November 4-6, 2014
Fortunately our departure from Siem Reap was a whole lot easier than getting there, which took us 13 hours from the time we left our hotel in Yangon to when we finally arrived at our hotel in Cambodia.
But, after a very long day in the Bangkok airport, our two and a half days in Siem Reap visiting Anghor Wat flew by.
Anghor Wat became a Unesco World Heritage site twenty years ago, but did not really come into its own as a tourist destination until a decade ago, as it took that first ten years for the infrastructure to develop. And 20 years ago, Siem Reap was probably like Myanmar is now. Today it is tourist central with hoards of tourists from all over, but especially from the nearby Asian countries. Our Odysseys' tour guide Bunrit suggested we get started early on Thursday morning, but getting to the entrance gate before 8:00am did not mean that we were the first to arrive. At that time of the morning, it is already fairly hot and humid and the crowds have started to appear. And so began our two days encountering many Chinese tourists, who, to a person were rude and pushy.
The Khmer Empire began around 802, reached its height in the 11th and 12th centuries and by 1325 was in steep decline. During the 500 years it was a driving force in Southeast Asia, there were two Kings, who were chiefly responsible for much of the building of the empire. Suryavarman II, ruled from 1130-1150, and Jayavarman VII, one hundred years later from 1181-1220.
Suryavarman expanded the Khmer empire to include most of what is now Thailand. Jayavarman further expanded the Khmer empire to include parts of what is now South Vietnam. Both rulers constructed magnificent temples, with the earlier ruler constructing Hindu temples and the later ruler building temples with Buddhist orientation. Many countries, through UNESCO, including the US, Japan and China have played a role and contributed funds to the restoration of this site which covers about 100 square miles. During our two day visit we visited about 6 of them. Anghor Wat, the original temple on the site and the largest, is Hindu in its iconography and symbols, others were either Buddhist or Hindu, depending upon when they were constructed.
Elsa and I were both skeptical at first about whether Anghor Wat (which is what the entire site is referred to but is also the name of the largest temple) would be any different than the many temples and pagodas we had already visited in Myanmar and that I had visited previously in India. But we were both awed. One of my favorites was Bayon which had been built by Jayavarman VII and had amazing reliefs depicting the lives of everyday people. It helped to have an excellent guide who was able to deftly explain what we were looking at. I had read in one of the guide books about the Chams, but had not really figured out who they were. This guide explained as he pointed out key story elements in the relief. The Chams of the Champa empire had defeated Anghor in 1177. The Champa empire was in what is now South Vietnam, in an area which was a stop on the East West trade route from China. The word "Chams", according to the guide, means Chinese Muslims. Javayarman VII defeated the Chams and scenes of the battles as well as other everyday historical scenes are depicted.
In addition to Bayon, we toured the Anghor Wat temple, which is dedicated to Vishnu and has beautiful scenes from the Mahabharata and Ramayana epics. The five soaring towers, with the largest in the middle representing Mount Meru, the mountaintop residence of the Hindu gods, have been beautifully restored. There was a Hindu nun sitting across from the large shrine of Vishnu at the Temple. Elsa and I each gave her money and she held our hands (one at a time) and chanted a blessing. In its intonation, I could hear our priestly blessing..May The Lord keep you and bless you and grant you peace...We visited this temple just before dusk, so we were able to get some lovely photos as the sun was setting.
We also visited Banteay Srei, a temple built for the Hindu god Shiva. And, we wondered out loud whether our Jewish tradition of sitting shiva was derived in any way from the Hindu god Shiva who is described as the destroyer of life, but is also described as transcendent and limitless. Shiva is worshipped through the linga (penis) and there were also linga throughout the temple.
The other two temples we visited were Preah Kan, built by Jayavaraman VII in memory of his father and Ta Prohm, built by the same ruler to honor his mother. The former is currently being restored by the World Monument Fund, the latter has not been touched and is a wonderful example of what all of the temples looked like before restoration began. Ta Prohm, a decaying Buddhist shrine has been overtaken by the jungle and there are massive tree roots strangling many different walls of the temple. Great photo ops. And many aggressive Chinese tourists who were not all that interested in taking turns. Elsa and I patiently waited our turn as one large family took pictures. After they were done we started to take our pics, but they apparently were not finished and they returned and tried to stand in front of us to resume their picture taking. We were not terribly inclined to let them do so.
We took a tuk tuk ( bicycle driven cart) to the old market on our last day in Siem Reap. The driver was nice enough to arrange a time to return for us, and the cost was minimal at $2 each way. The market provided some good picture taking ops, but not much to buy. We ended our stay in Cambodia lounging at the pool, a very civilized way to wind down.
Friday, November 7, 2014
Thursday, November 6, 2014
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Be It Ever So Humble
Our home from home in Cambodia: taking it easy at the Sofitel pool before our flight to Hong Kong this afternoon. We'll be at the swim-up bar in minutes, even only for some Diet Cokes.
It was 34 degrees here Celsius yesterday and I finally looked up the Fahrenheit conversion, which was 93.2 degrees. It felt every degree, especially since the humidity had to have been nearly as high. Given that, the pool is singing a siren song that's impossible to resist.
Elsa
It was 34 degrees here Celsius yesterday and I finally looked up the Fahrenheit conversion, which was 93.2 degrees. It felt every degree, especially since the humidity had to have been nearly as high. Given that, the pool is singing a siren song that's impossible to resist.
Elsa
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Why did the water buffalo cross the road?
Because Rick Scott won and Mitch McConnell will be the new Majority Leader of the Senate.
The monkeys and cows aren't happy, either.
I sent in an absentee ballot before I left the country and I'm not pleased now that CNN is showing a sea of red states on its US map.
-Elsa Black
The monkeys and cows aren't happy, either.
I sent in an absentee ballot before I left the country and I'm not pleased now that CNN is showing a sea of red states on its US map.
-Elsa Black
Ann & Elsa at Angkor Watt
The last capital of the Khmers, nearly 1,000 years old. The babes pictured below are several years younger than the gods behind them.
Monday, November 3, 2014
Leaving Myanmar and on to Cambodia. -AHS
As we checked our bags at Yangon International Airport, one of the female airline clerks gave me a warm, beautiful smile to which I responded "Mingelaba", which means good day in Burmese. She responded by saying that all you need to connect with our people is three words. - Mingelaba - good day; Jesuba -thank you; and Anate - no thank you. Elsa and I both laughed as those were the three words we had mastered during our travels in Myanmar. And those words had stood us in very good stead wherever we had gone. In our two weeks of travel and six internal flights visiting five different locations, the Burmese people were gracious, warm an d welcoming throughout. Nary a cross word or nasty or comment.
As we walked through Yangon International Airport with it's LED screens and spacious waiting areas we were being prepared for our return to more developed surroundings. The local airports in Myanmar, including the domestic terminal at Yangon, were all much more basic with bullhorns rather than sophisticated screens the mode for alerting passengers of their flights.
We are flying from Yangon through Bangkok to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Just before landing we checked our boarding passes for our next flight. We thought we had an hour or so layover in Bangkok, but our boarding passes had a different flight number and a much later take off time than the information Odysseys had given us previously, including our e ticket Chang had given us this morning. We checked the flights once we landed in Bangkok and learned that our original flight at 1:45 had been cancelled and we are now on the 5:30 flight. So we are wiling away the afternoon in the Bangkok airport shopping and drinking Jasmine tea. And we have learned, or more aptly said, we are trying to learn thank you in Thai, which is "Khob Kun Ka".
So now with plenty of time and no excuse not to write, a few words on our last day and a half in Yangon.
We arrived in Yangon Saturday afternoon. Our flight had been delayed about an hour so we asked Chang privately what he was planning to do for the afternoon. The itinerary for the afternoon included a visit to a museum on the history of Myanmar followed by a trip to Scott Market, the big market with stalls in Yangon. His understanding was that our afternoon was free and that we were returning to the hotel for lunch on our own. He then fished out his copy of the itinerary to confirm his understanding and we showed him ours. And sure enough, they said two different things. Elsa and I said that we did not care about going to the museum but that we would like to go to the market. Ten minutes later, he got on the microphone on the bus to tell all of us we would be going to the museum and market. He had checked with his office and apparently he had been given the wrong information. I loved how seamlessly he handled this situation.
We appeared to be the only ones in the museum and the air conditioning was meager at best, so it was really hot, but complaints aside, it was very interesting. Chang gave us the one hour tour and we saw the throne of the last king of Burma. After Burma was defeated by the British in the mid-1800's, and the king deposed and forced into exile, the British carted the throne and other royal treasures to London to display in the Victoria and Albert Museum. After gaining its independence in 1948, the Burmese prevailed upon the British to return the throne and some of its treasures to Burma (some still reside in the Victoria and Albert Museum). The museum recreates the original throne room, with the throne in the middle of the room, and replicas of the kings other thrones used in his various palaces for different purposes (receiving signatories, meeting out awards and punishments, etc.), displayed in cases around the perimeter of the room. Unfortunately, cameras were not permitted in the museum.
Lunch in a Burmese style coffee shop followed with light fare, which was a welcome change from our multi course lunches. Elsa and I had grilled cheese sandwiches, which Burmese style had fried egg on the bottom. Steve's ham and cheese sandwich was more akin to our version save the crustless white toast (a bit of English influence, maybe?).
The Scott Market was fun, save for the unbearable heat. We were all drenched by the time we headed back to the hotel.
Our farewell Dinner, as Steve described in detail, was at a French restaurant with beautiful outdoor landscaping. It really felt like we had already moved onto another venue!
Some final morning site seeing, including a visit to the huge reclining Buddha and stop at Aung San Suu Kyi's home (from a safe distance of course without traversing the lake on which it is located), followed by another trip to the market for Elsa and me to finish purchasing beads for Ellen took up the better part of our last day in Yangon. Two of our group members departed mid-afternoon, and Steve and the other three in our group took off after dinner. Elsa and I began our journey onward this morning.
We are now sitting the airport food court. I balked at getting a Starbuck's coffee so we got Jasmine tea and a vanilla muffin from Ritazza, which is based in London (we think). We are sitting in front of the Dairy Queen, just steps away from the Burger King and across from the Subway! Oh what we Americans export!!
I just got up to check on our flights and walked past the Thai monks at the table next to us. But unlike the Burmese monks we encountered, these guys would not look my way as I passed. Welcome back to the tourist "friendly" developed world!
Our 5pm flight finally took off at 7:30 and fortunately the Odysseys guide was waiting for us at the airport in Siem Reap. By the time we got to our hotel we had been in transit for well over 10 hours - not very good for what should have been a short travel day. But after a good night's sleep we are ready to embark on our Ankgor Wat adventure.
As we walked through Yangon International Airport with it's LED screens and spacious waiting areas we were being prepared for our return to more developed surroundings. The local airports in Myanmar, including the domestic terminal at Yangon, were all much more basic with bullhorns rather than sophisticated screens the mode for alerting passengers of their flights.
We are flying from Yangon through Bangkok to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Just before landing we checked our boarding passes for our next flight. We thought we had an hour or so layover in Bangkok, but our boarding passes had a different flight number and a much later take off time than the information Odysseys had given us previously, including our e ticket Chang had given us this morning. We checked the flights once we landed in Bangkok and learned that our original flight at 1:45 had been cancelled and we are now on the 5:30 flight. So we are wiling away the afternoon in the Bangkok airport shopping and drinking Jasmine tea. And we have learned, or more aptly said, we are trying to learn thank you in Thai, which is "Khob Kun Ka".
So now with plenty of time and no excuse not to write, a few words on our last day and a half in Yangon.
We arrived in Yangon Saturday afternoon. Our flight had been delayed about an hour so we asked Chang privately what he was planning to do for the afternoon. The itinerary for the afternoon included a visit to a museum on the history of Myanmar followed by a trip to Scott Market, the big market with stalls in Yangon. His understanding was that our afternoon was free and that we were returning to the hotel for lunch on our own. He then fished out his copy of the itinerary to confirm his understanding and we showed him ours. And sure enough, they said two different things. Elsa and I said that we did not care about going to the museum but that we would like to go to the market. Ten minutes later, he got on the microphone on the bus to tell all of us we would be going to the museum and market. He had checked with his office and apparently he had been given the wrong information. I loved how seamlessly he handled this situation.
We appeared to be the only ones in the museum and the air conditioning was meager at best, so it was really hot, but complaints aside, it was very interesting. Chang gave us the one hour tour and we saw the throne of the last king of Burma. After Burma was defeated by the British in the mid-1800's, and the king deposed and forced into exile, the British carted the throne and other royal treasures to London to display in the Victoria and Albert Museum. After gaining its independence in 1948, the Burmese prevailed upon the British to return the throne and some of its treasures to Burma (some still reside in the Victoria and Albert Museum). The museum recreates the original throne room, with the throne in the middle of the room, and replicas of the kings other thrones used in his various palaces for different purposes (receiving signatories, meeting out awards and punishments, etc.), displayed in cases around the perimeter of the room. Unfortunately, cameras were not permitted in the museum.
Lunch in a Burmese style coffee shop followed with light fare, which was a welcome change from our multi course lunches. Elsa and I had grilled cheese sandwiches, which Burmese style had fried egg on the bottom. Steve's ham and cheese sandwich was more akin to our version save the crustless white toast (a bit of English influence, maybe?).
The Scott Market was fun, save for the unbearable heat. We were all drenched by the time we headed back to the hotel.
Our farewell Dinner, as Steve described in detail, was at a French restaurant with beautiful outdoor landscaping. It really felt like we had already moved onto another venue!
Some final morning site seeing, including a visit to the huge reclining Buddha and stop at Aung San Suu Kyi's home (from a safe distance of course without traversing the lake on which it is located), followed by another trip to the market for Elsa and me to finish purchasing beads for Ellen took up the better part of our last day in Yangon. Two of our group members departed mid-afternoon, and Steve and the other three in our group took off after dinner. Elsa and I began our journey onward this morning.
We are now sitting the airport food court. I balked at getting a Starbuck's coffee so we got Jasmine tea and a vanilla muffin from Ritazza, which is based in London (we think). We are sitting in front of the Dairy Queen, just steps away from the Burger King and across from the Subway! Oh what we Americans export!!
I just got up to check on our flights and walked past the Thai monks at the table next to us. But unlike the Burmese monks we encountered, these guys would not look my way as I passed. Welcome back to the tourist "friendly" developed world!
Our 5pm flight finally took off at 7:30 and fortunately the Odysseys guide was waiting for us at the airport in Siem Reap. By the time we got to our hotel we had been in transit for well over 10 hours - not very good for what should have been a short travel day. But after a good night's sleep we are ready to embark on our Ankgor Wat adventure.
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Last day in Yangon
Dinner last night at a very fancy French restaurant. The food was good but presented stupendously. Each dish was served covered, and then the waiters on command stepped between us and lifted the covers simultaneously. Very cute. Unfortunately, we were outside with candle light, so there was no way to take a picture. The fish was grouper with a somewhat spicy crust. Actually very good.
This morning at breakfast, we had a birthday cake for Ann, and we sang. The staff of the hotel had a signed card as well as one from Chang and all of our group. I commented that my gift to her was that I was leaving her!
We piled onto the bus for one last trip around the city. We went to see the giant lying Buddha. It is 165 feet long and about 30 feet high. It was built in 1907 by some businessman. Totally huge. It was also our last "shoes off" site. Many of the pagodas and temples here require us to be barefoot. Not always a pleasant experience.
We went to the city center to see city hall which was an old British building. We took a walk to see other old colonial buildings and wound up at the Strand Hotel, a famous old place from colonial times. We found some puppies along the way and of course stopped for more pictures. I'll try to get some of them up as well.
After we dropped Ann and Elsa off back at the Scott market for more shopping, we came back to the hotel. We wished Earl and Aloma goodbye as they were leaving this afternoon.
The room wasn't ready, so I wandered back down to the lobby, and ran into a wedding. The bride and her maids were in peach, and the groom was a naval officer, in uniform. As in Delhi, they invited me in and I took lovely pictures of them and the ceremony. Very cool. They even gave me a party favor.
I'm now awaiting for dinner then to the airport for my 1am flight to Hong Kong. Tomorrow will be a never ending day, 20 hours in the air, 8 hours or more in airports, 13 time zones, and I get home to DC at 6 PM. Blecch.
This morning at breakfast, we had a birthday cake for Ann, and we sang. The staff of the hotel had a signed card as well as one from Chang and all of our group. I commented that my gift to her was that I was leaving her!
We piled onto the bus for one last trip around the city. We went to see the giant lying Buddha. It is 165 feet long and about 30 feet high. It was built in 1907 by some businessman. Totally huge. It was also our last "shoes off" site. Many of the pagodas and temples here require us to be barefoot. Not always a pleasant experience.
We went to the city center to see city hall which was an old British building. We took a walk to see other old colonial buildings and wound up at the Strand Hotel, a famous old place from colonial times. We found some puppies along the way and of course stopped for more pictures. I'll try to get some of them up as well.
After we dropped Ann and Elsa off back at the Scott market for more shopping, we came back to the hotel. We wished Earl and Aloma goodbye as they were leaving this afternoon.
The room wasn't ready, so I wandered back down to the lobby, and ran into a wedding. The bride and her maids were in peach, and the groom was a naval officer, in uniform. As in Delhi, they invited me in and I took lovely pictures of them and the ceremony. Very cool. They even gave me a party favor.
I'm now awaiting for dinner then to the airport for my 1am flight to Hong Kong. Tomorrow will be a never ending day, 20 hours in the air, 8 hours or more in airports, 13 time zones, and I get home to DC at 6 PM. Blecch.
Saturday, November 1, 2014
Inle to Yangon
We went back to the Heho airport to wait for the plane to Yangon. And wait. And wait. Our 8:30 flight became 10:30. For a 1 hour flight. Such is life here.
Back in Yangon, we went to the National Museum. No pictures allowed, but I'm not sure why. Everyplace else in this country, there is a fee for cameras, but here we were even patted down. Nevertheless, in our first room, there was someone taking pictures. I guess that only applies to foreigners (who had our own marked bathrooms!).
The museum had the original throne of King Mindon from the 1880s. Not just a chair, but a 15 foot high raised dais with ornamental gold and figures. This was the "lion" throne, from which he gave legal pronouncements. There were reproductions of 7 other similar thrones which were used for other purposes. There were examples of the Royal crowns, jewelry, and other gold items. They literally were behind bars. In another room was mannequins with the ceremonial dress of 40 of the 135 different ethnic groups of this country. This really is a hodge podge of groups, trying to be one country. The Burmese are the largest group, and they are in control. The Shan are the next largest, and they struggle for recognition. The others all do the same. It's the same the world over. They don't want to break up into smaller states (a la Yugoslavia -"All Slavs") as they realize they would be even more powerless to the behemoths of China and India in the region. But those in power want to keep it for themselves and their own group, and let the others pound sand. As is usual in many places in the world, nothing gets accomplished officially without some "show of appreciation", so it is not just about being in charge, it is also enrichment.
Back to the museum, they also had room of some of the natural history, with old dinosaur bones, cave paintings, and artifacts from 10,000 to 2,000 years ago. Ann found rooms of jewelry and clothing. Overall, interesting, even if presented in a less than optimal fashion.
Then to the Scott market. This is a huge conglomeration of stalls in large warehouses for jewelry, clothing, food, and what-have-you. Ann was on a mission to get beads for Ellen; I was totally bored. There wasn't even much to take photos of, as it was dark. And hot. The only interesting thing was the piles of bugs for sale. They looked like grasshoppers, but I wasn't exactly sure. Yum.
Back in Yangon, we went to the National Museum. No pictures allowed, but I'm not sure why. Everyplace else in this country, there is a fee for cameras, but here we were even patted down. Nevertheless, in our first room, there was someone taking pictures. I guess that only applies to foreigners (who had our own marked bathrooms!).
The museum had the original throne of King Mindon from the 1880s. Not just a chair, but a 15 foot high raised dais with ornamental gold and figures. This was the "lion" throne, from which he gave legal pronouncements. There were reproductions of 7 other similar thrones which were used for other purposes. There were examples of the Royal crowns, jewelry, and other gold items. They literally were behind bars. In another room was mannequins with the ceremonial dress of 40 of the 135 different ethnic groups of this country. This really is a hodge podge of groups, trying to be one country. The Burmese are the largest group, and they are in control. The Shan are the next largest, and they struggle for recognition. The others all do the same. It's the same the world over. They don't want to break up into smaller states (a la Yugoslavia -"All Slavs") as they realize they would be even more powerless to the behemoths of China and India in the region. But those in power want to keep it for themselves and their own group, and let the others pound sand. As is usual in many places in the world, nothing gets accomplished officially without some "show of appreciation", so it is not just about being in charge, it is also enrichment.
Back to the museum, they also had room of some of the natural history, with old dinosaur bones, cave paintings, and artifacts from 10,000 to 2,000 years ago. Ann found rooms of jewelry and clothing. Overall, interesting, even if presented in a less than optimal fashion.
Then to the Scott market. This is a huge conglomeration of stalls in large warehouses for jewelry, clothing, food, and what-have-you. Ann was on a mission to get beads for Ellen; I was totally bored. There wasn't even much to take photos of, as it was dark. And hot. The only interesting thing was the piles of bugs for sale. They looked like grasshoppers, but I wasn't exactly sure. Yum.
Last Day at Inle Lake. - AHS
November 1, 2014
Our time at Inle Lake has been a highlight of our stay in Myanmar. Traveling to our destinations each day by motor powered boat has been fun. Although the lake is only 22 miles long, it has taken about an hour each morning to get to our first stop, which yesterday, our second and last full day at Inle Lake, was the five day market. We shopped at the market which had both crafts and fruit, vegetables and fish. From there we went to Inn Dein Pagoda which dates from the 11th and 12th centuries. Some of the early Pagoda ruins have been restored but much of the site has not. The walk to the pagoda area and back tho the lake was quite a hike fir me; a good 20 minute walk, but I made it without too much difficulty, cane in hand.
From there, a quick stop at a silver smith workshop where we had a chance to see the locals ply their trade. And, of course, there was a shop connected to it. But nothing much to purchase, especially in comparison to our metal smith's work.
Lunch followed at a restaurant connected to lotus and silk weaving workshops and a "Sales Center". Food was Chinese, with lots of very good vegetable and noodle dishes. After lunch we toured the weaving workshops where women were demonstrating how they use the stem of the lotus plant to weave fabric. Fascinating! Then the chance to shop - where they did have beautiful silk and silk and lotus scarves in a wide variety of colors. Signs all over in different languages saying "fixed price" so my attempt to bargain was rebuffed.
On the boat ride back to the hotel, we encountered the end of Monsoon season as a huge cloud enveloped the part of the sky in the direction we were traveling. Thanks to umbrellas for each of us on the boat which provided cover and served as a sail, we were well protected from the storm we rode into. By the time we reached shore, the rain had passed. And, yesterday evening, the sunset from the balcony of our room was spectacular!
We were able to leave Inle Lake by bus instead of by boat, who was the way we had entered. After an hour long bus ride back to Heho airport, we are now awaiting our flight back to Yangon for our final days Myanmar.
Our time at Inle Lake has been a highlight of our stay in Myanmar. Traveling to our destinations each day by motor powered boat has been fun. Although the lake is only 22 miles long, it has taken about an hour each morning to get to our first stop, which yesterday, our second and last full day at Inle Lake, was the five day market. We shopped at the market which had both crafts and fruit, vegetables and fish. From there we went to Inn Dein Pagoda which dates from the 11th and 12th centuries. Some of the early Pagoda ruins have been restored but much of the site has not. The walk to the pagoda area and back tho the lake was quite a hike fir me; a good 20 minute walk, but I made it without too much difficulty, cane in hand.
From there, a quick stop at a silver smith workshop where we had a chance to see the locals ply their trade. And, of course, there was a shop connected to it. But nothing much to purchase, especially in comparison to our metal smith's work.
Lunch followed at a restaurant connected to lotus and silk weaving workshops and a "Sales Center". Food was Chinese, with lots of very good vegetable and noodle dishes. After lunch we toured the weaving workshops where women were demonstrating how they use the stem of the lotus plant to weave fabric. Fascinating! Then the chance to shop - where they did have beautiful silk and silk and lotus scarves in a wide variety of colors. Signs all over in different languages saying "fixed price" so my attempt to bargain was rebuffed.
On the boat ride back to the hotel, we encountered the end of Monsoon season as a huge cloud enveloped the part of the sky in the direction we were traveling. Thanks to umbrellas for each of us on the boat which provided cover and served as a sail, we were well protected from the storm we rode into. By the time we reached shore, the rain had passed. And, yesterday evening, the sunset from the balcony of our room was spectacular!
We were able to leave Inle Lake by bus instead of by boat, who was the way we had entered. After an hour long bus ride back to Heho airport, we are now awaiting our flight back to Yangon for our final days Myanmar.
Kalaw and Inle Lake - AHS
10/30/14
The best thing about Kalaw, which we left this morning after a one night stay, were our meals that day. Kalaw is located in the Shan state. And we had an absolutely delicious lunch of Shan food at a restaurant called Dream Restaurant. An apt name as the photos on the wall were almost all of The Lady Aung San Suu Kyi (which is what the Burmese people call her). And she was pictured with Obama, Hillary, Cameron and other dignitaries. Since the Shan state is next to Thailand, there is a strong Thai influence in the food. Lunch started with pumpkin soup with lemongrass. Among the many dishes we were served was a steamed fish that was almost like a mousse in texture and really good. The curried vegetable dish was also noteworthy. And there was flan for dessert which was a big hit. After lunch we headed for Kalaw which was an outpost for the British during colonial times. Since it is up in the mountains (actually only at an elevation of 4000 ft), it provided a respite from the otherwise hot climate. Apart from the fact that the British had been here, there wasn't a whole lot else to recommend it. We stayed at the Hilltop Villa, which reminded both of us of the cabins at Powhatan. Our Odysseys' itinerary had allowed that the hotel was not of the caliber of the other! And they were true to their word. Dinner was again delicious. This time an Indian meal. Among the noteworthy dishes were a barbecued pork dish like spare ribs (the only kind of pork I will eat other than bacon on occasion). And various meat and vegetable curries which were very good.
We left Kalaw early Wednesday morning for our hour and a half drive to Inle Lake. On the way we stopped at a little town to watch a parade of families whose young sons would be entering the monastery as novitiates for a 3 day stay. Waiting for the parade was great people watching with the opportunity to take lots of good photos of the locals going about their daily activities. We also made a stop at a monastery - yet another opportunity to take off our shoes and walk through the holy site barefoot. Inside one portion of the monastery which had cave like rooms which led to others, there were lots of little Buddhas in small alcoves, each with the names of the donors, a few of which were from the U.S. Inside we also had some great photo ops with some young monks who were as interested in taking our picture as we were in taking theirs. From there on to a pizza and pasta lunch on our way to our destination. Not bad, but not nearly as good as my homemade pizza.
Arriving at Inle Lake, we (9 of us) and all of our baggage were loaded onto 2 motor powered canoes, our mode of transportation while we are here. There are over 100,00 people who make their homes on the lake. The communities are located on little inlets, with homes on stilts. We are staying at a lovely resort called Inle Lake View Resort. The management was taken over by a Frenchman about 2 months ago, and one of the owners is also French ( a husband wife team--the wife is Burmese and the husband French). So the resort has some lovely French touches. The presentation of the food is very elegant, with the food itself being Burmese with a French flare. But the wait staff are still trying to figure it all out. Steve ordered a ham and cheese omelet for breakfast. First he got two pieces of cheese and a piece of ham. Then they brought 4 pieces of cheese and two pieces of ham. Finally they
brought him a plain omelet which he proceeded to eat with his him and cheese. It was all pretty funny!
After breakfast we took off by boat to our destinations for the day. We visited yet another monastery and we added another pagoda to the list of Buddha shrines we have visited. Then on to lunch at the home of Ms. Ann. She still resides in her family home where both she (and her siblings ) and her father and his 18 siblings had been raised. She is a successful entrepreneur and owns two hotels and a restaurant on the lake, and she was a very gracious host. When we asked her how many children she has she told us 80 - her 80 employees. Her commitment, she said, is to support her community. The rest of her family has left the region. Her brother now lives in Yangon and her sister in Thailand. Again a multi course meal - delicious, but way too much food for the middle of the day.
Tomorrow is our last day on the lake, and then on Saturday we drive back to Heho for the flight to Yangon where we wind up our stay in Myanmar. From there Steve heads home, and Elsa and I head on to Anghor Wat and Hong Kong before
The best thing about Kalaw, which we left this morning after a one night stay, were our meals that day. Kalaw is located in the Shan state. And we had an absolutely delicious lunch of Shan food at a restaurant called Dream Restaurant. An apt name as the photos on the wall were almost all of The Lady Aung San Suu Kyi (which is what the Burmese people call her). And she was pictured with Obama, Hillary, Cameron and other dignitaries. Since the Shan state is next to Thailand, there is a strong Thai influence in the food. Lunch started with pumpkin soup with lemongrass. Among the many dishes we were served was a steamed fish that was almost like a mousse in texture and really good. The curried vegetable dish was also noteworthy. And there was flan for dessert which was a big hit. After lunch we headed for Kalaw which was an outpost for the British during colonial times. Since it is up in the mountains (actually only at an elevation of 4000 ft), it provided a respite from the otherwise hot climate. Apart from the fact that the British had been here, there wasn't a whole lot else to recommend it. We stayed at the Hilltop Villa, which reminded both of us of the cabins at Powhatan. Our Odysseys' itinerary had allowed that the hotel was not of the caliber of the other! And they were true to their word. Dinner was again delicious. This time an Indian meal. Among the noteworthy dishes were a barbecued pork dish like spare ribs (the only kind of pork I will eat other than bacon on occasion). And various meat and vegetable curries which were very good.
We left Kalaw early Wednesday morning for our hour and a half drive to Inle Lake. On the way we stopped at a little town to watch a parade of families whose young sons would be entering the monastery as novitiates for a 3 day stay. Waiting for the parade was great people watching with the opportunity to take lots of good photos of the locals going about their daily activities. We also made a stop at a monastery - yet another opportunity to take off our shoes and walk through the holy site barefoot. Inside one portion of the monastery which had cave like rooms which led to others, there were lots of little Buddhas in small alcoves, each with the names of the donors, a few of which were from the U.S. Inside we also had some great photo ops with some young monks who were as interested in taking our picture as we were in taking theirs. From there on to a pizza and pasta lunch on our way to our destination. Not bad, but not nearly as good as my homemade pizza.
Arriving at Inle Lake, we (9 of us) and all of our baggage were loaded onto 2 motor powered canoes, our mode of transportation while we are here. There are over 100,00 people who make their homes on the lake. The communities are located on little inlets, with homes on stilts. We are staying at a lovely resort called Inle Lake View Resort. The management was taken over by a Frenchman about 2 months ago, and one of the owners is also French ( a husband wife team--the wife is Burmese and the husband French). So the resort has some lovely French touches. The presentation of the food is very elegant, with the food itself being Burmese with a French flare. But the wait staff are still trying to figure it all out. Steve ordered a ham and cheese omelet for breakfast. First he got two pieces of cheese and a piece of ham. Then they brought 4 pieces of cheese and two pieces of ham. Finally they
brought him a plain omelet which he proceeded to eat with his him and cheese. It was all pretty funny!
After breakfast we took off by boat to our destinations for the day. We visited yet another monastery and we added another pagoda to the list of Buddha shrines we have visited. Then on to lunch at the home of Ms. Ann. She still resides in her family home where both she (and her siblings ) and her father and his 18 siblings had been raised. She is a successful entrepreneur and owns two hotels and a restaurant on the lake, and she was a very gracious host. When we asked her how many children she has she told us 80 - her 80 employees. Her commitment, she said, is to support her community. The rest of her family has left the region. Her brother now lives in Yangon and her sister in Thailand. Again a multi course meal - delicious, but way too much food for the middle of the day.
Tomorrow is our last day on the lake, and then on Saturday we drive back to Heho for the flight to Yangon where we wind up our stay in Myanmar. From there Steve heads home, and Elsa and I head on to Anghor Wat and Hong Kong before
Friday, October 31, 2014
Lunch on the Lake
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Inle Lake Day 1
Breakfast brought a lesson in cross cultural confusion. I order a ham and cheese omelet. The lady didn't hear the word "omelet" and brought me a piece of ham and 2 pieces of cheese. I corrected her saying I wanted an omelet. She subsequently brought me more ham and more cheese. Again, I more forcefully suggested an "omelet" with the ham and cheese. Finally I got the omelet with the ham and cheese on the side. One way of eating it.
After breakfast and getting some email - it is very spotty and very slow here - we learned the Harry had been accepted to medical school at the Medical University of South Carolina(MUSC)! Wow! It is very heart warming to know that one of my kids is going to be a physician. With a nurse and a world traveler, we are very blessed, indeed!
We piled into our boats and took off down the lake. We passed the fishermen with their unique way of paddling. They hook the paddle under their arm and wrap their foot around it to paddle. That way, they are standing on one foot, paddling with the other, and have both hands free to work the nets and traps for the fishing. I've never seen it anywhere else. If the Internet gods allow, I'll upload some pictures and maybe even a video. It may not be for a few days until we get back to Yangon, where the service is better.
We went to an old wooden pagoda. This was built in the 1880s and has more intricately carved statues. All of these are on stilts, since everything here is built over the lake.
We rode through the floating farms. They have miles of floating plants, tied together by bamboo. There is enough solidity for roots to take hold, but we could see everything bob up and down with the wake of our boats. Tomatoes, beans, flowers, etc. They are along side towns on stilts. House after house on stilts over the water, with their boats parked underneath. Some even had electricity and satellite dishes. Most were bamboo sided; some were wood. Bamboo fences separated each.
We went to see the cigar makers. They were rolling the cigars by hand. Very interesting to be there with Elsa, since our grandfather, Martin Stein, had
listed himself as a cigar maker in the 1920 census!
We then went to see the boat makers. They do this the old fashioned way cutting everything by hand. They were ripping a block of wood that was about 16 inches square and 14 feet long, and cutting it into 1 inch boards. With a 2 man saw. About a foot and a half at a time, down this leaf, then down that one, with a small wedge put in to open the slot. Very back breaking and labor intensive. We were told that an electric saw would waste too much wood and yield less. Also, it is difficult to get a permit for the machinery!
We went to the next pagoda which has 5 golden Buddhas. Except they were originally wood, and there has been so much gold leaf applied over hundreds of years that the shapes are just big blobs of gold. They stood about 2 feet high, but the Buddhas inside were only 1 foot tall.
Chang told us it would be an hour boat ride to lunch, but it turned out to only be 1 minute! We went to the ancestral home of Miss Ann, whose father, grand father and 2 further generations were born there. She showed us old pictures of the family from about the 1920s. She now is successful, running 2 restaurants and a hotel, but she made sure that this food was cooked the traditional slow way. A lentil soup, chicken, steamed pork, 2 kinds of veggies - stir fried and steamed spinach - and some beef curry, with some kind of custard desert and we were all stuffed again.
It really was an hour boat ride back to the hotel this time. Fighting with the Internet, it took about 2 hours to get my email. It reminded us of the old days of dial-up modems when we were just waiting and waiting. Literally, it was 7-10 minutes waiting for each one. Sigh.
After a nap, it was dinner time. The French influence of this resort is obvious. The presentations are wonderful and the food is also. Smaller portions so were aren't stuffed. Tonight was some fish with mashed potatoes and sautéed veggies.
After breakfast and getting some email - it is very spotty and very slow here - we learned the Harry had been accepted to medical school at the Medical University of South Carolina(MUSC)! Wow! It is very heart warming to know that one of my kids is going to be a physician. With a nurse and a world traveler, we are very blessed, indeed!
We piled into our boats and took off down the lake. We passed the fishermen with their unique way of paddling. They hook the paddle under their arm and wrap their foot around it to paddle. That way, they are standing on one foot, paddling with the other, and have both hands free to work the nets and traps for the fishing. I've never seen it anywhere else. If the Internet gods allow, I'll upload some pictures and maybe even a video. It may not be for a few days until we get back to Yangon, where the service is better.
We went to an old wooden pagoda. This was built in the 1880s and has more intricately carved statues. All of these are on stilts, since everything here is built over the lake.
We rode through the floating farms. They have miles of floating plants, tied together by bamboo. There is enough solidity for roots to take hold, but we could see everything bob up and down with the wake of our boats. Tomatoes, beans, flowers, etc. They are along side towns on stilts. House after house on stilts over the water, with their boats parked underneath. Some even had electricity and satellite dishes. Most were bamboo sided; some were wood. Bamboo fences separated each.
We went to see the cigar makers. They were rolling the cigars by hand. Very interesting to be there with Elsa, since our grandfather, Martin Stein, had
listed himself as a cigar maker in the 1920 census!
We then went to see the boat makers. They do this the old fashioned way cutting everything by hand. They were ripping a block of wood that was about 16 inches square and 14 feet long, and cutting it into 1 inch boards. With a 2 man saw. About a foot and a half at a time, down this leaf, then down that one, with a small wedge put in to open the slot. Very back breaking and labor intensive. We were told that an electric saw would waste too much wood and yield less. Also, it is difficult to get a permit for the machinery!
We went to the next pagoda which has 5 golden Buddhas. Except they were originally wood, and there has been so much gold leaf applied over hundreds of years that the shapes are just big blobs of gold. They stood about 2 feet high, but the Buddhas inside were only 1 foot tall.
Chang told us it would be an hour boat ride to lunch, but it turned out to only be 1 minute! We went to the ancestral home of Miss Ann, whose father, grand father and 2 further generations were born there. She showed us old pictures of the family from about the 1920s. She now is successful, running 2 restaurants and a hotel, but she made sure that this food was cooked the traditional slow way. A lentil soup, chicken, steamed pork, 2 kinds of veggies - stir fried and steamed spinach - and some beef curry, with some kind of custard desert and we were all stuffed again.
It really was an hour boat ride back to the hotel this time. Fighting with the Internet, it took about 2 hours to get my email. It reminded us of the old days of dial-up modems when we were just waiting and waiting. Literally, it was 7-10 minutes waiting for each one. Sigh.
After a nap, it was dinner time. The French influence of this resort is obvious. The presentations are wonderful and the food is also. Smaller portions so were aren't stuffed. Tonight was some fish with mashed potatoes and sautéed veggies.
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Kalaw to Inle Lake region
A drive down the mountain back past the Heho airport toward the Inle Lake region. Inle (pronounced "inlay") means "small lake" so we are in the small lake lake region. On the way we stopped at a Old wooden pagoda, built in the 1880s. Pictures of the golden Buddha and of the old wizened guys hanging around.
We went into a town where there was another market. This, however, had an extra: a parade for the neophytes going into the monastery. While we waited outside a restaurant, the old guy was frying up what looked like empanadas. Of course, I was willing to try, since in looked good. It was sweet, with a coconut filling. Ann even took a bite and enjoyed it. I told her that her son would be proud to eat street food! Only 300 "jets", about 30 cents. What the world costs Myanmar...
Lunch at a Pizza place - really. We had pizza and pasta and some fried chicken. Desert was good with a crepe with chocolate.
They put us into boats along with our luggage and took off down the lake to our hotel. I think the only way in and out is by water.
The hotel is vary pretty. A real resort complex. We had a lazy afternoon. Ann and Elsa went for massages while I finished writing this and fought with the Internet. The connections are pretty spotty and emails and pictures take 20 minutes or more to send and receive. Johnny Walker helps make the wait more bearable!
Dinner here at the hotel was wonderful. Shan food with a French presentation. The manager here is French, so we see the influence. During dinner, we asked Chang about how his life had been affected by the political events of the past few decades. He became very animated and told us of the travails of his and his wife's family. Fascinating and heart breaking.
Sent from my iPad
We went into a town where there was another market. This, however, had an extra: a parade for the neophytes going into the monastery. While we waited outside a restaurant, the old guy was frying up what looked like empanadas. Of course, I was willing to try, since in looked good. It was sweet, with a coconut filling. Ann even took a bite and enjoyed it. I told her that her son would be proud to eat street food! Only 300 "jets", about 30 cents. What the world costs Myanmar...
Lunch at a Pizza place - really. We had pizza and pasta and some fried chicken. Desert was good with a crepe with chocolate.
They put us into boats along with our luggage and took off down the lake to our hotel. I think the only way in and out is by water.
The hotel is vary pretty. A real resort complex. We had a lazy afternoon. Ann and Elsa went for massages while I finished writing this and fought with the Internet. The connections are pretty spotty and emails and pictures take 20 minutes or more to send and receive. Johnny Walker helps make the wait more bearable!
Dinner here at the hotel was wonderful. Shan food with a French presentation. The manager here is French, so we see the influence. During dinner, we asked Chang about how his life had been affected by the political events of the past few decades. He became very animated and told us of the travails of his and his wife's family. Fascinating and heart breaking.
Sent from my iPad
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Heho to Kalaw
Heho to Kalaw
We flew early to Heho in the Shan state in the eastern part of the country. The Shan are another ethnic minority, making up about 30% of the population, but are much more numerous in this area. Thus, they get their own state. On the flight, they passes out candy labeled as "Pizza Candy". I didn't really want candy that tasted like pizza so I declined. They came around again, and I figure I'd try it. Plain old regular sugary candy to suck on. Then I realized that it was "a pizza candy". Ba-dah-bum!
We got into the bus at Heho to drive to our next destination. This is more mountainous country, and they told us multiple times we we at over 4000 feet elevation. I had to ascertain they were saying feet, not meters. Because it was Tuesday(is it? I can't remember any more) we were able to go to the special cattle market. Hundreds of cattle in a field with locals buying and selling. With hundreds of cattle, there was lots of cattle droppings. We were careful to avoid it, but one of the other tourists from another group was not so lucky. I'll leave it to the imagination. We were reminded of the camel fair in India outside Jaipur.
We walked through another village. Similar straw houses, a few wooden ones. We ate some peanuts that some of the villagers had just shelled. I'm awaiting the consequences of that culinary faux pas. Peanuts are a big crop here, in addition to bananas, corn, beans and teak. Also is the Thanakha tree, which all the women of the country grind the bark on a flat stone to make a powder. Then they make a yellow paste and glob it on their faces. "Good for the complexion". There is even a little stone in our bathroom. I'll have to prevail on Ann!
Lunch at the Dream restaurant with Shan food. Pumpkin soup, Pork, beef, veggies, vermicelli, fish ball and Flan for desert. Actually very good.
We checked in to the Hill Top Villa. Being on top of the hill, it has a nice view of the mountains. They were shooting a movie or TV show as we arrived, and Elsa was eager to take pictures of it for her daughter, Michelle, studying production at USC. The villas are little cabins, reminiscent of Powhatan Pines, but a little upgraded. But not much. The atmosphere is similar. All we need is a lake and some pine trees. The Internet here is essentially non-existent, so I will eventually upload this.
After rest period, we went to the train station. I'm not exactly sure why. We walked into town for the market. This town is one of the uglier towns I've seen. Really nothing special to see here. We took some pictures and waited for the rest of the group. There was a funeral procession from the local Muslims. They were carrying the casket and walking from the mosque. This was the first mosque I'd seen. From the size of the funeral, they have a sizable minority here. Interestingly, all the walkers and everyone in the cars following were men. We've had discussions about the role of women in society. As with many traditional peoples, women take a very secondary role here. Even as we passed the golf course(mostly for the military), I noted the caddies were women!
We went to another Pagoda which made us think of an amusement park the way it was painted in bright colors. Then to monastery that overlooked the valley for sunset, but the fog had rolled in. Mist set?
Dinner at "the 7 sisters" restaurant. They bring us so much food at all these restaurants, it is herd not to get over stuffed. I am trying to eat as if it were tapas and just take a small portion.
Sent from my iPad
We flew early to Heho in the Shan state in the eastern part of the country. The Shan are another ethnic minority, making up about 30% of the population, but are much more numerous in this area. Thus, they get their own state. On the flight, they passes out candy labeled as "Pizza Candy". I didn't really want candy that tasted like pizza so I declined. They came around again, and I figure I'd try it. Plain old regular sugary candy to suck on. Then I realized that it was "a pizza candy". Ba-dah-bum!
We got into the bus at Heho to drive to our next destination. This is more mountainous country, and they told us multiple times we we at over 4000 feet elevation. I had to ascertain they were saying feet, not meters. Because it was Tuesday(is it? I can't remember any more) we were able to go to the special cattle market. Hundreds of cattle in a field with locals buying and selling. With hundreds of cattle, there was lots of cattle droppings. We were careful to avoid it, but one of the other tourists from another group was not so lucky. I'll leave it to the imagination. We were reminded of the camel fair in India outside Jaipur.
We walked through another village. Similar straw houses, a few wooden ones. We ate some peanuts that some of the villagers had just shelled. I'm awaiting the consequences of that culinary faux pas. Peanuts are a big crop here, in addition to bananas, corn, beans and teak. Also is the Thanakha tree, which all the women of the country grind the bark on a flat stone to make a powder. Then they make a yellow paste and glob it on their faces. "Good for the complexion". There is even a little stone in our bathroom. I'll have to prevail on Ann!
Lunch at the Dream restaurant with Shan food. Pumpkin soup, Pork, beef, veggies, vermicelli, fish ball and Flan for desert. Actually very good.
We checked in to the Hill Top Villa. Being on top of the hill, it has a nice view of the mountains. They were shooting a movie or TV show as we arrived, and Elsa was eager to take pictures of it for her daughter, Michelle, studying production at USC. The villas are little cabins, reminiscent of Powhatan Pines, but a little upgraded. But not much. The atmosphere is similar. All we need is a lake and some pine trees. The Internet here is essentially non-existent, so I will eventually upload this.
After rest period, we went to the train station. I'm not exactly sure why. We walked into town for the market. This town is one of the uglier towns I've seen. Really nothing special to see here. We took some pictures and waited for the rest of the group. There was a funeral procession from the local Muslims. They were carrying the casket and walking from the mosque. This was the first mosque I'd seen. From the size of the funeral, they have a sizable minority here. Interestingly, all the walkers and everyone in the cars following were men. We've had discussions about the role of women in society. As with many traditional peoples, women take a very secondary role here. Even as we passed the golf course(mostly for the military), I noted the caddies were women!
We went to another Pagoda which made us think of an amusement park the way it was painted in bright colors. Then to monastery that overlooked the valley for sunset, but the fog had rolled in. Mist set?
Dinner at "the 7 sisters" restaurant. They bring us so much food at all these restaurants, it is herd not to get over stuffed. I am trying to eat as if it were tapas and just take a small portion.
Sent from my iPad
Mandalay Day 2
Mandalay Day 2
We awoke to take a boat ride to Mingun, a town up the Irrawaddy River from Mandalay. A previous king had tried to build the largest pagoda in the world, but he never finished. Why? Because the priests warned him that once he was finished, he would die. So he stopped. Over the years, the site has been destroyed somewhat by earthquakes, but it is still bratty impressive. There is a huge bell that was supposed to be part of the complex, but never used. They have it mounted in the little town. It supposedly is the 2nd largest bell in the world. I haven't had a chance to check Wikipedia on that. Of course, there were dozens of teenage girls accosting us to sell something. "Allo! Where you from? What your name? You like my [insert tchotchke here]?" Over and over. When you say no, they say "maybe later", and ask you again in 30 seconds. Earl of our group agreed with the maybe later, and they caught up with him 20 minutes later. He agreed to a Tshirt, but the one he picked was too small. 4 minutes later, she showed up with the right size, and he finally bought it. Ann and Elsa of course bought some pretty skirts and other stuff. We saw cute buffalo taxis. There was also a very large white marble pagoda, but we weren't given much information about it.
After the boat ride back to town, we went to the "Golden Duck" for lunch. Donald out front, where we took the obligatory pictures. Ann actually ate the Chinese food! The picture somehow is too big to upload here, but was able to get to FaceBook. I have been having some problems with the size of pictures and uploading. The iPad doesn't allow me to shrink them from 5-6MB to 50KB or less (at least not that I've figured out), so I am limited in what I can upload. Yes I can change the size in my camera to adjust, but I don't have the time for that. Maybe next time I'll bring the miniPC along and have a real computer.
After rest period, we went to the Gold leaf factory. They take thin slivers of gold, and pound them for hours to make them thinner and thinner, down to 3 microns, or .003 mm. They apply these to little pieces of paper for the gold leaf people apply to the Buddhas. I wondered what would happen if they sneezed!
Then to a Wood carving / sewing / puppets workshop. The very intricate carvings are laid out on a block of wood, and hand chiseled. Impressive. In addition they were sewing the intricate beadwork onto fabric, and making puppets.
Finally to the famous U Bein Teak bridge. This goes completely across a lake, and was VERY rickety. When we got halfway, we descended to a little island and climbed onto little gondola-like boats and watched the sunset from the lake. Down at water's edge, I could see more of how rickety it really was. I could actually see through the pilings from all the rot. I asked how often the bridge collapses, and was told "about every 4 years"! I was glad we weren't walking back.
The sunset was pretty spectacular, though.
We had a hard time getting back to our hotel because of rush hour traffic in Mandalay, made worse by some demonstration and a power outage to the few electric signals in town. Crossing intersections was abominable. When we got back to the hotel, we decided to eat there rather than venture out into town. This was good since I was exhausted, anyway. I was able to get some pizza and slept well for out 5:30 wake up call. But I was up at 4 anyway...
Sent from my iPad
We awoke to take a boat ride to Mingun, a town up the Irrawaddy River from Mandalay. A previous king had tried to build the largest pagoda in the world, but he never finished. Why? Because the priests warned him that once he was finished, he would die. So he stopped. Over the years, the site has been destroyed somewhat by earthquakes, but it is still bratty impressive. There is a huge bell that was supposed to be part of the complex, but never used. They have it mounted in the little town. It supposedly is the 2nd largest bell in the world. I haven't had a chance to check Wikipedia on that. Of course, there were dozens of teenage girls accosting us to sell something. "Allo! Where you from? What your name? You like my [insert tchotchke here]?" Over and over. When you say no, they say "maybe later", and ask you again in 30 seconds. Earl of our group agreed with the maybe later, and they caught up with him 20 minutes later. He agreed to a Tshirt, but the one he picked was too small. 4 minutes later, she showed up with the right size, and he finally bought it. Ann and Elsa of course bought some pretty skirts and other stuff. We saw cute buffalo taxis. There was also a very large white marble pagoda, but we weren't given much information about it.
After the boat ride back to town, we went to the "Golden Duck" for lunch. Donald out front, where we took the obligatory pictures. Ann actually ate the Chinese food! The picture somehow is too big to upload here, but was able to get to FaceBook. I have been having some problems with the size of pictures and uploading. The iPad doesn't allow me to shrink them from 5-6MB to 50KB or less (at least not that I've figured out), so I am limited in what I can upload. Yes I can change the size in my camera to adjust, but I don't have the time for that. Maybe next time I'll bring the miniPC along and have a real computer.
After rest period, we went to the Gold leaf factory. They take thin slivers of gold, and pound them for hours to make them thinner and thinner, down to 3 microns, or .003 mm. They apply these to little pieces of paper for the gold leaf people apply to the Buddhas. I wondered what would happen if they sneezed!
Then to a Wood carving / sewing / puppets workshop. The very intricate carvings are laid out on a block of wood, and hand chiseled. Impressive. In addition they were sewing the intricate beadwork onto fabric, and making puppets.
Finally to the famous U Bein Teak bridge. This goes completely across a lake, and was VERY rickety. When we got halfway, we descended to a little island and climbed onto little gondola-like boats and watched the sunset from the lake. Down at water's edge, I could see more of how rickety it really was. I could actually see through the pilings from all the rot. I asked how often the bridge collapses, and was told "about every 4 years"! I was glad we weren't walking back.
The sunset was pretty spectacular, though.
We had a hard time getting back to our hotel because of rush hour traffic in Mandalay, made worse by some demonstration and a power outage to the few electric signals in town. Crossing intersections was abominable. When we got back to the hotel, we decided to eat there rather than venture out into town. This was good since I was exhausted, anyway. I was able to get some pizza and slept well for out 5:30 wake up call. But I was up at 4 anyway...
Sent from my iPad
Monday, October 27, 2014
Two Days In Mandalay -AHS
So our two days in Mandalay come to an end early tomorrow morning with our 5:30am wake up call to get up and to the airport for our 40 minute flight north to Heho and Kalaw.
A week into this trip, Myanmar and it's people are really growing on me. Wherever we go, we are greeted with warm sincere smiles. Even the young girls and women trying to sell us their wares on the streets are very gracious and for the most part walk away with a smile when we rebuff their efforts to buy something from them. This was true at the sites we visited in Mandalay as well as the town of Mingun we traveled to this morning, which was an hour's boat ride down the Irawaddy River from Mandalay.
As the once royal city where the king resided surrounded by a very large moat, there are gold domed pagodas throughout, a few of which we visited. We also toured the shops of the trades that once served the king. Yesterday it was the metal smiths and sculptors and today we saw the wood sculpture, tapestry and puppetry and gold leaf workshops. The wood carvings were beautiful and the intricacy of all of the work was impressive. I kept trying to find a reason to buy one of the puppets, but reason finally prevailed since I really could not figure out what I would do with it once we got home.
Both days ended with photo ops of beautiful sunsets. Yesterday we went to the highest point in the city, and since we went by bus rather than climbing, I was able to join in. And today we watched the sunset over the U Bein bridge which is an old teak bridge which traverses the Irawaddy River.
Tonight we turned in early after a light dinner at the hotel--every once in a while you need a break from all of these big meals. Steve is already sound asleep beside me and it is not yet 9:00pm, which probably means he will be up sometime during the night.
>
A week into this trip, Myanmar and it's people are really growing on me. Wherever we go, we are greeted with warm sincere smiles. Even the young girls and women trying to sell us their wares on the streets are very gracious and for the most part walk away with a smile when we rebuff their efforts to buy something from them. This was true at the sites we visited in Mandalay as well as the town of Mingun we traveled to this morning, which was an hour's boat ride down the Irawaddy River from Mandalay.
As the once royal city where the king resided surrounded by a very large moat, there are gold domed pagodas throughout, a few of which we visited. We also toured the shops of the trades that once served the king. Yesterday it was the metal smiths and sculptors and today we saw the wood sculpture, tapestry and puppetry and gold leaf workshops. The wood carvings were beautiful and the intricacy of all of the work was impressive. I kept trying to find a reason to buy one of the puppets, but reason finally prevailed since I really could not figure out what I would do with it once we got home.
Both days ended with photo ops of beautiful sunsets. Yesterday we went to the highest point in the city, and since we went by bus rather than climbing, I was able to join in. And today we watched the sunset over the U Bein bridge which is an old teak bridge which traverses the Irawaddy River.
Tonight we turned in early after a light dinner at the hotel--every once in a while you need a break from all of these big meals. Steve is already sound asleep beside me and it is not yet 9:00pm, which probably means he will be up sometime during the night.
>
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Bagan Encore - Ann's Notes..
Bagan Encore - Ann's Notes..
We arrived in Mandalay at about 8:30 this morning after a very short flight from Bagan where we had spent the last two days.
There are miles and miles of temples remaining in Bagan, estimated to be about 2,000, but only one that we actually went into, the Ananda Temple, which Steve described well in his blog. The temples and pagodas date from the 11th to 13th centuries, and I found it frustrating that our guide shared very little of the history on them. Checking later with the Lonely Planet guide book I had down loaded, I came to find out that very little is known about them. Lots of mythology but little recorded history from that time. So I guess I need to give our guide a pass on the lack of info he provided. He did give us a tour of the Ananda Pagoda, which is one of the ones that is the most well preserved and restored. After a visit to a lacquer factory, in the afternoon, we drove back to one of the temples for sunset. It turned out to involve a very steep climb to the top of the temple so I stayed back. One look at what the climb involved was all it took to convince me. I hung out with another group member from Arizona who had also decided not to do the climb.
Dinner followed at the home of Mrs. G., our home hospitality evening which is a hallmark of the Odysseys tours. Mrs G has a car vehicle rental service, not a hertz type operation, but one in which she rents out cars and busses with drivers who come with. In fact our bus and driver in Bagan was one of Mrs G's. I think our host made a sincere effort to offer us an interesting Burmese dinner. We had a delicious rum drink along with potato puffs and vegetarian spring rolls, followed by a salad we each made ourselves. The greens for the salad were cut up star beans that had been blanched. We added crushed peanuts, powdered dry shrimp and oil and vinegar. Instead of salt, we were offered Knorr bouillon powder. The main course included a chicken dish, a meat dish and large prawns. I skipped the chicken as it did not look very appetizing. The prawns were huge and looked delicious but did not taste very good. There were also two very good veggie dishes. A mixed vegetable curry and a spinach dish. For desert we had dragon fruit, a first for Steve and me, and a sweet tart type desert which was ok. Desert was followed by a tea salad which was beautifully presented in a lazy susan. It consisted of cured green tea in the center surrounded by different nuts and beans which you mixed all together on your plate. It was a delicacy worth trying.
While Mrs. G was more than glad to answer our questions she asked us nothing about ourselves. At one point during dinner I actually asked her if there was anything she would like to ask us and she replied no. As Steve said when I mentioned this to him--this is a business for her and she could care less about us. Probably true, but still a bit disappointing.
Yesterday, our second day in Bagan, was really the best so far on our trip. Before that I was really questioning whether we had made the right decision. But things got much more interesting. We began the day with a walk through a market and I got lots of good pictures. Then we took a horse cart ride through the temples and the horse cart driver was able to answer some of my basic questions about Buddhism, which our guide had not discussed at all. We then walked through a rural village which includes about 100 households of bamboo homes with cows and goats in the yards. We really felt like we had stepped back in time to a much earlier time. Steve described the rest of our day so well - no need to repeat here. Only difference in our day was that Elsa and I worked out at the fitness center while Steve took advantage of the midday rest hour and slept. For quite a lovely hotel, the so called fitness center was quite sad. It was onthe lower level of the complex, and we had to traverse an area that wreaked of sewage to get there. The room itself was hot and the equipment not very good, but we managed to get somewhat of a workout.
Dinner that evening was on our own and we made our way to an Indian restaurant Steve has described in detail. Steve struggled through another sleepless night but I got more than enough.
Sent from my iPad
We arrived in Mandalay at about 8:30 this morning after a very short flight from Bagan where we had spent the last two days.
There are miles and miles of temples remaining in Bagan, estimated to be about 2,000, but only one that we actually went into, the Ananda Temple, which Steve described well in his blog. The temples and pagodas date from the 11th to 13th centuries, and I found it frustrating that our guide shared very little of the history on them. Checking later with the Lonely Planet guide book I had down loaded, I came to find out that very little is known about them. Lots of mythology but little recorded history from that time. So I guess I need to give our guide a pass on the lack of info he provided. He did give us a tour of the Ananda Pagoda, which is one of the ones that is the most well preserved and restored. After a visit to a lacquer factory, in the afternoon, we drove back to one of the temples for sunset. It turned out to involve a very steep climb to the top of the temple so I stayed back. One look at what the climb involved was all it took to convince me. I hung out with another group member from Arizona who had also decided not to do the climb.
Dinner followed at the home of Mrs. G., our home hospitality evening which is a hallmark of the Odysseys tours. Mrs G has a car vehicle rental service, not a hertz type operation, but one in which she rents out cars and busses with drivers who come with. In fact our bus and driver in Bagan was one of Mrs G's. I think our host made a sincere effort to offer us an interesting Burmese dinner. We had a delicious rum drink along with potato puffs and vegetarian spring rolls, followed by a salad we each made ourselves. The greens for the salad were cut up star beans that had been blanched. We added crushed peanuts, powdered dry shrimp and oil and vinegar. Instead of salt, we were offered Knorr bouillon powder. The main course included a chicken dish, a meat dish and large prawns. I skipped the chicken as it did not look very appetizing. The prawns were huge and looked delicious but did not taste very good. There were also two very good veggie dishes. A mixed vegetable curry and a spinach dish. For desert we had dragon fruit, a first for Steve and me, and a sweet tart type desert which was ok. Desert was followed by a tea salad which was beautifully presented in a lazy susan. It consisted of cured green tea in the center surrounded by different nuts and beans which you mixed all together on your plate. It was a delicacy worth trying.
While Mrs. G was more than glad to answer our questions she asked us nothing about ourselves. At one point during dinner I actually asked her if there was anything she would like to ask us and she replied no. As Steve said when I mentioned this to him--this is a business for her and she could care less about us. Probably true, but still a bit disappointing.
Yesterday, our second day in Bagan, was really the best so far on our trip. Before that I was really questioning whether we had made the right decision. But things got much more interesting. We began the day with a walk through a market and I got lots of good pictures. Then we took a horse cart ride through the temples and the horse cart driver was able to answer some of my basic questions about Buddhism, which our guide had not discussed at all. We then walked through a rural village which includes about 100 households of bamboo homes with cows and goats in the yards. We really felt like we had stepped back in time to a much earlier time. Steve described the rest of our day so well - no need to repeat here. Only difference in our day was that Elsa and I worked out at the fitness center while Steve took advantage of the midday rest hour and slept. For quite a lovely hotel, the so called fitness center was quite sad. It was onthe lower level of the complex, and we had to traverse an area that wreaked of sewage to get there. The room itself was hot and the equipment not very good, but we managed to get somewhat of a workout.
Dinner that evening was on our own and we made our way to an Indian restaurant Steve has described in detail. Steve struggled through another sleepless night but I got more than enough.
Sent from my iPad
Mandalay Day 1
A very short airplane ride to Mandalay. We went to some factories to see how the bronze castings of statues are made. Interesting, but OSHA would not be happy here. Reminiscent of my daughter, Ellen's, old job In a metal fabrication factory. Then down the street to the Marble factory. Similar production stuff using hand labor to cut and polish the stones, one at a time. No one using masks and dust flying everywhere. Silicosis, anyone? Similar remembrances for Jill.
We next went to the Mahamuni Temple. This is a sacred temple to Buddha with a large gold Buddha in the center. Only men were allowed to approach closely (😩) and take pictures. The other men were applying gold leaf to the base of the statue in what appeared to be a religious/spiritual gesture. The women stayed behind, and the other women were fervently praying.
Mandalay has different kinds of pagodas. They are more round and almost all of them have a gold top.
After lunch and checking into the Mandalay Hill hotel, we went than orphanage to deliver the crayons and toothbrushes and paper good we had brought. These kids were so cute. We were each escorted from the bus by a kid who held our hand, and we got a short talk about their lives. The orphanage is run by the nuns to keep these kids out of slavery or trafficking, which is so prevalent in this part of the world. I wish we had brought a soccer ball in addition to the other supplies. Chang, our guide, said the boys could play soccer but not the girls, and I of course said why not? But, alas, I didn't have the ball, and the moment passed.
We went to the Golden Palace wooden pagoda. This dates to the 1880's and was built for the king. It is all wood, with intricate carvings inside and out. Much of the inside is gold leaf covered, but it is not being continually recovered as is the Buddha of Mahamuni. Outside, we were asked to be in pictures with some of the teenagers who were also visiting. This was a similar scene to the Baby Taj in Agra. It was if we were the exotic ones and they wanted a picture of us...
Next to the Kuthodaw pagoda, which is famous for its 729 tablets of the laws of Buddhism. Each is enclosed in a small marble pagoda, and they are all lined up in rows around this temple. Huge.
We took the bus and a truck ride to the top of the big Mandalay hill, for which our hotel wan named. This is the only hill in this valley, and there is a large pagoda on top. We were there mostly for the sunset. This was marred by the smoke from the burning trash fires. Since this was also a pagoda, were were again barefoot. It just made it interesting going up the escalators to reach the top without shoes. I could see a toe disappearing into the combs of the escalator.
Finally to Ko's Kitchen for a Thai dinner. Overall, the food is good but not spectacular. Lots of variations on the same theme. The only thing that was different was the home dinner we had in Bagan. That had a number of items we had never seen - star beans and other things I can't remember. The rest of the meals are mostly at tourist-style restaurants which seem to cater to the group tours.
Sent from my iPad
We next went to the Mahamuni Temple. This is a sacred temple to Buddha with a large gold Buddha in the center. Only men were allowed to approach closely (😩) and take pictures. The other men were applying gold leaf to the base of the statue in what appeared to be a religious/spiritual gesture. The women stayed behind, and the other women were fervently praying.
Mandalay has different kinds of pagodas. They are more round and almost all of them have a gold top.
After lunch and checking into the Mandalay Hill hotel, we went than orphanage to deliver the crayons and toothbrushes and paper good we had brought. These kids were so cute. We were each escorted from the bus by a kid who held our hand, and we got a short talk about their lives. The orphanage is run by the nuns to keep these kids out of slavery or trafficking, which is so prevalent in this part of the world. I wish we had brought a soccer ball in addition to the other supplies. Chang, our guide, said the boys could play soccer but not the girls, and I of course said why not? But, alas, I didn't have the ball, and the moment passed.
We went to the Golden Palace wooden pagoda. This dates to the 1880's and was built for the king. It is all wood, with intricate carvings inside and out. Much of the inside is gold leaf covered, but it is not being continually recovered as is the Buddha of Mahamuni. Outside, we were asked to be in pictures with some of the teenagers who were also visiting. This was a similar scene to the Baby Taj in Agra. It was if we were the exotic ones and they wanted a picture of us...
Next to the Kuthodaw pagoda, which is famous for its 729 tablets of the laws of Buddhism. Each is enclosed in a small marble pagoda, and they are all lined up in rows around this temple. Huge.
We took the bus and a truck ride to the top of the big Mandalay hill, for which our hotel wan named. This is the only hill in this valley, and there is a large pagoda on top. We were there mostly for the sunset. This was marred by the smoke from the burning trash fires. Since this was also a pagoda, were were again barefoot. It just made it interesting going up the escalators to reach the top without shoes. I could see a toe disappearing into the combs of the escalator.
Finally to Ko's Kitchen for a Thai dinner. Overall, the food is good but not spectacular. Lots of variations on the same theme. The only thing that was different was the home dinner we had in Bagan. That had a number of items we had never seen - star beans and other things I can't remember. The rest of the meals are mostly at tourist-style restaurants which seem to cater to the group tours.
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Saturday, October 25, 2014
Bagan Day 2
After breakfast, we went into town to see the market. This is the typical mayhem of people selling fruits and vegetables and everything else from stalls. Total craziness. Many things we did not recognize. Soft bamboo (for eating?). Also the lacquer and T-shirt sellers, along with the ubiquitous kids selling postcards and even books about Burma (George Orwell and others). One clever bigger had her baby but also a puppy. Cute will get you something.
We went back to the Ananda temple grounds to pick up horse carriages. We rode among the smaller pagodas and stupas for some close up pictures. We ended up at a small village. This probably had been around in this area for close to 1000 years, as the name was related to a very early king. The houses were mostly made of bamboo. We looked at the goats and the cows. Some of the cows were more scared of Ann than she was of them. We saw the local communal peanut grinding stone. Electricity is a relatively new phenomenon here, but there were a few satellite dishes. I was reminded of the little farming village of Zabava, outside Lviv, when I went on a genealogy trip to Ukraine many years ago.
Lunch then rest period.
We went to the river for a Sunset cruise. We had to brave the usual gauntlet of kids selling T-shirts and got onto a little skiff the motor out onto the Irrawaddy to watch the sunset. More photo opportunities.
Dinner in town on our own. We went to the Aroma (2), a little family restaurant. Not sure where (1) was, but their catch phrase was "No Like - No Pay". The menus had cute stick figures showing "before meal" people on bicycles,etc and "after meal" round figures being carried in a cart! The food was good, but not spectacular. Our waiter was the son of the family, having recently gotten married and he was looking forward to his honeymoon in Thailand. He then became our cab driver to drive us back to the hotel!
I still haven't adjusted to the time difference. I awoke at midnight, and it is now 4:30, and I haven't been able to coax myself back to sleep. My guess is as soon as I get adjusted, it will be time to go home.... :(
Tomorrow to Mandalay.
Sent from my iPad
We went back to the Ananda temple grounds to pick up horse carriages. We rode among the smaller pagodas and stupas for some close up pictures. We ended up at a small village. This probably had been around in this area for close to 1000 years, as the name was related to a very early king. The houses were mostly made of bamboo. We looked at the goats and the cows. Some of the cows were more scared of Ann than she was of them. We saw the local communal peanut grinding stone. Electricity is a relatively new phenomenon here, but there were a few satellite dishes. I was reminded of the little farming village of Zabava, outside Lviv, when I went on a genealogy trip to Ukraine many years ago.
Lunch then rest period.
We went to the river for a Sunset cruise. We had to brave the usual gauntlet of kids selling T-shirts and got onto a little skiff the motor out onto the Irrawaddy to watch the sunset. More photo opportunities.
Dinner in town on our own. We went to the Aroma (2), a little family restaurant. Not sure where (1) was, but their catch phrase was "No Like - No Pay". The menus had cute stick figures showing "before meal" people on bicycles,etc and "after meal" round figures being carried in a cart! The food was good, but not spectacular. Our waiter was the son of the family, having recently gotten married and he was looking forward to his honeymoon in Thailand. He then became our cab driver to drive us back to the hotel!
I still haven't adjusted to the time difference. I awoke at midnight, and it is now 4:30, and I haven't been able to coax myself back to sleep. My guess is as soon as I get adjusted, it will be time to go home.... :(
Tomorrow to Mandalay.
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Friday, October 24, 2014
Bagan Day 1
Into the bus in Bagan, somewhat north of Yangon. This part of the country is mostly flat with scrubby little plants. The claim to fame is the over 2000 temples and pagodas in the Irrawaddy river valley. These were constructed in the 11th to13th centuries by a succession of kings and noblemen. There were once over 20000, but neglect and earthquakes have taken their toll. There use to be a town in the middle of and among all the ruins, but the government forcibly move the town a few miles away in 1975 to try to preserve the site.
The different shapes of the structures reflect the Indian or Burmese or Sri Lankan influences. Some of these are stupas which are solid, and others are temples which one can go into. We went to the top of a new 11story tower to overlook the valley.
After the overview, we went to a few of the select temples. We came to the Ananda Temple, a huge structure with 4 entrances, each leading to a huge statue of Buddha. This was built in 1105, and was damaged by an earthquake in 1975, and has been rebuilt.
Each is covered in gold. We walked around to see all four in our feet, as one has to remove shoes and socks before entering.
Lunch at a Chinese restaurant, and to our hotel for a nap.
After rest hour, we went to a Lacquer factory, where they showed us how the bamboo is made into plates and urns, etc. and covered with lacquer and etched and coated with colors and lacquered again. Interesting, but of course we were then led into the showroom. We have enough tchotchkes, thank you.
Then to the Shwesandaw "Sunset" temple where literally hundreds of tourists climb (shoelessly) the steep steps (of course Ann was having nothing of this-the climbing, not the shoelessness) to watch the sun set over the temples and the valley.
Odysseys Tours is distinctive in its home visits. We went to the home of a local businesswoman for dinner. She told of how she and her family had been forcibly moved in 1975 when the government cleaned out Old Bagan to create New Bagan. They dismantled the old house and used much of it to build a new one 3 miles away. I gently asked her about the recent political changes and how life had changed. She allowed that there is somewhat more freedom, but she wasn't sure whether the upcoming elections would accomplish much without the military's blessing. I will let Ann describe the food, but there were things that we had never eaten or even heard of. Gastrodiplomacy, indeed.
Further Reflections as we're waiting:
So as we wait for our flight to Bagan, I will add in a few things I've forgotten or neglected to mention. On our first day with the group, we also went to see the cement boats that had been built in the 80s as a replica for some royal barges from the 1700s. These obviously don't float, but serve as a nice backdrop. We came upon a bride and groom getting pictures taken. She had a lovely lavender gown that bloomed behind her reminding me of a peacock. Brought back memories of our Indian Wedding.
My thoughts on Myanmar/Burma after 2 days? This is an emerging culture. The people appear well nourished. They are friendly, but not as effusively so as in India. The country appears to run well, and there is minimal trash on the streets. There is no evidence of any military presence at this time. Ann just read to me a passage from "Finding George Orwell in Burma" describing the uprisings of 2004. Hmmm
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My thoughts on Myanmar/Burma after 2 days? This is an emerging culture. The people appear well nourished. They are friendly, but not as effusively so as in India. The country appears to run well, and there is minimal trash on the streets. There is no evidence of any military presence at this time. Ann just read to me a passage from "Finding George Orwell in Burma" describing the uprisings of 2004. Hmmm
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Ann's Notes on first days in Myanmar
It was my carry on bag that we had to check in Chicago and that did not catch up with is in Yangon until our second day here. While I thought I had grabbed everything I needed before we checked the bag, that turned out not to be the case. In the business lounge in Chicago I got one of those headaches that once it takes hold, I can't shake without Relpax (which was now checked on the carry on bag) and it stayed with me for the next 36 hours until the Relpax arrived. Once it did and I was able to take it, I slept for about 14 hours and was fine.
So on to our trip. Having a day to sightsee before the group arrived was great. I had read on Trip Advisor about the only remaining synagogue in Myanmar and we went to visit. Moses Samuels has maintained the synagogue for 35 years for the remaining Jews in Myanmar, who now number about 20, down from a high of a community of about 3000(Steve was way off on the number). Moses's son, Sammy, studied business at Yeshiva University and has started a travel agency offering Jewish Heritage Tours in Myanmar. Moses called Sammy on the phone to talk with me while we were at the synagogue. Sammy splits his time between New York and Myanmar. And the synagogue has gotten broad recognition over the years as indicated by photos in the synagogue with Israeli leaders such as Ben Gurion and Moshe Dayan and more recent photos on the Internet with the Samuels' family and Aung San Suu Kyi.
From there, as Steve has written about we went to Aung San's home where he and his family lived until his assassination in 1947. It was interesting, but I would have liked to have been able to take pictures, which we were not.
When Elsa, Steve and I checked into the hotel in Yangon we were given lovely club rooms. Our view from the balcony was not great but Elsa had a spectacular view of the Shwedagon Temple. The day after we checked in our room keys stopped working. Turned out they were trying to move us to the "excursion" rooms. Elsa and I balked and explained to them that it was Odyssey that had made the reservation. We prevailed and remained in the club rooms for the remainder of our initial stay in Yangon. Elsa and I will spend another night at this hotel at the end of our stay so we will get to experience the "regular" rooms then.
Usually getting up at 4:30 am would be really difficult, but with a 13 1/2 hour time difference from home, my body is still confused. I fell asleep at about 8:00pm last night so I was awake and ready to start the day at 3:30 am, and Steve was awake even earlier. We are now in the Yangon airport awaiting what was supposed to be our 6:30 am flight, that is now one hour delayed.
Sent from my iPad
So on to our trip. Having a day to sightsee before the group arrived was great. I had read on Trip Advisor about the only remaining synagogue in Myanmar and we went to visit. Moses Samuels has maintained the synagogue for 35 years for the remaining Jews in Myanmar, who now number about 20, down from a high of a community of about 3000(Steve was way off on the number). Moses's son, Sammy, studied business at Yeshiva University and has started a travel agency offering Jewish Heritage Tours in Myanmar. Moses called Sammy on the phone to talk with me while we were at the synagogue. Sammy splits his time between New York and Myanmar. And the synagogue has gotten broad recognition over the years as indicated by photos in the synagogue with Israeli leaders such as Ben Gurion and Moshe Dayan and more recent photos on the Internet with the Samuels' family and Aung San Suu Kyi.
From there, as Steve has written about we went to Aung San's home where he and his family lived until his assassination in 1947. It was interesting, but I would have liked to have been able to take pictures, which we were not.
When Elsa, Steve and I checked into the hotel in Yangon we were given lovely club rooms. Our view from the balcony was not great but Elsa had a spectacular view of the Shwedagon Temple. The day after we checked in our room keys stopped working. Turned out they were trying to move us to the "excursion" rooms. Elsa and I balked and explained to them that it was Odyssey that had made the reservation. We prevailed and remained in the club rooms for the remainder of our initial stay in Yangon. Elsa and I will spend another night at this hotel at the end of our stay so we will get to experience the "regular" rooms then.
Usually getting up at 4:30 am would be really difficult, but with a 13 1/2 hour time difference from home, my body is still confused. I fell asleep at about 8:00pm last night so I was awake and ready to start the day at 3:30 am, and Steve was awake even earlier. We are now in the Yangon airport awaiting what was supposed to be our 6:30 am flight, that is now one hour delayed.
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Thursday, October 23, 2014
Yangon Day 2
We met the rest of our trip this morning after breakfast: a retired couple from Sedona, and some engineers from LA with their engineer son. Off we went on our first tour. Eight of us with Chang, our guide, in a bus for 20. We went past our first pagoda, the first of many.
We went to a school and monastery and watched as the boys lined up for lunch. Powhatan, it wasn't. I was amazed at so many boys lining up and eating in silence.
Lunch at a local restaurant for typical Burmese food of a chicken curry, a fish stew, and eggplant and noodles. Burmese refers to only one of the 134 distinct ethnic groups of the country. It is the largest, but that is why the Generals had changed the name to Myanmar, to try to incorporate everyone into the process.
A snooze after lunch(and we were late to the bus), and off to the Shwedagon Pagoda, the largest in Yangon. Shoes and socks off. There were hundreds of little sub-temples to Buddha on the compound. There were shrines for each day of the week that you were born on; two for Wednesday. There were bells from or for famous rulers. The biggest one was for King Tharrawaddy in the 1850s.
Lots of pictures, but at the end the sun peeked from behind the clouds to light up the golden spires very nicely.
Dinner at the hotel was more curries. I think this will be a recurring theme here.
Early to bed as we have a 4AM wake up call for a 4:45 bus to the airport. Blecch
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A snooze after lunch(and we were late to the bus), and off to the Shwedagon Pagoda, the largest in Yangon. Shoes and socks off. There were hundreds of little sub-temples to Buddha on the compound. There were shrines for each day of the week that you were born on; two for Wednesday. There were bells from or for famous rulers. The biggest one was for King Tharrawaddy in the 1850s.
Lots of pictures, but at the end the sun peeked from behind the clouds to light up the golden spires very nicely.
Dinner at the hotel was more curries. I think this will be a recurring theme here.
Early to bed as we have a 4AM wake up call for a 4:45 bus to the airport. Blecch
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Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Yangon Day 1
After arising early since we were still on East Coast time, we had breakfast at the hotel. This consisted of a smorgasbord of ethic foods from American to Indian to Korean to Halal etc. Hard to choose. There is an Ophthalmology convention here with a number of French physicians. I wish I knew anything about Ophthalmology so I could sign in and write this trip off.
We cabbed to the last remaining synagogue in Yangon. There are 20 remaining Jews here, after a high of 20,000 after WW2. This place was like Shanghai, who accepted everyone. The main historical families were Iraqi, as were the Sasoons in Shanghai. The decor was typical of the Sefardic tradition.
Next, to Aung San's house, via a circuitous cab ride past the Aung San Stadium where the cabbie thought we wanted to go. Aung San rose from ranks of a student protest movement to be a leader in the Burmese independence movement. He fought the British, then helped them when Japan took over during WW2, then fought them again after the war. He was in the midst of independence talks in 1947 when he was assassinated along with 6 members of his Shadow Cabinet by a former Prime Minister's henchmen. The independence movement continued until the military coup of 1962.
The house showed pictures of his early life and with his children, including his daughter, Aung San Suu Kyi, as a little girl. There were portions of his famous speeches which rallied the people to independence. What I didn't know was he was the founder of the Communist Party in Burma, but he broke with the Communists later in life.
Across the street was a pagoda that we climbed a bunch of steps to get to. We warily went past a number of mangy dogs to find an entrance. The pagodas all have golden domes with multiple spire. Perhaps when our tour actually begins, we'll find out more of the symbolism surrounding Buddhism.
By this time it was after lunchtime and the temperature was still over 90 and the humidity was similar (Hello, Washington or Miami August). We went back to the hotel for lunch and quickly faded.
Our bag arrived from Hong Kong. We await the fate of Elsa's.
Sent from my iPad
We cabbed to the last remaining synagogue in Yangon. There are 20 remaining Jews here, after a high of 20,000 after WW2. This place was like Shanghai, who accepted everyone. The main historical families were Iraqi, as were the Sasoons in Shanghai. The decor was typical of the Sefardic tradition.
Next, to Aung San's house, via a circuitous cab ride past the Aung San Stadium where the cabbie thought we wanted to go. Aung San rose from ranks of a student protest movement to be a leader in the Burmese independence movement. He fought the British, then helped them when Japan took over during WW2, then fought them again after the war. He was in the midst of independence talks in 1947 when he was assassinated along with 6 members of his Shadow Cabinet by a former Prime Minister's henchmen. The independence movement continued until the military coup of 1962.
The house showed pictures of his early life and with his children, including his daughter, Aung San Suu Kyi, as a little girl. There were portions of his famous speeches which rallied the people to independence. What I didn't know was he was the founder of the Communist Party in Burma, but he broke with the Communists later in life.
Across the street was a pagoda that we climbed a bunch of steps to get to. We warily went past a number of mangy dogs to find an entrance. The pagodas all have golden domes with multiple spire. Perhaps when our tour actually begins, we'll find out more of the symbolism surrounding Buddhism.
By this time it was after lunchtime and the temperature was still over 90 and the humidity was similar (Hello, Washington or Miami August). We went back to the hotel for lunch and quickly faded.
Our bag arrived from Hong Kong. We await the fate of Elsa's.
Sent from my iPad
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Baseball in the Morning
Nothing better than watching the World Series over breakfast. No, one thing would be better: watching the Nats...
Arriving in Yangon
13 1/2 time zones and 19 hours traveling later, we are here. That really is a long flight. It is Wednesday morning as I write, but Tuesday back home. I'm not sure I got any sleep, but we will see how this day goes.
Cathay Pacific is again a wonderful airline, especially for Business Class. I can't imagine such a long flight in coach. As I investigated the TV selections, I found the first season of House of Cards. I figured I'd get no sleep at all, but (luckily) the sound was not good enough for my hearing that I could really understand all the words. That is a show where one really needs to get the words. I watched Game of Thrones which was more acceptable since I already knew the plot. (Don't drink the wine, Joffrey)
Our problems arose when we realized the short connection time in Hong Kong was even shorter by our 1/2 hour delay in leaving Chicago. Ann talked to the flight crew, and they made sure the connecting flight would be held. We weren't the only ones with connection problems. We weren't sure what was going to happen to the bag we had to check in Chicago, or even any of our luggage. In addition, Elsa had checked her bags to Hong Kong, expecting she would have to change them there.
So we arrived in Hong Kong and were met by agents to ferry us and everybody else to their proper gates. The 3 hour flight was better to get the first 2 episodes of House of Cards in with a headphone system that worked better.
Arriving in Yangon at 11:30 pm, we got some of our luggage, but not all. The stuff we checked in DC made it, but not the bag from Chicago. Elsa's didn't make it at all, and she later got a text message from the airline asking her to please pick up her bag in Hong Kong. Another 45 minutes later, we registered all our baggage concerns and were assured the bags might be on the next flight. Unfortunately, that is not today but maybe Thursday or Friday. We will see.
Sent from my iPad
Cathay Pacific is again a wonderful airline, especially for Business Class. I can't imagine such a long flight in coach. As I investigated the TV selections, I found the first season of House of Cards. I figured I'd get no sleep at all, but (luckily) the sound was not good enough for my hearing that I could really understand all the words. That is a show where one really needs to get the words. I watched Game of Thrones which was more acceptable since I already knew the plot. (Don't drink the wine, Joffrey)
Our problems arose when we realized the short connection time in Hong Kong was even shorter by our 1/2 hour delay in leaving Chicago. Ann talked to the flight crew, and they made sure the connecting flight would be held. We weren't the only ones with connection problems. We weren't sure what was going to happen to the bag we had to check in Chicago, or even any of our luggage. In addition, Elsa had checked her bags to Hong Kong, expecting she would have to change them there.
So we arrived in Hong Kong and were met by agents to ferry us and everybody else to their proper gates. The 3 hour flight was better to get the first 2 episodes of House of Cards in with a headphone system that worked better.
Arriving in Yangon at 11:30 pm, we got some of our luggage, but not all. The stuff we checked in DC made it, but not the bag from Chicago. Elsa's didn't make it at all, and she later got a text message from the airline asking her to please pick up her bag in Hong Kong. Another 45 minutes later, we registered all our baggage concerns and were assured the bags might be on the next flight. Unfortunately, that is not today but maybe Thursday or Friday. We will see.
Sent from my iPad
Monday, October 20, 2014
Moussing the TSA
So we got to Chicago and had to get to Terminal 5 for the outbound flight. We had to go out of Security to take the tram and go back through. Much to our chagrin, the TSA people in Chicago are much harder-assed than in DC. Much of the carry on stuff that had been fine on the domestic flight (Mousse, toothpaste, mouthwash, etc) were no longer OK. Ann could either throw it away or go back out to re-check the bag. She was willing to abandon everything BUT the mousse. So the TSA agent escorted us outside of security, not letting us touch the bag for any reason. 15 minutes later we had the bag replaced and checked again.
We met Elsa, my cousin, in the BA lounge and are having some snacks and drink as we wait for the 14 hour flight. Ugh
We met Elsa, my cousin, in the BA lounge and are having some snacks and drink as we wait for the 14 hour flight. Ugh
To Burma and Beyond
So the erstwhile travelers are at it again. We are sitting at National airport waiting for a flight to Chicago and then for the 14 hour flight to Hong Kong. No we are not participating in the riots -yet-, but Ann and our traveling buddy, Elsa, will be stopping for a few days on the return trip. We will follow events there closely to see what happens.
From HK, it is a relatively short flight to Yangon (used to be Rangoon) in Burma. We don't get there until 11pm Tuesday so this becomes a VERY long day.
From HK, it is a relatively short flight to Yangon (used to be Rangoon) in Burma. We don't get there until 11pm Tuesday so this becomes a VERY long day.
Friday, April 25, 2014
Paris Day 3
Paris Day 3
On our final day, we met Annie at the Pompidou for the Cartier-Bresson exhibit. The day was threatening rain, and seemed nasty, so I was happy to be inside. The exhibit itself was over 500 of his photos from throughout his life. He started as an artist, but concentrated on photography in his 20s. At first he was a Surrealist, then was very concerned with framing and the Golden Mean, and later as a photojournalist. He had an uncanny knack to find the correct moment to capture, the "decisive moment". One of his famous pictures of that period was a man jumping over a puddle, caught just at the instant in the air with a perfect reflection. His later works while traveling around the works concentrated on the daily rhythms of the lives of ordinary people. He also became an ardent Communist and photographed rallies and crowds. There was a movie he made with Paul Strand, which was remarkable in its visions of light and shadow. Another movie was made of him in a crowd, snapping pictures as he saw the shifting scene in front of him. Fascinating.
After lunch on the roof with great views of the Eiffel Tower and Sacre Coeur, we went to the permanent exhibit of modern painting. More old friends of Picasso, Leger, and others.
Afterwards, we made our way back to the store now that it was open. This is the new "in" place, and it looked like they were giving things away. Shopped out, we returned to the hotel to nap before dinner.
Stephen J. Rockower, MD
Sent from my iPad
On our final day, we met Annie at the Pompidou for the Cartier-Bresson exhibit. The day was threatening rain, and seemed nasty, so I was happy to be inside. The exhibit itself was over 500 of his photos from throughout his life. He started as an artist, but concentrated on photography in his 20s. At first he was a Surrealist, then was very concerned with framing and the Golden Mean, and later as a photojournalist. He had an uncanny knack to find the correct moment to capture, the "decisive moment". One of his famous pictures of that period was a man jumping over a puddle, caught just at the instant in the air with a perfect reflection. His later works while traveling around the works concentrated on the daily rhythms of the lives of ordinary people. He also became an ardent Communist and photographed rallies and crowds. There was a movie he made with Paul Strand, which was remarkable in its visions of light and shadow. Another movie was made of him in a crowd, snapping pictures as he saw the shifting scene in front of him. Fascinating.
After lunch on the roof with great views of the Eiffel Tower and Sacre Coeur, we went to the permanent exhibit of modern painting. More old friends of Picasso, Leger, and others.
Afterwards, we made our way back to the store now that it was open. This is the new "in" place, and it looked like they were giving things away. Shopped out, we returned to the hotel to nap before dinner.
Stephen J. Rockower, MD
Sent from my iPad
Paris Day 2
Paris Day 2
We went to the Marais, the ancient Jewish neighborhood. Ann picked what seemed like the closest Metro stop, but it was a bit of a hike. Along the way, we met an Australian couple where the wife was wearing a down vest from a trendy new store. Ann had a mission. We got off at Haussmann to walk a bit, but couldn't find the store. Trying to get back on the Metro was a challenge but we finally walked 3 miles or so underground (!) to get back on or correct train. We finally got to the Jewish Museum. The collection hasn't changed much since we were there last with the kids in 2001. Some history of medieval Jewish culture in Europe and France and a few things on the early 20th century. 1 room on the deportations. 1 room on Dreyfuss. Most of it was explanations of festivals and decorations. Interestingly, they used the same picture to illustrate Simchas Torah and Shavuot. The audio guide was incomplete and mostly gave an explanation of what the holidays were, essentially for non-Jews. I was happy to have gone and supported the cause, but it was somewhat disappointing otherwise.
We got lunch at a corner bistro since we could not find falafels in the area. We went in search of the new store in the Marais neighborhood, since we had seen a sign with the address. We found it after a small walk, but, alas, it wasn't opening until Friday.
After coming back to our hotel for a nap, we ventured to Saint Germaine for dinner. We were in the mood for couscous, and we found a Moroccan restaurant. I had a lamb patty with couscous and a tagine of veggies and Ann had more veggies. Luckily there was no eggplant in any of the veggies, so we had no music in our room later.
Stephen J. Rockower, MD
Sent from my iPad
We went to the Marais, the ancient Jewish neighborhood. Ann picked what seemed like the closest Metro stop, but it was a bit of a hike. Along the way, we met an Australian couple where the wife was wearing a down vest from a trendy new store. Ann had a mission. We got off at Haussmann to walk a bit, but couldn't find the store. Trying to get back on the Metro was a challenge but we finally walked 3 miles or so underground (!) to get back on or correct train. We finally got to the Jewish Museum. The collection hasn't changed much since we were there last with the kids in 2001. Some history of medieval Jewish culture in Europe and France and a few things on the early 20th century. 1 room on the deportations. 1 room on Dreyfuss. Most of it was explanations of festivals and decorations. Interestingly, they used the same picture to illustrate Simchas Torah and Shavuot. The audio guide was incomplete and mostly gave an explanation of what the holidays were, essentially for non-Jews. I was happy to have gone and supported the cause, but it was somewhat disappointing otherwise.
We got lunch at a corner bistro since we could not find falafels in the area. We went in search of the new store in the Marais neighborhood, since we had seen a sign with the address. We found it after a small walk, but, alas, it wasn't opening until Friday.
After coming back to our hotel for a nap, we ventured to Saint Germaine for dinner. We were in the mood for couscous, and we found a Moroccan restaurant. I had a lamb patty with couscous and a tagine of veggies and Ann had more veggies. Luckily there was no eggplant in any of the veggies, so we had no music in our room later.
Stephen J. Rockower, MD
Sent from my iPad
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
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