2.28.05 - Notes from Mandalay, Myanmar

I've had a great time in Mandalay visiting the various pagodas and temples, got to walk across the longest teak bridge in the world (1.2 km long) the U Bein's Bridge, watched a Marionette show put on by some master artists which was very humorous, and chatted with a teacher monk at a local monastery who, in addition to teaching, serves as crowd control when tourists descend on the monastery around 10:30am every day to watch approx. 1000 monks come to get their food and eat in silence...it's quite a sight! Really incredible - but almost more incredible to see how rude and intrusive many of the tourists can be throughout the entire affair...simply abominable, getting in the way of the monks, talking loudly, not taking off their shoes in the assigned areas, pushing, shoving...really very ugly. I even had to tell an older french gentleman to take his shoes off!!! Our monk friend continued to chat with us after all the tourists left and then proceeded to invite us to eat with a select few in the back building overlooking the lake. It was really a special experience to be asked back there. He didn't eat with us but joined us later for tea and continued to take us on a tour of the monastary. He's 38 years old, he's been teaching for 8 years which makes a lot of sense when you figure that there aren't many jobs for people in this country...there doesn't appear to be much industry (at least not big employers) and the government jobs are really tied to the military. With no prospects it's easy to see how one can turn to the monastary to survive. But I don't understand how the country will ever prepare itself by teaching it's youth the main tenets of buddhism and the Pali language. It seems a bit short sighted...but seeing as how I've not had much contact with others I'm not so sure what the educational opportunities are for the majority of Burmese and what the career tracts are...this is just what I gathered from talking to the venerable teacher monk.
But I have to say that the monastic life is really for men....and while there are a few more nuns around Myanmar they aren't afforded the same respect as monks. That being said the monks don't know how to deal with women....they don't shake my hand...I'm sure they aren't allowed to touch women, they can't take anything directly from a woman without permission....and woman aren't allowed in the holier areas of the temples. It's been a tough one for me to get use to....it's really very awkward. But I appreciate there efforts to talk to us - and feel bad when all they really want is a Webster's dictionary (among a number of other books). I'll try to send one from home - but it's doubtful the government will let it through.....

2.25.05 - Greetings from Myanmar...I managed to get internet access....

Actually internet access isn't too much trouble - I just don't have access to email. I was able to check hotmail at the hotel in Mandalay through some special access that they have - but no gmail.... Sad to be without email but also a little liberating.
Myanmar has been a wonderful surprise. From the moment we touched down in Yangon I was completely blown away with how different this place is from the neighbouring countries. I have to admit - I was fairly blase about journeying through Myanmar - but I am so impressed!!! There is just an incredible departure from the rest of southeast asia - I believe much of this has to do with their proximity to India as well as the Chinese influence...plus the plethora of other ethnicities that call Myanmar home. There's also quite a diversity of religions with many different temples, pagodas, mosques, churches, etc. dotting the landscape. I have to admit that the majority are Buddhist temples/ pagodas that just seem to cover the countryside and it's really quite incredible. You're driving along and the hills and plains are dotted with golden zedis (bell shaped structures that are often surrounded by other buildings for worshipping/ living etc.).
So far we've visited Yangon, Pyay and Bagan. All have their highlights but I have to say that Bagan was simply breathtaking. Around Bagan there are over 2000 temples that cover the plain...and with little vegetation covering the "ruins" it makes for some spectacular landscape. I just wish the camera could do it justice.... We spent 2 days cycling around, checking out the many different temples, hiking up narrow, dark, steep staircases in an effort to get the best vantage point. Great stuff all around - even with very aggressive/ persuasive vendors meeting you around every corner. But unlike Angkor Wat/ Siem Reap arean you almost felt like you were discovering the area yourself...there really were so few tourists. This has been a reality since arriving in Mandalay. I believe last year only 16000 Americans visited the country....enough said.
The food here also happens to be quite spectacular...spicy, flavorful...pulling from the variety of influences that you see all over. They are particularly in to their tea shops....people sit in them day and night. It's the place for socializing.
The government still wields it's hand in everyday affairs (forced labor, dictates that run every day in the paper including justifications for they slow progression towards a democratic state, etc). Our dealings have been fairly minimal as we have opted not to support the government by steering clear of all operations with which they are involved with. The couple times that we've had to be more careful is when purchasing goods from non-government approved vendors (all the more reason to in my estimation!!) and exchanging money - dollars for kjat (pronounced chat) on the blackmarket more akin to conducting a drug deal. The official rate is almost half of what you can get on the black market - so either you wait for someone to approach you (which in Yangon was quite usual) or you have to start asking around...and it does feel a little creepy...and very illegal. (Only certain people and businesses are allowed to handle dollars and anyone unauthorized, in possession of dollars, can get in to considerable trouble with the authorities) Especially when the "hand off" occurs and you have to sit inconspicuously and count out 90,000K for the 100 dollars you want to exchange. I must also mention that this largest bill is 1000K!!! You seriously do carry around a brick of cash - just like in Vietnam.
We're basically working our way around the country and continued to be amazed with the geography, culture and people...such wonderful people!!!
I hope to get back on with more impressions but just wanted to let you know that I'm ok and having a blast. Now I'm just trying to figure out how to spend time at one of the beached in Thailand before heading to India!!! I'm worried that at this rate I might never get home!!!
Hugs
D

2.17.05 - A few words from Chiang Mai before heading to Myanmar where there may be limited email contact

Still in Chiang Mai - not much report except that it's been hot (90+ degrees), we've visited lots of temples, shopped the various markets and we were lucky enough to be here on Sunday for the fabulous Sunday Night Market at Tha Pae Gate...where we ran in to our friend Dave who we'd met in Luang Prabang. We spent several days hanging out with him, running errands, making travel plans and biding our time before we could get a plan to Myanmar.
We actually just returned from a 3 day trek in northern Thailand complete with riding elephants through the forest, bamboo rafting down a gorgeous river on a absolutely stunning day, spending 2 rather chilly nights camping out (not much sleeping was done because of the temps...and roosters crowing) in bamboo huts, getting a massage in one of those huts by a local tribeswoman and her young daughter "in training", watching our guide drink WAY too much...and even slaughtering a pig and roasting it on our campfire (a fellow trekker did the honors with the help of the guide and some local people). We were trekking with 6 other people - all Brits which took some time getting use to their accents - and 4 of them got an adventure they really weren't prepared for. They battled their way through it but the fact that one of the girls was DEATHLY afraid of snakes and we just happened to run in to 2 of them (we'd hardly seen any wild, wild life up to this point) and needed to be "talked down", coupled with the fact that we think one of the guys had some tropical disease in the form of an open, festering wound (he thought it was a mosquito bite) on his foot that made even the hill tribe women cringe (we'll find out more tonight when he returns from the hospital) - well it made for some interesting times. I believe MC is uploading the photos this evening...we've uploaded approx. 3000 photos to date!!! I hope they haven't been too awful to wade through...
Tomorrow we're off to the Indian Consulate in Chiang Mai to pick up my 6 month, multiple entry visa tomorrow am. Can't wait!!! Then it's off to Bangkok on the night train....where we catch our flight to Yangon first thing on the 19th. We may or may not have much internet access while "in country" given the nature of the government. If you don't hear from me don't be alarmed - we'll be back in Bangkok the 15th of March.
In the meantime take care.
Hugs
D

2.14.05 - Happy Valentine's Day - it's a hot one in Chiang Mai....

It's been awhile since my last posting....but I feel there's not much to report. We've past the 4 month mark - hard to believe it but it's true. I'll be re-capping all the cities visited to date in the next email - it's quite an incredible list if you ask me. And it's looking like we won't be back until summer - at least we can file an extension on our tax return until August 15th...of course delaying the inevitable. The India portion of the trip has grown tremendously with plans to be there 2-3 months now. That's provided we can handle the heat!!!!

In the meantime I'd like to report that we reluctantly left Laos on another interesting boat journey - with a night spent in a rat infested riverside town...and 2- 10 hour days floating up the Mekong. We survived...of course...and proceeded in to northern Thailand: Chiang Saen, The Golden Triangle (the meeting of Thailand, Burma and Laos...and an area formerly quite notorious for its opium production and now home of the Opium Museum), Chiang Rai and now Chiang Mai.
See MC's email (post prior to this one) for more details. Moving south from the most northern tip on the country was quite interesting because each city got progressively bigger...and far more touristy. It made for an interesting transition. I would have to say that I much prefer Chiang Rai - it's a smaller town feel, very accessible, great temples, fantastic night market...and very inexpensive. It's been nice to see this part of Thailand - but it's certainly far more travelled than any of the other countries we've seen in recent months. I'd honestly have to say that I feel like I'm biding my time here as we wait for our visas for India to be process (despite our attempts the consulate is quite strict about their 1 week turnaround time) and wait for one of the two flights that leave Chiang Mai for Myanmar (flights on Thursday and Sunday). We're hopefully heading to Yangon next Sunday for a 3 week tour through the country. In the meantime we'll be tying up lose ends and running errands from here.

So with basically one week to wait we're off on a 3 day/ 2 night adventure trek near Pai (north west of Chiang Mai). We'll be hiking, riding elephants, bamboo rafting...and of course, getting up close with the hill tribe people (Meo, Lahu and Karen). I don't expect to see the "Long Necks" (Karen - Padung tribe) on this trek...and quite frankly I have mixed feelings about visiting that particular tribe...a tribe "manufactured" for tourism since the women were "encouraged" to don the rings around their neck and ankles after having abandoned them years ago. The reason? Great for tourism. It seems all too exploitive for my taste.

It's a Happy Valentine's Day here - I'm sure some people are "heating up" (93 degrees as we speak and getting hotter!!) although we're trying to find ways to stay cool. We've lately been challenging ourselves to do without A/C in our hotel rooms - we've been fairly successful and it's helped to cut down on our expenses quite dramatically - but I don't expect it will last long. It's really warming up! Additionally we've been without TV as well...a nice relief I would say.

Hope this finds you well.
Hugs
D

Michael's email: WorldTrek 02/10/05: Into the Golden Triangle!

Hello everyone!

We're back in Thailand right now and I'd forgotten how great this
country is...easy travel, great food, beautiful people...

When last I left you, we were in Luang Prabang, Laos. Truly one of the
most laid back cities in the world, there's only 16,000 people in Laos'
second largest city! Not a lot of people, but tons of temples, history
and more atmosphere than you can shake a stick at. I highly recommend
people visit Luang Prabang before it gets "ruined".

Among the highlights of Luang Prabang was a street market that goes on
for 10 blocks...tons of every possible local craft you could want but
for me what was special was the street of prepared foods (of course).
You walk past and there's grills set up with chicken, fish, barbequed
pork...there's stalls for soup, spicy papaya salad, and even a
vegetarian buffet where you fill up a bowl and they stir fry it in
front of you...for 5000 kip (50 cents)! Want some other stuff? Not an
issue...buy a grilled fish and bring it with you...or some stewed pork
and they'll just stir-fry it with everything else. I was in HEAVEN...I
think I actually shed tears I was so happy.

The other highlight was meeting some great people at Nao's Sports
Bar...the proprietor, Gary, who quit his job as a criminal/court
interviewer from San Francisco and we think got married to a Laos woman
and now runs the pub and a bakery. Gary's favorite line: "it's ALWAYS
happy hour"...my head still hurts. The other was a British gentlemen
named Dave who over the course of several days became my idol. Dave
spends 6 months a year in England and 6 months in another exotic locale
each year. Dave's great quote: "I don't do winter". He's visited 108
countries (so far) and was just a fount of knowledge on India, Nepal,
and Myanmar...and I'm sure many other places we just didn't have enough
time to ask about. We're hoping to catch up to Dave in Chiang
Mai...truly a great guy and so, so helpful.

One thing which was strange was missing the SuperBowl...for the first
time since 1983 when I was "grounded" from watching TV. (You're right
dad...it didn't kill me but I DO still remember) While we did have
plans to wake up at 6 in the morning to watch, we had taken a slow (2
day) boat trip from Luang Prabang to the Thai border. Unfortunately,
the town we stayed in between the 2 boat days happened to not have any
place to watch the game (or electricity during the day for that
matter). From what I hear it was a boring game anyway...that's what I
keep telling myself. We were the lucky ones though...we heard from
others the next day that they could hear rats running in the attic in
their Guesthouse and one person even had a rat drop onto the top of his
mosquito net. I don't think Deanna or I could have handled that.

Once we crossed the border, we made our way north to Chiang Saen and
Sop Rauk...the heart of the Golden Triangle, made famous as one of the
highest producers of Opium in the world. There's an Opium Museum there
where you can learn all the in's, out's, and history of smoking Opium.
I took notes... You can also climb a hill and see the meeting point of
Burma, Laos, and Thailand...in true tourist fashion there's even a boat
which will zip you between the three to say you've been to Burma and
Laos as well. We declined since we're going there anyway.

From Chiang Saen, we took a bus to Chiang Rai and have really done
nothing of note just yet. There's (another) great market here and
yesterday we just sampled food and watched a bizarre stage act -
alternating acoustic guitar with dancing girls dressed in 18th century
French courtesan outfits. What was really strange is from being in
Bangkok and Phuket, I really, really, really have to look to be able to
tell if they are girls or guys dressed as girls. I'm still undecided
about the people in this show.

From here we're onto Chiang Mai where we'll try to sort out some plane
tickets to Burma/Myanmar where I expect we'll be for about 3 weeks.
During that time, there's NO access to web-based email (the government
supresses it along with their people) so although I expect to send one
more update before we go, it will be awhile afterwards until you hear
from me (I can sense you're thinking "thank god...less spam".

Anyway...happy Chinese New Year and I hope everyone is well.
Michael

photos: www.ofoto.com (user: mdchiang@gmail.com pass: offandaway)
Deanna's blog: www.offandaway.blogspot.com

2.5.05 - A fantastic week in Luang Prabang

6 days in Luang Prabang and it has met all my expectations. What a wonderful little town! It's been a great place to recuperate (running, walking, donating blood, biking, massages, etc) and a great place to soak up local culture including:
-touring the many wats/ monastary and even talking to one or two monks,
-watching hundreds of monks parading through the streets in the early morning hours collecting their food for the day from men and women in the streets...crouched on the street side with their baskets of food,
-eating in the night market where a generous plate of food can be had for pennies...and it's delicious
-walking through the night market and eyeing all the wonderful handmade wares and textiles...resisting the urge to buy and now panicked because I haven't purchased anything yet....
-journeying out to Khougsi Waterfall and swimming in the very refreshing waters!!!
-learning to make my way home in the pitch dark through the city streets when the electricity in the city is cut off...I made it but it was touch a go for a bit! ;0
-and even taking a cooking class this morning (Jamie Oliver aka "The Naked Chef" had taken a class at the same restaurant, Tum Tum Cheng, just this past Christmas!!!!) with 6 other people that included a very informative tour through the local market, some insight into food/ eating in the region and finally preparation of some amazing dishes!!! I'm stuffed and I swear that sticky rice is like some terribly addictive drug...once you start eating you can't stop. Did I mention I started running again? ;)

Another highlight has been hanging out and chatting with a British gentleman, Dave. He's quite a seasoned traveller - the very adventurous type. He's only piqued my interest in venturing to ever farther flung, less travelled locations...we'll see what happens. But his insight and zest for life has been very invigorating.

Off to northern Thailand by boat....the slow boat...tomorrow. It will take us 2 days by slow boat vs. 6 hours in the ultra high speed speed boat but surely we're choosing the safer option. So we're headed for Chiang Saen, Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai and in the meantime we have to work out details of the trip to Myanmar (Burma). I'll be sad to say good-bye - this would be a great little town to "set up shop in" - anyone interested????

2.3.05 - A great quote

I came across this quote today and it made me chuckle - because it is SOOOO true! ;)

An adventure is something that while it's happening you wish it wasn't.
-Mark Twain

I think I've recovered from the bus journeys. Several days in Luang Prabang...don't know if I'll ever leave!! ;) Dozens of wats fill this small city and rivers line it on either side. I've started running in the mornings which is a great time to catch all these sites and to watch the monks out parading in a line, collecting food from the locals who do so as part of making merit. What does this mean? Buddhist monks live, work and study in the monastary voluntarily. They do not earn an income. As such they need to rely on the community to keep them fed with gifts of food and other needed items. Frommer's guidebook writes: "The monk walking from house to house each morning is not begging for food, but is offering an opportunity for the giver to receive merit. In contributing to the monk's survival, the giver of food and gifts is supporting the sangha, the monkhood, and therefore gets closer to Buddhist ideals." It's quite a ceremony and in the quiet of the morning it's a treat to watch!

There are great little markets everywhere and I'm making out the ultimate buy list. My friend Tina had warned me not to buy anything until I'd been in a place 3 days. What a great piece of advice - much of the stuff doesn't look as appealing once you've seen it over and over again.

The big find has been the night market where for 50 cents you can load up a plate of food, have it warmed up and eat it right there in the alley. It's so cheap. And we've also re-discovered the grilled chicken on a stick. Delicious!! Can't wait to get back there tonight. The food has just been soooo good and that's another reason for increasing the level of activity my running. I'm not ready to compromise on the food front..... ;)

A relaxing afternoon is in store with plans to climb Mt. Phousi (a wat filled "mountain" in the centre of town) for the "magic hour" (great photo taking) and watch the sun set.

Michael's email: WorldTrek 02/01/2005: The wonders of Laos

Hello everyone!

We're currently in Luang Prabang, Laos - a gorgeous city with a great
laid-back atmosphere (like all of Laos seemingly). The entire city is
a Unesco World Heritage site and it's no wonder. Unfortunately the
road to wonder is full of pain and hardship. Ground travel in Laos is
shockingly slow...when things go right.

But first back to Vientiene - where we stayed for five nights to
recuperate from the "drug bus" border run. For a national capital,
it's fairly sleepy but there certainly are some highlights. One was a
great bike ride where we discovered that you don't have to get very far
off the largest national highway (which is easily bikeable...four lanes
at it's widest) to get to truly rural Laos. Amongst the other great
sites in Vientiene, I thought it important to get back to my chemical
engineering roots and visit the Beer Lao Brewery to pay homage and get
a plant tour. It seemed like a good idea at the time - trusting my
memory of where the plant was (I STILL know I read it was on Highway
13) and a tourist map that turned out to not really be to scale (or
even directionally correct). After biking for about 15km on very old
bikes, Deanna had the inspired idea to actually stop at a store and
look at the bottling address on the beer can - and of course we were on
the wrong road. So using the trusty map, we decided that if we could
just "cut through" we'd save ourselves a lot of backtracking. So off
we went - past rice paddies, naked kids playing in a ditch, small ban
(villages) with bemused locals looking at the foreigners riding bikes
and waving. And on we went - asking for directions using the Lonely
Planet guidebook phrases "I want springrolls!", trying sign language,
biking in the general direction given and hoping the direction giver
would yell across the fields if we went the wrong way. And on we went
- pointing to the map (which caused no end of confusion as at this
point, we weren't ON the map anymore), or saying "Beer Lao, Beer Lao"
and being told that they don't sell Beer Lao there. And finally - we
found ourselves being told that we were approximately 50km away from
our destination. Discouraged, we biked in the direction we were told
(to go back to Vientiene) and discovered ourselves on Highway 13 about
a half km from where we had originally turned off for our "shortcut".
Ugh. The next day, we hired a tuk-tuk to drive us to the Beer Lao
factory where we took a bunch of pictures in the bottling plant and
enjoyed a free sample of the product. The moral of the story is to
enjoy the journey not just the destination but the true moral is to
never walk or ride to where you can just drive. In an bizarre
coincidence, did I mention that I've actually gained weight on this
trip?

After Vientiene, we took a trip to Vang Vieng (a backpacker's paradise
with tons of great restaurants where you can kick back, enjoy a beer
(or other stuff), and watch pretty much any movie in existence or
Friends...the world seems to love Friends) and then to Phonsavan to see
the enigmatic Plain of Jars. Nobody knows the exact nature of these
jars - the current theory is that they're ancient funeral relics - but
what really stuck with me was how we had to stick to the paths because
there is so many unexploded bombs from the US's Secret War during the
Vietnam era. There's actually markers on the Plain of Jars sites...if
you walk to the inside of the markers (the side of the markers painted
white) that area has been swept with metal/bomb detectors. If you walk
outside (the red area of the markers) then only visual methods have
been used to "detect" the explosives. Being a very poor student of
history, I knew nothing of the covert operation to bomb Laos (breaking
all international codes on waging war), using US military - who "quit"
the military, gave up dogtags, and even used fake names - to fly
missions into Laos to drop bombs on the Ho Chi Minh trail. Anyway -
the stat that sticks in my head is that more bombs were dropped on Laos
than on Nazi Germany during WWII. And we technically weren't even
fighting in Laos. Between the different jar sites, we actually stopped
at a house in a village and were asked to stay for lunch and try their
noodles (the entire village makes noodles). Pretty amazing hospitality
considering the guide had never met the family before that day. Our
host (an elderly gentlemen who had been the village chief before he
"retired") was extremely gracious - offering us several rounds of rice
whisky (Lao-Lao), and also telling us (through the translator) about
how the entire village lived in caves during the worst bombing years
and worked their fields at night to eat. And still - no bad feelings
towards America - it never ceases to amaze me. The Lao people that we
have met have been very genuine and friendly.

From Phonsavan, we wanted to catch the bus to Sam Neua and Vieng Xai -
where the Pathet Lao (Lao communists) hid out in caves during the
bombing. We bought our bus tickets at 7am and were told the bus was
leaving at 8am. At 8am (with Deanna checking several times during the
interim to make sure we weren't missing our bus), we were told the "bus
had come and gone" which wasn't true because even some locals had
"missed the bus". It just didn't come that day. We instead got onto
another "sangthaew"...basically the back of a covered pick-up truck
with benches down both sides in back. It's a big truck - but not that
comfortable with 33 people jammed in with everything they can carry or
feel like bringing to the market (20 is actually the "comfortable
amount"). I alternately fought off the nausea (I haven't been carsick
since I was 12 but the seats are sideways and it was hot) and tried to
provide a comfortable resting surface for the women next to me as she
had fallen asleep against my arm as I grasped the ceiling balance bar.
This continued for 6 hours. At that point, we rolled into our
connecting stop where it turned out that the driver hadn't waited.
So...our one English speaking Lao friend suggested we wait on the side
of the road for passing buses/trucks/cars that might want to give us a
ride. He found one...three hours later, we had not. So we stayed in a
pretty horrid guesthouse (as Deanna says "like camping...but inside!")
where I think we both got bed-bug bites. Anyway, the next day we took
the sangthaew to Sam Neua...this time at a more comfortable 30 people
packed in...for another 5 hours.

When we finally got to Vieng Xai, I was amazed by the natural beauty of
the entire area - extremely hilly with amazing valleys and natural
splendor. The caves were great - there is one that is said to have
housed up to three thousand people...it's huge...and many of the caves
(especially of the leaders) have a true internal stucture...bathrooms,
bedrooms, walls, and even emergency rooms with oxygen generators in
case of chemical attack. Kaysone - the Pathet Lao leader - and his
cabinet actually lived in caves for NINE YEARS before the US stopped
bombing. That's amazing to me. I only lived in my craphole apartments
for four years in college...okay five to be technically correct.

As I am tired of hearing myself talk about bus rides, I will give the
abbreviated version of our trip from Sam Neua to Nong Khiew (on the way
to Luang Prabang). The journey is about 200km and is supposed to take
9 hours. 5 flat tires later we arrived...20 hours after we left.
There were two people in the aisle in each row and we were WAY
overloaded with baggage as well. The Hmong boy next to me was throwing
up the entire way except when he was sleeping on my shoulder, the women
behind me threw up several times, at one point a women sitting in the
aisle had to make a dash to the window to throw up. I don't think the
Lao people (especially the ethnic minorities in small towns) get to
ride in a car that often...and it showed. We stayed at a place (after
waking up the proprietor at 4:30am) that made me wish for a tent inside
the room.

From Nong Khiew, we took a beautiful river journey to Luang Prabang.
No mishaps. And for the record (in case my accounts don't fairly
portray the trip) I am still loving being here.

Take care everyone -
Michael

www.ofoto.com (login: mdchiang@gmail.com pass: offandaway)
Deanna's blog: www.offandaway.blogspot.com

PS> Posted more Vietnam photos...I found a fast connection and ALL the
photos should be up by week's end.