Tuangoo wasn't much of a town. It was a typical Burmese city with tons of tea shops lining the side of the highway. We quickly settled into our hotel, and made our way to a restaurant. Joey was itching to do some work. With our luck, the power turned off and none of the town had light. We thought the only internet cafe in Tuangoo would have a generator.. Much to our dismay, it did not. We would have to sit in the dark for the rest of the night. Sometimes the lights would flicker on. To my terror, when I was going pee with the light out, when the light turned on there was a gecko on my leg. I flipped out. Not because I was scared of the cute little thing but because when you pick them up their tails fall off. I called Joey into save me and he got the thing off with a shampoo bottle.
The next day we all were treated to a free breakfast at the hotel. Getting free breakfast at a hotel in the morning is always a treat, especially if it's different than your typical baguette and eggs. We were in for a treat because the breakfast involved pancakes and a traditional rice and bean pancake topped with shredded coconut and brown sugar. YUMMMY.
It wasn't too long until we got to Bagan. Within 6 hours we were there. When we arrived we stopped at several hotels trying to find one that was decently priced and not so scary looking. We ended up finding a room for $10 a night that included free breakfast. All of us were pretty stoked that we waited to find a good deal. The rooms were dark and kind of gross, but hey, at $10 you can't really complain.
Joey and I wandered the streets looking for a restaurant to eat at. In Burma, most of the food is of Chinese influence. Not in a good way. Its the obscure chinese food most westerners would rather not dabble with. It'd only been a couple of days and we were already getting sick of fried rice. Joey was also trying to avoid meat because of getting sick from eating at another restaurant in Yangon. We were approached by a man in the street who wanted to show us his favourite restaurant. He started giving us the "I have 3 kids at home and am poor" spiel. If you want money, simply ask for it. Instead this guy had the audacity to sit in the restaurant with us, wait for food he ordered and then leave... saying thank you because we just unknowingly bought it for him. I was quite annoyed that he didn't just ask for food, instead he did it so sneakily. The people at the restaurant were embarrassed and didn't charge us for it.
The next day we had a day full of exploring temples. Bagan has the most temples in a certain square kilometres (can't remember the number but its not very big). All you can see is temples as far as the eye can see. Some are gold, some are limestone, brick. Some are immaculate, some are new and some are ancient and barely standing. It was so diverse. We enjoyed ourselves more than Angkor Wat because there were barely any tourists. The only thing that was rough was all the people trying to sell you stuff. It was really hard to say no to people because you know they are so poor. Joey and I actually found it quite intense. These people were intent on selling you their stuff for way less than it cost just so they could feed their families. Children were everywhere begging for money, food, shampoo, anything. It was very overwhelming because we knew the lives that these people lead and it's not easy being from Burma. We wish we could help everyone but we are not made of money even though the colour of our skin may make them think we do.
At sunset we went to the biggest temple to watch the sun set on the valley of temples. It was an incredible sight to see. Some temples were glimmering with gold and the sheer size of some was really impressive.
The next day we did more temples. Unlike Angor Wat in Cambodia these ones were a lot more interesting because they were more pristine. Some had beautiful cotton paintings on the wall that told stories. We even went into a temple that had a meditation cave. It was like a dungeon underground. It was really neat. It was nice to have a sense of adventure in these caves.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Yangon
After the VISA ordeal we were on our way to Burma. We had to take a 4am shuttle bus to the airport in order to catch the 7:30 plane. Joey and I both were so tired and annoyed with the disorganization of the mini bus. There were a few other people on the mini bus with us at 4 am, but we waited around for other people who were late until 4:30. At one point this Polish guy starts yelling at the driver "I don't care if some drunks slept in or missed their alarm. I don't want to miss my flight, so let's f***ing go! One thing you don't do in any South East Asia country is yell and get your temper up. People generally don't take it well. It embarrasses them and they usually will laugh or not do what you said, just to spite you. I am glad this wasn't the case. The driver ended up leaving without the other people and we were on our way to the Bangkok airport.
Joey and I had already made reservations at a guesthouse called Motherland 2. I was so happy to see they were waiting for us at the airport holding a sign with our names on it. In a continent where no one knows you, seeing your name on a sign is a nice surprise. The guesthouse was on the outskirts of central Yangon, which meant that it wasn't a very touristy area. Our first impression of Myanmar was that it was a dirty and smelly place. What was even more scary was that most of the men had bright red mouths as if they had been sucking blood like vampires throughout the night and have just returned to their day jobs. We would later find out that the red mouth is caused by the chewing of the betel leaf with tabacco and some other kind of nut. When chewed it turns your mouth red and it also is a stimulant to the chewer.
In most countries we have been so far the dress and makeup has been very similar. Most people in the other countries do not wear traditional dress/clothes or makeup. In Myanmar, the most certainly do. The women wear a clay like lotion on their face in all types of designs. This makeup is meant to moisturize, and most importantly act as sunscreen from the hot Myanmar sun. Many children also wear the white makeup. Most men don't, but what is interesting about the men is that they wear a sarong like thing called a Longyi. Most men don't wear pants, they wear skirts. Who would have thought?
After getting settled in our room we decided it was a good idea to wander around our neck of the woods in Yangon. Not too long into our walk we were approached by a monk named Ashinsandarbartha and his non monk friend,Tun Tun. They were so happy to see foreigners and were excited to practice their english with us. They were so excited that they invited us for tea. Over tea we struggled to make conversation because of their lack of english, but it was still a lot of fun, especially because you could see how happy it made them. In Myanmar when someone asks you out for tea, it means that they want to pay for you. I thought it was really sweet that they paid for us. Joey on the other hand, really wanted to pay because we both know that these people don't have a lot of money.
Joey and I had been on our way to the Shwedagon Pagoda so we invited the two to come with us in hopes they could be our personal tour guides. The pagoda was absolutely amazing. Everything was detailed with gold and shiny stuff. There were more buddhas then I could count. Most importantly you could see this is where locals come. Unlike a lot of other temples we have been to, there were barely any tourists. I think the other tourists were jealous we had a monk as a tour guide. Muahahhaha. It was weird explaining in very few words to a monk that I am not religious. To someone who has dedicated their lives to their religion it's incomprehensible that someone has no faith. I don't not believe in anything. I just don't know what I believe. I wasn't brought up in a religious family. I'm open to ideas and I like a lot of aspects of all different religions, but for now I will remain agnostic. While we were in the pagoda the monk insisted that we go in front of the buddha statues and pray/bow 3 times. Both of us not being buddhist, this felt a bit weird. Especially because there were locals (real buddhists) watching us. It was definitely interesting but it got tiring after the 12th buddha statue.
The monk (That's what I am going to call him because his name is too long and hard to pronounce) and Tun Tun then invited us for dinner. People paying for his food is Joey's worst nightmare. It's insulting not to go for dinner with someone if they invite you. They told us about this great little place they like to go to. It's funny because the monk can't eat unless it's before 11am. He had to watch us eat food. They ordered us so so so much food. Joey and I could barely walk afterwards because we stuffed ourselves so much as to not be rude. Once again they paid, and Joey was bothered. Bothered, but also amazed. These people have no money, but are so overjoyed to spend it on foreigners (who are millionaires compared to them) in exchange for friendship and teaching them English. Myanmar is a very fascinating place.
Then then... you guessed it... invited us for breakfast. Oh no! Haha. We met them in the morning for another meal at a tea shop. They ordered us so much food that we could barely stomach it. At this point we didnt mean to be rude but there was no way I could eat another weird Burmese dumpling. After breakfast we wandered around town and I got to listen to Tun Tun's music while Joey and the monk talked. Tun Tun showed me some Burmese music as well as some kick ass 90's soft rock. Him and I had a great time listening to music. It was nice to take a break from trying to talk in English. Also, at breakfast he had given Joey and I a written note saying that we are very good looking and nice, also that he will miss us when we are gone and that he hopes to see us again. It must have taken him atleast an hour to write. It was the sweetest thing ever.
Judging from our first real experience in Burma, Joey and I were excited to see what was to come. We were also feeling sad that we only had 12 days to discover this country and it's amazing people. We talked to Zaw Zaw at our hotel and he helped us arrange a minivan rental with another couple from France named Erginee and Jermain. We were to rent the van for 5 days all the way until Mandalay where we would part ways.
The next day we met our driver, Andrew and set off for Tuangoo. It was a long ride but we got to stop off in Bago and see some of the amazing temples. Most of Bago's temples and sights are owned by the government, which means we were supposed to pay $10 to see them. We decided to stick with the free temples instead of giving the oppressive government a hand out. We were saving up our sightseeing eyes for Bagan, which is the land of temples.
Joey and I had already made reservations at a guesthouse called Motherland 2. I was so happy to see they were waiting for us at the airport holding a sign with our names on it. In a continent where no one knows you, seeing your name on a sign is a nice surprise. The guesthouse was on the outskirts of central Yangon, which meant that it wasn't a very touristy area. Our first impression of Myanmar was that it was a dirty and smelly place. What was even more scary was that most of the men had bright red mouths as if they had been sucking blood like vampires throughout the night and have just returned to their day jobs. We would later find out that the red mouth is caused by the chewing of the betel leaf with tabacco and some other kind of nut. When chewed it turns your mouth red and it also is a stimulant to the chewer.
In most countries we have been so far the dress and makeup has been very similar. Most people in the other countries do not wear traditional dress/clothes or makeup. In Myanmar, the most certainly do. The women wear a clay like lotion on their face in all types of designs. This makeup is meant to moisturize, and most importantly act as sunscreen from the hot Myanmar sun. Many children also wear the white makeup. Most men don't, but what is interesting about the men is that they wear a sarong like thing called a Longyi. Most men don't wear pants, they wear skirts. Who would have thought?
After getting settled in our room we decided it was a good idea to wander around our neck of the woods in Yangon. Not too long into our walk we were approached by a monk named Ashinsandarbartha and his non monk friend,Tun Tun. They were so happy to see foreigners and were excited to practice their english with us. They were so excited that they invited us for tea. Over tea we struggled to make conversation because of their lack of english, but it was still a lot of fun, especially because you could see how happy it made them. In Myanmar when someone asks you out for tea, it means that they want to pay for you. I thought it was really sweet that they paid for us. Joey on the other hand, really wanted to pay because we both know that these people don't have a lot of money.
Joey and I had been on our way to the Shwedagon Pagoda so we invited the two to come with us in hopes they could be our personal tour guides. The pagoda was absolutely amazing. Everything was detailed with gold and shiny stuff. There were more buddhas then I could count. Most importantly you could see this is where locals come. Unlike a lot of other temples we have been to, there were barely any tourists. I think the other tourists were jealous we had a monk as a tour guide. Muahahhaha. It was weird explaining in very few words to a monk that I am not religious. To someone who has dedicated their lives to their religion it's incomprehensible that someone has no faith. I don't not believe in anything. I just don't know what I believe. I wasn't brought up in a religious family. I'm open to ideas and I like a lot of aspects of all different religions, but for now I will remain agnostic. While we were in the pagoda the monk insisted that we go in front of the buddha statues and pray/bow 3 times. Both of us not being buddhist, this felt a bit weird. Especially because there were locals (real buddhists) watching us. It was definitely interesting but it got tiring after the 12th buddha statue.
The monk (That's what I am going to call him because his name is too long and hard to pronounce) and Tun Tun then invited us for dinner. People paying for his food is Joey's worst nightmare. It's insulting not to go for dinner with someone if they invite you. They told us about this great little place they like to go to. It's funny because the monk can't eat unless it's before 11am. He had to watch us eat food. They ordered us so so so much food. Joey and I could barely walk afterwards because we stuffed ourselves so much as to not be rude. Once again they paid, and Joey was bothered. Bothered, but also amazed. These people have no money, but are so overjoyed to spend it on foreigners (who are millionaires compared to them) in exchange for friendship and teaching them English. Myanmar is a very fascinating place.
Then then... you guessed it... invited us for breakfast. Oh no! Haha. We met them in the morning for another meal at a tea shop. They ordered us so much food that we could barely stomach it. At this point we didnt mean to be rude but there was no way I could eat another weird Burmese dumpling. After breakfast we wandered around town and I got to listen to Tun Tun's music while Joey and the monk talked. Tun Tun showed me some Burmese music as well as some kick ass 90's soft rock. Him and I had a great time listening to music. It was nice to take a break from trying to talk in English. Also, at breakfast he had given Joey and I a written note saying that we are very good looking and nice, also that he will miss us when we are gone and that he hopes to see us again. It must have taken him atleast an hour to write. It was the sweetest thing ever.
Judging from our first real experience in Burma, Joey and I were excited to see what was to come. We were also feeling sad that we only had 12 days to discover this country and it's amazing people. We talked to Zaw Zaw at our hotel and he helped us arrange a minivan rental with another couple from France named Erginee and Jermain. We were to rent the van for 5 days all the way until Mandalay where we would part ways.
The next day we met our driver, Andrew and set off for Tuangoo. It was a long ride but we got to stop off in Bago and see some of the amazing temples. Most of Bago's temples and sights are owned by the government, which means we were supposed to pay $10 to see them. We decided to stick with the free temples instead of giving the oppressive government a hand out. We were saving up our sightseeing eyes for Bagan, which is the land of temples.
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