Our last night in Yangon

I wanted to try a traditional tea house but ended up at a hipster tea house. Oh well, food was good, tea was delicious, but I need to go back to find a traditional tea house. We ate at Rangoon Tea House. It was filled with young foreigners who seem to live there, ex pats. After dinner we went out searching for Myanmar Rum. We looked so many places. Out taxi driver even took us places he knew, but no luck. Ends up we were supposed to buy Mandalay Rum. Oh well. Everyone on Myanmar was so nice. They really are excited to see the change in their country, but I know some are hesitant. It's big change and hopefully it will be balanced.

This is the original airport bit you can see its expanding. New construction on both sides. They are building line crazy. So much money is pouring into the country but it's still risky since democracy is so new. 

Our day on Inle Lake

Even with our short visit, Inle Lake sure left us wanting to see more of this beautiful country. We arrived at the airport and took a van to the lake. It's an hour drive through the countryside. Very beautiful. It cost $25 or 25000 kyat one way for both of us. Also once we got close to the lake we had to pay a $10 entrance fee. As we got closer you could see water buffalo in the water or out working the field with the farmers. It was such an idyllic sight. The little town where you catch the boats was crazy busy. We found a tour guide and headed out. The boat took us past people doing the everyday chores down by the lake, bathing and washing clothes. Once we got to the mouth of the lake we saw the famous fishermen who row with their feet. However these guys were staged for our benefit. It was so obvious. Luz and I were laughing. They are really ready for tourists. We visited a lotus silk weaving place, a temple and a floating farm. That was my favorite. It's such an amazing idea.

After our lake tour we caught a bite to eat. We both had vegetable pancakes. They were delicious. The weather was beautiful. Very refreshing compared to the heat in Thailand. Took the bouncy van ride back to the Heho airport and flew back to Yangon. 

Beautiful Bagan

Pagodas everywhere. What an incredible site. Not sure if things will change in the future, but currently toy can tour around all the pagodas and climb on them to get great views. There are over 3000 pagodas, big and small, some more beautiful than others. I can't seethe pagodas structural integrity lasting if people are allowed to scale the walls. Anyways while driving our ebikes through the pagodas we came across a young man selling sand paintings. He ended up being our unofficial tour guide. I think he does this for many, but either way we enjoyed his knowledge and company. He even showed us his village, his family, and his home. We were very humbled. They served us tea and peanuts which they grow down by the river. Also invited us to dinner which we had to refuse. Too much to see and do for one day in Bagan. Our hotel was the best. Right on the Irrawaddy River.

Mingalarbar Myanmar

Wow. What an amazing country so far. Arrived in Yangon yesterday. Toured the Shwedagon Pagado. Such a sacred place for Buddhist. Then we walk to Kandawgyi lake to watch the sun set. Caught a cab to downtown and ate Shan noodles at 999 Shan Noodle. It was delicious!  

Chiang Mai....what an awesome city

Yesterday I had the pleasure of having lunch with my good friend, Shilpa's daughter, Anuja. She's teaching English here in Chiang Mai. It's so great to see these young people experiencing the world. She met me at my hotel and then we walked to a vegan/vegetarian restaurant, A Taste of Heaven. I had vegan Pad Thai. It was delicious. We shared a vegan brownie.

On top of teaching she is working on her masters from UF!  Way to go, Anuja!

Amazing temple across the street from our hotel....Wat Chedi Luang, built around the 14th century.

After lunch with Anuja, I went to the Museum of World Insects and Natural Wonders (of course, I did :) I learned so much about mosquitoes and malaria. Really good information. Click to enlarge the above picture, maybe you could read the text. 

Out exploring last night. The city is getting ready for a huge festival, after we leave :)

Durian, a fruit that smells like garbage when it's being cut open. It's very popular here, but so pungent that some stores have signs that say "no durian". Al wanted me to try it...I did...I was very interesting...pretty good.

Today, Sunday, we hired a red Songtaew to take us up the mountain to Doi Sothep.

Okay, I know, she's adorable. I thought the same thing, then I realized that she was putting money in her little purse...money that she gets from taking pictures with strangers. They are all over the steps to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. It's so sad. They are totally being exploited by their parents. If you dare take a picture, they come up and say "photo money". If you give them money, they are all smiles and hugging strangers in the pictures...it's just so sad. It's sad that adults do not make the connection...if they didn't give them money for pictures, they wouldn't have to do this, but, who knows...if it's not that, maybe it would be something else.

Really beautiful temple...unfortunately, those are elephant tusks. Funny thing...there was a sign on this door that said if you were coming in to take a picture, to please sit or squat. As I was focusing my phone, I felt water hitting me, I let out a shriek (not a good idea in a temple) but realized that the monk was flinging holy water? at us. I guess I can consider myself blessed :) really in many, many ways!

Okay, this is what 5 Bhat will get you as far as a toilet in Doi Suthep. I'm actually getting better at it. Thanks goodness Luz had toilet paper....Yay Luz!

This is the incredible lady who helped me at the hospital. She was reassuring and comforting in so many ways. She is from Sri Lanka. She has one daughter, who is 16, and goes to boarding school in India. Like I said, travel restores your faith in humanity!

This afternoon Sara left back for home, Nakhon Si Thammarat. We had such a great time with her in Chiang Mai. She speaks Thai! It's so impressive. Good for her! It has a lot to do with the fact that in her small town there are not many tourist...either way...good job!!!

Tomorrow morning we leave for Yangon, Myanmar. I'm not sure about quality of internet service, so I might not be able to post. We fly from Yangon to Bagan to Lake Inle and back to Yangon. We arrive at Sara's on Thursday, Thanksgiving.

Here are some more Chaing Mai pictures.

A Day with Asian Elephants

Today I went to the Elephant Nature Park in northern Thailand. It was such an amazing experience. I have seen elephants before, but never have I had the opportunity to spend so much time with them and experience their personalities. Each elephant had a story about how they ended up at the sanctuary. Many had stepped on field mines on the Burma/Thai border. Many had worked in the logging industry. Many were from circuses and many were forced to work the streets to beg for money. Some were blind and many have psychological issues to overcome. They are all in a much better place now. We spent the day feeding them and learning about them.

I will post some videos when I get home.

Towards the end of the day I started to not feel well. Unfortunately, I had an idea of what was going on....it's the same feeling I had in Bejing. I got back to the hotel and decided to go to the hospital. The girl at the front desk said it was a five minute walk....advice...it's never a five minute walk :) Anyways I got to the hospital not knowing what to expect, but I knew it couldn't cost as much as US healthcare. They were great! They actually have one person whose job is to assist foreigners....there are so many US retirees in Chaing Mai. She escorted me everywhere. Even got me a tuk tuk ride for the way home, since I really couldn't walk back to my hotel. With the doctor visit, urine lab tests, and prescriptions...total was less than $50 US. I guess I'm traveling the world comparing health care costs for treating UTIs. (sorry too much information). Ends up it has a lot to do with sitting in airplane seats for so long with a seat belt on and waiting too long to use the bathroom. Anyways, I'm glad I took out the travel insurance, since I can send in my receipts when I get home. I just had to share my experience, since I'm always amazed at the graciousness, efficiency, and affordable costs of healthcare abroad.

Very Brief Bangkok

Just one afternoon, in killer heat, we toured the Grand Palace. Here are some pictures. 

Tons of temples, tons of history and beautiful paintings. Roof shingles are made of ceramic. Also when we had to take off our shoes before entering a temple they had two sections, one was for foreigner's shoes and the other for Thai people's shoes. I thought that was interesting. While I was sweating profusely, my travel partner, Luz, had to mention that she doesn't sweat. It must be nice....my family does not have that gene :) Thank goodness for my new Columbia wick pants...they never once showed sweat. We did have one interesting encounter while searching for an authentic Thai restaurant. We came upon a restaurant with all locals and walked inside to see if we could see a menu. The owner shooed us away....basically told us to leave. I kept trying to ask her for a menu, using my Google translate words, but she didn't want to listen. Sara explained to me that many Thai people have had very bad experiences with foreigners and that they just do not wish to serve them. People visit countries without learning about the culture and customs and inadvertently offend them. It's a good lesson. Also, I guess I should stick with restaurants that have menus in English and have pictures of food items, that way I know they welcome foreigners. Lesson learned!

Survived the grueling 30 hours of travel

Art installation at the Hong Kong airport. Guess what it's made of?

Actually had great flights and met great people. With such troubling times, travel always restores my faith in humanity. Meeting people from all over this great planet and remembering we all just want the same thing. Anyways after a decent nights sleep we're off to the Grand Palace in Bangkok. We'll grab some lunch and then head back to our hotel, which is holding a bag of our belingings to lighten our load, to catch a taxi to the airport....yes another flight. I'll post some pics from Bangkok when we get to Chiangmai. With love

Gearing up and getting ready

I'm literally gearing  up and getting ready. I was up at 3:30am reconfiguring my gear, trying to make it the most efficient and trying to not pack too much. Oh well, that's not gonna happen. I'm back to my large camera case as a day pack. I'm checking a small carry on and bringing on a large tote bag....so much for traveling light :) My plane leaves at 8:40am....Chicago, Hong Kong, and Bangkok....here I come.