old monks, female monks, monks on cell phones!  It was a photographer’s dream location.  Even while sitting in the shade, I was able to chat it up a bit with a monk.  He was there to practice his English but was so quiet that I was barely able to make out what he was saying.  There was a lot of nodding and agreeing on my side of the conversation. 

Zach, Jan, and I were having a difficult time deciding what to do for the rest of the day.  Jan and I were exhausted.  Even though I thought it’d be cool to see the pagodas lit up at night, my body was opting for a more comfortable location, my hotel bed.  Finally, we decided to head back, and Zach would go back in the evening to take some pictures.  While on our walk back to the hotel on a different street than what we had originally walked down, we stumbled upon the Myanmar Union Mission, and they were having a Christmas Eve party.  Even though all 3 of us were a little shy, we walked in and greeted the people there.  They promptly invited us to join them.  We had some lovely but a bit too spicy soup.  We met people who knew Uncle Keith, the Munseys, and Sam Ngala.  How fun!  We stayed for the performances, which ended up lasting all night.  At one point, I realized that this was just like performances on the island, they never end.  We ended up leaving before there was even a hint of a conclusion. It was such a nice surprise finding.  We were able to meet a foreigner working in Burma and Burmese teachers.  The Burmese people sure were friendly.  We all headed home with handfuls of soap and possibly other treats if we had stayed long enough.

Highlights: Discovering “Happy World” (The sad looking imitation of Disney World) and stumbling across the Myanmar Union Mission. 

December 25- Day 6:

Christmas Day.  As an avid traveler, you soon begin to forget and not even care about holidays.  Getting up super early on Christmas day to wait around at the airport for a few hours is not a big deal. This was our Christmas Day.   We didn’t get to our hotel in Bangkok until later in the afternoon.  All day long, I had been waiting for one thing: Eating dinner at Ethos.   Ethos has quickly become our favorite place to eat in Bangkok.  They have a wide variety of dishes: western and local.  The prices are quite nice, and everything is vegetarian with plenty of vegan options.  They even had mango sticky rice! You get to sit on the floor and enjoy a cozy environment in which to completely engorge yourself. 

We spent the rest of the evening wondering around Khao San Road playing the game: American, European, or Other?  Really, it’s quite simple.  Based on people’s clothes and style, we guessed what they were.  We didn’t get any points until we heard them speak to verify if our answers were correct.  Zach and I also went up to the roof and stared at the raucous crowds below celebrating Christmas. 

Unhighlight: While waiting at the Yangon Airport, there were tons of people trying to get one last conversation/touch in before flying, which happened to be right where I was sitting. 

Highlight: Not being on the tourist plane that crashed in Burma around the same time that we were leaving. 

December 26- Day 7:

Krispy Kreme day.  We had been so busy traveling from one place to the next that we completely took our time getting ready in the morning on this day.  Not sure what we should do before we needed to board our bus for Phuket, we ended up going to MBK mall, in hopes of finding some yummy treats.  And treats were found: Dairy Queen, Pizza Hut, and Krispy Kreme.  The donuts kinda did us all in, though, and none of us were too eager to do much else. 

Highlights: Being able to fall asleep on a bus with a perfect temperature.    

December 27- Day 8:

Hot Hot Hot day. 

Arriving in Phuket was a bit of a shock.  We had been progressively been moving to warmer weather.  Bagan’s chilly evenings were a thing of the past.  Phuket was sweltering.  Even though this was the best bus trip yet, overnight bus trips were starting to get old.  Jan decided to hibernate while Zach and I went scouting for activities to do while in Phuket.  Along the way we even found more Dairy Queen.  No way!  However, just the little bit of walking we did started to give me a bit of a sunburn.  Eek. 

 

We spent the rest of the day planning the remaining days out and scouring for cheap food.  Phuket was not what I expected.  Where were the cheap meals, the mango sticky rice, the vegetarian food?   I imagined Phuket to be more like Koh Chang, but I was sorely disappointed.  After a disappointing meal, we eventually decided that the best place to eat was probably our hotel’s restaurant. 

Highlight: Getting a foot message with Jan. 

December 28- Day 9:

Beach day: “Tonight…Bangla Boxing Stadium.”  That pretty much sums up our audio for the day.  This pickup truck would go all round town blaring this.  Ugh.  We all enjoyed a relaxing morning, and around noon headed to the beach.  After probably 1.5 hours, we were exhausted with the beach.  We could play cards just as easily in our hotel room.  However, we rented an umbrella, and we were going to get our money’s worth.  We took turns having people go on food runs.  Eventually, the heat and headaches from the sun just wasn’t worth it.  We headed inside. 

Highlight: Zach getting rice in a pineapple, and me finding some yummy mushroom pasta. 

December 29- Day 10:

Scuba day: Zach and I decided to go scuba diving while Jan hung out and had a relaxing day.  I hate being nervous, and most of this day was filled with nervousness.  At the beginning of the morning, we were introduced to our dive instructors.  We had a blonde lady, and as she waved hello at us, I thought, “Oh good, someone who will be able to speak English to us and hopefully help me out while under the water.”  As it turns out, we were the only ones to get a Russian dive instructor who just so happened to not speak ANY English.  “Don’t worry,” said the program director, “Once you’re under the water, languages don’t matter.”  Hogwash.  I wanted to be able to communicate both in and out of the water. Luckily, Robert, the man we met outside the dive shop and who encouraged us to go with this dive company, was also on the boat with us.  Robert was extremely helpful.  He explained the basics of diving and reminded us of simple things that we had already forgotten. I really don’t know what I would have done without him. 

Once in the water, I quickly got the hang of it and enjoyed it.  Compared to our diving in Bali, this experience was SO much better, simply for the fact that I wasn’t sick.  I could equalize much better, didn’t have to remove water from my mask.   Ahh….so much better.  Unfortunately, I think the water pressure will always annoy Zach’s ears.  3 dives was a little too much for him.  We were able to see moray eels, I saw a turtle quickly swimming away in the murky water, lionfish, barracuda, parrotfish, clownfish, tangs, Moorish idols, etc…

Highlight: The day ended with a delicious Italian meal and a yummy ice-cream bar!  

December 30- Day 11:

Canoeing day: Today, we took Jan on a canoeing trip through Phang Nga.  Unfortunately, it started to rain in the morning.  Besides Bali, we had never been anywhere in Southeast Asia for Christmas where it rained.  I forgot that that was even a possibility. What a bummer this day was turning out to be. 

We jumped aboard our boat, and Jan refused to try rambutan.  At our first stop, a local canoed us around a cave.  The cave was hot, stuffy, and stinky.  Even though it was a cool experience, I was ready to get out.  It was a little too claustrophobic for me.  At some parts, we had to lean back in our canoe to pass.  After a little while, we moved on to another stop, where again, the same man canoed us around.  It was only lightly sprinkling, so we were still able to enjoy the scenery.  Our 3^rd stop was James Bond Island.  Even though I’ve never really seen James Bond, this island was pretty cool (amidst the half-naked tourists).   Locating scantily clad tourists became a new game for us.  The men were the worse ones to discover.  Ick.  We stopped at one final island where we were able to canoe ourselves around a bit.  The rain had stopped, and it was an enjoyable experience. 

Unhighlight: The amount of time it took to get back to our hotel from the excursion. 

Highlight: Eating tons of onion rings on the boat.  :)

December 31- Day 12:

What Did We Do Day?  Thinking back on this day, I had to ask myself, “What did we do?”  Usually, I have a good memory about each day of the trip, even a few months later.  But this day is still kind of an enigma for me.  Here are the things I remember: Eating lunch at our hotel, ordering yummy deep-fried bananas and pineapples, getting room service at our hotel, relaxing, watching TV, playing games, getting more ice-cream, getting a massage, seeing tons of boy girls, being alarmed by a tarsier, wondering through the crazy streets of Patong on New Year’s Eve looking at all the freaks, and learning who Tom Jones was.  Since we were catching a taxi to the airport at 5:00, we tried to go to sleep a little before midnight.  How silly we were trying to sleep on New Year’s Eve in Patong, Phuket.  While lying in bed, I hear Gangnam Style more than 10 times.  I’m surprised I didn’t have a chubby South Korean dancing in my dreams. 

January 1- Day 13

Departure day.  It’s ridiculous how early you have to get up sometimes to get a morning flight.  This day was no exception.  The New Year’s Eve festivities were just winding down when we hopped into our cab. 

Once arriving in Malaysia, we quickly got a bus to the metro.  Shortly after the bus started pulling away, people started shouting on the bus.  I guess they had left the hatch open.  This sounded silly to me.  I thought about double checking that our backpacks were still there, but obviously, we had gone such a short distance that anyone would have seen a backpack fall out and put it back on.  Obviously.  However, I guess that idea isn’t so obvious for Malaysians as Jan’s pack did fall out, and it wasn’t put back on the bus.  We didn’t have time to wait for the next bus to bring her backpack, so, with faith, we headed into the city to do a little exploring and to get some food. 

We found a lovely food court within the Petronas Towers. There was a juice stand, too.  We got our pictures of us in front of the towers, and then headed back.  If I had thought Phuket was hot, KL was even hotter, especially with our packs on us.  It really turned into a blessing that Jan’s bag had fallen out.  Her back was sore, and it would have been really tiring for her to carry it around.  Thankfully, her pack was at the metro waiting for us to pick it up.  It was like a free baggage storage for us.  How nice.  :)

Now, on to our final destination, Taipei- where delicious desserts and Downton Abbey abounded.