tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23676281679729279982024-03-13T07:10:07.451-04:00MyanmarLorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05676317652927356121noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2367628167972927998.post-72981074818948021092012-10-15T11:06:00.001-04:002012-10-15T11:06:37.600-04:00all the photosI've been going back into the posts and adding photos, you may have noticed, but in the interim, here's the whole set for the intrepid (and bored!):<br />
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That's the Myanmar set. Here's the smaller Chiang Mai set:<br />
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Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05676317652927356121noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2367628167972927998.post-26041495884455261822012-10-12T11:50:00.000-04:002014-06-15T11:36:02.364-04:00Chiang Mai, Thailand, and getting homePlanning this trip was difficult; originally, we'd planned to go to Tibet and Nepal, with a side jaunt to Myanmar. That fell through and we focused on Myanmar, including time in the western part of the state, Sittwe and Mrauk U. That part fell through because of the ongoing violence in Rakhine state, so we took the days we'd planned to spend in Sittwe and Mrauk U and cast around for a place to spend them. We decided Chiang Mai, in Thailand, would be a good diversion. We didn't think we needed more days in any of our Myanmar spots (and it turned out we were right), and I have some qualms about Thailand but Chiang Mai seemed more accessible in terms of my concerns. When we were in the airport in NYC, getting ready to fly off to Myanmar, we talked about what we expected. I asked Marc what part of the trip he expected to like most, and he said Chiang Mai -- and I agreed! We just didn't know what to expect in Myanmar, and we hadn't read great comments about the food (always one of our favorite things about our trips), so we figured if nothing else, we'd eat some fantastic Thai food in Chiang Mai. Boy were we wrong, on all counts! We absolutely loved Myanmar, and struggled in Chiang Mai.<br />
<br />
One 'problem' was that the place is clogged with tourists. Everywhere you look, tourists of all kinds. Lots of slightly plump young white women with long dreadlocks decorated with silver clips, and wearing big harem pants. Lots of white backpackers. Lots of old people -- not like us!! NO! Lots of middle-aged couples, lots of young couples. Lots and lots of tourists. And probably a lot of the people who looked like natives were tourists, too, since Thailand is an easy hop from China. Here's what one does in Chiang Mai, apparently:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Thai cooking classes</li>
<li>Thai massage</li>
<li>Shop and eat</li>
<li>Visit elephant camps</li>
<li>Visit a gibbon sanctuary</li>
<li>Visit the many wats</li>
</ol>
<br />
Marc is a better Thai cook than anyone, anywhere, so we didn't need Thai cooking classes. One can only be massaged so many times (arguable!). We tried hard to find good places to eat, on which more in a second, I didn't need to shop (and Thailand was expensive for our budget!), we didn't want to go see elephant camps or the gibbon sanctuary, and we were kind of wat-ted out, after Myanmar. Our hotel had a pool, but it was rainy in the hot afternoons, right when we'd want to swim. So mainly we walked around, piddled, and tried to find good restaurants.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zVU4ubyouGI/UHwyD4QyTGI/AAAAAAAAP6o/edT4Rh6MweA/s1600/bad+restaurant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zVU4ubyouGI/UHwyD4QyTGI/AAAAAAAAP6o/edT4Rh6MweA/s400/bad+restaurant.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">we'd read that we should eat in the night market, and I cannot tell you <br />
just how bad it was. i have a picture of Marc's shrimp, but it's too depressing. <br />
On a pink plate, small pre-cooked shrimp in nasty bland sauce. Seriously?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
They were all a bust, and we were starting to think we'd never find any decent Thai food in Chiang Mai, until our last night when we wandered into Lemongrass Restaurant, near the night market. By that point I'd given up hope that we'd find good food so I didn't have my camera, too bad, because the food was everything we'd fantasized we'd find -- fresh, and Thai, and hot. Then, on our last morning, we sprang for an hour of massage -- just wonderful, the best we've ever had on our travels -- and Marc found a little restaurant with no English, and amazing food, as good as I can get in NYC and that's saying something.<br />
<br />
Otherwise, we took an hour boat trip on the Ping River that skirts around the city, and we went to the zoo. My joke on facebook was "I'm not saying Chiang Mai is boring, but we went to the zoo."<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Khz3XpX1GbA/UHwyHRwt7wI/AAAAAAAAP6w/M41H9UIm3ak/s1600/bridge+and+traffic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Khz3XpX1GbA/UHwyHRwt7wI/AAAAAAAAP6w/M41H9UIm3ak/s400/bridge+and+traffic.jpg" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a gate leading to a bridge -- that's the king in the middle, there.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TpTf5tf1CSc/UHwyKutigGI/AAAAAAAAP64/CFXfVHxXw3g/s1600/dragons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TpTf5tf1CSc/UHwyKutigGI/AAAAAAAAP64/CFXfVHxXw3g/s400/dragons.jpg" height="464" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">dragons at the wats</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zMW1aPFDSjg/UHwyQCPXRHI/AAAAAAAAP7E/-3IqQpzDiuU/s1600/gate1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zMW1aPFDSjg/UHwyQCPXRHI/AAAAAAAAP7E/-3IqQpzDiuU/s400/gate1.jpg" height="435" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the gate leading into the old city, which is where we stayed</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MwM-SdnMLOk/UHwySbmEo2I/AAAAAAAAP7M/Eb-bC2UbD5Y/s1600/moat+outside+old+city+walls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MwM-SdnMLOk/UHwySbmEo2I/AAAAAAAAP7M/Eb-bC2UbD5Y/s400/moat+outside+old+city+walls.jpg" height="404" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this is a moat kind of thing, just outside the old wall</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lXEbt-naxl0/UHwyU3JcQnI/AAAAAAAAP7U/rNhuBjeZkD4/s1600/my+favorite+wat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lXEbt-naxl0/UHwyU3JcQnI/AAAAAAAAP7U/rNhuBjeZkD4/s400/my+favorite+wat.jpg" height="579" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this is my favorite wat of them all -- mostly teak, with gold trim</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9LhCgpBb7v0/UHwyX6AawNI/AAAAAAAAP7c/0BZn2Fhf8bo/s1600/offerings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9LhCgpBb7v0/UHwyX6AawNI/AAAAAAAAP7c/0BZn2Fhf8bo/s400/offerings.jpg" height="640" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this holds offerings</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6Q7TeEtvt_E/UHwyeIciHiI/AAAAAAAAP70/aOAifAvnINg/s1600/ping+river_boat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6Q7TeEtvt_E/UHwyeIciHiI/AAAAAAAAP70/aOAifAvnINg/s400/ping+river_boat.jpg" height="520" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">here we are, heading out for our little boat ride</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zFP-Txnbzzs/UHwyhK-xMtI/AAAAAAAAP78/lrIYv_7NbhE/s1600/ping+river_king+billboard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zFP-Txnbzzs/UHwyhK-xMtI/AAAAAAAAP78/lrIYv_7NbhE/s400/ping+river_king+billboard.jpg" height="548" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">no idea why the king and queen need a billboard; our boat driver said <br />
they love their king, he's a good king</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mlMFESdM5nc/UHwyaXcDIUI/AAAAAAAAP7k/_q8yAqopNzI/s1600/ping+river1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mlMFESdM5nc/UHwyaXcDIUI/AAAAAAAAP7k/_q8yAqopNzI/s400/ping+river1.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">quietly beautiful, just outside chiang mai</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fHLR06yrf3A/UHwycNvyLII/AAAAAAAAP7s/44ldgyNw_vY/s1600/ping+river_boat+trees.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fHLR06yrf3A/UHwycNvyLII/AAAAAAAAP7s/44ldgyNw_vY/s400/ping+river_boat+trees.jpg" height="289" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">these large trees line the river; it's older than the US</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-78Bi4FbB4Rg/UHwyj_Fp6NI/AAAAAAAAP8E/VA0kllTsilc/s1600/wall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-78Bi4FbB4Rg/UHwyj_Fp6NI/AAAAAAAAP8E/VA0kllTsilc/s400/wall.jpg" height="412" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a beautiful bas-relief wall near our hotel</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7PSy9MSdbec/UHwym-yR2PI/AAAAAAAAP8Q/83AcccHeHio/s1600/wat2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7PSy9MSdbec/UHwym-yR2PI/AAAAAAAAP8Q/83AcccHeHio/s400/wat2.jpg" height="640" width="440" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">pretty standard Thai wat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Fs2iCvycjok/UHwypRTXhaI/AAAAAAAAP8Y/VYgWL96CfKI/s1600/wat_white.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Fs2iCvycjok/UHwypRTXhaI/AAAAAAAAP8Y/VYgWL96CfKI/s400/wat_white.jpg" height="400" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this one's quite unusual, all in white!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YrBp6iL-KfA/UHwysChOdGI/AAAAAAAAP8g/TohdYqCg6VA/s1600/zoo_jaguar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YrBp6iL-KfA/UHwysChOdGI/AAAAAAAAP8g/TohdYqCg6VA/s400/zoo_jaguar.jpg" height="392" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">beautiful caged jaguar, poor thing. the zoo is old-fashioned.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-B_JKSKNYM84/UHwyujSTEZI/AAAAAAAAP8o/26KeqLkvCgc/s1600/zoo_marc+elephant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-B_JKSKNYM84/UHwyujSTEZI/AAAAAAAAP8o/26KeqLkvCgc/s400/zoo_marc+elephant.jpg" height="640" width="488" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marc and an elephant, trained to bow (the elephant, not Marc)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
All in all, Chiang Mai was a disappointment, until our final hours. We left Chiang Mai and flew to Kuala Lumpur for a night's sleep, and then on Sunday we flew to Hong Kong, sat around for a few hours, and then flew 16 hours home to NYC, arriving Sunday night at 10:30. I never can really wrap my head around the time when we make these trips. This time I never had a clue what day it was, probably because I couldn't get online. I really missed being able to share photos, and post more regularly.Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05676317652927356121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2367628167972927998.post-3810654455467723762012-10-10T05:27:00.000-04:002012-10-15T11:45:22.179-04:00last nights in MyanmarWe had two nights and one full day back in Yangon, and no specific plans. We were both kind of sick of Burmese food, to be perfectly honest; small bowls of weird cuts of random meat floating in oil, we'd kind of had our fill. Next door to the restaurant (Feel Myanmar) where we ate our first night in Yangon, so many days before, was a Korean garden restaurant, which sounded spicy and delicious, so off we went. We walked past the enormous Indonesian Embassy, with photos of the country including one of a giant komodo dragon, and then past the small and more modest French Embassy, and there we were. The place was huge, a few different garden areas, an area on a large porch, and tables near the front. We were led to the back garden area, where mosquitoes promptly took up their own feast on my legs....but I didn't care. SPICY FOOD. We placed our orders and spent the rest of our time there feasting on spicy food, I had a wonderful Myanmar beer (wonderful, but not quite as good as Lao Beer ["the beer of wholehearted people"]), and we listened to the live band. There was a young guy on keyboards, pretty good, a guy on electric guitar, pretty good, and a guy singing. Note what I'm not saying there. :) But I give him huge props for singing anyway, for putting himself out there and giving it his all. I had Malaysian fried rice, with a soft fried egg on top, and Marc had Thai shrimp. So much flavor, and nicely spicy. Our waiter was this beautiful young boy with badly crooked teeth and a shy smile; he reminded me of my son Will so much that my chest ached and I had to fight back tears.<br />
<br />
The next day our big plans involved shopping and taking a boat ride. We headed back to the giant market where I'd seen dozens and dozens of fabric goodies to buy the last time we were there; as these things go, I had a very hard time finding things that appealed to me when I was there to buy. Still, I found souvenirs and gifts (including a little jade bracelet for my TT, my little Grace), finally, so that deed was done.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DUpKRr6RV0s/UHwtRlTL4iI/AAAAAAAAP6E/i-KGSNMj2Zc/s1600/Myanmar_Yangon_20121009_yangon+street2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DUpKRr6RV0s/UHwtRlTL4iI/AAAAAAAAP6E/i-KGSNMj2Zc/s400/Myanmar_Yangon_20121009_yangon+street2.jpg" width="338" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">standard street in Yangon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ORtHDm6zHOs/UHwtOtYS3YI/AAAAAAAAP58/fg311HCUrB8/s1600/Myanmar_Yangon_20121009_yangon+street.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ORtHDm6zHOs/UHwtOtYS3YI/AAAAAAAAP58/fg311HCUrB8/s400/Myanmar_Yangon_20121009_yangon+street.jpg" width="297" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">more -- looks like most of the streets we saw in this area</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sPzvbo_79mE/UHwtMLjZi8I/AAAAAAAAP50/0Elcx8203DA/s1600/Myanmar_Yangon_20121009_yangon+sidewalk+betelnut+plus+birds+cage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="291" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sPzvbo_79mE/UHwtMLjZi8I/AAAAAAAAP50/0Elcx8203DA/s400/Myanmar_Yangon_20121009_yangon+sidewalk+betelnut+plus+birds+cage.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">on the right, a betel nut vendor, and walking past a man with sparrows in a blue cage</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EeuTy2DOk_w/UHwtDemiuHI/AAAAAAAAP5Y/qR_FmWi6OcM/s1600/Myanmar_Yangon_20121009_yangon+littleindia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EeuTy2DOk_w/UHwtDemiuHI/AAAAAAAAP5Y/qR_FmWi6OcM/s400/Myanmar_Yangon_20121009_yangon+littleindia.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little India</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3qkHxeUB_wU/UHwtGDYQJ9I/AAAAAAAAP5g/ncvgWaQNygA/s1600/Myanmar_Yangon_20121009_yangon+neurosurgery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="122" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3qkHxeUB_wU/UHwtGDYQJ9I/AAAAAAAAP5g/ncvgWaQNygA/s400/Myanmar_Yangon_20121009_yangon+neurosurgery.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">lots of physicians with lots of specialties! and lots of initials!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L87Rp4L9kbg/UHwtImwO2kI/AAAAAAAAP5s/rUT8jyOFZ_E/s1600/Myanmar_Yangon_20121009_yangon+nuclear+medicine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="301" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L87Rp4L9kbg/UHwtImwO2kI/AAAAAAAAP5s/rUT8jyOFZ_E/s400/Myanmar_Yangon_20121009_yangon+nuclear+medicine.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and nuclear medicine. and yet Myanmar is ranked dead last in health care, in the world</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1FBaFLlS9mk/UHwtAQz-q7I/AAAAAAAAP5Q/6TuTcDMquDY/s1600/Myanmar_Yangon_20121009_yangon+apartments1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1FBaFLlS9mk/UHwtAQz-q7I/AAAAAAAAP5Q/6TuTcDMquDY/s400/Myanmar_Yangon_20121009_yangon+apartments1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">apartment buildings, with satellite dishes and laundry over railings</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O99MGzoylwQ/UHws9dooYHI/AAAAAAAAP5I/gpYmIbgHEFQ/s1600/Myanmar_Yangon_20121009_phone+calls+and+kaffir+limes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O99MGzoylwQ/UHws9dooYHI/AAAAAAAAP5I/gpYmIbgHEFQ/s400/Myanmar_Yangon_20121009_phone+calls+and+kaffir+limes.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">need to make a phone call? need kaffir limes and leaves? they've got you covered!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
One thing that struck me, when we were walking around, was the visible mix of religions. Muslim men, in caps and longish beards; monks in crimson robes; Catholic nuns in habits; all walking around in the swirling crowds, all together. I was sitting on the curb watching, and wondering why this seemed so striking -- hell, we live in New York City, a melting pot if ever there were one! And yet you don't see religious people, except for orthodox Jews, and some Hassidic Jews. But you don't see monks in robes, and you don't see Catholic nuns. You just don't. You have to learn how to see all the churches -- and there are a LOT here, mixed in with everything else. Suddenly, if you tune your eyes in Manhattan, you see Baptist churches and McDonalds and Korean churches and of course giant cathedrals and synagogues. But they kind of blend into the blocks in a way. In Yangon, people's religious lives are visible and invisible at the same time, because they're just all there. It was fascinating.<br />
<br />
It was sweltering hot, and so humid because giant black clouds loomed overhead; we were tired and Marc's tummy wasn't feeling well, so we returned to our room to wait out the hot part of the day. After the rain ended, we took a cab to the famous Strand Hotel, because it was right next to the boat jetty. We'd been told earlier that there were no tourist cruise boats operating for some reason, but we'd have no trouble finding a small boat and driver to take us up and down the river at sunset for an hour or so. The guy was either pulling our leg, or we were simply in the wrong place -- though I know we weren't -- because we couldn't find any small boats we were allowed to take. We found the jetty and all the boat drivers were shaking their heads, some speaking to us anxiously in Burmese, putting their hands up, shooing us away. One finally said, "No foreigners." Marc found a boat driver who spoke a little English; he told Marc that the boats are not safe for foreigners, and he pointed down the river a ways, toward the big ferry. Marc laughed and said, "But it's safe for you?" and the driver laughed too.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N2ZaQuahsVs/UHVQi52__PI/AAAAAAAAPmo/C2nApeqaf2M/s1600/yangon+jetty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="222" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N2ZaQuahsVs/UHVQi52__PI/AAAAAAAAPmo/C2nApeqaf2M/s400/yangon+jetty.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">here's the jetty, with the "unsafe for foreigners" boats</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
We left the jetty (we were really making people nervous, being there) and as we walked toward the ferry, a young kid of 13 fell in step with us. I don't know if it was a boy or girl, I'll just say boy; he told us that we had to take the ferry, that the police would come if we got on a boat.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-phKFqTC7t-U/UHVRMelg9PI/AAAAAAAAPmw/tGuDOhUXwXE/s1600/ferry+snacks+eggs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-phKFqTC7t-U/UHVRMelg9PI/AAAAAAAAPmw/tGuDOhUXwXE/s320/ferry+snacks+eggs.jpg" width="214" /></a>To buy ferry tickets, as foreigners, we had to walk into the manager's office and put our names and contact information on big ledgers. We suspect that we got the "special foreigner" price -- $1USD each way, for each of us. We boarded the ferry with hundreds of Burmese people who lived on the other side of the river, heading home for the day. There were some benches, but mostly the floor space was open. There were stacks and stacks of tiny plastic chairs, kid-sized, and people grabbed a chair and sat where they could. We sat next to windows on the upper level and watched the goings-on. So many kinds of vendors: boiled egg vendors, selling blue and white and brown and quail eggs; clothing; flashing plastic toys; fried fish chips in white and red; fresh pineapple chunks and watermelon slices; and cigarettes and betel nut packets. People carried groceries and shopping, and bought boiled eggs and tucked them down into their bags to eat later. Some people ate boiled eggs on the ferry; the floor was littered with egg shells.<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent"> I watched a beautiful women eat one brown egg in 9 or 10 tiny delicate bites. A boiled egg never looked so good -- I was mesmerized by her, standing there so quiet and elegant in the crowd, lost in her boiled egg. She was petite, and very self-possessed.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent">We didn't have specific plans for what we'd do when we got across the river; we thought we might walk around and look for a restaurant, or see what there was to see and then return to eat in Chinatown if nothing looked good. The ferry sidled up to the platform and we left in the crush of people and I was already kind of overwhelmed. I was probably the tallest person in the crowd, but the intense crowds, and people shouting, and the dark, and the sprinkling rain, and my uncertainty, all combined to make me feel very anxious. When we got to the end of the ramp, we came out into a big parking lot crowded with motorcycles, people shouting, grabbing, some people trying to hustle us, other people shouting to get people into their overcrowded bus taxis. I couldn't find a place to stand that felt safe -- either from motorcycles or bicycles tearing out, or from bus taxis, or from people trying to get us into their taxi, or to be our guide. Poor Marc; he wasn't at all overwhelmed by it and would probably have loved to explore, but I was thoroughly swamped and nearly in tears, so we just went back down the ramp to take the return ferry.</span></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5Vkz8pJ7p3U/UHVR44tBurI/AAAAAAAAPm4/jH9Fe7hPv2s/s1600/yangon+crowded+ferry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5Vkz8pJ7p3U/UHVR44tBurI/AAAAAAAAPm4/jH9Fe7hPv2s/s400/yangon+crowded+ferry.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">waiting for this ferry to empty out so we could return to Yangon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ukLEVjqrMqs/UHVSgjLlNhI/AAAAAAAAPnA/uWqlc9Yo-bk/s1600/ferry+girl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ukLEVjqrMqs/UHVSgjLlNhI/AAAAAAAAPnA/uWqlc9Yo-bk/s320/ferry+girl.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I loved this little girl</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent">Going back to Yangon, the ferry was hardly crowded. We sat on the tiny plastic chairs on the bottom level, and a little girl, the daughter of an egg vendor, was entranced by our camera.</span></span><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent"> She pulled
up a chair right next to me. I took her photo and then we looked
through the pictures on my camera. She was so sweet I felt like crying,
and I got this huge ache for my nearly-here granddaughter Grace.</span><span class="userContentSecondary"><span class="fcg"></span></span></span><br />
<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent"> </span><span class="userContentSecondary"><span class="fcg"> </span></span></span><br />
When the ferry docked, we decided to pursue our original loose plan to eat in Chinatown. We went back to the Strand Hotel to see about getting a cab, since few street names have English translations and we weren't exactly sure where Chinatown was located, other than "over there." Plus, it was drizzling and I was still kind of shaky. We found a wonderful man who said he'd take us in his cab, or tell us how to get there, whichever we preferred, so we hopped in his cab for the ride. Like so many Burmese we encountered, he spoke pretty good if heavily accented English which he learned from speaking with tourists. I probably caught 60% of what he said, but he charmed the hell out of me because he was a big giggler. I complimented him on his English and this flight of giggles emerged out of him like a flock of birds. He said he drove a taxi for two reasons: to make money, and to practice his English.<br />
<br />
Chinatown didn't seem like it held many good options for dinner (though he said Burmese people, including his family, love Chinese food), so we asked our driver to take us back to the Korean garden restaurant, since it was also near our hotel and we could just walk back afterwards. The restaurant was much quieter than the night before, and there was no live music, so we enjoyed a quiet dinner and I had one last Myanmar beer for the road. Marc got a Thai omelette and Thai basil and pork salad, and I got the fried Malaysian rice again, with chicken -- it was so good the night before!<br />
<br />
We were up early this morning for the flights to Chiang Mai.....Yangon to Bangkok to Chiang Mai. More on that later -- in this hotel we have wifi!Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05676317652927356121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2367628167972927998.post-27594074324791980242012-10-07T05:34:00.003-04:002012-10-15T12:17:34.150-04:00BaganThe reason most tourists come to Bagan is to see the temples
that cover the plain; there are between 3,000 and 4,000 temples, pagodas, and
stupas covering the area around Bagan, New Bagan, and Nyaung U, mostly built
during a 230-year period ending around 1287. For a few years, a new structure was
begun every two weeks – according to something I read, they were rather
shoddily built, and the reconstruction efforts are done in just as shoddy a
manner. There was a devastating earthquake here in 1975 that destroyed many of
the old structures, and they’re being reconstructed. UNESCO was involved in
restoring some of the old frescoes inside the temples and pagodas. It’s
impossible to see them all, especially in a two-day period, but if you have
$290 to spare for a 45-minute balloon ride, you can float over the plain in the
morning and see the full sweep of them. We satisfied ourselves with a view from
top of one of the higher structures.<br />
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OWxxtmFvZbw/UHFNZrIjIvI/AAAAAAAAPlQ/5Ngzql8iDWs/s1600/mingalazedi+paya+view1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="208" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OWxxtmFvZbw/UHFNZrIjIvI/AAAAAAAAPlQ/5Ngzql8iDWs/s400/mingalazedi+paya+view1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">click to enlarge this one -- just a tiny smidge of the structures on this large plain</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
But first we had to get here. The flight from Heho
(pronounce hay-ho) was unremarkable, and after we got our luggage we headed out
toward the taxi drivers. One came toward us and gave us a pretty good rate to
the hotel, so we went to the taxi and were surprised when he got in the
passenger seat up front, next to the driver. We’ve never had that happen
before; usually the guy who approaches the tourists simply sends them off to
the taxi. [And here’s a good point to say that the driver sits on the right,
like in the British system, but also drives on the right-hand side of the street,
like in the American system. I never thought about how strange that would be
until the taxi driver wanted to pass a big truck, and he had to pull all the
way out to see around. Very strange. Also, we’ve been surprised by how much English
we’ve encountered; we were not expecting many people to speak English, as in
Vietnam, but of course this was a British colony, and also many people have
learned by speaking to tourists.]</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Anyway. The taxi guy. All the way to our hotel, he talked
nonstop. He had something to say about everything, and when Marc and I tried to
talk to each other he usually kept talking. Once he stopped, but he seemed
irritated and he jumped in as soon as there was a pause. There was something
odd about him; I wondered if he was manic, or on drugs. He had something nasty
to say about the Chinese, but I can’t remember the detail now. When we got to
our hotel, he went into the lobby with us and grabbed our passports and voucher
out of our hands, to go check us in, but Marc grabbed them from him. While he
was gone, the taxi guy was pushing me hard, as he had been pushing Marc and me,
to be our tour guide for the temples. We were kind of dazed and were already
feeling assaulted by him, and we certainly weren’t ready to make that kind of
decision and commitment before we’d even settled in, so I told him that we
didn’t know what we wanted to do yet about tomorrow, so no thank you. He just stayed sitting
there. The hotel brought us drinks and served him one, too, which was very
weird. The guy just kept sitting there, pushing hard, and Marc finally leaned
toward him and said forcefully, with a little sharp edge, NO, we are not
interested. He still didn’t leave. He wrote down his name and telephone number
and our room was ready so we stood up and walked away from him. We shook our
heads in disbelief, and for the rest of the night kept talking about how
intrusive he was, how rude, how much we felt assaulted by him. But we thought
that was it, we were done with him. The next morning at 7am, our telephone rang
and it was the front desk informing us that our guide was here! It could only
have been him, and of course we hadn’t hired him. I'd missed the phone the first
time it rang; a minute later it rang again and Marc said no, we did not hire
him, send him away. A minute later it rang again and the woman at the front
desk told me our guide was here, and asked if I’d like to speak to him.
Unbelievable! I told her no, we didn’t hire him, he was harassing us, and hung
up. We’ve felt assaulted by hawkers before – in India and at Angkor Wat – but
this was a whole new level. I keep looking over my shoulder here in Bagan,
expecting to see him haunting us, and I’m just a little anxious about the taxi
ride back to the airport tomorrow.</div>
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bpPXROM7CA0/UHwoRCCN4WI/AAAAAAAAP2c/l1oa0b751OY/s1600/Myanmar_Bagan_20121006_our+room.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bpPXROM7CA0/UHwoRCCN4WI/AAAAAAAAP2c/l1oa0b751OY/s400/Myanmar_Bagan_20121006_our+room.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">here's our beautiful room</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
On our first night, we ate dinner at this really lovely little
restaurant near our hotel, strangely named Star Beans (well, one sign says
Beans, another says Beams). It’s a family-run place, apparently, and our food
was amazing – delicately cooked, delicately seasoned, utterly delicious. We got
a green papaya salad and a tomato salad (tomatoes from Inle Lake), and then we
each got Irrawaddy butter fish in a delicate butter sauce. The fish was just
perfect, and the service was sweet. The placed a mosquito coil under our table,
and we were so eagerly tended to. They were like insecure kids, asking us
constantly if it was good, was it good, is it ok? Every few minutes we
reassured them that it was delicious, that it was wonderful, very good, and
they seemed so pleased. The young women who served us were gracious and smiled
a lot; one was harder to understand, but she was nearly giggling whenever she
spoke English to us. I smile remembering her. The fantastic meal was about $14.
We ate there again the second night, but they were overwhelmed – victims of
their own success, I guess – because every table was filled and the service was
slow. </div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YeqybHHS0T8/UHwow4eZXqI/AAAAAAAAP34/RoHaeqJQDKk/s1600/Myanmar_Bagan_20121008_starbeans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YeqybHHS0T8/UHwow4eZXqI/AAAAAAAAP34/RoHaeqJQDKk/s400/Myanmar_Bagan_20121008_starbeans.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">sweet, sweet little restaurant! i wish them every success.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vGY9qEET8wU/UHwouNBiRLI/AAAAAAAAP3w/h-KXibarcHk/s1600/Myanmar_Bagan_20121008_star+bean+beam+signs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="337" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vGY9qEET8wU/UHwouNBiRLI/AAAAAAAAP3w/h-KXibarcHk/s400/Myanmar_Bagan_20121008_star+bean+beam+signs.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">they're very proud of being #1 on TripAdvisor (how we found them!), as well they should be.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F9FshG7bCYI/UHwordJkMlI/AAAAAAAAP3o/tdAZzSPLW-Q/s1600/Myanmar_Bagan_20121008_sb_tomato+salad+inle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="302" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F9FshG7bCYI/UHwordJkMlI/AAAAAAAAP3o/tdAZzSPLW-Q/s400/Myanmar_Bagan_20121008_sb_tomato+salad+inle.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">making my mouth water, remembering this tomato salad, tomatoes from Inle Lake</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CopWyUnMawM/UHwooKO3BiI/AAAAAAAAP3g/0RDzRfi5pFE/s1600/Myanmar_Bagan_20121008_sb_papaya+salad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="325" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CopWyUnMawM/UHwooKO3BiI/AAAAAAAAP3g/0RDzRfi5pFE/s400/Myanmar_Bagan_20121008_sb_papaya+salad.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and this very luscious green papaya salad, YUM.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rCciMj9tQaE/UHwolAo1vGI/AAAAAAAAP3Y/YUNw0WpuZb0/s1600/Myanmar_Bagan_20121008_sb_aubergine+salad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="301" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rCciMj9tQaE/UHwolAo1vGI/AAAAAAAAP3Y/YUNw0WpuZb0/s400/Myanmar_Bagan_20121008_sb_aubergine+salad.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and here, a grilled aubergine salad. Outstanding food there.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-29kvE0dzQxE/UHJXiCh7ZiI/AAAAAAAAPlg/cnL5LlWzFHk/s1600/cart+driver+and+marc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="164" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-29kvE0dzQxE/UHJXiCh7ZiI/AAAAAAAAPlg/cnL5LlWzFHk/s200/cart+driver+and+marc.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">our sweet horsecart driver</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
On our first morning, we hired a horsecart and driver to
take us to Nyaung U, a small town about 30 minutes away (by horsecart, would’ve
probably taken us 5-10 minutes by car). Our driver was very sweet, not at all
pushy – a huge relief, after mr. taxi jerk man – and glad to give us
information but not to push us to do anything in particular. For an hour, we
walked through the market, which was one of the biggest ones we’ve ever seen,
and sat on a curb and watched people pass in their busy day. I think that was
Saturday, so maybe it was a busier day than usual, I don’t know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KRMifE9pJVA/UHwoDa6TPQI/AAAAAAAAP10/XNslsIIANgM/s1600/Myanmar_Bagan_20121006_into+nyu2+w+monk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="235" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KRMifE9pJVA/UHwoDa6TPQI/AAAAAAAAP10/XNslsIIANgM/s400/Myanmar_Bagan_20121006_into+nyu2+w+monk.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">lots of ways to get around in Bagan, bikes and tricycles and walking and horsecarts and motorcycles</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GnuMvbsZDEg/UHwoGUBLb8I/AAAAAAAAP18/t_bG81mAx40/s1600/Myanmar_Bagan_20121006_monk+trees.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="260" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GnuMvbsZDEg/UHwoGUBLb8I/AAAAAAAAP18/t_bG81mAx40/s400/Myanmar_Bagan_20121006_monk+trees.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">lots of trees arching over lots of roads, and lots of crimson-robed monks walking along barefooted</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T07dTjI_0F8/UHwoOmN0NdI/AAAAAAAAP2U/H1sC1sQqH7k/s1600/Myanmar_Bagan_20121006_nyu+market1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="356" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T07dTjI_0F8/UHwoOmN0NdI/AAAAAAAAP2U/H1sC1sQqH7k/s400/Myanmar_Bagan_20121006_nyu+market1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">here's the market -- a big, and busy one. notice the thanaka on the women's cheeks. men wear it too, but less often than the women</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5f-83S2WUAI/UHwoL8ZKbVI/AAAAAAAAP2M/jmppLL1QzPg/s1600/Myanmar_Bagan_20121006_nyu+market+marc+nun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="358" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5f-83S2WUAI/UHwoL8ZKbVI/AAAAAAAAP2M/jmppLL1QzPg/s400/Myanmar_Bagan_20121006_nyu+market+marc+nun.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">marc and a nun, in the market</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nGf44ae5P3Y/UHwoJdb9oII/AAAAAAAAP2E/wjaqIOGgsoI/s1600/Myanmar_Bagan_20121006_nyu+corner+with+monk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nGf44ae5P3Y/UHwoJdb9oII/AAAAAAAAP2E/wjaqIOGgsoI/s400/Myanmar_Bagan_20121006_nyu+corner+with+monk.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">at a busy little restaurant near the market -- near here, a monk walked up to us and very quietly, with small movements, pointed to his money. it was the only time a monk 'requested' a contribution.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WHDIt8bli6g/UHwn98IgIBI/AAAAAAAAP1k/eqbGlsTpuCI/s1600/Myanmar_Bagan_20121006_beauty+saloon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="380" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WHDIt8bli6g/UHwn98IgIBI/AAAAAAAAP1k/eqbGlsTpuCI/s400/Myanmar_Bagan_20121006_beauty+saloon.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">it's always a beauty salOON in Myanmar, which made me laugh.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x2uZDHd7yKo/UHwoXIhr7oI/AAAAAAAAP2s/ey8XlsmTwuU/s1600/Myanmar_Bagan_20121006_pickup+taxi+all+in.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="325" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x2uZDHd7yKo/UHwoXIhr7oI/AAAAAAAAP2s/ey8XlsmTwuU/s400/Myanmar_Bagan_20121006_pickup+taxi+all+in.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">quite common -- see all those women lined up behind the already-crowded mini-bus? They all made it into the back. Every last one.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m4UJ-EkxUPI/UHwoUdhrVPI/AAAAAAAAP2k/-yo7RKf7Km0/s1600/Myanmar_Bagan_20121006_oxcart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="255" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m4UJ-EkxUPI/UHwoUdhrVPI/AAAAAAAAP2k/-yo7RKf7Km0/s400/Myanmar_Bagan_20121006_oxcart.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">lots of oxcarts, with skinny oxen</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zePnvx4rnNY/UHwoAct9i7I/AAAAAAAAP1s/qQH0qaVMsAY/s1600/Myanmar_Bagan_20121006_guitarplayer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zePnvx4rnNY/UHwoAct9i7I/AAAAAAAAP1s/qQH0qaVMsAY/s400/Myanmar_Bagan_20121006_guitarplayer.jpg" width="296" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and LOTS of people picking on guitars in Myanmar! this surprised me.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
When we got
back to our hotel, we arranged for the horsecart driver to pick us up at 7am
the next day to drive us through the area for 3 hours so we could see some of
the temples, stupas, and pagodas. We spent the afternoon lounging in and around
the pool, which was really great in the heat.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NDq8iSNvPlE/UHJYJWaW7ZI/AAAAAAAAPlo/_O4cROO9LKQ/s1600/our+pool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="217" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NDq8iSNvPlE/UHJYJWaW7ZI/AAAAAAAAPlo/_O4cROO9LKQ/s400/our+pool.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">cool and shady in the heat of a Bagan(ian?) afternoon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One thing we’d planned to do was hire a boat at the river to
see the sunset; we walked through the Tharabar Gate and down to the jetty to
hire a boat. A young man came out of a monastery (that had a little restaurant,
he must’ve actually come from the restaurant) and we made our arrangements, one
hour for ~$12. Since we had time to kill, we wandered down to the river and
were stopped by another man, and when we told him we’d already made
arrangements, he told us that he was the other man’s uncle, and he’d be driving
us. We were swarmed by women and children trying to sell us postcards, little
drawings, lacquerware, bracelets, puppets, and random jewelry. A tiny little
girl stole my heart; I imagined my little granddaughter Grace, and loved this
little Myanmarese girl who was wanting so much to sell me a drawing she’d made.
She’d say “just looking maybe later.” She’d say “1000 kyats only.” And then she
said “see you later alligator” and I said “in a while crocodile” and we laughed.
Marc and I went to a nearby hotel to get something to drink, and when it was
time to go to the boat, another man tried to sell us a boat ride and then said
he was the original young man’s father.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I think they really were all related, but it’s hard to know for sure.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We climbed into our boat, which could’ve easily held 20
people, and Marc, the driver and I rode out into the Irrawaddy River. The
engine was loud, and the driver had tamarind flakes and Chinese tea for us. We
rode up the river, watching fishermen, other boats, families in the river
bathing and doing laundry and playing. We watched red brick stupas and
gold-topped pagodas pass. We saw dogs running down ancient steps to the river.
We saw enormous trees with their roots grabbing the bank. And then we saw the
sun start to dip down to the horizon, shooting beams through the clouds,
lighting up the water, and coloring the sky. The driver cut the engine and we
sat in the quiet, in the middle of the river. He pointed to the far bank and
told us it was an island, and when the rainy season comes the island is covered
in water so all the people who live there move to the other bank until the
rainy season ends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We sat a few minutes
more, and then he drove us back to the jetty. I saw the same little girl again,
and said “see you later alligator” and she returned the crocodile line.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bIN3JFfiEPc/UHJY47JZ3yI/AAAAAAAAPlw/Of5WBxw0eBQ/s1600/irrawaddy+boatjetty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bIN3JFfiEPc/UHJY47JZ3yI/AAAAAAAAPlw/Of5WBxw0eBQ/s400/irrawaddy+boatjetty.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the boat jetty</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mXXclaAdZh4/UHJZQOYqZDI/AAAAAAAAPl8/zruQzAQ3X_U/s1600/irrawaddy+stupas1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="286" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mXXclaAdZh4/UHJZQOYqZDI/AAAAAAAAPl8/zruQzAQ3X_U/s400/irrawaddy+stupas1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a couple of stupas seen from the river</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CCmrpHgXOao/UHJZlp7mZnI/AAAAAAAAPmE/YorB1qIWVXA/s1600/irrawaddy+sunset+pagodas2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="187" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CCmrpHgXOao/UHJZlp7mZnI/AAAAAAAAPmE/YorB1qIWVXA/s400/irrawaddy+sunset+pagodas2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset over the Irrawaddy River</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AWOQ9taIPWU/UHJZ8jH7FRI/AAAAAAAAPmM/iOOd-khM-N4/s1600/irrawaddy+sunset3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="156" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AWOQ9taIPWU/UHJZ8jH7FRI/AAAAAAAAPmM/iOOd-khM-N4/s400/irrawaddy+sunset3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">more sunset over the Irrawaddy</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xj9QTZNYe4U/UHJaT6VZP3I/AAAAAAAAPmU/YHm2cf4eD60/s1600/irrawaddy+tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xj9QTZNYe4U/UHJaT6VZP3I/AAAAAAAAPmU/YHm2cf4eD60/s400/irrawaddy+tree.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">giant trees along the riverbank</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This morning we met our driver at 7 and were ready to see a
number of nearby structures during our three hours (which was only ~$9); after
the first temple, my camera battery died. I was able to click off one or two
extra photos before it died for good. It was very hot, and while there were
some temples and stupas we visited where we were left alone, we were also quite
aggressively hounded by hawkers at others – “we like money, you give money.”
Postcards, sand paintings, lacquerware bracelets, too-gold Buddhas, make-up,
glasses, anything we want. Cold drinks. Tour guides. We saw the following
places this morning, which I’ll say more about later: </div>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span>Nan Paya</li>
<li>Manuha Paya</li>
<li>Gubyaukgyi</li>
<li>Mingalazedi Paya</li>
<li>Gawdawpalin Pahto</li>
<li>Mahabodhi Paya</li>
<li>Shwegugyi</li>
<li>Thatbyinnyu Pahto</li>
<li>Ananda Pahto</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Partly because my camera battery died, and partly because we
have the bulk of the day here again tomorrow, we arranged to meet our horsecart
driver again at 7am tomorrow, so I will have my battery charged and hope to get
some really good photos. Tonight we hope to climb one of the nearby pagodas to
watch the sunset, but it rained pretty hard all afternoon so I don’t know what
it might be like, getting out there. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s very hard to deal with the hawkers, because I dearly
want to talk to the young man who wants to practice English, which he has
learned by talking to tourists and by listening to BBC – I want to talk with
him. We laughed until we nearly cried when he was showing me the obelisk – the
“Rosetta Stone” – and he said he couldn’t read it…..but then came the hard sell
for his sand paintings. I know he needs to make money, and I also don’t need or
want a dozen sand paintings. If I have to say no a thousand times to the young
girl who tries to sell me postcards, I don’t want her walking with me through
the pagoda, but she will not leave us alone. It’s enormously difficult saying
no, I do not want to part with $1, over and over and over. It’s just $1, so
very little to me, and much more to them. It’s the essential tension of being a
Western very rich traveler who is not at all very rich at home. Nowhere else in
Myanmar have we encountered <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">anyone</i>
pushing things on us, not in Yangon, or Nyaung Shwe, or Kalaw. I hope that as
time passes, what I think about when I remember Bagan is the beautiful scenery,
the rich and fascinating history, and the warm people. I hope the kind
horsecart driver and the laughing women at the restaurant are the ones I
remember, not the hawkers and the first taxi jerk man. The smiling young man at
the pool, who seems eager to practice his careful English. The beautiful nod of
the head and warm ‘Mingalaba’ offered by everyone we pass.<br />
<br />
I have a lot of photos of the stupas, from the second day, but I need to process them so I'll come back and do that later. For now, here are some that are ready:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NBM2BpOGwFg/UHwo-gabF6I/AAAAAAAAP4k/v_T5rP6ia9w/s1600/Myanmar_Bagan_temples_20121007_mingalazedi+paya+view2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NBM2BpOGwFg/UHwo-gabF6I/AAAAAAAAP4k/v_T5rP6ia9w/s400/Myanmar_Bagan_temples_20121007_mingalazedi+paya+view2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">another view of the plain -- more stupas than you can imagine</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kbFb0VYbxVw/UHwo8XzwP9I/AAAAAAAAP4c/qolmF-Z9S98/s1600/Myanmar_Bagan_temples_20121007_manuha+paya3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kbFb0VYbxVw/UHwo8XzwP9I/AAAAAAAAP4c/qolmF-Z9S98/s400/Myanmar_Bagan_temples_20121007_manuha+paya3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">beautiful beautiful beautiful.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MwqfSZTru6A/UHwo5d7U7vI/AAAAAAAAP4U/DqFM1JvNxvc/s1600/Myanmar_Bagan_temples_20121007_manuha+paya1+huge+buddha+reclining.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MwqfSZTru6A/UHwo5d7U7vI/AAAAAAAAP4U/DqFM1JvNxvc/s400/Myanmar_Bagan_temples_20121007_manuha+paya1+huge+buddha+reclining.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this reclining Buddha was built in a too-small room, to signify the king's feeling of being trapped and held prisoner</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6QjJtTfNTd0/UHwo2ajDyWI/AAAAAAAAP4M/-3Rkm-m03eE/s1600/Myanmar_Bagan_temples_10062012_temple+sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6QjJtTfNTd0/UHwo2ajDyWI/AAAAAAAAP4M/-3Rkm-m03eE/s400/Myanmar_Bagan_temples_10062012_temple+sign.jpg" width="350" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a temple we didn't actually see -- but look at the Burmese script! So beautiful.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rXDjOpN2mXo/UHwozwjVBEI/AAAAAAAAP4E/S41E4v8fVGc/s1600/Myanmar_Bagan_temples_10062012_stupas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rXDjOpN2mXo/UHwozwjVBEI/AAAAAAAAP4E/S41E4v8fVGc/s400/Myanmar_Bagan_temples_10062012_stupas.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">standard -- stupas in a field, everywhere</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Bn2M8Vwt7Ok/UHwojE0RETI/AAAAAAAAP3Q/2AfkXc2g8qM/s1600/Myanmar_Bagan_20121007_bagan2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="195" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Bn2M8Vwt7Ok/UHwojE0RETI/AAAAAAAAP3Q/2AfkXc2g8qM/s400/Myanmar_Bagan_20121007_bagan2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">random road, covered by trees, with stupas alongside. stunning.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Nw0GXz5iDwg/UHwogDdpRCI/AAAAAAAAP3I/2POMmB4GEN0/s1600/Myanmar_Bagan_20121007_bagan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Nw0GXz5iDwg/UHwogDdpRCI/AAAAAAAAP3I/2POMmB4GEN0/s400/Myanmar_Bagan_20121007_bagan.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">coming into Old Bagan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TVmq8Sxizhs/UHwodTA-36I/AAAAAAAAP3A/BnqV6gWlb88/s1600/Myanmar_Bagan_20121006_turquoise2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="165" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TVmq8Sxizhs/UHwodTA-36I/AAAAAAAAP3A/BnqV6gWlb88/s400/Myanmar_Bagan_20121006_turquoise2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">more of the turquoise, i never got enough of it</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KGSN7w6Rj6E/UHwoaOm6QUI/AAAAAAAAP24/MoZMVxQRyUs/s1600/Myanmar_Bagan_20121006_tharabar+gate+bagan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="196" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KGSN7w6Rj6E/UHwoaOm6QUI/AAAAAAAAP24/MoZMVxQRyUs/s400/Myanmar_Bagan_20121006_tharabar+gate+bagan.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and here's the Tharabar Gate, into the old city</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cvJApDAKd-4/UHw27VxHLpI/AAAAAAAAP9M/I43MX-4SFc8/s1600/Myanmar_Bagan_20121007_marc+lori+stupas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cvJApDAKd-4/UHw27VxHLpI/AAAAAAAAP9M/I43MX-4SFc8/s400/Myanmar_Bagan_20121007_marc+lori+stupas.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my camera battery was dying so I was anxious about this shot;<br />not our best, but it's the only one we got of us together!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05676317652927356121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2367628167972927998.post-46073184623498588172012-10-06T01:06:00.005-04:002012-10-15T09:46:57.666-04:00from Nyaung Shwe to KalawWe were sad to leave Nyaung Shwe, so we dragged it out as
long as we could. After our tasty Myanmar breakfast at the hotel, we rented
bicycles and rode out into the countryside, toward the mountains and away from
the lake. It was incredibly beautiful; the morning was sunny, under a blue sky,
and the breeze was cool and constant. The mountainside was velvety green, and
the roads were lined with trees. Both of us are easily lost, so we kept saying
how we needed to travel home – left, then left. Left, left, right. As was true
everywhere, the people we passed mostly paid us no mind, although many would
smile and nod, and say hello or mingalaba. We pulled over once to adjust the
height of Marc’s seat and were struggling a little with the mechanism, when a
man pulling a cart stopped, took the bike from our hands, and made the
adjustment for us without a word.<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We turned down a very small road (three lefts to get back,
three lefts to get back, three lefts to get back) and passed fields and rural
homes, with people working in their gardens or tending to their homes. We saw a
sign indicating a pagoda or temple so we pedaled toward it, for a destination.
By this point we’ve seen so many pagodas, so many stupas, so many temples, but
we just didn’t want the trip to end. We stood with our bikes at the pagoda and
watched monks come and go, listened to the whine of power saws inside the
pagoda compound, smiled and nodded at
passersby, and relished the lingering. Finally, though, we had to turn back and
return to Nyaung Shwe. We’d arranged a taxi to take us to Kalaw, so we turned
in the bicycles, checked out of the wonderful little hotel, and went into the
market to find some lunch. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p>Marc had seen a number of stalls in the market that were
like little restaurants, and he’d also seen a tofu salad – with fried tofu –
that seemed promising, so we found a little stall and took our place on the
bench and watched the woman make our lunch. She cut the squares of fried tofu
into slivers using scissors and put them in a bowl, then topped the pile with
shredded cabbage and poured a ladle of spicy red oil over the whole mess. It
was <b>delicious</b>, and so spicy Marc got
hiccups and I drank a lot of water. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The cab ride from Nyaung Shwe to Kalaw was 35,000 kyats,
which is somewhere around $40, more or less. It took us about an hour and a
half, winding through the mountains, to make the trip. We didn’t have great
expectations of Kalaw; the thing to do here is to trek through the mountains to
see the small villages, or to trek to Nyaung Shwe. We’re more riders than
trekkers, so we had low expectations for our time here.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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Kalaw is in the mountains, and was a hill station for the
British when it was hot; they’d come up here in the cool mountains, surrounded
by pine trees. It was always jarring to us, being in SE Asia and being surrounded
by pine trees and British colonial architecture. Our hotel seems totally
anachronistic, but it is beautiful, and set in landscaped and manicured grounds
filled with flowers and flowering trees. We’re a 20-minute walk from downtown
Kalaw, and it’s an easy downhill walk to town but a less fun uphill walk back,
so we planned to walk to town, poke around and get some dinner at the Nepali
Everest Indian restaurant, and then come back to our room.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DdGcT5nWnvE/UHwQRi6wMXI/AAAAAAAAPyQ/juNVhuq0clM/s1600/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_amara1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DdGcT5nWnvE/UHwQRi6wMXI/AAAAAAAAPyQ/juNVhuq0clM/s400/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_amara1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">that's our hotel! Looks out of place, doesn't it! It's an English countryside manor.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GuhfsglNU6U/UHwQOZTTNDI/AAAAAAAAPyI/6Zv0IqjKpiU/s1600/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_amara+our+room+upstairs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GuhfsglNU6U/UHwQOZTTNDI/AAAAAAAAPyI/6Zv0IqjKpiU/s400/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_amara+our+room+upstairs.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">that's our room, on the top floor</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lCQPcSpTyt0/UHwQFaTNJiI/AAAAAAAAPxs/pyB5jNIOaJs/s1600/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121003_amara+bathroom+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lCQPcSpTyt0/UHwQFaTNJiI/AAAAAAAAPxs/pyB5jNIOaJs/s400/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121003_amara+bathroom+view.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the lovely view out our bathroom window. I kept wanting to ring Jeeves.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--M9lin7quGw/UHwQI3mB2mI/AAAAAAAAPx0/QgN932t6laU/s1600/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121003_amara+our+room.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="245" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--M9lin7quGw/UHwQI3mB2mI/AAAAAAAAPx0/QgN932t6laU/s400/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121003_amara+our+room.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">our giant room</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RR7h7B0ifas/UHwQLaBgoMI/AAAAAAAAPx8/9Bue5vKr4fQ/s1600/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121003_amara+our+room2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RR7h7B0ifas/UHwQLaBgoMI/AAAAAAAAPx8/9Bue5vKr4fQ/s400/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121003_amara+our+room2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">they'd have lit a fire in the evenings, if we'd asked</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
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In the late afternoon, the sky fills with big dark clouds,
so we took giant umbrellas the hotel offered and set out for town with the
little map the hotel provided. After a short walk, the road forked and we
weren’t sure what to do. It was starting to rain, and we stood there uncertainly,
trying to decide which way to go. We stopped a man and asked which way to
Kalaw, and he indicated that both roads went to Kalaw. Then an older woman
approached us and asked if she could help us. She spoke beautiful English, and
said she’d walk with us. We weren’t expecting that, and I tried to tell her she
didn’t need to accompany us but she said she was going that way anyway, which
was confusing because she’d been coming from one of the two roads from/to Kalaw,
so why would she be going back to Kalaw? She’d earned her degree in chemistry
and had wanted to be a teacher, but she said the government didn’t provide any
jobs when she graduated so she spent her working life as a clerk in a
government office. After she retired, she started working in hotels, as a
manager. The rain came and went while we walked, and it got darker and darker.
She was very warm and friendly, and at one point she invited us to her home.
Marc and I are both very shy and socially unsure of ourselves in the best of
circumstances, but we really didn’t know what the etiquette required in this
situation, so I just said yes, thank you, that would be so nice. We were both
anxious, what would happen, would we know what to do. We got to her home and the
power was out, which she said was quite common. She lit three small candles,
the kind you’d put on a birthday cake, and asked if we’d like to see some
photographs. She brought out a couple of small albums and we looked at the
photos by birthday candlelight – photos of her six children, 5 girls and a boy,
all of whom graduated from the university. She showed us a couple of postcards
people had sent her, and then she and I exchanged names and mailing addresses.
She said her Burmese name is very complicated (Daw Khin Aye Yi), but her
English name is easy…..Janet. For some reason that cracks me up.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She suggested that we eat at a restaurant called the Seven
Sisters, so we decided to take her advice. We thought she’d just walk us to the
road and point us in the right direction, but she escorted us all the way to
the restaurant, so I invited her to eat with us, not knowing whether it was the
right thing to do. Since she’d invited us into her home, and since she’d walked
us to the restaurant, it seemed like we should, but I didn’t know if my
invitation forced her to agree, even if she didn’t want to. The mysteries of
etiquette. She ate with us, and guided us through the menu – we got three Shan
specialties, a wonderful fried minced pork dish, a fried chicken dish, and some
fish steamed in banana leaves. I kept forgetting how good her English was and
would resort to simple sentence constructions, which then sort of led me to
more superficial topics, but we also talked about politics – theirs and ours
(and she knew that it was the night of the Obama/Romney debate). She was very
bold about talking about money, asking us how much it costs to fly from New
York to Yangon, and telling us how little money she receives in her pension,
and how much she makes working as a hotel manager.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The seven sisters who own the restaurant (one has died now)
have been her friends their whole life. A younger woman brought us tea, and
Janet introduced her as the #2 daughter of sister #3. When we were looking
through Janet’s photo albums, she identified her children the same way – 2<sup>nd</sup>
daughter, 5<sup>th</sup> daughter, 3<sup>rd</sup> daughter. When we finished
eating, she asked someone at the restaurant to call us a cab. She hopped in too
and had the driver drop her off near her home. With a wave and a smile, she was
gone. It’s one of those experiences we hear other travelers talk about, and we
kind of get filled with fear and anxiety about it, but it was just fine and
something we’re very glad to have experienced. Especially in the past tense.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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When we got back to our room, the hotel staff had put the
mosquito netting around our bed, so we opened all our windows and crawled into
bed for the night. I dreamed I was trapped by spider webs.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We ate breakfast at the hotel; today was American breakfast
day, so we had scrambled eggs, which was greatly disappointing. We can eat
scrambled eggs at home. After breakfast, we walked into town thinking we’d
spend some time poking through the market and seeing the town, but that took no
time so we sat in the shade and pondered our options.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rmdo1iaD8hU/UHwQ0wWYsAI/AAAAAAAAPz8/Zm16QDYSkoQ/s1600/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_kalaw+road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="241" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rmdo1iaD8hU/UHwQ0wWYsAI/AAAAAAAAPz8/Zm16QDYSkoQ/s400/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_kalaw+road.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">here's the walk into town -- ISN'T IT GORGEOUS?!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I had an edge of a sick
headache and the day was heating up, so we went to Sam’s Family Trekking
Service – really sweet, friendly people, and so helpful – and arranged a taxi
to take us to a couple of sites nearby. The driver pulled up in a minivan, and
I was so glad for the air conditioning. We had two destinations: a cave filled
with Buddhas, and a famous 500-year-old Buddha made of bamboo. The cave was
pretty interesting; there are three caves filled with Buddhas in Shan state,
and this one was just undergoing restoration to be open for visitors. They’d
laid ceramic tiles down the middle of the passageways, and it was very slippery
and damp. There were all kinds of electric lights strung throughout the
passages, some overhead, some fixed to individual statues, some strung along
the rocks in the cave. Some Buddhas had flashing red and blue lights behind,
like a Las Vegas roulette wheel. People left fresh flowers scattered throughout
the cave. There were little statues placed very high on little ledges and big
ones tucked away in niches, and reclining Buddhas, and Buddhas placed in
something like a monster. One little niche of the cave had a place to sit, so
Marc and I sat for a minute and a Burmese man came into the space – it seemed
like he wanted to sit and meditate, not like he was a tourist. Otherwise, we
saw a couple of girls who seemed to be tourists, taking pictures of each other
in front of the larger statues. Outside the cave were dozens of gold stupas, as
always, and a number of tableaus of Buddhas and elephants.<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X-aCkDeeD_A/UHwQVAxcJBI/AAAAAAAAPyY/WGClDYZjImg/s1600/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_buddha+cave10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X-aCkDeeD_A/UHwQVAxcJBI/AAAAAAAAPyY/WGClDYZjImg/s400/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_buddha+cave10.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">here is the inside of the cave -- all the photos below were taken inside, too</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K50fS4l8oGU/UHwQYHXLmBI/AAAAAAAAPyg/A1-u_HET_dQ/s1600/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_buddha+cave2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /><img border="0" height="253" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K50fS4l8oGU/UHwQYHXLmBI/AAAAAAAAPyg/A1-u_HET_dQ/s400/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_buddha+cave2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wB6rpSVkklE/UHwQaaFDFRI/AAAAAAAAPyo/dMBIX09cvFo/s1600/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_buddha+cave3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="348" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wB6rpSVkklE/UHwQaaFDFRI/AAAAAAAAPyo/dMBIX09cvFo/s400/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_buddha+cave3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WdP5w5NHZlA/UHwQcwNuFyI/AAAAAAAAPyw/IrR-LGdVWWM/s1600/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_buddha+cave5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WdP5w5NHZlA/UHwQcwNuFyI/AAAAAAAAPyw/IrR-LGdVWWM/s400/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_buddha+cave5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p0L08IpbC4Y/UHwQfbmTFwI/AAAAAAAAPy4/8ALh3lEKIWg/s1600/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_buddha+cave7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p0L08IpbC4Y/UHwQfbmTFwI/AAAAAAAAPy4/8ALh3lEKIWg/s400/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_buddha+cave7.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GjI4Ua3q4Qs/UHwQiRjkX8I/AAAAAAAAPzE/JVCraltAwvQ/s1600/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_buddha+cave8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GjI4Ua3q4Qs/UHwQiRjkX8I/AAAAAAAAPzE/JVCraltAwvQ/s400/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_buddha+cave8.jpg" width="340" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--o-XnQ1m7_A/UHwQlXn5U6I/AAAAAAAAPzM/cX6BzfEseC4/s1600/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_buddha+cave9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--o-XnQ1m7_A/UHwQlXn5U6I/AAAAAAAAPzM/cX6BzfEseC4/s400/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_buddha+cave9.jpg" width="286" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YSg83X0caZ0/UHwQnoXrCFI/AAAAAAAAPzU/zFB8_l4uHLo/s1600/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_cave+outsides+stupas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YSg83X0caZ0/UHwQnoXrCFI/AAAAAAAAPzU/zFB8_l4uHLo/s400/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_cave+outsides+stupas.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and here we are outside</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uWpPEhDa7fI/UHwQq2l8RNI/AAAAAAAAPzc/VL6SWNHBG-0/s1600/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_cave+outsides2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uWpPEhDa7fI/UHwQq2l8RNI/AAAAAAAAPzc/VL6SWNHBG-0/s400/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_cave+outsides2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">religious objects placed everywhere</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
After that, the driver took us to the famous bamboo Buddha;
we didn’t know what to expect, but I think we were both surprised. We’d somehow
expected it to be extremely large but it was a regular sized Buddha in a
regular pagoda, and covered in gold. Apparently it used to be black lacquer,
and then people started applying gold leaf to it. As always, only men can be
near the Buddha (Ladies Prohibited!), and the driver took Marc up to the
Buddha. It’s funny, the attitude toward the Buddha figure. On the one hand,
it’s treated with great reverence, as you’d expect. But the driver got my
attention and said kind of loudly, “listen!” and rapped sharply on it to show
me how it sounds. That took me a little by surprise. As we sat, a nun brought
us cups of tea and a little saucer of spiced nuts.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zRFWsVVz5nE/UHwREyKYwKI/AAAAAAAAP0w/j8tEc1-TaH4/s1600/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_marc+and+driver+bamboo+buddha+shrine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zRFWsVVz5nE/UHwREyKYwKI/AAAAAAAAP0w/j8tEc1-TaH4/s400/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_marc+and+driver+bamboo+buddha+shrine.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">there it is, the Bamboo Buddha. That's our sweet driver in the yellow shirt, and Marc gazing at the Buddha, behind him</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On our way back to town, the driver stopped at the overlook
so we could see all of Kalaw. It’s settled into a valley, and he said the
original hill people called it Kalaw, and now we call it Kalaw. He seemed to be
sure that he was saying that differently, but it sounded the same to Marc and
me. The word ‘kalaw’ means something like cooking pot, he said, which I
imagined to be like a wok, with the town settled into the bowl of the valley.
Although we’ve been surprised by how many pine trees there are, he told us that
the government sold the rights to the Japanese to come in and cut down all the
pine trees. He said this with great bitterness – I <i>think</i> he said, “you know, how do you say, the dirty Japanese.” I
think he was complaining that they just clear cut everything but then took away
only the perfect straight trees, leaving the rest on the ground. He said now
you only see young pine trees.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-o1AlvCe_SjI/UHwQtw8FjwI/AAAAAAAAPzk/KjulGuMdwOk/s1600/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_kalaw+means+bowl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="142" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-o1AlvCe_SjI/UHwQtw8FjwI/AAAAAAAAPzk/KjulGuMdwOk/s400/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_kalaw+means+bowl.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you enlarge this panorama shot, you'll see Kalaw, in the valley</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
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We’ve also been struck by the relatively large mosque and
two prominent Christian churches – one Catholic and one Baptist. We’d asked
Janet how everyone gets along and she said the Buddhists and Christians help
each other. What she didn’t say seemed notable to me, but our driver made the
point much more explicit, saying that the Muslims are, “you know, how do you
say, straight,” which I took to mean rigid. He had little positive to say about
them, filling in the silence that Janet left. He said they believe they are the
only ones with the right religion, essentially, and then he went into a kind of
beautiful discussion of samsara, of karma, saying that Buddhists believe you
can do anything you want, you can kill if you want to, but in your next life
you will suffer. If you do bad, you will get bad. If you do good, you will get
good. Do whatever you want, the consequence will be yours.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xngNyXbHi_A/UHwQyr3CEEI/AAAAAAAAPz0/Wk5UU96gH4w/s1600/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_kalaw+mosque.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="226" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xngNyXbHi_A/UHwQyr3CEEI/AAAAAAAAPz0/Wk5UU96gH4w/s400/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_kalaw+mosque.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">here's the mosque in Kalaw</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Zp3ph_NEZ-8/UHwQwTokI2I/AAAAAAAAPzs/97-TQS6dVvU/s1600/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_kalaw+monks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Zp3ph_NEZ-8/UHwQwTokI2I/AAAAAAAAPzs/97-TQS6dVvU/s400/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_kalaw+monks.jpg" width="351" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and, of course, monks! Usually they walk, but these had wheels.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
After a quick lunch in the market, we returned to our room
for the hot part of the afternoon, and then walked into town for our dinner at
the Everest Nepali Indian restaurant. It received the highest ratings in the
TripAdvisor forums, and in Lonely Planet, and it really was wonderful. The
woman we interacted with was beautiful, and spoke warm and friendly English. My
bottle of Myanmar beer kicked the last bits of my headache away.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On our final day here in Kalaw, we decided to skip the
breakfast at the hotel and go back into Kalaw. Our idea was to eat at a stall
in the market, but we couldn’t figure out how to order anything but tofu salad
and we didn’t want that again so we wandered back to the Everest Nepali restaurant
for chocolate and banana chapattis and masala chai.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JwmyY7DpF4c/UHwQ3ZYRHCI/AAAAAAAAP0I/NaoLtXpDO0s/s1600/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_kalaw1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="215" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JwmyY7DpF4c/UHwQ3ZYRHCI/AAAAAAAAP0I/NaoLtXpDO0s/s400/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_kalaw1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">downtown Kalaw -- these Grand Royal signs were everywhere</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-44O_dZHnyKU/UHwQ555poGI/AAAAAAAAP0Q/W5pdsG1vSco/s1600/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_kalaw2+bamboo+buddha+sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="232" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-44O_dZHnyKU/UHwQ555poGI/AAAAAAAAP0Q/W5pdsG1vSco/s400/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_kalaw2+bamboo+buddha+sign.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">more downtown Kalaw</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SIWpLg0X_eY/UHwQ8ZFOqlI/AAAAAAAAP0Y/y2ncfboXY_Y/s1600/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_kalaw3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SIWpLg0X_eY/UHwQ8ZFOqlI/AAAAAAAAP0Y/y2ncfboXY_Y/s400/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_kalaw3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">by the market -- the primary large stupa</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WiSIhT2dOuU/UHwQ_Wd2BoI/AAAAAAAAP0g/F0xNEopeyug/s1600/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_kalaw5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WiSIhT2dOuU/UHwQ_Wd2BoI/AAAAAAAAP0g/F0xNEopeyug/s400/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_kalaw5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kalaw</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZVxEhDVws5Q/UHwRB-nJcEI/AAAAAAAAP0o/_bjboWpjDkY/s1600/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_lunch+stall+market+kalaw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="217" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZVxEhDVws5Q/UHwRB-nJcEI/AAAAAAAAP0o/_bjboWpjDkY/s400/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_lunch+stall+market+kalaw.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">inside the market -- we ate here, this beautiful woman made Marc a tofu salad</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mALwGa3m6eQ/UHwRHc2MMMI/AAAAAAAAP04/W_rTy_nStvk/s1600/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_turquoise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="173" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mALwGa3m6eQ/UHwRHc2MMMI/AAAAAAAAP04/W_rTy_nStvk/s400/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121004_turquoise.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">more of the stunning turquoise color we saw everywhere in Myanmar</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
On our walk back to the
hotel, we passed a monk on a motorcycle who broke into a huge grin and waved at
us, unlike most monks who kept their eyes ahead. (Although in Nyaung Shwe, I
passed a very young monk, maybe 9 years old, who gave me a big thumbs up.) The
taxi picked us up at 2 for the ride back to Heho, where we flew off to Bagan.<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I think of Kalaw, I’ll think of the brilliant orange
flowers and purple morning glories that are everywhere and always next to each
other. I’ll think of the shock of pine trees next to palm trees. I’ll think of
Janet. I’ll think of the essential oddness of our hotel, and how it felt like
we were on a vacation away from Myanmar.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NWSCUezE-fI/UHwRKDYnHBI/AAAAAAAAP1A/HNHpClrUX3A/s1600/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121005_kalaw+colors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NWSCUezE-fI/UHwRKDYnHBI/AAAAAAAAP1A/HNHpClrUX3A/s400/Myanmar_Kalaw_20121005_kalaw+colors.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">these are the colors of Kalaw</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05676317652927356121noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2367628167972927998.post-50649641277956653852012-10-02T21:44:00.003-04:002012-10-15T09:24:18.566-04:00Nyaung ShweWe arrived mid-morning and were surprised that our room was
available; we stayed at the Hotel Amazing, and splurged on the Amazing Suite.
It’s the only such room in the small hotel, and it perches on the top corner of
the hotel overlooking the town. The room is like the prow of a ship, large
windows all around. There’s a little room off to the side surrounded by
windows, and the bathroom has a giant tub, also surrounded by windows. Looking out one set of windows, we overlook the little bridge/terrace where we ate our breakfast every morning:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vIUcfk_AFOc/UHwGlQNt3cI/AAAAAAAAPrA/fqiT6zf56DE/s1600/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20120930_hotelamazing1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vIUcfk_AFOc/UHwGlQNt3cI/AAAAAAAAPrA/fqiT6zf56DE/s400/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20120930_hotelamazing1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the front of the sweet little hotel</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n2cE--VzQGs/UHwHMVGJUGI/AAAAAAAAPs8/xRm2kQferas/s1600/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20121003_hotelamazingbreakfastbridge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="233" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n2cE--VzQGs/UHwHMVGJUGI/AAAAAAAAPs8/xRm2kQferas/s400/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20121003_hotelamazingbreakfastbridge.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">there's where we ate breakfast, over the canal</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0lyeElRerX8/UHwHO117aFI/AAAAAAAAPtE/uc94J-_N64M/s1600/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20121003_myanmar+breakfast+noodles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="295" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0lyeElRerX8/UHwHO117aFI/AAAAAAAAPtE/uc94J-_N64M/s400/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20121003_myanmar+breakfast+noodles.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and this was the heart of the Myanmar breakfast; noodles, softboiled eggs, and a sauce. SO GOOD.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-atyBIpQ4Ux4/UHwHRVyo1HI/AAAAAAAAPtM/3LMj_EpFjvU/s1600/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20121003_myanmar+breakfast+whole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-atyBIpQ4Ux4/UHwHRVyo1HI/AAAAAAAAPtM/3LMj_EpFjvU/s400/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20121003_myanmar+breakfast+whole.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">fried rice and tempura-ed squash, noodles, soup, rolls, and coffee</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The
first afternoon and evening we wandered around, settled in, and rested. We ate
lunch at MinMin’s, a great little family-run restaurant, and it may have been
the best meal we had here. We had dinner at the Viewpoint, which is a very
fancy nouveau-foodie type place – very good, we got the Shan tasting menu and
it was just fine but not as good as the little bowls of curry we’d eaten at
MinMin’s.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0PhF2JatYFo/UHwGnlN6p3I/AAAAAAAAPrI/Td1wRv1TW2g/s1600/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20120930_minminlunch_eggplant+curry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0PhF2JatYFo/UHwGnlN6p3I/AAAAAAAAPrI/Td1wRv1TW2g/s400/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20120930_minminlunch_eggplant+curry.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MinMin's eggplant curry, and fresh lime juice. SOO GOOD.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Nyaung Shwe (pronounce it something like Nyong Schway) is a
lovely little town situated at the top of Inle Lake. When we were organizing
our visit to the lake, we had to decide between staying at a hotel on the lake
or in town. We decided that we’d rather stay in town so we could walk around in
the evenings and it was such a smart decision. This is such a great little
town, just the right size, with plenty to see, lots of eating options, dozens
of stupas and pagodas and temples, and the friendliest people.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iw1T7WzlQjY/UHwGqJ-4S1I/AAAAAAAAPrQ/IGoD-WFrFP4/s1600/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20121001_mainroad_ns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="206" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iw1T7WzlQjY/UHwGqJ-4S1I/AAAAAAAAPrQ/IGoD-WFrFP4/s400/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20121001_mainroad_ns.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">main street</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nfkEjhE_hnU/UHwGtPTF6qI/AAAAAAAAPrY/AhQJHQETrjw/s1600/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20121001_ns+canal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nfkEjhE_hnU/UHwGtPTF6qI/AAAAAAAAPrY/AhQJHQETrjw/s400/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20121001_ns+canal.jpg" width="312" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this canal runs through town, kind of perpendicular to the lake</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NmLQv1K4pLg/UHwGv_XpObI/AAAAAAAAPrg/PK3P2Tdpd20/s1600/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20121001_ns+entrance2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="327" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NmLQv1K4pLg/UHwGv_XpObI/AAAAAAAAPrg/PK3P2Tdpd20/s400/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20121001_ns+entrance2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">that's the city gate on the right, in the distance, and a street sign in the foreground</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zBRl9uRtWdw/UHwGxq8DozI/AAAAAAAAPro/u0gLP1I2eY4/s1600/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20121001_ns_back+road2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="310" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zBRl9uRtWdw/UHwGxq8DozI/AAAAAAAAPro/u0gLP1I2eY4/s400/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20121001_ns_back+road2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a back road -- nuns walking and working, people walking and biking, and motorcycles. typical.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qV6rO-FCKkY/UHwG0y6PbaI/AAAAAAAAPrw/fUHgO6pb-78/s1600/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20121001_ns_horsecarts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="271" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qV6rO-FCKkY/UHwG0y6PbaI/AAAAAAAAPrw/fUHgO6pb-78/s400/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20121001_ns_horsecarts.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">horsecarts for hire -- very typical</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MgNOGLlPPLs/UHwG3isSKII/AAAAAAAAPsA/UTQg4SHP8-c/s1600/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20121001_ns_temple3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MgNOGLlPPLs/UHwG3isSKII/AAAAAAAAPsA/UTQg4SHP8-c/s400/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20121001_ns_temple3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">we found this color throughout Myanmar, from Yangon to small towns. So lovely.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YaZdRR2k-ic/UHwG9XNGRWI/AAAAAAAAPsQ/UtWy6SGlEjY/s1600/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20121001_nsmarket_beautiful+girl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="230" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YaZdRR2k-ic/UHwG9XNGRWI/AAAAAAAAPsQ/UtWy6SGlEjY/s400/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20121001_nsmarket_beautiful+girl.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">veggie seller in the market, a beautiful young girl</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-U-VyQhQWEhU/UHwHAtsM9ZI/AAAAAAAAPsY/pvfLeaTeJOM/s1600/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20121001_nsmarket_fishwives.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-U-VyQhQWEhU/UHwHAtsM9ZI/AAAAAAAAPsY/pvfLeaTeJOM/s400/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20121001_nsmarket_fishwives.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">fishwives in the market; smallish fish from inle lake</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NRIgAB4UI1A/UHwG6gKzzHI/AAAAAAAAPsI/YDC1yQ_N4qw/s1600/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20121001_nsmarket_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NRIgAB4UI1A/UHwG6gKzzHI/AAAAAAAAPsI/YDC1yQ_N4qw/s400/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20121001_nsmarket_3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">it was a big, lovely market</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AKpnR5AuiDU/UHwHDMUohII/AAAAAAAAPsg/sw1KZ0bSdcs/s1600/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20121001_nsmarket_rice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="257" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AKpnR5AuiDU/UHwHDMUohII/AAAAAAAAPsg/sw1KZ0bSdcs/s400/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20121001_nsmarket_rice.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and rice, everywhere</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pLAUDofUW0g/UHwHGRKe6eI/AAAAAAAAPso/_bAojNZ0_CU/s1600/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20121001_typical+ns+house+and+backyard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="268" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pLAUDofUW0g/UHwHGRKe6eI/AAAAAAAAPso/_bAojNZ0_CU/s400/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20121001_typical+ns+house+and+backyard.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a very typical house, in that there are stupas in the back yard. stupas everywhere!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GAgpVV5ZaSY/UHwHJECFCBI/AAAAAAAAPs0/Huhv6GP-lPY/s1600/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20121001_typical+ns+house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="181" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GAgpVV5ZaSY/UHwHJECFCBI/AAAAAAAAPs0/Huhv6GP-lPY/s400/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20121001_typical+ns+house.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">very typical Nyaung Shwe home</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FVnOYCTdtEo/UHwHUdnTU1I/AAAAAAAAPtU/H-8qvoW4t_k/s1600/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20121003_tofu+salad+stall+marc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="343" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FVnOYCTdtEo/UHwHUdnTU1I/AAAAAAAAPtU/H-8qvoW4t_k/s400/Myanmar_NyaungShwe_20121003_tofu+salad+stall+marc.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">we ate at this stall in the market -- tofu salad, WONDERFUL!! and isn't she adorable.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our plan the next morning was to get out on the lake at
7:30am, but when we woke up at 6 it was raining. We ate our breakfast hoping
the rain would stop (the Myanmar breakfast is fantastic, a big bowl of noodles
with soft boiled eggs, chopped onions and red pepper and chopped cilantro, and
a squeeze of lime, along with a big serving of sticky rice and tempura-fried
something, plus melon….a LOT of food, and all delicious). We waited
around and it kept raining, then it rained some more, and we postponed the trip a bit but it kept raining so we finally just rescheduled it, hoping for better
weather the next day. The rain slowed down so we spent the rest of that day wandering around
town, seeing the sites. For dinner, we <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">thought</i>
we were eating at the top-rated place in Nyaung Shwe but it turned out we had
the wrong location. Instead, it was a tiny little joint favored by the locals –
never a tourist in sight – and it was a great experience. I never got his name and was too shy to take his pictured,
but the young man who seated us and served us spoke reasonably good English,
and sat and talked to us while we ate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He was orphaned when he was 5 – his parents were both killed fighting in
the war, he said. He was taken in by the monastery, and the monks fed him and
taught him; he has no other education. He smiled a lot, but it was a serious
smile, and he had a wonderful sense of humor. He asked where we are from (we’ve
learned the most easily understood answer is “America” but sometimes we say “America,
New York”). So when we said America, he said “That’s why you speak such good
English.” He said he’d been to New York, and when we expressed surprise he
said, “in the movies.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He and the people who own the restaurant are anti-war
activists. They pointed to a sign on the wall that said “stop civil war,” and
he said that at night, they all tie cloths around their heads and go around
town posting anti-war materials. He said the civil war in the country is
terrible, especially in the north. We commented about the war in the west, in
Rakhine state, but he was more focused on the north, in Shan state. We’d
noticed, and he confirmed, that people here adore Aung San Suu Kyi’s father,
who was the father of modern Burma, when the gained their independence from
Britain. You see photos of him everywhere, at least as many as you see of Suu. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He said that when he started trying to get work, he was
dismissed by everyone because he was poor, and dirty. No one wanted to hire
him, and they treated him with contempt because he was an orphan. He finally
got work in a hotel, where he learned English from tourists; he said everyone
wants to speak to tourists so they can learn English. (We saw a sign on Inle
Lake that said “Warmly welcome and take care of tourists.”) Now, though, he
works in the restaurant and he’s beginning to get jobs leading trekkers between
Kalaw and Inle Lake; his face lit up and he said with great enthusiasm, “All my
dreams are coming true now!” It makes me ache thinking about that. He asked how
old we are and he expressed surprise, that we looked so much younger. He said
in Myanmar, men look very old because they smoke too much and drink too much
liquor. He said it’s a big problem.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just before we left, he asked me to check the English
translation of their menu, which I was so crazy happy to do. He and the restaurant
owners (and their young son) all crowded around me as I did it. They knew the
names of the English letters as I wrote them. People here can also say the
names of numbers in English, to communicate the cost of things, even if they
don’t speak much English otherwise.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That dinner was perhaps the highlight of our meals. My food
wasn’t that great but Marc’s was, but it was the conversation that lifted the
experience. I’ll remember his serious smile for a very long time.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Finally, yesterday we got out on the lake. We arranged a
driver with our hotel, and he picked us up at 7:15 for the 15-minute walk to
the jetty. The boats are very long, with a small motor in the back. We had
chairs with cushions, and umbrellas at our sides in case it rained. WELL. This
was such a magnificent experience. We enjoyed it as much as the Mekong trip,
even though we were only out for several hours instead of a few days. Many of the stops we made were
at artisan shops – weaving, silversmithing, paper- and parasol-making, cigar
rolling – and of course the pressure was on to buy something. I did buy a beautiful
turquoise silk scarf, and a necklace, but resisted the rest. We went through a
village, and I think that was the highlight for us both. The driver cut the
engine and just used it in tiny spurts, to keep us moving. It was so very
quiet, and the water was as still as glass, so the sky and the beautiful
stilted houses reflected perfectly. The homes are large and open, and the
people park their boats underneath. As long as I had internet access, I could totally
live there. :) As
Marc said, the spaces between the house are water sidewalks, wide enough for a
boat to pass through. It was stunningly beautiful, and a wonderful reminder
that there are so very many ways to live a life on this planet.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VAY3npFwCYk/UHwIEbDokOI/AAAAAAAAPvw/NP6UDq5KYM0/s1600/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_lori+on+inle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VAY3npFwCYk/UHwIEbDokOI/AAAAAAAAPvw/NP6UDq5KYM0/s400/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_lori+on+inle.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">blissed out, man</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2Q6GVKFOaB8/UHwIMpVGV2I/AAAAAAAAPwI/ns8PSigNp0Q/s1600/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_marc+boat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2Q6GVKFOaB8/UHwIMpVGV2I/AAAAAAAAPwI/ns8PSigNp0Q/s400/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_marc+boat.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">marc too, in his much quieter way</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Sn9LoEKGx2M/UHwIPCQGxSI/AAAAAAAAPwQ/q2WlbY1y6ts/s1600/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_our+boat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Sn9LoEKGx2M/UHwIPCQGxSI/AAAAAAAAPwQ/q2WlbY1y6ts/s400/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_our+boat.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">that's our boat, shot from the window of the weaving studio. we sat on little chairs with cushions</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-N19yWZlCOZc/UHwH1IwuAZI/AAAAAAAAPu8/eP49kq-HJM0/s1600/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_inle+lake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-N19yWZlCOZc/UHwH1IwuAZI/AAAAAAAAPu8/eP49kq-HJM0/s400/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_inle+lake.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">but this was our typical view -- sky and mountains and lake. in MYANMAR.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r8PTw2ha0wk/UHwHaWAsgOI/AAAAAAAAPtk/CmstcBOaXxQ/s1600/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_fisherman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r8PTw2ha0wk/UHwHaWAsgOI/AAAAAAAAPtk/CmstcBOaXxQ/s400/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_fisherman.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">turns out, this guy just poses for photos. we never saw real fishermen using this net</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qwuEpbELiyY/UHwHiUViRWI/AAAAAAAAPuA/akOZ2SHzeb0/s1600/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_inle+lake+gated+community.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="291" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qwuEpbELiyY/UHwHiUViRWI/AAAAAAAAPuA/akOZ2SHzeb0/s400/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_inle+lake+gated+community.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a gated community</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XJqf0DKfEB0/UHwHlMUAFII/AAAAAAAAPuI/JmiuKC4aH0w/s1600/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_inle+lake+home1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XJqf0DKfEB0/UHwHlMUAFII/AAAAAAAAPuI/JmiuKC4aH0w/s400/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_inle+lake+home1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">couldn't you live here? I COULD.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mJVkcE2GDTY/UHwHn3oT_KI/AAAAAAAAPuQ/7Jl6xuPpWYg/s1600/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_inle+lake+home2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mJVkcE2GDTY/UHwHn3oT_KI/AAAAAAAAPuQ/7Jl6xuPpWYg/s400/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_inle+lake+home2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">absolutely beautiful</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fUAvdCRV4M8/UHwHqah26CI/AAAAAAAAPuY/mqCxxSQD8SE/s1600/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_inle+lake+home3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fUAvdCRV4M8/UHwHqah26CI/AAAAAAAAPuY/mqCxxSQD8SE/s400/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_inle+lake+home3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a tight community -- they had a library, too</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XUb9IJpXPjA/UHwHsx28EmI/AAAAAAAAPug/zUDbTVwjyWI/s1600/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_inle+lake+home4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="368" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XUb9IJpXPjA/UHwHsx28EmI/AAAAAAAAPug/zUDbTVwjyWI/s400/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_inle+lake+home4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">i miss this place already</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RZXUW5dMvMI/UHwHx-dMJKI/AAAAAAAAPu0/XBnx1aHReUA/s1600/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_inle+lake+people.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="306" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RZXUW5dMvMI/UHwHx-dMJKI/AAAAAAAAPu0/XBnx1aHReUA/s400/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_inle+lake+people.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">people in the village</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FLFllaN87c4/UG_DXrZLYFI/AAAAAAAAPlA/E_RVLVnzW1A/s1600/inle+lake+home5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="313" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FLFllaN87c4/UG_DXrZLYFI/AAAAAAAAPlA/E_RVLVnzW1A/s400/inle+lake+home5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a really beautiful home</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We ate lunch at a restaurant out in the middle of the lake –
no idea how it was selected – and it was delicious. The guy who served us wore
three earrings in each ear, and eye make-up, and he’d drawn his eyebrows quite
beautifully. He seemed especially delighted that we enjoyed his food.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We also stopped at a very busy market, which was a little
difficult to navigate because of all the mud, but so worth it. Marc bought
something like a donut – fried dough is good wherever you are! – and the people
who had trinkets to sell all said the same thing:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Just looking.” And then they’d start trying
to push things on us, constantly dropping the price. That’s what everyone says,
which is hilarious. They always start with “just looking.” I guess they learned
that bit of English from tourists, though they seem to fundamentally misunderstand the meaning of the phrase.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-30-qqn1FCeQ/UHwIKILT4UI/AAAAAAAAPwA/Od51jk8raQw/s1600/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_marc+at+market.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="203" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-30-qqn1FCeQ/UHwIKILT4UI/AAAAAAAAPwA/Od51jk8raQw/s400/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_marc+at+market.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">schlepping through mud to the market</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sx3QI8OraJw/UHwIBYMYIQI/AAAAAAAAPvk/jHYq8Z5wMMg/s1600/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_longneck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sx3QI8OraJw/UHwIBYMYIQI/AAAAAAAAPvk/jHYq8Z5wMMg/s400/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_longneck.jpg" width="245" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the longneck women -- complicated to photograph because they're now mostly a tourist attraction</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2abCwEl_l_k/UHwH_9aFGVI/AAAAAAAAPvc/LjXgB381p7o/s1600/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_lake+pagoda2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="282" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2abCwEl_l_k/UHwH_9aFGVI/AAAAAAAAPvc/LjXgB381p7o/s400/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_lake+pagoda2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a giant pagoda out in the lake</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HalhfJX1k8Y/UHwH9u5OX2I/AAAAAAAAPvU/Hqd-Y7txs1Q/s1600/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_lake+pagoda.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HalhfJX1k8Y/UHwH9u5OX2I/AAAAAAAAPvU/Hqd-Y7txs1Q/s400/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_lake+pagoda.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">here's the inside of it -- all crimson and gold</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--lt7qOyXS1Y/UHwH6r9mRRI/AAAAAAAAPvM/YWsOXQ2q51U/s1600/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_ladies+prohibited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--lt7qOyXS1Y/UHwH6r9mRRI/AAAAAAAAPvM/YWsOXQ2q51U/s400/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_ladies+prohibited.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">men applying gold leaf to the Buddhas in the middle -- Ladies Are Prohibited -- and a chanter in the lower right</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WpezDHbIRz0/UHwH4KcnfyI/AAAAAAAAPvE/FcfpLV7DBNs/s1600/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_inthein+students.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="321" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WpezDHbIRz0/UHwH4KcnfyI/AAAAAAAAPvE/FcfpLV7DBNs/s400/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_inthein+students.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">school girls -- selling something!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XjfUzMIX5PM/UHwHXGjWQeI/AAAAAAAAPtc/4kdOeYMzHfM/s1600/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_big+gold+bird.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XjfUzMIX5PM/UHwHXGjWQeI/AAAAAAAAPtc/4kdOeYMzHfM/s400/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_big+gold+bird.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">see the giant chicken boat? it's used to drive Buddha statues around the lake during a big festival. i wish we could've seen that!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9epcdwvgSbE/UHwHdCfdPwI/AAAAAAAAPtw/nV4XXgm1wJ0/s1600/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_gold+buddhas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="306" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9epcdwvgSbE/UHwHdCfdPwI/AAAAAAAAPtw/nV4XXgm1wJ0/s400/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_gold+buddhas.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">those round blobby things are apparently Buddhas, now misshapen from years of gold leaf being applied</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PTdsDyG6zws/UHwGigzxZRI/AAAAAAAAPq4/WOtfN2Kutjo/s1600/Myanmar_InleLake_20121002_tomato+boat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="171" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PTdsDyG6zws/UHwGigzxZRI/AAAAAAAAPq4/WOtfN2Kutjo/s400/Myanmar_InleLake_20121002_tomato+boat.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">they grow fabulous tomatoes on the lake -- we ate them in a salad in Bagan. YUMMY.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-klNFp9fbKyM/UHwHfUjUYKI/AAAAAAAAPt4/Uc5Ygc-Y0iY/s1600/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_harnesses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-klNFp9fbKyM/UHwHfUjUYKI/AAAAAAAAPt4/Uc5Ygc-Y0iY/s400/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_harnesses.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">we stopped at a weaving studio -- Marc took the photos here. I love these string heddles.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8XHp83vnNdQ/UHwIHUSe24I/AAAAAAAAPv4/s7v932Ak3nA/s1600/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_lotus+fiber.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8XHp83vnNdQ/UHwIHUSe24I/AAAAAAAAPv4/s7v932Ak3nA/s400/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_lotus+fiber.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">those are lotus stems, with the lotus fibers being pulled apart. they spin it and use it in beautiful cloth</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jrdFKv-RQGA/UHwIkMbZx0I/AAAAAAAAPxQ/PRUuLJ3M2Uo/s1600/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_weavers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jrdFKv-RQGA/UHwIkMbZx0I/AAAAAAAAPxQ/PRUuLJ3M2Uo/s400/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_weavers.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">loved this loom and the weavers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ya4o2Vc3-fE/UHwIhPnsgBI/AAAAAAAAPxI/-a_czN69LXQ/s1600/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_silk+weaver2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ya4o2Vc3-fE/UHwIhPnsgBI/AAAAAAAAPxI/-a_czN69LXQ/s400/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_silk+weaver2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a beautiful piece of silk and lotus being woven</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yIK73zF9O9w/UHwIbt9pwKI/AAAAAAAAPww/6lew4Mmz_5o/s1600/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_shwe+inn+dain+pagoda+stupas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="308" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yIK73zF9O9w/UHwIbt9pwKI/AAAAAAAAPww/6lew4Mmz_5o/s400/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_shwe+inn+dain+pagoda+stupas.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and here we are at the Shwe Inn Dain area of Inle Lake -- this collection of plant-covered stupas was stunning</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uuXXWHa8y_w/UHwIen2li3I/AAAAAAAAPxA/Mw3T1LZ8DAQ/s1600/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_shwe+inn+dain+pagoda+stupas2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="293" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uuXXWHa8y_w/UHwIen2li3I/AAAAAAAAPxA/Mw3T1LZ8DAQ/s400/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_shwe+inn+dain+pagoda+stupas2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">just hidden away and being overtaken by plants</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rO-5jvwYDMI/UHwIYDoDl_I/AAAAAAAAPwo/IsPQw5VkwSU/s1600/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_shwe+inn+dain+pagoda+stupa1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rO-5jvwYDMI/UHwIYDoDl_I/AAAAAAAAPwo/IsPQw5VkwSU/s400/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_shwe+inn+dain+pagoda+stupa1.jpg" width="250" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">stunning stonework</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nRIYarEfTB4/UHwIU6w9UUI/AAAAAAAAPwg/NLxjb5cvl9M/s1600/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_shwe+inn+dain+pagoda+gold+stupas2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="388" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nRIYarEfTB4/UHwIU6w9UUI/AAAAAAAAPwg/NLxjb5cvl9M/s400/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_shwe+inn+dain+pagoda+gold+stupas2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and always, gold</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-viBwekPjCHg/UHwIR5T8XqI/AAAAAAAAPwY/KqvoAgeY7T0/s1600/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_shwe+inn+dain+pagoda+buddha.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-viBwekPjCHg/UHwIR5T8XqI/AAAAAAAAPwY/KqvoAgeY7T0/s400/myanmar_InleLake_20121002_shwe+inn+dain+pagoda+buddha.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">one of the giant Buddhas -- and as always, Ladies Are Prohibited. I tried not to take it personally.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One final note about Nyaung Shwe, and it’s a clunker – the only
clunker experience we’ve had here yet. Last night we wanted to eat at the
top-rated restaurant, the one we’d thought we were going to the night before. It
was a terrible experience; the place was kind of creepy, physically, but the
woman who took our order was rude, and barked at us like a sergeant. She
brought our food a couple of minutes after taking our order, and it was nearly
inedible. The bite of chicken in my mouth got bigger and bigger as I chewed,
and I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to swallow it. We choked down as much
as we could and paid and left, deciding to eat sandwiches in our room. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m going to miss Nyaung Shwe, and will remember this place
with so much fondness. The people (woman last night aside) have all been so
warm and friendly, and the food was good, and our hotel was beautiful and
comfortable and sweetly staffed by young women. I log off now to pack up, and
then we’ll rent bikes and ride around town for a few hours before the taxi
takes us to Kalaw. </div>
Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05676317652927356121noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2367628167972927998.post-50856911159777584982012-09-30T22:25:00.001-04:002012-10-15T08:43:24.769-04:00the tail end of the rainy season<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Lots of things going against us here today, but I do NOT care. Our plan today was to go out in a boat, on Inle Lake. So much to see here, including the fishermen you see in the blog masthead. But it's the tail end of the rainy season, and today it's a pretty constant drenching rain so we plan to try again tomorrow. Also going against us is the lack of reliable internet connection, which is doubly unfortunate since it's raining.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
The flight was interminable; by the time we got to Frankfurt -- a 7-hour flight -- we still had so much ahead of us. Luckily, though, we had the middle seat empty between us, so we had a bit of luxury of space to spread out. I slept a little, a couple of hours, and we were stiff and tired when we got off the plane. Marc said he kept hearing the flight attendants saying <i>blitzkrieg</i>, and after the first flight attendant served us, with her brilliant blond hair and bright blue eyes, her shiny healthy face and large white teeth, the song Tomorrow Belongs To Me popped into my head (from Cabaret) and I sang it in my head the whole trip. Poor Germany, poor Germans, bearing the burden of that history. We hung around in the Frankfurt airport for a few hours (and yeah, Marta, there are still showers there!), and then boarded the 10.5-hour flight to Bangkok. That was a very very very long flight, and I was stuck in the middle seat. To my right was a very large German dude who reeked of cigarette smoke, and who took up all his space and usually half of mine. Bangkok was rainy, but we got on our flight to Yangon without trouble and flew away, entirely unsure what to expect.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3rEdPKmHkHw/UHwACT_fC1I/AAAAAAAAPng/DSdt6631_xo/s1600/Thailand_Bangkok_20120929_bangkok+airport.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3rEdPKmHkHw/UHwACT_fC1I/AAAAAAAAPng/DSdt6631_xo/s400/Thailand_Bangkok_20120929_bangkok+airport.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's the Bangkok airport -- rainy there too!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Io6tVplap2Y/UHv_-yywDlI/AAAAAAAAPnY/1NN8y7MXhns/s1600/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_flightpath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Io6tVplap2Y/UHv_-yywDlI/AAAAAAAAPnY/1NN8y7MXhns/s400/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_flightpath.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">i always take this shot -- such exotic place names!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Well. Yangon is just wonderful. When we exited the airport, we both felt like we were back in Hanoi, there's something similar about the airport. Our driver was waiting for us, it was easy getting through immigration, and our luggage arrived. That's a successful arrival, no matter what else may happen. It was a 45-minute drive to the airport, and we were both kind of exhausted and dazzled by the lush green of the place. The architecture is unremarkable -- not like Hanoi or Paris, with an architectural sense of place that's immediately recognizable -- and much of it is very old and falling apart but there are also a lot of new buildings.<br />
<br />
Our room was just fine, with a view of the Shwedagon Pagoda out the window. We settled in a bit and then took off to see it; it was incredibly hot and steamy, and the sky was filled with black clouds, and I'd had a total of 4 hours of sleep (in bits and pieces) over the past 28 hours, so we decided to come back to the pagoda later in the afternoon. We spent some time wandering through the markets......what you buy here are gorgeous fabrics, so I'll do that when we're back in Yangon later. We stopped at a little food stand and Marc got a couple of pieces of grilled chicken and then we went back to our hotel, where we crashed hard and slept deeply for a few hours.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HP4dbCNO9l4/UHwA4kHoV_I/AAAAAAAAPoI/9Bj8bqogId4/s1600/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_shwedagon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HP4dbCNO9l4/UHwA4kHoV_I/AAAAAAAAPoI/9Bj8bqogId4/s400/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_shwedagon.jpg" width="370" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">that's the view from our room -- you can see the Shwedagon Pagoda from everywhere in this part of Yangon, I think</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
When we woke up, it had rained and the sky had cleared, so we headed back to the Shwedagon Pagoda. Here's where I really wish I could show you the pictures because it's utterly amazing. As soon as I can, I'll come back and pop them in here. Here are some bullet point impressions that will be replaced by photos:<br />
<ul>
<li>We don't know if this is a regular occurrence or it if happens after rain, or what, but there were a couple dozen women with brooms, lined up in rows, pushing the water away. Maybe people always come to keep up the place, maybe it's just a post-rain deal, maybe the day was special in some way because there was a photographer who was taking pictures of the sweeping women.</li>
</ul>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w0jg0CZLBvQ/UHwBhogR5JI/AAAAAAAAPqM/D7PtSgozY60/s1600/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_sweeping+brigade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w0jg0CZLBvQ/UHwBhogR5JI/AAAAAAAAPqM/D7PtSgozY60/s400/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_sweeping+brigade.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">here's one of the posed shots for the photographers. otherwise, they were just sweeping</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<ul>
<li>People put something on their faces (and arms, often) that looks like light-colored, thin mud. I think they use it as sunscreen, but the application is interesting, and varied. Some people smear it all over their faces, jawbone to hairline; some women apply it in neat circles or squares on their cheeks; some people do a smeary wipe; some people put it on in dots, including a dot on the tips of their noses, and some people smear stripes. Most people have it on their faces in one form or another.</li>
</ul>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ty1Jc-proQE/UHwBRuK9XTI/AAAAAAAAPpY/mxxh1S-2fvw/s1600/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_shwedagon24facepaint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ty1Jc-proQE/UHwBRuK9XTI/AAAAAAAAPpY/mxxh1S-2fvw/s400/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_shwedagon24facepaint.jpg" width="245" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this application is a little bit unusual in shape and density. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<ul>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>I saw a monk sitting with one foot pulled up against him, watching some children. His bare arm was covered with tattoos -- but not religious-looking designs, more like something from his pre-monk life. We saw several monks escorting a very elderly monk, and the entourage was allowed into the large central pagoda. No one else got to go through that gate, just them. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The large pagoda is more than 2500 years old; the story is that a couple of merchants from Myanmar presented Prince Siddhartha with some honey cakes, and in return he plucked 8 hairs and gave them to the brothers, who returned to Yangon and built the pagoda to house them. The first pagoda was 66' tall, but from the 14th century onward, monarchs rebuilt and regilded it to its present height of 326'. The spire is decorated with 3,154 gold bells, 79,569 diamonds and other precious stones. </li>
</ul>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qScZOxPgaHQ/UHwA77_fBYI/AAAAAAAAPoQ/BciijnVFNTU/s1600/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_shwedagon1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qScZOxPgaHQ/UHwA77_fBYI/AAAAAAAAPoQ/BciijnVFNTU/s400/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_shwedagon1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">these smaller structures surround the giant gold pagoda</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lV8V2DGAxCc/UHwA-3vckCI/AAAAAAAAPoY/v8Sw46ZXpF0/s1600/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_shwedagon13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lV8V2DGAxCc/UHwA-3vckCI/AAAAAAAAPoY/v8Sw46ZXpF0/s400/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_shwedagon13.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">more -- it's really quite stunning</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Hvk5y0EB0sU/UHwBCCDybeI/AAAAAAAAPog/U4ohBy-xL7U/s1600/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_shwedagon16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Hvk5y0EB0sU/UHwBCCDybeI/AAAAAAAAPog/U4ohBy-xL7U/s400/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_shwedagon16.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">it's a whole city of pagodas and stupas and temples</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vzPLW-A5898/UHwBFXA_dhI/AAAAAAAAPow/oxO7UXv-2YY/s1600/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_shwedagon2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vzPLW-A5898/UHwBFXA_dhI/AAAAAAAAPow/oxO7UXv-2YY/s400/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_shwedagon2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">some are very glittery</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Mwj6D96YmjE/UHwBH7E8sMI/AAAAAAAAPo4/fPTLX7bzbGk/s1600/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_shwedagon20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Mwj6D96YmjE/UHwBH7E8sMI/AAAAAAAAPo4/fPTLX7bzbGk/s400/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_shwedagon20.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">most are gold</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M4EWy9E-yR8/UHwBKwhBumI/AAAAAAAAPpA/soEWx0PwyO4/s1600/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_shwedagon21nuns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M4EWy9E-yR8/UHwBKwhBumI/AAAAAAAAPpA/soEWx0PwyO4/s400/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_shwedagon21nuns.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">these sweet nuns were chanting so beautifully</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZBvCa4u9Chk/UHwBNQAoIsI/AAAAAAAAPpI/zD6hjIgybyo/s1600/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_shwedagon22lori.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="307" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZBvCa4u9Chk/UHwBNQAoIsI/AAAAAAAAPpI/zD6hjIgybyo/s400/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_shwedagon22lori.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">i just stood there, awestruck by the beauty of the nuns' chanting</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x_KKSqIs0EM/UHwBZln1m0I/AAAAAAAAPp0/tHm8M5WFyps/s1600/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_shwedagon6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="233" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x_KKSqIs0EM/UHwBZln1m0I/AAAAAAAAPp0/tHm8M5WFyps/s400/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_shwedagon6.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">quite often the statues are clothed in real fabric, like this one</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k-M1n2Qq3Xo/UHwBWZbI-bI/AAAAAAAAPps/xa3UWPeUHCc/s1600/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_shwedagon4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k-M1n2Qq3Xo/UHwBWZbI-bI/AAAAAAAAPps/xa3UWPeUHCc/s400/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_shwedagon4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">gold city, gleaming in the sun</td></tr>
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9NcDqiFZu4Y/UHwBUDzwWRI/AAAAAAAAPpg/C614T5Dtnj4/s1600/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_shwedagon25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9NcDqiFZu4Y/UHwBUDzwWRI/AAAAAAAAPpg/C614T5Dtnj4/s400/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_shwedagon25.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and reflected in marble, all around</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1u9YoMRFIOI/UHwBPwhPotI/AAAAAAAAPpQ/WY-h67LZmU8/s1600/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_shwedagon23marc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1u9YoMRFIOI/UHwBPwhPotI/AAAAAAAAPpQ/WY-h67LZmU8/s400/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_shwedagon23marc.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marc, resting at the foot of this funny statue</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E0AACtBEBhk/UHwBbzVcoBI/AAAAAAAAPp8/YdCbG85bboQ/s1600/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_shwedagon7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E0AACtBEBhk/UHwBbzVcoBI/AAAAAAAAPp8/YdCbG85bboQ/s400/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_shwedagon7.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">late afternoon sun on the buildings</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-647s6gQmois/UHwBepnzDEI/AAAAAAAAPqE/7EaFG7uus1k/s1600/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_shwedagon9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-647s6gQmois/UHwBepnzDEI/AAAAAAAAPqE/7EaFG7uus1k/s400/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_shwedagon9.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">it just went on and on and on, quite stunning</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GPRru8RW47Y/UHwBkaRA91I/AAAAAAAAPqU/1qRxkIMkGfA/s1600/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_temple.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="313" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GPRru8RW47Y/UHwBkaRA91I/AAAAAAAAPqU/1qRxkIMkGfA/s400/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_temple.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">here's where we entered, through this structure that's guarded by giant dragons</td></tr>
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CHJTUOSQDxs/UHwAz4eRGFI/AAAAAAAAPn4/gS3C2olKeoM/s1600/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_monks+waiting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CHJTUOSQDxs/UHwAz4eRGFI/AAAAAAAAPn4/gS3C2olKeoM/s400/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_monks+waiting.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">we never could figure out what was going on; these monks were part of a photo shoot with Burmese movie stars, for some product. very strange.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5VkMsUCbMkA/UHwAxh0ixqI/AAAAAAAAPnw/qNbM0JmVgic/s1600/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_dragon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5VkMsUCbMkA/UHwAxh0ixqI/AAAAAAAAPnw/qNbM0JmVgic/s400/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_dragon.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">huge and striking and awe-inspiring</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S1UBliE3mVk/UHwAui79o6I/AAAAAAAAPno/kovrKnBs3mI/s1600/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_cell+phone+monks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S1UBliE3mVk/UHwAui79o6I/AAAAAAAAPno/kovrKnBs3mI/s400/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_cell+phone+monks.jpg" width="353" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">monks on cell phones, and sharing a laugh with each other</td></tr>
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<br />
We ate dinner at this wonderful restaurant called Feel Myanmar, and we were so pleasantly surprised. We'd read things about the Burmese food like "don't feel you have to eat all the oil at the bottom of your bowl, even the Burmese don't always eat it." Not very encouraging! But so far it's all been delicious, even if I couldn't characterize it in some unique way as Burmese. At Feel Myanmar, you walk to the back of the restaurant and point to the various dishes you want, and they bring them to you. There are friendly boys there who explain what they are, with big smiles. We got a number of small dishes, salads, and a tofu dish and a pork dish, and they also brought rice and soup (soup is served with every meal, including breakfast, and you sip it throughout the whole meal). Our dinner was just great, and I have a photo of the spread.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HcY0Mv-U8T0/UHwEnDfQD9I/AAAAAAAAPqw/NnYBRZDMAc4/s1600/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_feel+myanmar+dinner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HcY0Mv-U8T0/UHwEnDfQD9I/AAAAAAAAPqw/NnYBRZDMAc4/s400/Myanmar_Yangon_20120929_feel+myanmar+dinner.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this is how Burmese food is served -- lots of small dishes for the table. meat sitting in oil, which characterizes Burmese food</td></tr>
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We got up the next morning at 5:15am to meet our cab downstairs at 5:30 for the trip to the airport, to head up country to HeHo. More in another post.Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05676317652927356121noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2367628167972927998.post-85295485081085626002012-09-30T20:28:00.000-04:002012-09-30T20:28:18.169-04:00WOWWe weren't sure what to expect, but so far Myanmar has far exceeded our expectations. The internet has been sorely lacking, obviously, and I've got notes galore to type up, and photos in abundance, but I have to make haste while it's available.<br />
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The people are beautiful. The countryside is beautiful. The food is delicious. The inter-country transportation is seamless. Aung San Suu Kyi's image is everywhere. I think the internet is failing so I'm going to post this and then try to upload images. More as soon as I can -- today we're going out on Inle Lake, the site of the photo in the masthead. SO WONDERFUL HERE.Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05676317652927356121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2367628167972927998.post-46962232330685525892012-09-27T10:10:00.002-04:002012-09-27T10:11:06.888-04:00subscribe by email!Since I'm not sure how regularly we'll be able to post, if you want to subscribe by email -- so you get a post whenever one is available -- just enter your email address in the box on the right. I just realized I hadn't fully enabled it, so if you've tried previously and it didn't work, it'll work now. Sorry about that!Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05676317652927356121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2367628167972927998.post-11902562621097270052012-09-27T08:20:00.003-04:002012-09-27T08:20:42.648-04:00...and, we're off!Finally, it's time to leave! Well, not for another 10 hours, but it's at least travel day. Just to give you a sense of when you might expect to hear from us again, we arrive in Yangon Saturday morning at 8:05, local time. We'll be utterly exhausted, I'm sure, and jetlagged and whacked out, but if I can get online (never a given in Myanmar, apparently), I'll at least post so you know we got there. We leave JFK tonight at 9:50, fly to Frankfurt, hang around, fly to Bangkok, hang around, then fly to Yangon.<br />
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We're excited, even as we don't really know what to expect. For me, especially, it's all a kind of blank. What's the food like? What will it feel like to be there? We'll find out at some point in the near future -- I can't figure out the time and day, so it's just "soon" to me.<br />
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Mingalar Ba!Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05676317652927356121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2367628167972927998.post-70295620844335806422012-07-22T12:06:00.000-04:002012-08-10T17:30:22.409-04:00the hotelsHere's where we'll be staying throughout our trip --<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GCKwVIivVEY/UCV9QwxCdXI/AAAAAAAAPis/rzBbSlaEZXc/s1600/sumitt+parkview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="215" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GCKwVIivVEY/UCV9QwxCdXI/AAAAAAAAPis/rzBbSlaEZXc/s400/sumitt+parkview.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Summit Parkview in Yangon</b></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.summityangon.com/">http://www.summityangon.com/</a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WHFy5KHQzVA/UAwix1PDELI/AAAAAAAAPh0/xS62u9GOdzg/s1600/hotel+amazing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WHFy5KHQzVA/UAwix1PDELI/AAAAAAAAPh0/xS62u9GOdzg/s400/hotel+amazing.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Hotel Amazing in Nyaung Shwe, near Inle Lake</b></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.hotelamazingnyaungshwe.com/" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;">http://www.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">hotelamazingnyaungshwe</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;">.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">com</span></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0TTF-2PDqYA/UAwitwaCS9I/AAAAAAAAPhc/WE_x02FQK7Q/s1600/amaragroup.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="216" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0TTF-2PDqYA/UAwitwaCS9I/AAAAAAAAPhc/WE_x02FQK7Q/s400/amaragroup.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Amara Mountain Resort, in Kalaw</b></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.amaragroup.net/mountain/mountain-en/resort/">http://www.amaragroup.net/mountain/mountain-en/resort/</a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_GDPdRGd2l4/UAwiwDCbwSI/AAAAAAAAPhk/qwgXrH79U8s/s1600/bagan.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="301" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_GDPdRGd2l4/UAwiwDCbwSI/AAAAAAAAPhk/qwgXrH79U8s/s400/bagan.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Tharabar Gate, in Bagan</b></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.tharabargate.com/" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">www.tharabargate.com/</a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sutPk1lTrBE/UAwi4HIPPUI/AAAAAAAAPiU/k9BP2jywjAw/s1600/yangon2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sutPk1lTrBE/UAwi4HIPPUI/AAAAAAAAPiU/k9BP2jywjAw/s400/yangon2.png" width="245" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Hotel Panorama, in Yangon</b></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.panoramaygn.com/" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;">http://www.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">panoramaygn</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;">.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">com</span></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K8C3iOCvJXc/UAwixv0TQ8I/AAAAAAAAPhs/Cv4Iy1Q3XM4/s1600/chiang+mai.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K8C3iOCvJXc/UAwixv0TQ8I/AAAAAAAAPhs/Cv4Iy1Q3XM4/s400/chiang+mai.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>U Chiang Mai, in Chiang Mai, Thailand</b></td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.uhotelsresorts.com/chiang-mai/" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">http://www.uhotelsresorts.com/chiang-mai/</a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j44iBduKopY/UAwi2nQKDCI/AAAAAAAAPiE/bcqExYOUDic/s1600/kualalumpur.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="278" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j44iBduKopY/UAwi2nQKDCI/AAAAAAAAPiE/bcqExYOUDic/s400/kualalumpur.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Concorde Hotel Resort, Kuala Lumpur</b></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://sepang.concordehotelsresorts.com/">http://sepang.concordehotelsresorts.com/</a></span></div>Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05676317652927356121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2367628167972927998.post-60663599629844597542012-07-22T11:12:00.000-04:002014-06-23T17:28:17.874-04:00Getting there<br />
<div class="MsoPlainText">
What a long strange trip it’s been – and we haven’t even
left.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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We started with a trip to Tibet, Nepal, and Myanmar, but the political situations in that part of the world forced our hand. We now plan to go to Myanmar and Thailand due to the Chinese persecution of the
Tibetan people, the very difficult situation for the Rohingya Muslims in northeastern Myanmar and our corresponding fear of flying to Sittwe, and a surge in tourism in Myanmar due to Aung San Suu Kyi's release and election. (Say her name Ow Son Sue Chee, more or less.)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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We'd planned (and gotten tickets) to go to Tibet, Nepal,
and Myanmar, but then the Chinese government made changes to the entry
requirements for Tibet and we worried that the instability would cause us
problems when it was time to go. In fact, at one point the border was closed. With regret, we simplified our trip and planned to spend the entire two weeks seeing Myanmar,
including five days near the Bangladesh
border, in northwest Myanmar. After that plan was in place, there were riots and killings of Rohingya Muslims near the border; those people tried to flee Myanmar and then Bangladesh turned them away, so the situation there was (and is) flammable. The airport in
Sittwe was closed, and we decided even if it did reopen it was too dangerous to
travel there. To make any reservations in Myanmar, you have to work with local travel agents; we asked the people with whom we'd been speaking whether it was safe to fly to Sittwe and they said no, that we should not go there.</div>
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<br /></div>
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So we investigated other
destinations in Myanmar and made some tentative plans to see hill tribes near the Laos and Thai borders, but on reflection dropped
those plans in favor of flying to Chiang Mai in Thailand for several days, which
seemed like a more interesting and doable alternative. So now,<span style="white-space: nowrap;"> </span>after numerous revisions and changes
in reservations, we are left with the following plan:<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-R66Q1vzjmSc/UCpJU4hThpI/AAAAAAAAPi8/WH5tcoVsyZQ/s1600/Burma+itinerary.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-R66Q1vzjmSc/UCpJU4hThpI/AAAAAAAAPi8/WH5tcoVsyZQ/s400/Burma+itinerary.JPG" height="247" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">our itinerary in Burma</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MCRI1zDlnu4/UAwYpuIxbkI/AAAAAAAAPhQ/af081Li47-k/s1600/thailand.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MCRI1zDlnu4/UAwYpuIxbkI/AAAAAAAAPhQ/af081Li47-k/s400/thailand.PNG" height="127" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="GRcorrect" grphrase="bf46c0daccd426a74f39bf56c51757043cc48589" grtype="null" id="GRmark_bf46c0daccd426a74f39bf56c51757043cc48589_our:0">our</span> itinerary in Thailand</td></tr>
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For our reference, here are our flights:</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oJusseOEeKM/T659H9UeSJI/AAAAAAAAPSU/0-Il9Mz_LcY/s1600/JFK-RGN.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oJusseOEeKM/T659H9UeSJI/AAAAAAAAPSU/0-Il9Mz_LcY/s400/JFK-RGN.JPG" height="245" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">JFK to Rangoon (aka Rangon, previously <span class="GRcorrect" grphrase="5732f8add8cfe0ea95d8b15fdd90db1220ebf3d9" grtype="null" id="GRmark_5732f8add8cfe0ea95d8b15fdd90db1220ebf3d9_Yangoon:0">Yangoon</span>), via Frankfurt and Bangkok.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lj9N0EvE8-o/UAwVR44wGBI/AAAAAAAAPg8/FJq-27_wFCw/s1600/Other+international+flights.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lj9N0EvE8-o/UAwVR44wGBI/AAAAAAAAPg8/FJq-27_wFCw/s400/Other+international+flights.JPG" height="183" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">To/from Chiang Mai</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V96c-D_bwh4/T659IJlDPeI/AAAAAAAAPSc/M-xZGUPxiUU/s1600/KUL-JFK.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V96c-D_bwh4/T659IJlDPeI/AAAAAAAAPSc/M-xZGUPxiUU/s400/KUL-JFK.JPG" height="102" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="GRcorrect" grphrase="e190f0fdb9ac56e9900197edff22796f945beb53" grtype="null" id="GRmark_e190f0fdb9ac56e9900197edff22796f945beb53_coming:0">coming</span> home, a <span class="GRcorrect" grphrase="e190f0fdb9ac56e9900197edff22796f945beb53" grtype="null" id="GRmark_e190f0fdb9ac56e9900197edff22796f945beb53_simpler:1">simpler</span> trip -- via Hong Kong, our annual layover spot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
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<div>
Here's our plan visually:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A8WxA8Lf91g/UAwVe1WkqKI/AAAAAAAAPhE/MjMSMgQlKBI/s1600/SEA+Myanmar.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A8WxA8Lf91g/UAwVe1WkqKI/AAAAAAAAPhE/MjMSMgQlKBI/s640/SEA+Myanmar.JPG" height="640" width="434" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="GRcorrect" grphrase="03ccc2b3793d8e23e6872888148dfe8809bb753d" grtype="null" id="GRmark_03ccc2b3793d8e23e6872888148dfe8809bb753d_the:0">the</span> light blue lines are the beginning/end of the trip; yellow is internal, obviously.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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So finally, all the plans are in place. This has been the most complicated trip we've ever taken, at least in part because we could not simply make the plans ourselves; we had to work through intermediaries in Tibet (at first) and then in Myanmar; they aren't yet as tourist-focused as other places we've been, so their communications are slow and unclear. Still.....<span class="GRcorrect" grphrase="9f25701e49ebe3989535795e58d9875514e389f5" grtype="null" id="GRmark_9f25701e49ebe3989535795e58d9875514e389f5_.:0">.</span>very exciting travels ahead!</div>
Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05676317652927356121noreply@blogger.com0Manhattan, NY 40.7143528 -74.005973140.5217853 -74.3218301 40.9069203 -73.690116100000012