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.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Bangkok: One crazy place
Seeing as we messed up our trip to Myanmar, we took our extra time in Bangkok to take in the sites and experiences with the city has to offer. This involved a ping pong show, walking through Pat Pong Market (red light district and awesome knockoff clothing and purses), saw the temples along the river and checked out Chatuchak Weekend market. As well as a bit of shopping :)
I knew that on this trip we would be celebrating my birthday somewhere, but wasn't quite sure where. I was hoping it would be on the beach, but Bangkok was still awesome as well. Joey and I spent most of the day lazying around, and then we went for a very fancy river cruise. We had to go all the way to the Marriot Hotel, which was absolutely stunning. After staying in guesthouses for the last two months, Joey and I were envious of the rich travelers who got to stay here. We were merely just visitors drinking their expensive wine.
The river cruise involved a 5 course dinner and various sight seeing along the river. The ambiance was very relaxed and the food was amazing. It was such a unique and great way to spend my birthday. I am so lucky Joey spoiled me. To top it off, he had arranged for them to bring me a cake. Everyone awkwardly sang me happy birthday on the boat (most ppl didn't know who they were singing for, or what my name was, so there was that awkward pause at happy birthday to (insert name) haha).
A couple days later we spent the day sightseeing along the river. We saw the Royal palace, a couple of wats, and then decided to search for some crazy shrine dedicated to fertility. We had heard that this shrine was located in the parking garage of a 5 star hotel on the other side of town. It is where Thai women come to pray to the god of fertility so that they become pregnant. When they become pregnant they come back to bring an offering. Sounds quite normal right? The peculiar thing about this shrine was there was penis phalluses' everywhere. Made of wood, stone, crystal, glass.. you name it. They were various shapes and sizes. Quite a strange shrine to be in a 5 star hotel.
That night we decided to do the North American thing and go to the movies. We watched the movie Pope Joan. Unless you really like epic/history/religious films, it wasn't our cup of tea. It was still decent though! We finished off our night with stuffed crust pizza from Pizza Hut. I've never had it before nor have I ever been to Pizza Hut, but it was pretty good. Not something I would order again though.
The next day Joey and went to Chatuchak market which is a market that happens every Saturday and Sunday. There are 15,000 stalls of everything you could imagine. We were mainly looking for clothes and maybe some weird souvenirs. It was quite overwhelming how much stuff there was. Our favourite part of the market was when we stumbled upon the pet section. There were baby bunnies that you could pick up and pet. Some of them were sooooooo tiny, and also, there were others wearing little dresses. One of the cutest things I have ever seen. There were also lots of puppies and kittens everywhere. Sometimes even in the same cage. One thing that we saw that was heartbreaking was the full grown adult husky in a small cage. Joey was heartbroken because the dog looked so unhappy being in that cage. Who knows how long he has to stay in there, or if he gets walked or properly fed.
On Monday our plan was to go to the Myanmar embassy, pick up our visa and get ready for our trip there. One thing about Myanmar is that they don't have atm's and nowhere accepts credit card. You must bring all the money you expect to spend for your stay with you. If you don't, you can potentially purchase US dollars from high end hotels who will charge up to 30% commision. It is simply more worth it to bring enough money with you and not worry about it.
We had a couple issues getting our money out because I couldn't remember my PIN and Joey had a limit on his cards. Eventually we got enough money to exchange into US. We went to the MBK (Mahboonkrung Mall) in Bangkok where there are lots of different exchange places. The thing about exchange places here is that they sometimes only have $100 US bills, which aren't usually accepted in Myanmar.
At one exchange place we ran into quite the situation. We were approached by a man with a thick accent (we're not sure where from, but more than likely he was middle eastern) who told us he was going to Toronto soon and wanted to see what our money looked like. He still asked if he could see it. He told us about how he had been living in Australia and that he plans to go to Canada for a while. Joey told him that we didn't have any Canadian money, only American. Joey said I don't know you, but the guy's rebuttal was that he had tons of money which he then showed us (a bunch of 100 USD bill in his wallet) and wouldn't want to steal from us. This is when it got weird. He also had a friend who kept on trying to talk to me while Joey was talking to the other guy. I completely ignored him and was intent on standing right behind the guy looking at our money. I was ready to punch him in the face if he started to run away. The adrenaline was pumping through my veins. I was ready to attack. A conversation that started out as "Do you know what time it is" had turned into a crime scene.
Being the trusting Canadians we are, Joey hands him over the money just to look at. When he went to grab the money back it felt considerably thinner. The guy was folding it and about to put it in his fanny pack. At this point his friend is trying really hard to get my attention, the split second he did, Joey had already grabbed the money back and had pushed the jerk away. They both ran away into the millions of cellphone stalls on the 4th floor of the mall.
We went to security and reported the incident. We weren't quite sure if he had gotten anything but we knew that the wad of cash was only $1's and $5's so it wouldn't have been much anyways. Apparently this kind of thing happens all the time, and the info ladies told us that the criminals are arabic and have tried it many times.
Both of us are embarrassed for being so trusting but also glad that the situation worked out in our favour. Like I said in the last blog post, we are still learning. Unfortunately most of the world isn't like Canada. People here are out to get you and take advantage of our kindness. It makes us more and more jaded. Especially when talking with locals who just want to talk and know about your life and practice their english. It sucks thinking that even cute old men or even monks are out to get you or rip you off. I know it is smart to be skeptical, but sometimes it would be nice to just have an interaction with someone without questioning if they are a good person or not. Unfortunately after this experience with the guy at the mall, Joey and I have our guards up even if it means turning down experiences with locals that mean no harm.
I knew that on this trip we would be celebrating my birthday somewhere, but wasn't quite sure where. I was hoping it would be on the beach, but Bangkok was still awesome as well. Joey and I spent most of the day lazying around, and then we went for a very fancy river cruise. We had to go all the way to the Marriot Hotel, which was absolutely stunning. After staying in guesthouses for the last two months, Joey and I were envious of the rich travelers who got to stay here. We were merely just visitors drinking their expensive wine.
The river cruise involved a 5 course dinner and various sight seeing along the river. The ambiance was very relaxed and the food was amazing. It was such a unique and great way to spend my birthday. I am so lucky Joey spoiled me. To top it off, he had arranged for them to bring me a cake. Everyone awkwardly sang me happy birthday on the boat (most ppl didn't know who they were singing for, or what my name was, so there was that awkward pause at happy birthday to (insert name) haha).
A couple days later we spent the day sightseeing along the river. We saw the Royal palace, a couple of wats, and then decided to search for some crazy shrine dedicated to fertility. We had heard that this shrine was located in the parking garage of a 5 star hotel on the other side of town. It is where Thai women come to pray to the god of fertility so that they become pregnant. When they become pregnant they come back to bring an offering. Sounds quite normal right? The peculiar thing about this shrine was there was penis phalluses' everywhere. Made of wood, stone, crystal, glass.. you name it. They were various shapes and sizes. Quite a strange shrine to be in a 5 star hotel.
That night we decided to do the North American thing and go to the movies. We watched the movie Pope Joan. Unless you really like epic/history/religious films, it wasn't our cup of tea. It was still decent though! We finished off our night with stuffed crust pizza from Pizza Hut. I've never had it before nor have I ever been to Pizza Hut, but it was pretty good. Not something I would order again though.
The next day Joey and went to Chatuchak market which is a market that happens every Saturday and Sunday. There are 15,000 stalls of everything you could imagine. We were mainly looking for clothes and maybe some weird souvenirs. It was quite overwhelming how much stuff there was. Our favourite part of the market was when we stumbled upon the pet section. There were baby bunnies that you could pick up and pet. Some of them were sooooooo tiny, and also, there were others wearing little dresses. One of the cutest things I have ever seen. There were also lots of puppies and kittens everywhere. Sometimes even in the same cage. One thing that we saw that was heartbreaking was the full grown adult husky in a small cage. Joey was heartbroken because the dog looked so unhappy being in that cage. Who knows how long he has to stay in there, or if he gets walked or properly fed.
On Monday our plan was to go to the Myanmar embassy, pick up our visa and get ready for our trip there. One thing about Myanmar is that they don't have atm's and nowhere accepts credit card. You must bring all the money you expect to spend for your stay with you. If you don't, you can potentially purchase US dollars from high end hotels who will charge up to 30% commision. It is simply more worth it to bring enough money with you and not worry about it.
We had a couple issues getting our money out because I couldn't remember my PIN and Joey had a limit on his cards. Eventually we got enough money to exchange into US. We went to the MBK (Mahboonkrung Mall) in Bangkok where there are lots of different exchange places. The thing about exchange places here is that they sometimes only have $100 US bills, which aren't usually accepted in Myanmar.
At one exchange place we ran into quite the situation. We were approached by a man with a thick accent (we're not sure where from, but more than likely he was middle eastern) who told us he was going to Toronto soon and wanted to see what our money looked like. He still asked if he could see it. He told us about how he had been living in Australia and that he plans to go to Canada for a while. Joey told him that we didn't have any Canadian money, only American. Joey said I don't know you, but the guy's rebuttal was that he had tons of money which he then showed us (a bunch of 100 USD bill in his wallet) and wouldn't want to steal from us. This is when it got weird. He also had a friend who kept on trying to talk to me while Joey was talking to the other guy. I completely ignored him and was intent on standing right behind the guy looking at our money. I was ready to punch him in the face if he started to run away. The adrenaline was pumping through my veins. I was ready to attack. A conversation that started out as "Do you know what time it is" had turned into a crime scene.
Being the trusting Canadians we are, Joey hands him over the money just to look at. When he went to grab the money back it felt considerably thinner. The guy was folding it and about to put it in his fanny pack. At this point his friend is trying really hard to get my attention, the split second he did, Joey had already grabbed the money back and had pushed the jerk away. They both ran away into the millions of cellphone stalls on the 4th floor of the mall.
We went to security and reported the incident. We weren't quite sure if he had gotten anything but we knew that the wad of cash was only $1's and $5's so it wouldn't have been much anyways. Apparently this kind of thing happens all the time, and the info ladies told us that the criminals are arabic and have tried it many times.
Both of us are embarrassed for being so trusting but also glad that the situation worked out in our favour. Like I said in the last blog post, we are still learning. Unfortunately most of the world isn't like Canada. People here are out to get you and take advantage of our kindness. It makes us more and more jaded. Especially when talking with locals who just want to talk and know about your life and practice their english. It sucks thinking that even cute old men or even monks are out to get you or rip you off. I know it is smart to be skeptical, but sometimes it would be nice to just have an interaction with someone without questioning if they are a good person or not. Unfortunately after this experience with the guy at the mall, Joey and I have our guards up even if it means turning down experiences with locals that mean no harm.
Moral of the story is don't stop for food when you need to be somewhere
Joey and I took a sleeper bus to Chiang Mai to Bangkok. For the first hour of the busride the guy behind us complained non stop that the seats did not fully recline and that it wasn't technically a sleeper bus. The entire time I was thinking this was one of the nicest sleeper buses we've been on and that this guy obviously has only traveled in the comforts of Thailand. Good luck in Laos or Myanmar, buddy.
We arrived in Bangkok around 6 am. Khao San road's party scene was still in full swing. Lady boys, prostitutes and very drunken English guys littered the streets. I think we even saw super man. Staying up all hours of the night drinking on a busy road in Bangkok just doesn't appeal to me. We were glad to find out guest house quite quickly and get into the room where could put our heavy packs down.
The plan was to stay in Bangkok for only 3 days. Enough time to get our Myanmar visa and celebrate my birthday. Joey and I had a couple lazy days of shopping in the MBK and seeing a couple sites around our guesthouse. Our first plan was to go to the Myanmar embassy to apply for our visa. It was relatively easy to get to, and the process was quite quick. The only confusing part was that there were three different times posted to pick up our visas in 2 days. One sign said they closed at 3pm, another said visa pickup was from 3-4:30 and another said it was 3-4pm.
The day we needed to pick up our visa we took the ferry down the river to a stop that connects with the sky train. Before that, we had thought it was a good idea to have a nice lunch at the vegetarian place by our guest house. Ideally we should have left our guesthouse around 2pm. We didn't end up leaving til shortly after 3. Time was running out. We anxiously sat on the ferry and when we got to our stop we bolted off the boat and ran to the sky train.
After getting of the sky train it was time to run as fast as we could through hundreds of school children just getting out of school. We dodged parents, small children, old people with walkers and food vendors. Time was cutting closer and closer. When we turned the corner to the Myanmar embassy, we saw the last worker pulling away on his scooter at 4:29. The door was padlocked and we were screwed.
We sat in disbelief and exchanged some words of frustration with our choice of having lunch. It was one of those shoulda, woulda, coulda situations. Joey and I were truly unimpressed with eachother. We started thinking of ways we could make the situation better. Our flight left the next day and we couldn't get into Myanmar without a Visa. Better yet, it was Friday and the embassy wouldn't be open until Monday. UGH!
Joey and I called Air Asia which is the company we booked our flight to Yangon with. We lied saying that the Myanmar embassy didn't have our visas ready in time, and wouldn't have them available until Monday. Air Asia required proof, and because it was less than 48 hours before our flight there was little they could do for us. Even though I threatened to never fly with them again. Silly me thinking that would work.
We were defeated. Sad, mad, frustrated, annoyed and infuriated with the situation we decided it was time for some beers. At this point we knew we couldn't do much to change the situation and that we were out $250 because of not being able to postpone the flight unless we wanted to take a 4am bus to the airport the next day to argue with the desk.
3 hours later we were feeling better and more confident about the situation and we went to an Air Asia store around 11pm. Joey explained the situation and the guy told us he needed proof our visa wasn't ready. We just said they didn't give us any documentation and what else was there that we could do? The guy felt bad for us and called his supervisor. His supervisor didn't pick up the phone and the guy at the office decided to post pone our flight for us anyways. Obviously it was for an additional fee, but atleast it wasn't the full amount of $250.
We had to stay in Bangkok for another 4 days, but we were okay with that because there is a lot to see and do there. In some ways, despite being an expensive mistake, it was a blessing in disguise. That's all you can hope for when traveling. You just hope that everything works out in some kind of way. Roll with the punches and just deal with what happens. Sometimes there is so little you can control and just knowing that helps us deal with a lot of situations. We're still new to traveling so we make lots of mistakes. So far we've had $800USD and a camera stolen from us. We're still here, happy, alive and having the times of our lives. What more can you ask for.
We arrived in Bangkok around 6 am. Khao San road's party scene was still in full swing. Lady boys, prostitutes and very drunken English guys littered the streets. I think we even saw super man. Staying up all hours of the night drinking on a busy road in Bangkok just doesn't appeal to me. We were glad to find out guest house quite quickly and get into the room where could put our heavy packs down.
The plan was to stay in Bangkok for only 3 days. Enough time to get our Myanmar visa and celebrate my birthday. Joey and I had a couple lazy days of shopping in the MBK and seeing a couple sites around our guesthouse. Our first plan was to go to the Myanmar embassy to apply for our visa. It was relatively easy to get to, and the process was quite quick. The only confusing part was that there were three different times posted to pick up our visas in 2 days. One sign said they closed at 3pm, another said visa pickup was from 3-4:30 and another said it was 3-4pm.
The day we needed to pick up our visa we took the ferry down the river to a stop that connects with the sky train. Before that, we had thought it was a good idea to have a nice lunch at the vegetarian place by our guest house. Ideally we should have left our guesthouse around 2pm. We didn't end up leaving til shortly after 3. Time was running out. We anxiously sat on the ferry and when we got to our stop we bolted off the boat and ran to the sky train.
After getting of the sky train it was time to run as fast as we could through hundreds of school children just getting out of school. We dodged parents, small children, old people with walkers and food vendors. Time was cutting closer and closer. When we turned the corner to the Myanmar embassy, we saw the last worker pulling away on his scooter at 4:29. The door was padlocked and we were screwed.
We sat in disbelief and exchanged some words of frustration with our choice of having lunch. It was one of those shoulda, woulda, coulda situations. Joey and I were truly unimpressed with eachother. We started thinking of ways we could make the situation better. Our flight left the next day and we couldn't get into Myanmar without a Visa. Better yet, it was Friday and the embassy wouldn't be open until Monday. UGH!
Joey and I called Air Asia which is the company we booked our flight to Yangon with. We lied saying that the Myanmar embassy didn't have our visas ready in time, and wouldn't have them available until Monday. Air Asia required proof, and because it was less than 48 hours before our flight there was little they could do for us. Even though I threatened to never fly with them again. Silly me thinking that would work.
We were defeated. Sad, mad, frustrated, annoyed and infuriated with the situation we decided it was time for some beers. At this point we knew we couldn't do much to change the situation and that we were out $250 because of not being able to postpone the flight unless we wanted to take a 4am bus to the airport the next day to argue with the desk.
3 hours later we were feeling better and more confident about the situation and we went to an Air Asia store around 11pm. Joey explained the situation and the guy told us he needed proof our visa wasn't ready. We just said they didn't give us any documentation and what else was there that we could do? The guy felt bad for us and called his supervisor. His supervisor didn't pick up the phone and the guy at the office decided to post pone our flight for us anyways. Obviously it was for an additional fee, but atleast it wasn't the full amount of $250.
We had to stay in Bangkok for another 4 days, but we were okay with that because there is a lot to see and do there. In some ways, despite being an expensive mistake, it was a blessing in disguise. That's all you can hope for when traveling. You just hope that everything works out in some kind of way. Roll with the punches and just deal with what happens. Sometimes there is so little you can control and just knowing that helps us deal with a lot of situations. We're still new to traveling so we make lots of mistakes. So far we've had $800USD and a camera stolen from us. We're still here, happy, alive and having the times of our lives. What more can you ask for.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Elephant Nature Park = Best Day of My life
One of the major things I needed to do while in South East Asia was see elephants. I didn't want my only experience with an elephant to be a 30 minute ride where I don't know how the elephant is treated. I wanted to make sure that I was going to a place that was contributing to the greater good of the diminishing population of Asian Elephants in Thailand. Joey and I googled several places and we found the Elephant Nature Park (http://elephantnaturepark.org/) which is a park started by a Thai woman named Lek. She has been rescuing abused elephants since 1995.
I wasn't quite sure what to expect when going to the park. Driving down the road to the park I saw lots of other tourist parks where the elephants were tied up to posts with small ropes and no access to water or trees/grass to forage from. I was starting to think about what kind of heart break I was getting myself into. I was so relieved to hear about the park we were going to on the way to the park. We were not going to ride the elephants. Our itinerary included feeding, bathing and hanging out with elephants. Exactly like it should be. There are 32 elephants at the park who have come from dire conditions. They are able to roam around where they please; there is no fence or gate to stop them from escaping. They stay because they know it's heaven on earth.
Along with 32 elephants there were about 20-30 dogs, 20 cats, a herd of cows and water buffalos. The love Lek has for elephants extends to all animals. I was excited about the elephants, and Joey was excited about all the dogs around. No puppies for Joey though, Lek gets all the cats and dogs spayed. The way it should be!
First off we started with a safety and courtesy talk. We learned how to move around elephants, and what parts to touch. Apparently they don't like their snout touched over and over again because they are like us in the way that it's their nose and if it was us, we'd be annoyed if someone kept touching our nose. They also told us how to act around the baby elephants. We were only allowed to touch them if they came to you, or if they were wandering on their own away from the pack. If they were with their mom, watch out. Don't even try! Another note that was made, was that when feeding we MUST feed them out of their own basket (each elephant has their own) or else they will think some other elephant is eating their food. We don't want to start a fight now do we?!
So we went to the feeding area where we fed the elephants from their respective baskets. The elephants eat about 10% of their body weight each day. Their diet mainly consists of pumpkin, watermelon, bananas, leaves, and grass. It was funny to see that different elephants baskets were filled with different things. I guess elephants have a preference for food too! It was really neat to feed them. They first take the food with their trunk and then throw it into their mouth. Some are so greedy for food that they don't even chew until they have so much food they can't cram in anymore. When the basket was empty, they were heart broken. Atleast for a few hours until the next feeding. Can you believe that elephants eat 18 hours out of the day? They sleep for 4 hours at night, then the rest of the time they spend it either bathing or scratching various body parts on any surface they can!
Many of the elephants have had horrific experiences in their life time. Many were born into the logging industry where even from the get go they weren't allowed to nurse from their mothers as much as they needed and were robbed of childhood experiences because they had to follow their mothers while they worked. A common practice when the baby elephant is about 3-5 years old, people take them away from their mothers and place them in a contraption called a crush. Here they are tied down and unable to move. They are unable to access food and water. For the next 3-7 days they are repeatedly beat with sticks covered in nails by villagers until their spirit is literally crushed. This is when they will finally submit to the people. What else can they do? This is when the mahout (elephant trainer) can start to train them for a life of exploitation.
That's only the beginning. After the logging industry became illegal, they moved to the streets. It's illegal in Bangkok now, but 5 years ago the streets were full of elephants who were trained to beg for money from tourists. They would spend hours in the streets without access to clean drinking water or food. Many elephants showed signs of traumitization due to malnourishment, repeated beatings from mahouts, the vibrations and loud noises of the streets. One of the elephants at the camp was blind in both eyes because she refused to work after her baby died. She had to work so they left the baby by a cliff and it fell down and died. Her mahout took a sling shot and put it in her eye. He stabbed the other eye with a knife. I was so happy to see that she is living out her life in a perfect setting away from horrible people like that.
On to happier things... After the feeding we took some of the elephants to the river where we splashed them with water and scrubbed them down with brushes. It was awesome to see the elephants all playful in the water. The babies and their pack had a really fun time rolling around and trying to climb on eachother. It made feel so happy to see them happy. This is the life that an elephant should have. Ideally it would be in the wild, but this is not possible for elephants who have been in the work force. They would not survive. Hopefully Lek continues doing what she's doing and all of these elephants can live the rest of their lives in peace and quiet. The oldest elephant there was 80 years old and she likely has 20-30 years left of her life!
All in all, this experience was truly amazing for me. I got to see my favourite animal in such an ideal setting. I got to interact with them and I also got to see them be happy while interacting with eachother. I hope that this park continues until there isn't an issue of elephant abuse in Thailand.
I wasn't quite sure what to expect when going to the park. Driving down the road to the park I saw lots of other tourist parks where the elephants were tied up to posts with small ropes and no access to water or trees/grass to forage from. I was starting to think about what kind of heart break I was getting myself into. I was so relieved to hear about the park we were going to on the way to the park. We were not going to ride the elephants. Our itinerary included feeding, bathing and hanging out with elephants. Exactly like it should be. There are 32 elephants at the park who have come from dire conditions. They are able to roam around where they please; there is no fence or gate to stop them from escaping. They stay because they know it's heaven on earth.
Along with 32 elephants there were about 20-30 dogs, 20 cats, a herd of cows and water buffalos. The love Lek has for elephants extends to all animals. I was excited about the elephants, and Joey was excited about all the dogs around. No puppies for Joey though, Lek gets all the cats and dogs spayed. The way it should be!
First off we started with a safety and courtesy talk. We learned how to move around elephants, and what parts to touch. Apparently they don't like their snout touched over and over again because they are like us in the way that it's their nose and if it was us, we'd be annoyed if someone kept touching our nose. They also told us how to act around the baby elephants. We were only allowed to touch them if they came to you, or if they were wandering on their own away from the pack. If they were with their mom, watch out. Don't even try! Another note that was made, was that when feeding we MUST feed them out of their own basket (each elephant has their own) or else they will think some other elephant is eating their food. We don't want to start a fight now do we?!
So we went to the feeding area where we fed the elephants from their respective baskets. The elephants eat about 10% of their body weight each day. Their diet mainly consists of pumpkin, watermelon, bananas, leaves, and grass. It was funny to see that different elephants baskets were filled with different things. I guess elephants have a preference for food too! It was really neat to feed them. They first take the food with their trunk and then throw it into their mouth. Some are so greedy for food that they don't even chew until they have so much food they can't cram in anymore. When the basket was empty, they were heart broken. Atleast for a few hours until the next feeding. Can you believe that elephants eat 18 hours out of the day? They sleep for 4 hours at night, then the rest of the time they spend it either bathing or scratching various body parts on any surface they can!
Many of the elephants have had horrific experiences in their life time. Many were born into the logging industry where even from the get go they weren't allowed to nurse from their mothers as much as they needed and were robbed of childhood experiences because they had to follow their mothers while they worked. A common practice when the baby elephant is about 3-5 years old, people take them away from their mothers and place them in a contraption called a crush. Here they are tied down and unable to move. They are unable to access food and water. For the next 3-7 days they are repeatedly beat with sticks covered in nails by villagers until their spirit is literally crushed. This is when they will finally submit to the people. What else can they do? This is when the mahout (elephant trainer) can start to train them for a life of exploitation.
That's only the beginning. After the logging industry became illegal, they moved to the streets. It's illegal in Bangkok now, but 5 years ago the streets were full of elephants who were trained to beg for money from tourists. They would spend hours in the streets without access to clean drinking water or food. Many elephants showed signs of traumitization due to malnourishment, repeated beatings from mahouts, the vibrations and loud noises of the streets. One of the elephants at the camp was blind in both eyes because she refused to work after her baby died. She had to work so they left the baby by a cliff and it fell down and died. Her mahout took a sling shot and put it in her eye. He stabbed the other eye with a knife. I was so happy to see that she is living out her life in a perfect setting away from horrible people like that.
On to happier things... After the feeding we took some of the elephants to the river where we splashed them with water and scrubbed them down with brushes. It was awesome to see the elephants all playful in the water. The babies and their pack had a really fun time rolling around and trying to climb on eachother. It made feel so happy to see them happy. This is the life that an elephant should have. Ideally it would be in the wild, but this is not possible for elephants who have been in the work force. They would not survive. Hopefully Lek continues doing what she's doing and all of these elephants can live the rest of their lives in peace and quiet. The oldest elephant there was 80 years old and she likely has 20-30 years left of her life!
All in all, this experience was truly amazing for me. I got to see my favourite animal in such an ideal setting. I got to interact with them and I also got to see them be happy while interacting with eachother. I hope that this park continues until there isn't an issue of elephant abuse in Thailand.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Bye Chiang Mai, Hello Pai!
For a couple weeks Joey and I kept on hearing about a little hippy town tucked away in the hills of Northern Thailand called Pai. Apparently it's where tie dye meets thai culture and everything in between. According to fellow travelers the road was a wicked one and motion sickness pills a necessity. HA! We were still fresh off the bus from Laos. We can handle anything now. We were still wimpy enough to pop some gravol anyways! In reality, the ride was for sissies. 762 curves on the road? Try being a bus with only one working gear that is in constant limbo of dodging oncoming traffic, water buffalo, massive meteor shaped potholes and old ladies.
After a relatively smooth 3 hour bus ride, we arrived in the land of Pai. The place where the thai word sanuk really comes to life. (Sanuk: fun). Pai is very much like an Asian version of Nelson BC or a Salt Spring Island. Westerners and Thai's alike have tattoos, dreadlocks, colourful clothes, and the familiar smell of patchouli and body odour. Along with the mountains in the horizon this was definitely starting to feel like the Kootenays!
We arrived just in time to see the night market starting to set up. Villagers and ex pats alike lined the streets with delectable treats and creative handicrafts to appeal to anyone. Pai is a very common weekend destination for Thai's. In every market on our travels so far, we have been a minority. It was nice to see local people checking out other local people's craftsmanship. For dinner that night with delighted ourselves with random goodies from different vendors. Pumpkin curry spring rolls, coconut banana biscuit thingy's, beef kebabs, sausages, corn on the cob, gyozas and last but not least black rice pancakes. If you ever come to Thailand this treat is an absolute must. I don't care if you have to go all the way to Pai to get one, it is NECESSARY. A purple little patty of rice is grilled over smouldering coals until it browns up and crisps. The lady then puts on sweetened condensed milk and oddly, ovaltine. It is simply divine.
The first night we stayed in a place called Lullaby Pai. I'm not sure what the guesthouse owners thought lullabies were, but this GH was incredibly load because of the street below, the paper thin walls and the fact the whole building shook if someone walked to the bathroom in their own room. Needless to say, we moved to somewhere different the next night.
In Pai we spent most of our days walking or biking in the villages and nature near by, but we also did our fair share of lazying around at internet cafes. Joey and I also met up with our friend Lisa (who we met on the Flight of the GIbbons trip) for some good late night conversations by the peaceful river. I loved the Pai was so quiet especially by the river. You could hear frogs, crickets and the odd bird call. What made it even more cool at night was the lanterns that people could buy at the markets. The lanterns are lit up with a lighter and then let go into the sky. They then float upwards for what seems like forever until eventually they die. They were a bit expensive to buy, so I took joy in watching others spend money and me watching their lanterns.
Joey and I were really falling in love with the peacefulness of Pai, but we knew good things have to come to an end. We only had a 14 day Visa in Thailand because we crossed over a land border. (If you fly into Thailand from another country you get a 30 day visa) We decided after 4 nights and 5 days it was time to head back to the city of Chiang Mai where we had signed up for a tour of an Elephant conservation centre!
After a relatively smooth 3 hour bus ride, we arrived in the land of Pai. The place where the thai word sanuk really comes to life. (Sanuk: fun). Pai is very much like an Asian version of Nelson BC or a Salt Spring Island. Westerners and Thai's alike have tattoos, dreadlocks, colourful clothes, and the familiar smell of patchouli and body odour. Along with the mountains in the horizon this was definitely starting to feel like the Kootenays!
We arrived just in time to see the night market starting to set up. Villagers and ex pats alike lined the streets with delectable treats and creative handicrafts to appeal to anyone. Pai is a very common weekend destination for Thai's. In every market on our travels so far, we have been a minority. It was nice to see local people checking out other local people's craftsmanship. For dinner that night with delighted ourselves with random goodies from different vendors. Pumpkin curry spring rolls, coconut banana biscuit thingy's, beef kebabs, sausages, corn on the cob, gyozas and last but not least black rice pancakes. If you ever come to Thailand this treat is an absolute must. I don't care if you have to go all the way to Pai to get one, it is NECESSARY. A purple little patty of rice is grilled over smouldering coals until it browns up and crisps. The lady then puts on sweetened condensed milk and oddly, ovaltine. It is simply divine.
The first night we stayed in a place called Lullaby Pai. I'm not sure what the guesthouse owners thought lullabies were, but this GH was incredibly load because of the street below, the paper thin walls and the fact the whole building shook if someone walked to the bathroom in their own room. Needless to say, we moved to somewhere different the next night.
In Pai we spent most of our days walking or biking in the villages and nature near by, but we also did our fair share of lazying around at internet cafes. Joey and I also met up with our friend Lisa (who we met on the Flight of the GIbbons trip) for some good late night conversations by the peaceful river. I loved the Pai was so quiet especially by the river. You could hear frogs, crickets and the odd bird call. What made it even more cool at night was the lanterns that people could buy at the markets. The lanterns are lit up with a lighter and then let go into the sky. They then float upwards for what seems like forever until eventually they die. They were a bit expensive to buy, so I took joy in watching others spend money and me watching their lanterns.
Joey and I were really falling in love with the peacefulness of Pai, but we knew good things have to come to an end. We only had a 14 day Visa in Thailand because we crossed over a land border. (If you fly into Thailand from another country you get a 30 day visa) We decided after 4 nights and 5 days it was time to head back to the city of Chiang Mai where we had signed up for a tour of an Elephant conservation centre!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Chiang Mai: Bangkok of the North of Thailand
Bored with the uneventful Chiang Rai, we decided that it was time to head to Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai is a huge city of 1.6 million people. It's the second largest city in Thailand. It's the land of culinary cuisine for the Thai's and very rightly so!
I thought I'd be clever and book a guesthouse before arriving. I emailed Same Same guesthouse and they said a reservation was all set up for us. We liked them because you got free breakfast and free wifi (which is a necessity for Joey to work). When we arrive, lo and behold they have no room in their guesthouse but have made arrangements for us to stay at a neighbouring guesthouse. They take us there, this place doesn't have free breakfast or wifi, and rooms are only 250baht but they were still going to charge us 400baht. I was livid!
So Joey and I are wandering around Chiang Mai forever trying to find a place. It is hard to find a guesthouse here because most of them will only let you book a room if you book a tour with them first. If you don't they will all of a sudden be 'full' or they will pester you and treat you like poo for your entire stay. We had that in Hanoi, Vietnam. I don't want that again. We finally found a place called Safe House Guest House, which I thought was an ironic name because that was exactly what we were looking for. We wanted to be safe for sales pitching hotel staff!
Despite all the fuss, we ended up booking a tour with our hotel anyways! One thing I really wanted to do in Chiang Mai was something called Flight of the Gibbons. It's basically a zip line tour through the canopy of the forest. The proceeds go to the conservation of the gibbons'habitat and protecting them from poaching. We had quite a lot of fun swinging through the trees, although both of us wish we could could have gone faster and higher. We tried many times to get a jump start, but were soon corrected by our guides. The constant safety reminders also made it a bit more tedious. However, we still had a really great time and met some really nice people.
In Chiang Mai we didn't do much of anything except eat and look at markets. The food here is absolutely amazing. One night Joey and I splurged on a seafood dinner where we got curried vegetables and crab, and grilled king prawns. It was definitely worth every penny. Later on that night we decided that a Muay Thai boxing match was something we needed to experience. We made our way down to the boxing ring via tuk tuk. We paid for ring side seats with all the tourists, while all the locals stand on the other side.
The first match was two young boys who must have been no older than 12. Both of them only weighing in at 31 kg (Less than 70lbs). My brother Calvin could take them any day! It was more of a cultural experience than anything to watch these boys fight. First they do a dance around the ring and praying to every corner of the ring, then they stretch and take off their traditional head rest. Four musicians off to the side start to play god awful music to serenade the boys as they attempt to pummel each other.
After four more matches, I was tired of looking at men beat each other up. I was ready to go home! I can now say I've have seen a Muay Thai boxing match.
I thought I'd be clever and book a guesthouse before arriving. I emailed Same Same guesthouse and they said a reservation was all set up for us. We liked them because you got free breakfast and free wifi (which is a necessity for Joey to work). When we arrive, lo and behold they have no room in their guesthouse but have made arrangements for us to stay at a neighbouring guesthouse. They take us there, this place doesn't have free breakfast or wifi, and rooms are only 250baht but they were still going to charge us 400baht. I was livid!
So Joey and I are wandering around Chiang Mai forever trying to find a place. It is hard to find a guesthouse here because most of them will only let you book a room if you book a tour with them first. If you don't they will all of a sudden be 'full' or they will pester you and treat you like poo for your entire stay. We had that in Hanoi, Vietnam. I don't want that again. We finally found a place called Safe House Guest House, which I thought was an ironic name because that was exactly what we were looking for. We wanted to be safe for sales pitching hotel staff!
Despite all the fuss, we ended up booking a tour with our hotel anyways! One thing I really wanted to do in Chiang Mai was something called Flight of the Gibbons. It's basically a zip line tour through the canopy of the forest. The proceeds go to the conservation of the gibbons'habitat and protecting them from poaching. We had quite a lot of fun swinging through the trees, although both of us wish we could could have gone faster and higher. We tried many times to get a jump start, but were soon corrected by our guides. The constant safety reminders also made it a bit more tedious. However, we still had a really great time and met some really nice people.
In Chiang Mai we didn't do much of anything except eat and look at markets. The food here is absolutely amazing. One night Joey and I splurged on a seafood dinner where we got curried vegetables and crab, and grilled king prawns. It was definitely worth every penny. Later on that night we decided that a Muay Thai boxing match was something we needed to experience. We made our way down to the boxing ring via tuk tuk. We paid for ring side seats with all the tourists, while all the locals stand on the other side.
The first match was two young boys who must have been no older than 12. Both of them only weighing in at 31 kg (Less than 70lbs). My brother Calvin could take them any day! It was more of a cultural experience than anything to watch these boys fight. First they do a dance around the ring and praying to every corner of the ring, then they stretch and take off their traditional head rest. Four musicians off to the side start to play god awful music to serenade the boys as they attempt to pummel each other.
After four more matches, I was tired of looking at men beat each other up. I was ready to go home! I can now say I've have seen a Muay Thai boxing match.
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