Three Days in Yangon

With three days to spend in Yangon, a city of over 4 million people and Myanmar's former capital (don't ask me the name of the new capital), I figured that there would be no shortage of things to see and do.  However, I hadn't considered that when the temperature is hitting 38 degrees it really comes down to what do you absolutely want to see.  I managed one major outing per day and spent the rest of the time relaxing/hiding in my air-conditioned room.

• Day 1 - exploring downtown and the Bogyoke Aung San Market - too bad that I'm not a shopper as the market was large and had no shortage of trinkets.  At one booth I explained to the woman that I needed gifts for my wife and son, but did not know what they would like. She was very helpful and I would subsequently retain my tenuous hold in the "good books."

• Day 2 - Shwedagon Paya - I figured that I had already visited enough temples over the past few months to last me a lifetime.  However, my travel book said that this one should not be missed. Wow, were they ever right.  The structure was spectacular and it was interesting to watch the hive of activity of those coming to visit.

• Day 3 - The Circle Line - For a ticket costing about $1 I took a commuter train trip that went around the city in just under 3 hours.  I went during the middle of the day, in order to miss the rush hours, but it was still quite busy.  It wasn't the most picturesque trip as there was plenty of garbage along the tracks and we passed by a huge auto-wreck yard and a prison.  However, it did provide a different perspective of the city while allowing me to stay in the shade.

Otherwise, I spent a lot of time in my hotel room, reading or watching TV.  I had 6 channels to choose from, including BBC, CNN, and the Manchester United Football Club channel.

Around Yangon, Myanmar

Shwedagon Paya - Rangon, Myanmar

Views from Bagan

Thipp had said she wanted twins

Visiting the Teak Bridge at Amurapura

Scenes from Mandalay

Bagan

I had never heard of Bagan until I started planning for this trip.  However, when I saw photos of it I recognized it right away.  Bagan is the poster child for tourism in Myanmar, with its hundreds of thousand year-old temples spread across a 40km square area.  It was on my "must see" list for Myanmar and I haven't been disappointed.

You can explore the area by hired car, tour bus, horse cart, or bicycle.  I choose the latter and enjoyed the freedom it gave me.  The main roads were paved, but the side roads leading to temples weren't, so I had to pay attention so as not to slip on the sandy shoulders.  Unlike everywhere else that I've been in Southeast Asia, there wasn't much traffic on the road, so it was quite pleasant to tootle around on my one-speed bike.  It wasn't too hard to not get lost, although there was one temple that I unintentionally visited twice from two different directions.

I won't even attempt to describe the size and the shapes of the temples, except to say that there were way more of them than I had expected and that the big ones were really big.  I've taken many photos, but realize that none of them will come-out as nice as those on the postcards that children try to sell me at each major temple.  Exploring the insides wasn't all that exciting, as usually each temple contained four giant Buddhas, one on each side.

Unlike the temples around Angkor Wat in Cambodia you can't climb to the upper reaches of these temples.  However, after huffing-up the steep stairs on one where it was permitted I realized that this limitation was probably a good thing.  The climb did provide a great view of temples near and far and in all directions and it was then that I realized that I would only visit a small fraction.

Update from Laos

At times I think it's just a strange dream, but I realize that I really do have a family and that they are presently in Laos.  As I recognize that the majority of my blog readers are more interested in their activities than mine I decided to include a portion of Thipp's email to me last night (with some editing done by me to punctuation, etc., and to delete all the mushy stuff).

"Alex is having lots of bonding time with grandma and he seems to really like her. Alex is kissing everyone and talking up a storm. I can't believe how much he is chatting with people as if he's having a real conversation with them.  Like today when we were coming back home on the bus from the city, he was doing the 360 and chatting with everyone on the bus.  Of course, people thought that was pretty cute."

"When I got back from Cambodia the air conditioner in our place wasn't working so we stayed in room number 3. It took them 3 days to fix it!  It's getting hotter here so yesterday I went and bought a big plastic pool and took it to my family's place for the kids, although it was mostly for me and Alex. When Annie and Talo came home from school and saw the pool they were so excited that their clothes came off as soon as they got off the motorbike. I had to stop them from jumping in the pool and have a wash down first.  I added salt to the water and the next two people to join was "7" and Angie (editor's note - neighbour kids).  Alex didn't like it at all when the kids came in.  They were too noisy for him so I took him out."

Meandering in Mandalay

I spent parts of three days in Mandalay.  I visited the Mandalay Fort, containing the Royal Palace (it was rebuilt after being destroyed during fighting in WW II).  I also saw a few temples, but mostly just wandered around.  This took some work as Mandalay is a busy town of about one-million people.

One day I hired a motorcycle taxi to take me to the nearby village of Amurapura, famed for its 200 year-old, 1.2 km long, teak bridge.  My driver was a young guy who was keen to practice his English, so asked to accompany me on my walk across the bridge.  I asked him his name twice and instantly forgot it, so for purposes of this story I'll call him Kanji.  Anyways, Kanji is 28 years-old, married with two kids and before his current job he pedalled a rickshaw.  He grew-up in a small town, his Father died when he was age 10 and didn't go on with school past the elementary level because the family couldn't afford to send him.  He was a very positive guy with hopes that the improving political situation will improve things in Myanmar.  Kanji said that I was lucky to come from a country like Canada.  I agreed.

A funny thing happened when we returned across the bridge.  Some beautiful young women (Kanji later told me that they were of Hmong ethnicity) asked if they could have their photo taken with me, both as a group and individually.  I had Kanji take photos for me as well.  Although I'm getting older and bigger, it's nice to know that at least one ethnic minority group in a repressed country thinks I still got it.

Toto, I think we're not in Cambodia any more

I have suddenly found myself in Myanmar and travelling solo. I've been here for just over 30 hours, but it has already been quite an eventful start.  A few examples:

• When I booked my flight out of Phnom Penh I knew that the one-hour I had to catch my second flight out of Bangkok would be tight.  I figured that with only carry-on luggage I would be fine.  What I didn't know was that the airline wouldn't issue me my boarding pass for the second leg of my flight until I arrived in Bangkok and that the cut-off time for obtaining my boarding pass was 40-minutes before departure.  Fortunately, my first flight was 20 minutes early.  It was still tight as I managed to pick the slowest Thailand Immigration line and I had to watch minutes tick away in the airline desk while 4 monks checked-in for what seemed to be their first time.  However, I made it with 5 minutes to spare.

• My good luck quickly came to an end upon my arrival in Myanmar.  The hotel that I had   booked and prepaid on-line had unintentionally misrepresented their location in Mandalay.  In reality, they were 80 km away.  I spent my first night in this old hill station town and the people at the hotel were so gracious that I felt bad about being pissed-off.  I kept trying to remind myself that this is all part of the adventure of travel.

• I took a shared taxi this morning to Mandalay and contemplated whether driving techniques are influenced by one's belief in reincarnation.

• With no baby naps on my schedule and no swimming pool's siren song I did an usual amount of exploring today.  I now have big blisters on both my heels.

• I have been travelling with quite a bit of US$ because everything I've read or been told is that there are no bank machines in Myanmar.  I went to a bank today to change money and smiled when I saw their ATM.  Myanmar really is stating to modernize.

• I had lunch today at a restaurant where there was no menu and no one spoke English.  I just pointed at another table's lunch and gave a thumbs-up.  The staff included a number of young boys who would curiously watch me eat and smile.  The cost of my lunch, which included a can of Pepsi, was about $2.  Nine hours have passed and my system is still good.

• I took a motorcycle taxi ride today.  It is still hard-wired in my brain by my Mom as being a total no-no.  I suspect that she wouldn't have been impressed by the lack of a helmet, as well.

• I asked about bus options for my trip to Bagan on Wednesday.  I was told that the 8 hour bus trip leaves either at 7 am or 10 pm.  Tomorrow I will investigate flight options.

Oh, ye'll tak the high road, and I'll tak the Lao road

The Cambodia phase of our trip is quickly coming to an end.  Tonight Thipp and Alex caught a plane to Vientiane, Laos.  Tomorrow morning I'll be flying to Mandalay, Myanmar, via Bangkok.  After my nine-day trip in Myanmar I'll return to Vientiane, as we will be gearing-up to say farewell to Laos.

After seeing Thipp and Alex off at the airport I had a free evening in Phnom Phen.  I went for a final walk along the river, enjoying all the lights and street life, and passed by the park that had the playground that Alex enjoyed so much.  Then I went for pizza.  An uneventful end to a great visit to Cambodia.

The Pearl of the Orient

Phnom Penh, Cambodia, has long been known as the Pearl of the Orient.  We have really enjoyed our time here, but if we were to be truly honest we would say that the actual pearl has been the hotel that we've been staying in, the Plantation Urban Resort and Spa.

One of the great things about Southeast Asia is not that you can travel quite cheaply, but that for a bit more money you can live quite luxuriously.  Although at times I have to remind myself that I'm no longer a 25 year-old backpacker and I don't have to rough it, it isn't hard for me to overcome my Scottish instincts and pay a bit more when I can see the value.  The Plantation is such a nice spot that not only did it bring our exploration of Cambodia to a stop (why go to the coast when we have an awesome pool here?), but if we didn't have Thipp's family and an apartment of stuff in Vientiane we might have never returned to Laos.

Thipp has exclaimed more than a few times that she has never lived in such luxury.  I can tell from the gleam in her eyes that this time won't be the last.  She has also turned into a bit of a shopping diva, explaining how much money she's saving me on the dresses she buys.

Alex has also enjoyed his stay in Phnom Penh.  He currently appears to be simultaneously on the verge of crawling, walking and swimming.  He has been a very popular at the Plantation, amongst  both the staff and other guests, as he is one of the few in the under-40 crowd.  Returning to Canada will surely be a tough adjustment for Alex as he will no longer be the centre of attention, have contact with so many other kids, or be able to ride in a car or tuk-tuk without a carseat.  We took Alex to a playground last evening and although he couldn't do much, it occurred to me that my baby was on the verge of becoming a little boy.

We have seen a fare bit of Phnon Penh, although I'm embarrassed of some of what we've missed. However, I suspect that we will return.  The weather is very hot and Alex does need his morning and afternoon naps, so although we have ventured-out, it isn't long after that we are rushing back to our Pearl of the Orient.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Enjoying the luxery of the Plantation Hotel a bit too much in Phnom Penh, Cambodia