Mein Leben, in Worten

SEA Trip 2009 (Part 4)

2009-10-06T16:19:00.003+08:00

Day 10

Breakfast was toast, bananas and eggs. Rented bicycles again and cycled to major places in old Bagan.

Natlaung Kyaung is purportedly the only Hindu temple in Bagan. Inside we saw figurines of Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu.

Thatbinnyu is the tallest temple if I'm not mistaken. But it actually has only 2 storeys. We didn't go in.

Ananda temple is also tall and we managed to get in.

Caught attempting to meditate under a Bodhi tree

As we walked out of Mahabodhi Temple, Xuwen was chatting with a nice lady who applied Thanaka on Xuwen's face, so we went over and she applied Thanaka on our faces also. Thanaka is actually sandalwood! I bought a small piece of Thanaka as a souvenir for K500, but Xuwen actually got hers for free earlier on. For guys Thanaka is only applied to the face, ears and back of neck.

Mahabodhi temple

Preparing Thanaka paste

End result!

The people we met as well went around the old temples were generally nice. There were some that wanted to sell us paintings of old murals located within some of the temples. I saw some of the old murals/paintings/fresco. They look quite interesting, and considering that there aren't many old fresco paintings in the South East Asian region (I think), there should be more effort to protect them. Sadly the authorities don't seem to know how to protect them well (such as allowing them to be exposed to sunlight etc).

After a whole morning of cycling out in the hot, almost desert-like weather, we went back to town to try an Italian restaurant which is famous for their "Bagan Pizza". It was not bad. I was glad we were there coz I didn't have any water left and it felt like our skin were emitting heat!

After that we went back to our hostel, bathed and waited for our bus back to Yangon. The bus was quite OK, but the windows could not be opened. The journey was most uneventful at first, and the only that irritated me was that the girl in front kept lowering her seat to the back but I couldn't lower mine :( trapped!

Shan buffet again for dinner. Love it that they top up the side dishes when it gets empty; but hate the flies.

At night I happened to see shimmering lights at a distance and was wondering where we could be. As I mentioned in earlier posts, electricity in Myanmar is very uncertain, and there are usually no street lights (or there are, but as the electricity supply is intermittent, it's barely of use). I surmised that we should be nearing Nay Pyi Daw, i.e. the new capital of Myanmar, and I was right.

In fact we had to pass by Nay Pyi Daw and it was a world apart from the rest of Myanamar, even Yangon: There were well manicured green grass patches, there were 4 lanes of roads on each side with the lines properly drawn and having a good surface, ample street lighting, large buildings and villa-like bungalows... There was also a magnificently large pagoda that was shone with many floodlights... roundabouts, flyovers, speed limit of 100km/h... I was awestruck. It was like what a modern Myanmar could have been. But knowing the real conditions that commonfolk had to live in... it was a confusing extravagance. Not to say I'm a real stranger to all this... it happens everywhere in the world; just compare any simple village in Malaysia and Putrajaya.

Day 11

When we got back in Yangon it was early morning I think. We had to bargain to get back to Yoma Hotel (reduced from K9000 to K4000!). Behind the hotel card we got before leaving Yangon someone wrote that K3500 was sufficient.

The New Light of Myanmar: Top left corner article title reads "American citizen Mr John William Yettaw, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Daw Khin Khin Win, Ma Win Ma Ma brought to trial"

After some sleep we woke up a little too late and missed the hotel's breakfast, so we went to have breakfast at a place near the hotel with Joseph and Lin-lin. Then they brought us to visit the National Races Village that showcases ethnic housing and wares from around the country. The major races include: Rakhine, Kayin, Mon, Chin, Kachin, Shan, Kayah and Bamar.

Entrance to the National Races Village

A Kayin House

Forgot where we tried this. But I like the dish at the bottom left corner: pickled tea leaves.

For lunch Joseph thought it proper to bring us to a more upscale place called Golden Duck Restaurant. It served pretty standard Chinese fare. The deco, cutlery etc was definitely better than all other places we've eaten at in Myanmar, but that actually was not what we were looking for. Well, at least not what I was looking for. But oh well, Joseph was just trying to be a good host I guess.

Xuwen started getting sick around this time so we went back to the hotel. Me and Hannah were considering of going to see Shwedagon Pagoda but somehow or another we didn't (+ it was drizzling or something). Ended up spending most of the afternoon in the hotel, sleeping and watching TV (I remember watching "Vantage Point"). Soon it was dark and we went out to look for dinner. Settled for a Chinese restaurant. Also bought some biscuits. Unfortunately I couldn't find Royal Myanmar Teamix! What I pity. Wanted to bring it back to share with friends and family coz I really found it different but tasty. Will definitely get it when I go to Myanmar next time (which I will because there are some places I want to go that I've yet to visit, such as the famous Kyaiktiyo golden rock).

We didn't get to meet Joseph & co anymore before leaving and that was a problem because we still had a bunch of Kyats with us! (this has thankfully been settled by Hannah)

Day 12

We had a special early breakfast thanks to a prior arrangement with the hotel management, and we then took a taxi to the airport to catch our AirAsia flight to Bangkok. We really wanted to go straight to Laos but there's no such connection and land connections in and out of Myanmar are a tricky business.

Mural painting inside Yangon International Airport

The AirAsia flight was uneventful and pretty soon we reached Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. It still looks unfinished with bare concrete slabs at certain locations. From my time I interned at Changi Airport I surmised that Suvarnabhumi was quite a mess (for an international airport that handles so many passengers) and after seeing it for myself I have to agree.

After some confusion we managed to find the taxi queue and through a staff positioned there the taxi driver knew we wanted to go to Mo Chit bus terminal which is near the famous Chatuchak market. Looking at my surroundings, Bangkok was more modern than I thought! And the smooth journey on the highway was sooo different compared to the bumpy bus rides we had in Myanmar. Makes me wonder how 2 neighbouring countries can be so different (other examples worth looking at would be N. and S. Korea, Haiti and Dominican Republic).

Decorated roof of a toll plaza

At the bus terminal we bought our tickets to Mukdahan (Thai is also a tonal language. Mukdahan in hanyu pinyin would sound something like muk3 da2 han3) which is located along the Mekong at the Thai-Laos border. I remember the counter lady saying the ticket costs si1 pet3 pet3 which is 488 Baht. We then placed our big backpacks at the left baggage area and decided to go to the hospital because Xuwen really seemed to be quite sick.

It seemed like no one really knew any English, but we still managed to get a taxi outside. Then came the problem of telling him where we wanted to go. Showed him the location of one hospital on a map (forgot if it was the Lonely Planet book or just a tourist map). It was called Phaya Thai 2 (coz there was another Phaya Thai). I guess he can't read English so I decided to try reading it out to him, saying "Pa Ya Tai (counting with fingers) Neung3... Song2!" He got it! As we drove he asked me if I were Thai and complimented me on my pronunciation. Haha, so happy =)

The hospital was quite near on the map but it took quite long to reach it because of traffic lights and jams. I think I saw quite a lot of trannies (人妖) along the way, at least more than I usually would on a normal day in Malaysia or Singapore. Anyway the hospital staff were very courteous and obliging! No wonder so many people come to Thailand for surgery etc. There were also English newspapers to read for us to kill time waiting for Xuwen.

After she got her medicine we walked to the nearest MRT (or was it monorail?) station and took the train to Siam (pronounced "Si-am") station, as I saw from the map that many shopping centres were located near there. We weren't touring much of Bangkok, just transiting. Plus, it's very convenient (and not too expensive) to make a weekend trip to Bangkok from Malaysia/Singapore nowadays.

Concrete trees

The area around Siam station is literally a concrete jungle. The view in front of the malls were obstructed by huge concrete pillars supporting the MRT/monorail. The malls were, as expected, modern and thus, typical. Hannah commented as we were sitting down for lunch that this could be a shopping mall in Singapore, and I concurred. Xuwen managed to call back home and after that we took a cab back to the bus terminal. It was raining quite heavily by now. It was nice that the taxi driver was playing the Bee Gees live in concert album! Was humming along all the way.

We went to collect our backpacks and as we were walking to the bus area the Thai national anthem was broadcasted and suddenly everyone stood dead in their tracks!!! It was an amazing phenomenon to me, but it shouldn't have come as a surprise, considering how much Thais revere their King (and I presume then the country, flag, anthem etc as well).

Bus was not punctual but that's OK. It was a pretty nice bus, like those VIP ones I take in Malaysia. There was a lady conductor we went with us all the way. She asked me where I was going but as I didn't understand, the kind guy beside me translated for me and I said Mukdahan. She then said something and the kind guy said "She say you speak well Thai" =D

The bus was leaking at some places though... Hannah had water dripping on her head for awhile. Along the way I saw Petronas petrol stations as well as CIMB banks. It was flooding at some places but business was usual for the roadside sellers (except that at some places they were knee-deep in water). They served coke, biscuits, juice, water and blankets on the bus which is already better than most bus journeys I take in Malaysia. We stopped for dinner somewhere.

Next to come: Stuck in Savannakhet!

SEA Trip 2009 (Part 3)

2009-10-05T01:54:00.004+08:00

Day 7

After our breakfast we packed up and entrusted our guide to get us train tickets to Bagan/Pagan before we went to Pyin Oo Lwin in a taxi. There are "taxi" services between Mandalay and Pyin Oo Lwin which are faster than the trains, but more expensive as well. Pyin Oo Lwin was called Maymyo in the past, Myo meaning "town" while May referring to a certain Colonel May during the British area. It was higher up in the mountains and also famous for producing strawberries, its colonial architecture and gardens. So I guess it shares a lot in common with Cameron Highlands of Malaysia.

Our taxi getting some water to drink...

We stayed at Grace 1 Hotel. The family managing it are Sikhs. Managed to cut the cost down from US$10 to US$7/night. We refused the return journey offered by the taxi driver. We first washed our clothes before going out for lunch near the market area. Seemed to be run by Chinese but not sure if they can still speak it.

A "safe" lunch as I call it. Fried rice.

Walked to Purcell Tower which is a clock tower located along the main street. Walked down the main street known as Mandalay-Lashio road. Kinda got confused at one point as to where we were, and a friendly Indian Myanmar guy from Bravo Hotel voluntarily helped us. Spoke very good English! Actually so far I've been pretty impressed with many Burmese who spoke English to me because their pronunciation and diction could put many Malaysians or even Singaporeans to shame. If I hadn't mention before, Burmese is not a race but a nationality. The majority are Bamar people but there are many other people and intermarriage is quite common I believe. There seemed to be more Indian/dark-skinned people here compared to elsewhere we've travelled in Myanamr.

Purcell Tower

Along the road I saw a building that was labelled 廣東會館 so I couldn't resist going over to try talking to the people over there. There were lots of Chinese things, like 春聯 and such. Talked to some people sitting outside. They said they were Cantonese but they can't speak it. Oh well.

廣東會館

We then walked towards a higher-class-looking café called Golden Triangle Café and Bakery. Along the way we saw pick-up trucks so we guessed that this was where we could take a truck back to Mandalay the next day. There was a friendly-looking, cheerful middle-aged man there who had the most 慈祥-expression ("benevolent-expression"... if such an expression exists his is the epitome of it) I've ever seen. Felt strangely joyful in his presence. Lol. Anyway the prices at the café were quite steep considering that we were in Myanmar, but we had some cakes and drinks there anyway. Spent much of the afternoon there (til 5pm) reading (I was reading Steve Pavlina) and decompressing.

We continued walking around after that and managed to find the train station. Nearby were some interesting religious structures. Anyway we later went back to the main street and I bought corn from a roadside seller. It was quite bland. Had dinner, bought some bread a sweets from a shop. Near our hotel there was some festival going on so we went to check it out. Went back, bathed, watched TV and slept.

A colourful Indian temple

Religious structures

Remnants of the colonial era. Would be great as a guesthouse etc. if Myanmar was more developed and if there were more awareness of preservation

Pyin Oo Lwin railway station

Day 8

I woke up around 6am, ate some bread and wore my longyi out for a walk at the hotel's garden then went back to sleep again. At 10am everyone woke up, packed and checked out, leaving our luggage at the hotel first.

Our hotel

We walked to the outside of Kawdawgyi Gardens which is supposedly a must-see for tourists here. Nearby there seemed to be some other attraction and I went to check it out. It was an amusement park... wonder who would go there though. Anyway we didn't go in to the Gardens because the entrance fee was quite expensive and we didn't have much time left at Pyin Oo Lwin.

Outside Kawdawgyi Gardens (sleeves rolled up to get tanned)

Entrance to Kawdawgyi Gardens

We had lunch at a random place on the way back. All 3 of us had "rice salad" which was rice with some peanuts and other stuff mixed together. It was actually quite tasty (despite there being flies everywhere and even on the ingredients)! I also got a strawberry milk shake which was nice but too sweet and I got a strawberry overload soon after.

"Rice salad" as the owner called it. Lighted candle to chase away flies.

The strawberry milk shake and add-ons for the rice salad

At the premises was also a small shop selling local delights. We bought 2 bottles of strawberry wine after sampling some different brands. If you like fruit wine you should like it. We sampled strawberry jam as well but didn't buy any (although it tasted nice) because we couldn't imagine bringing it with us for the next few weeks. Then we went back to collect our luggage from the hotel.

As we walked towards the pick-up truck pick-up point (or "terminal"... there are actually no pick-up points. You just wave your hand if you want to board the truck anywhere between Pyin Oo Lwin and Mandalay), we met a random guy on the street who talked to us. I was a bit wary of talking to strangers but he was quite interesting because he worked in Malaysia for 3 years before! In fact he told me he worked at Ampang Point and earned RM30/day (so little!).

At the pick up point the 慈祥 guy saw us and beckoned us to the truck, but we first took a photo with him. Unfortunately he did not smile wide enough in the photo so you can't really see his 慈祥-ness. The pick-up truck didn't leave immediately because they try to wait for more passengers to board before leaving (more economical for them). After some time another guy saw us reading books in the pick-up truck and asked where we were from. I said I was from Malaysia and he then told me he worked somewhere in Penang for 2.5 years, earning only RM18/day. Told him about the guy I met earlier who earned more. He said he still earns more in Malaysia than in Myanmar and was thinking of going back again.

Mr Benevolent-looking guy!

By the time we were back in Mandalay it was evening time. We went back to ET hotel to collect our train tickets from our previous guide. He told us the train jumped the tracks the previous day (*gulp*). Went to have some more ice cream at Nylon Ice Cream. On the way a trishaw driver said 안녕하새요 (Annyeonghaseyo) and 감사합니다 (Kamsahamnida) to us. No surprise they know these because Korean dramas are also a big hit in Myanmar! But do we look Korean? Haha. We then had our dinner and Myanmar beer at a shop near the train station. The beer was the first properly chilled drink I've had since I came to Myanmar.

Did not see this part of Mandalay previously. Despite US-led sanctions, Myanmar is more developed than what many would think it is. "TMW tower" here has Sony and OTO bodycare amongst its tenants.

It was a bit confusing at the train station but there were a lot of friendly people who helped directed us. One of the friendly guys seemed super excited to speak English with me and shook my hand afterwards.

Anyway after getting on board there were people selling stuff from outside the train windows and also in the train. Some people sell snacks on a tray on their head. As they pass by they are just within reach of our hands so I think it's not very advisable to carry them that way. Haha. We did buy 2 traditionally weaved fans from a young girl as it was pretty hot inside the train.

The train was in a rather dilapidated state. We were sitting on 2 long seats facing each other with a wooden table in between. The frame of the seats were wood as well but were cushioned. Unfortunately the cushion was in tatters at some parts and the sponge inside exposed. There were an option of 2 "windows" (it's a bit hard to explain), one which was solid wood (i.e. can't see outside) and one which was glass supported by a wooden frame. Oh, did I mention this was first class? Tourists who wish to travel by train in Myanmar are only allowed to buy first class tickets. The only source of light in the train were miniature LED lights.

The train conductor came later and couldn't guess where we were from (well he did ask "Chinese?" but as a Malaysian I would say I'm not Chinese when I'm overseas because to me that means China Chinese). We boarded a bit early because the train didn't leave until... maybe more than 1 hour later? At a point of time a poor boy came in and knelt down in front of me begging for money. So heart-wrenching. Sorry to say I did not give him money because a flood of them might have entered thereafter. Opposite the aisle to us was a sickly skinny man with an inflated belly which reminded me of the Kwashiorkor disease.

View from Hannah's seat

Anyway the journey started off fine... it was kinda like an amusement park ride because apart from the usual jerking you might get making a left turn or right turn or braking, the train also moved up and down so we were bouncing in our chairs. It was quite fun! Haha. I'm sure kids would enjoy it even more.

However the journey soon turned out quite horrible. The lights above started attracting insects, and believe me, there were LOTS of them. It's OK if they just want to fly about but it's not OK when different varieties of bugs start climbing into your clothes, clinging on to your hair and flying straight into your face. I was already having a sore throat and mouth ulcers so all this really really made me very uncomfortable. I tried my best to defend myself from the menacing insects and make myself more comfortable by wearing a cap, covering my body as much as I can with my jacket, listening to music on my handphone and sleeping on an inflatable pillow.

I have to say I was very wearied and was near breakpoint at this part of the trip.

Day 9

Can't say I had a good night's rest, but by the onset of dawn things were much much better. There were fewer people in the train by now and the insects flew off. The smells of chicken, dampness of wood etc reminded me of Sekinchan once more. The scenery outside was pretty nice in my opinion, and it changed quite drastically from time to time. For example:

Drying up river

Desert-like scenery

Paddy field scenery

I was reminded of Eucalyptus trees when I saw trees with peeling barks. Could be of the same family I guess. There were also some colourful birds (never really notice the birds in Singapore so can't say if they're not present in Singapore as well). Obviously I couldn't identify them... one I saw was a small green bird with a copper red head. I think the weaved nests (made with twigs, leaves and spider-webs like webs) could be theirs. There was also a blue and black bird that had blue feathers on the trailing edge of the wings and tail.

I'm sorry if you can't see it clearly, but the sign says "Palin"

I was fluctuating between sleep and awareness for some time. Even after a whole night's journey we hadn't reached Bagan yet. Finally when we were approaching the final station on this stretch of railroad, a guy boarded and asked us if we needed transportation to Bagan (as it was still a distance away).

We took a pickup truck again. There were some other people with us, including a friendly guy and some girls. At one point we had to alight and pay a US$10 entrance fee. Our temperature was also checked by ear... but there was no disposable nozzle attached at the end. Eww. Wonder how many ears have been poked by that ear thermometer before me.

Anyway Eden Motel was suggested so we went there. There was another tourist there called Dahlia. I think she could be from the French region of Canada. As we were quite tired, we bathed and slept for a while. We went to a restaurant opposite for lunch. Rather standard food similar to Chinese fare.

We later rented bicycles from the shop beside the motel and cycled to Shwezigon pagoda, which supposedly was used as the model for building the famous Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon. We were greeted by some souvenir sellers who said we could park our bicycles there and we proceeded to walk around the pagoda.

Shwezigon Pagoda

Showcase of different designs of stupas, probably in the different eras in Myanmar's history

Cheroot-smoking old ladies who invited me to take a photo of them, but asked me to pay up later. I did not.

All was well until we went back to get our bicycles and we were harassed by the aforementioned sellers. Very jialat. In our whole trip they were the worst of all sellers. I was really really pissed by them. They actually gave us some small souvenirs before we visited the pagoda and then when you come back they ask you to buy stuff, and if you said no they said they gave you a souvenir why you don't buy something (playing on our "guilt"!). They forcefully pull on your arms and beckon you to sit down on wooden stools and stare at their wares. Unbelievable. I think it is times like this I wish I had a gun to threaten them and shout "get the f*** away from me!". Still, Xuwen was coerced to buy and she gave in in the end. Hannah was pretty calm, good for her.

View outside Shwezigon pagoda.

We then cycled to the "tower". Myanmar decided to build a tower (if I'm not mistaken, it comes complete with MICE facilities. There's definitely a hotel and restaurant there) in the midst of the old monasteries and temples that litter the landscape of Bagan. For those who've heard about the fiasco in Penang about building tall buildings within the heritage zone, you'd know that UNESCO wasn't happy about it. Probably that's why until now Myanmar still hasn't gotten any of its many old historical sties in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Another reason would be that Myanmar constantly repairs its historical sites without following UNESCO guidelines (maybe things such as rebuilding using the original material etc). I wonder if the US$10 I paid is being used for restoration work (I doubt if much of it is).

Restoration being done, likely improperly

Figuring out how to get to the tower

A typical pick-up truck with its typical passengers

The "eye-sore" tower than earned the wrath of UNESCO

Elephant carving outside the tower (would have to pay to go in and go up, to dine in etc)

It was about to rain so we quickly cycled back. Took out our strawberry wine and had some. I changed into my longyi. Dahlia came back (from somewhere) and suggested we go to the sand bank to view the sunset. Old Bagan where the heritage buildings is actually a distance away from the nearest town, Nyaung U. Both places are located on the eastern banks of the Ayeryarwady/Irrawaddy river.

Anyway, the sand bank was wide. It took quite some time for us to walk from proper land to the edge of the sand bank (i.e. edge of the Ayeryarwady), so we talked a lot along the way. To me, it's quite scary to talk to overtly extroverted people, and Dahlia is one of them. But it was ok. Haha. At the edge of the sand bank was a family staying in a makeshift type of house, and there were sampan boats tied to the shore. The sunset was nice... not that it was extraordinary or anything, but I guess it was nice because I had not bother looking at sunsets for a long time.

Sand bank. The human figures near the background are me, Hannah and Dahlia

First time wearing longyi in public

Sunset

We went back as it got dark and Dahlia had to go elsewhere so we split and went for dinner. It was a rather nicely decorated restaurant and the food was rather pricey for Myanmar. The interesting thing was that it tasted healthy. Haha. We also had Mandalay beer here because we didn't get to try it in Mandalay. It's quite interesting because it has the usual beer colour (yellowish), but it tasted more like a malt drink (like Nutrimalt I usually drink back in Malaysia). Behind the restaurant was a mini-internet cafe. We used the internet for a while, went back and slept.

Mandalay beer

Next to come: More of Bagan and back to Yangon

SEA Trip 2009 (Part 2)

2009-09-24T04:23:00.006+08:00

Day 4

One of the huts at Queen Inn

We all woke up before 6am and had our breakfast... banana pancakes. For some reason banana pancakes have become a norm for tourists in Myanmar (and I think in the Indochinese region too), which I suspect is due to the proliferation of Western tourists who prefer food closer to their "comfort zone". Again, would've preferred a more traditional breakfast, but oh well... it tasted ok.

We woke up early because we booked a 7am tour to Inle Lake and the boat stopped right beside the lodgings (cool!). If I'm not mistaken Inle Lake was around 5km away from where we started, but as the lake is quite large we took quite long to reach our first destination, despite using motorised boat. Contrary to road traffic, water traffic (at least here) is on the left-hand side. Most common forms of housing are built using sheets of interlacing bamboo strips (not only here but most countryside areas)... this could explain why Cyclone Nargis destroyed the homes of so many.

The first part of the tour was to a place where they make traditional umbrellas. The traditional umbrella making was only a small part actually... right beside was a shop selling all kinds of souvenirs. Wanted to buy souvenirs anyway so I bought a Longyi each for mom and dad. Male sarongs are sold in the standard sarong circular form, while the female sarongs are open-ended. This is due to the way the different sexes wear the longyi. The female version is supposed to fit nicely such that when one wraps it around the waist it ends nicely at the side (not too long or short), whereas guys don't have a choice. Haha. Well actually guys tie theirs at the centre so it does not really matter.

Next we went to see a family making silver. It was all quite cool but I did not intend to buy those stuff so we left soon after.

Then it was off to the market. It was located behind a temple. Had to take off our shoes within certain areas. Most stuff were laid down on top of sheets on the ground.

Temple near market place

Scenes from the market, this was at the inner covered area

The outer, uncovered area

I remember seeing this type of snack at the Pasar Malam back in Batu Pahat

Our next stop was a place where they weaved threads into cloth. One interesting thing I learnt was that certain parts within the stalk of the lotus plant can be "processed" into threads and cloth. It has a much coarser texture though. They also made clothing from cotton and silk. Below was a shop selling clothing (What's new. So touristy). Wasn't very interested and was put off by the prices so didn't buy anything.

Lotus plant processing

Forming a ball of yarn from the thin threads

Lotus yarn at the bottom, I believe cotton at the top

The traditional cloth-making machine

Next we got our chance to visit a Padaung family. In case you don't know, Padaung are the people with "long necks". There was nothing much to see there except the necks of the females of the family... so we left quite hurriedly. I didn't take photos with them in the end because then it would feel to me as if they were some strange creatures in a zoo.

Next up was a hut (all the places we went to were floating huts or houses above Inle Lake) where ladies were making cheroot cigars. A lady served us tea (I forgot to mention... at almost all the places we've went we were served tea) and talked to us. Apparently she has a daughter or a relative or something like that studying or wanting to study in Singapore (Hannah please verify).

Home industry in action

As part of the tour package we also got to go to a more secluded area called Indein. In was nonetheless just as touristy. We did see some western tourists once in a while, but the number of tourists in Myanmar is much lower compared to its eastern neighbour. There were some interesting pagodas at Indein, all located near the top of the hills. We didn't know if we could access them. 2 friendly young novice monk asked us to follow them up a path. We were led to some old but crumbling stupas on top of a hill. From there we could see many other old-and-crumbling stupas but it would take too long for us to reach them so we did not go there.

Ruins

The 2 novice monks

After reaching the foot of the hill we said thank you to the novice monks. We were about to leave and to my surprise one of them said :"sorry, money?" Don't know about Hannah and Xuwen, but I was utterly shocked. We did pay them some money, can't remember how much. To be honest it disgusted me a bit because I felt what he did tainted the name of Buddhism. How did they lose their innocence? Tourism? I don't know.

We then had lunch at this place... as we were eating 3 ladies sat at the table beside us and they sounded PRC-like so I asked where were they from in Mandarin. They then looked at each other with quizzical looks and then asked me what did say in English. @.@ I repeated in English and then Mandarin and then a lady said she thought I said some weird foreign language because they didn't expect me to know Mandarin (+ perhaps I had some accent). They told me they were from Guangxi and asked me if I've heard of it. I proceeded to say...“哦我知道。。。广西壮族自治区嘛！” which surprised them (哇你还知道全名啊！). Haha.

Lastly we went to the Jumping Cat Monastery to see... well, jumping cats. Sorry didn't take any photos =P

Another interesting (must-see) sight at Inle Lake are the leg-rowers. Also, every now and then we see people in the lake, probably clearing some grass beneath the surface etc. to ensure that boats don't get trapped. And some of these people were really fit. Like clearly defined 6-pack abs fit. I guess that's what you earn from hard labour!

The fabled leg-rowers of Inle

On our way back it started drizzling and I slept a bit on the boat. Once in a while we saw passengers on boats (motorised or otherwise) waving at us and we waved back (and exchange some Ming-la-bars). They are very friendly people.

After resting for a while we then packed and walked to town to wait for the pickup truck that would bring us back to the main junction of Shwenyaung. This was the cheapest and most common way of travel for the locals between Shwenyaung and Nyaungshwe. When we boarded the pickup it was already 1/3 filled with market produce (vegetables and fish etc) and we also had to share it with some locals. Along the way some people boarded and alighted (some standing on the ledge at the back and holding on to the rails).

Throughout the journey I felt as if something was moving in the rattan basket beside me, and sure enough, halfway through the journey a fish managed to fight its way out. The pickup truck was quite cramped so we didn't know for sure what was on the floor until the local lady opposite me felt it. She proceeded to pick the poor struggling fish up and found a plastic bag to keep it in. Then before she alighted she took some Kyat out of her purse and gave it to the person in charge. No wonder that their money look and smell dirty. Lol.

Anyway I had some tea while waiting for the bus. The bus had windows that could open unlike the previous one where it always got really stuffy (aircon always breaks down). We retraced part of the route we took to get to Shwenyaung, including the breakfast place. Bus passengers tend to wrap their rubbish nicely instead of throwing it on the floor, but proceed to throw it out the window most of the time. The toilets at the rest stops are surprisingly clean. As usual they played some Burmese MVs and sitcoms... I noticed in most of their sitcoms common English pop songs are used as background music (such as Enya's Orinoco Flow, Madonna's Vogue etc.). It seems like roads in Myanmar, even the major ones, have Malaysian kampung road width, but usually have some excess space at the sides.

Day 5

We reached Mandalay very early in the morning and it was raining quite heavily. Tried to bargain with the pickup truck drivers but didn't manage to get a huge discount. Where we wanted to go was actually quite near. Anyway we settled on ET Hotel. We got 3-bed room with hot shower, air-con depending on electricity supply and the view outside our windows was a wall barely 1m away. We all bathed and slept.

We woke up and washed our clothes, then went out for breakfast. It was still raining so we went nearby. The place looked dirty with lots of flies, but hey, I'm Malaysian so I can get use to it. Lol. At least I hope I have the necessary resistance. Anyway we had Samosas and these fried dough pieces called Ei Kyar Kwey (which is actually Yau Char Gwai lah! 油炸鬼/油条). We went back to the hotel for awhile. The lady boss was there and suddenly talked to us in Mandarin （对不起现在没有电，等下就好了）. Sounded like the Malaysian/Singaporean variety of Mandarin.

We spent 1 hour at an internet cafe and then walked to downtown. As usual the roads are stained with red blots, no thanks to the prevalence of betel nut chewing here. Walked by part of the outer perimeter of Mandalay Palace... it's quite wide, 2.1km X 2.1km based on Google Earth and surrounded by a moat 70m in width. The palace is thus kinda on a square island. The rest of the city is mostly to the south of it.

A clock tower in downtown Mandalay

The moat surrounding the palace

Strange-looking tree we saw along the way

Strange-coloured lizard we saw on the trees. Probably a chameleon but doesn't change colour much. But why turquoise?

The city is laid out on a grid system of roads which makes it Manhattan-like, except that there are no tall skyscrapers and worst of all, most intersections have no traffic lights! Anyway, my understanding of Manhattan is that they have Streets (W 55th Street, E 65th Street etc.) and Avenues (5th avenue, 6th avenue etc.) perpendicular to each other. In Mandalay it's (probably... couldn't determine from Google Earth) up to 45th street running east-west, then 46th to 90th street north-south. When people quote an address they'll tell you something like E.T. Hotel, 83rd St. 23/24 (where we stayed), which means it's located along 83rd street (running N-S) at the portion location between 23rd and 24th St (running E-W). Quite cool!

Xuwen injured her toe before we had lunch. That made all 3 of us inflicted with toe/toenail injuries. After lunch Xuwen went back to use the internet while me and Hannah went into Mandalay Palace. Entrance fees were quoted in US$ and my bills were rejected by the counter lady because they were too crumpled (what?!). So Hannah had to pay for me first. No doubt this is one way the junta earn their money (and they expect clean uncrumpled money too). There were also lots of propaganda billboards:

People's Desire...

"Tatmadaw and the people, cooperate and crush all those harming the union"

The palace is actually a rebuilt version after the original was destroyed during World War II. There was also a small museum inside the palace grounds.

Original layout of Mandalay, still pretty much intact except maybe the outer wall. I don't know if it's still there.

We then moved further north and I got a bottle of Star Cola (they have many local version of international products since there are trade restrictions with Myanmar. Didn't see a single Coca-Cola or Pepsi when I was there). Visited some temples. One of the temples was the one featured on the cover of Lonely Planet and we didn't even know! It was Kuthodaw Pagoda. Almost all white, save for the central stupa which was blinding gold. Some teachings of the Buddha was inscribed on 1774 marble slabs and all the slabs were housed in a structure at topped off with a stupa.

Also went to some other temples but they were not as interesting, plus we got harassed by people wanting to sell us stuff (postcards, drawings etc). One such incident went like this:

Seller: Look at these. Look nice. 5 for (some amount) Kyat.
Me: It's OK, thank you.
Seller: Please take a look. How about this (unfurls a long pack of postcards)? It's nice.
Me: Thank you, I don't want it. (walking out of temple)
Seller: Please buy, I want to sell!
Me: But I don't want to buy!

She needs some lessons in economics.

We then went up Mandalay Hill. There were stairs all the way and it was also not a very tall hill so it was quite an easy climb. We had to keep our shoes in some racks at the foot of the steps for a fee. I didn't mind that, but I was disgusted by all the rubbish and apparent dirt and vandalism I saw along the way amidst a supposedly Buddhist setting. The juxtaposition felt so incongruent. On the top however was a humongous standing Buddha overlooking to city of Mandalay. The views from the top were so-so as well, but it was good exercise!

Mandalay hill as seen from the south east corner of the palace

Entrance to the steps climbing up Mandalay hill

Evening time near Mandalay palace

There was actually celebrations going on to mark the 150th anniversary of the founding of Mandalay (surprise surprise, not as old as most people think), but we couldn't really see anything interesting going on. Maybe it was too early. We later did see people flocking to the direction of where we came from, but we were interested to see the "Moustache Brothers" so we gave it a miss. Probably wouldn't understand anything too.

After walking back to the hotel we discussed the travel plans for the next day with a trishaw driver cum tour guide. We then went to Lashio Lay restaurant for our dinner ("clean and good" says our would-be tour guide).

After dinner we went to see the "Moustache Brothers". They are a comedic act featured in Lonely Planet Myanmar as a highlight. Apparently one of the 3 brothers was caught by the junta before. They were from a traditional performing troupe whom one Brother claimed travelled around Myanmar but later confined to performing in Mandalay and now confined to performing in their house. To be honest I didn't find the act very entertaining for so expensive a price, and also the Brother's accent was quite strong at times. Halfway through a grasshopper/cricket flew in right into the face of an asian american guy. The Brother later caught it and said the season is coming where lots of them will swarm. Yikes. Went back to hotel after that and slept.

Got to see some traditional Myanmar dances (dancer is the wife of the Moustache Brother in the background)

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been here! And the photo of the lady at the top right corner is the aforementioned dancer when young.

Moustache Brother Par Par Lay who was arrested in 2007

Day 6

Woke up a bit late. Managed to have breakfast (usual western fare again. haiz), then went to meet our guide for the day. First he brought us to see jade at a person's home. He told me that there were many people selling fake jade outside, which I know to be a fact. Problem is, I can't really confirm what he is selling to be genuine too, and the prices were quite high. So too bad lah. Wanted to buy for my mom.

We then went to a gold shop. There people were pounding on small lumps of gold to make gold leafs. Gold leafs are bought by devout Buddhists to be placed on holy items, such as figures of Buddha or stupas (think Shwedagon pagoda). They sold some interesting stuff but I decided to buy some jade (fake ones I believe) for my sisters.

Making gold leaf

Gold leaf is produced through continual pounding of a small lump of gold many many times.

Next we took the pickup truck to Innwa. Well, not exactly to Innwa because it was across a river and there were no bridges. So we had to take a boat (not very expensive if I remember correctly). At the other side we were 'supposed' to go buy horsecart (because there were 3 main attractions and it would take too long by foot). Unfortunately we couldn't manage to cut the cost to K5000 as our guide told us (he didn't join us) and paid K6000 total for 3 people instead. The three major sites were a teak monastery, a watchtower (the only remains of an old palace) and a stone monastery.

The teak monastery

They seem to be running a kindergarten inside nowadays

The watchtower... actually the original watchtower is in ruins. They built this new modern one directly on top of the old one. That's why it has a serious slanting problem...

...I took this photo trying to align my camera phone to the horizon. I guess it's a pretty dangerous building.

The stone monastery

After crossing the river again to go back, we had lunch. I think it was some normal chicken stuff. The mango afterwards was really sweet and juicy though! The next destination was Sagaing Hill which overlooks the region. We went up the "unofficial" way to save on entrance fees. =P At the top was a rather nicely adorned temple. Again, our guide did not join us.

The parts of this rabbit that are not oxidized are those where people always touch... for good luck I guess?

View from the top

Lots of glass used to decorate the temple

On our way down we met our guide resting and sat down with him. He then talked about Myanmar (politics, education, corruption etc.) and how much better our countries were. Well... sometimes I don't really know if "progressing" is such a good thing. In modern places many people tend to "lose their innocence".

Anyway we then proceeded to Amarapura, which is famous for its long teak bridge where many monks cross during sunset (the type of scene photographers supposedly love). We traversed the bridge to the other side and seeing nothing much walked back again. Sunset was slow to come but unfortunately the weather was not very good for taking photos. Rather cloudy. Too bad loh. Halfway back we met a tour guide with 2 Slovakian girls so I chatted up with them and tried what Michael (Czech guy) taught me:" Miluju te kočičko" Had to try several times before they understood. Lol. Czech is a hard language.

Trees at the other end of the teak bridge. Could've been taken in Beverly Hills eh?

Evening time on the bridge. An island is present halfway across the bridge at some times of the year.

Proof that the hand-holding culture amongst guys is present not only in Bangladesh and India

Then it was all the way back to Mandalay city proper. Had dinner at Mann Restaurant and we tried Myanmar beer! It's like Tiger, but less bitter, so kinda like Stella Artois also. Incidentally a few days later back in Yangon I saw a factory that had the logos of Myanmar Beer, ABC and Tiger Beer on it so they are made at the same place. Too bad wasn't very chilled. So far we've yet to have "proper" chilled drinks. There were people watching football (this IS a global phenomenon) and a blackout occured for a while but it was ok. After-dinner dessert was ice-cream at Nylon Ice Cream. Strange name but their ice creams are homemade and good! Had tapioca ice cream and it was so nice. Internet after that and slept.

Next to come: Pyin Oo Lwin and Bagan

SEA Trip 2009 (Part 1)

2009-09-14T18:44:00.014+08:00

Alright finally getting down to blog again. And that's mostly because I need to document the South East Asian leg of my Graduation Trip.

This blog entry as well as the subsequent blog entries will be a narrative of the sights I've seen and experiences I've had during my 3+ weeks travelling in Myanmar and Laos (+ a bit of Thailand).

**** **** **** ****
Day 1

With excitement, a large orange bag on my back, a smaller green bag in front of me, a bag full of old clothes in one hand and a plastic bag with A2 sized drawing paper and color paper in the other, I struggled to get on the bus and the MRT to meet up with Hannah at Jurong East interchange and proceeded to Changi Airport to meet up with Xuwen.

Despite people thinking that I seem to be flying around all the time, this was actually my first trip in 2009. The last plane flight I took was in December 2008, coming back from my uncle's in Melbourne.

This was also, I realised probably only a few days later, my first trip to countries that were less developed than Malaysia. Sure I've been to Indonesia but it was only a small island (Pulau Karimun) and what more it was located in the Riau Special Economic Zone.

Anyway, we bought a direct Jetstar Asia flight from Singapore to Yangon, but there was also code-sharing with Myanmar Airways International (which is presume is considered a "full-fledged" airline as opposed to a "budget" one). Probably that was the reason why there were meals! It was a pleasant surprise, and we had already eaten as we were anticipating that there'll be no food on board.

The fish was better than the chicken, but the most interesting dish was this funny side salad, which i guess was some sort of appetizer dish. It was "citrusy" and spicy and had an unfamiliar taste (slightly reminiscent of Thai salads), though I suppose I could get used to it. Nearing the end of the flight a flight attendant asked us if this was our first time in Yangon and later proceeded to write out (on paper coasters) things to do, places to visit and food to eat whilst in Yangon.

The interior of Yangon International Airport almost felt like a copycat of Changi. I can't say that I expected it. It was much too clean and wide and open and bright for a nation whose people I was told by the media are suffering under the military junta. But the atmosphere felt more homely and village-like once we stepped out of immigration. Myanmar people have varying skin tone, similar to Malaysia.

We met our contact person, Brother Joseph and people from his extended family and he took us back to his house and the orphanage he runs at a village called Wanetchaung. Mode of transport: Pick-up truck. The road quality was quite bad... lots of potholes but at least they weren't deep.

Anyway noticed that cars drive on the right side of the road but most vehicles have their steering wheels on the right too! Very weird indeed. My guess was that they once drove on the left (should be the case since they were a British colony as well) but switched some time ago. (This I confirmed from Wikipedia. Read the bizarre story here.)

Based on Google Earth (if the Wanetchaung I found IS the Wanetchaung I went to), Wanetchaung is about 30km from the airport, but it took us more than 1hr to reach there! There was a toll station at some point where Bro. Joseph paid K200 (K1000 ~ US$1, black market/street rate) (Myanmar currency Kyat is pronounced "Chaat"). Most of the money, especially those of smaller denominations were really crumpled, dirty and torn at many places (a la 鹹菜).

Lin-lin (extreme left in the pic above) told me that vehicles with red car plates are "ferry" (I assume she meant "ferrying people and goods"). Learnt some simple Burmese on the way... Something like "Ming-la-bar" (Hello), "Nai-gaung-la" (How are you), "Che-zu-din-ba-de" (Thank you). After that some small talk like how old are your parents and how many siblings you have etc... Nearing our destination the paved road gave way to a dirt road.

After putting our stuff down we were ushered to their "Agape Hall" where the orphans were seated (and we were seated on stage). A lady started the "ceremony" with prayers and then we had to give a brief introduction of ourselves etc (in English, after which the lady translated for us). Then she said a few more words in Myanmar (Burmese) and suddenly the orphans came rushing on stage, holding our hands, hugging us and leading us around their orphanage! Some pictures below:

This is entertainment, kampung style =)

Hannah and some of the children playing at the slide

Chatted for some time with Joseph Jr. (in English, of course). He talked about wanting to further his Christian education and become a pastor or something along those lines. 20 years old and he knows what he wants in life. Good for him.

We then went back to discuss money... We didn't attempt to find Myanmar Kyat in Singapore before flying over (the rate is probably better in Myanmar anyway). There's a small enclave of Myanmar workers in Singapore which I found by accident last time: Peninsula Plaza. I should probably go there to find Burmese food someday.

Anyway we then presented the stuff we brought for the orphans (mostly clothes and stationery). Soon it was dinner time and Bro. Joseph invited us to join him for a meal at his house. Flies are quite a nuisance in Myanmar, but during the meal we weren't so bothered because Bro. Joseph's children were fanning us! It was, to say the least, rather awkward for us. The food was ok, quite similar to Chinese food I would say. They were very generous with quail eggs in their soup. Also, the kitchen smelled like my grandma's kitchen back in Sekinchan.

Brother Joseph on the right, Xuwen on the left

Just before we were about to set off to the hotel (that Bro. Joseph booked in advance for us. We didn't have a choice), we enquired about Thanaka. It's a traditional cream paste that many Burmese apply on their skin, in particular on their face. This prompted a girl to show us the plant and cream, and soon enough Hannah and Xuwen got Thanaka applied on their faces. When the cream dries it creates a cooling effect and becomes powdery.

Rubbing the wood on the plate whilst adding some water produces Thanaka

I then asked about Longyi (pronouced long-gee) which is the traditional sarong attire that many Burmese men wear, even in the office! Bro. Joseph then gave me a Longyi as a gift. However I did not know how to wear it so Joseph Jr. had to help. Apparently the men and women tie the Longyi differently. What most people think is the standard way of wearing a sarong is in fact to the Burmese the lady-way.

入乡随俗; When in Myanmar do as the Myanmar do!

Hannah commented about how Burmese people tend to "go high pitch" when they talk. I noticed it too and it's quite interesting to see the various quirky details in language. Anyway it took another 1hr+ journey to Yoma hotel. Rates are US$20/room/night for single, US$25/room/night for double. Expensive!!!

Day 2

The way they cut bananas forces me to eat them

Had breakfast at the hotel, standard Western fare, tasted ok but I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't anything Burmese about it.

Bro. Joseph came to pick us up and brought us to downtown Yangon. Traffic is chaotic like most other Southeast Asian cities.

Downtown Yangon (that is not Shwedagon Pagoda)

Yangon City Hall

Jade market in the Chinatown region

A building in the downtown area with the same colour schemes as Flinder's Street Station in Melbourne.

Had lunch at a "proper" restaurant and I had some beehoon soup thingy called Kyae-Ohe.

We then went to "bus station" which is actually a few rows of roads and shop lots. The arrangement is such that buses leaving to a particular region will be placed together (e.g. we were going north so we went to the section where buses leave to the north). All the buses I saw when I was in Myanmar were old Japanese buses.

Anyway after some delay we finally left and a bus attendant passed everyone some sweets, a bottle of water and toothbrush + toothpaste.

One thing I couldn't quite stand in Myanmar was that they just lurrrrrve to beep their horn. To indicate overtaking *beep*, before overtaking *beep*, during overtaking *beep* (*beep* doesn't mean one beep). Also flash their lights when doing so. Anyway as usual I was staring outside most of the time. Saw many paddy fields and villages. Every now and then there were groups of people playing sepak takraw or volleyball. Also saw many domesticated animals, cows, goats, chicken, ducks, cats, dogs... but most interesting of all are those I rarely see even in Malaysia... water buffaloes and pigs in mud!

Random mosque that we passed by

After some time we arrived at a rest stop where people alighted to have a meal, use the toilet etc. while the bus driver and his friends were busy spraying the bus with water, especially the engine behind. I forgot to mention almost all buses keep the lid behind open (I suppose to let wind blow the engine). The engines always seem to overheat... maybe because they were meant to be used at places with more temperate weather (Japan)?

So it was no surprise that there was a bus breakdown... during bus breakdown #1 (sometime after passing Bago, where 2 westerners boarded) we stopped beside a small stream where there were people in the mud (don't know what they were doing). Took the opportunity to chat up with the westerners. One was a Swedish guy and the other was from Leeds.

The bus got fixed (dunno how long that took) and we passed by Taungoo (ard 8pm) and Kaytumati. I think we were somewhere near Nay Pyi Daw (the new Myanmar capital) when the bus stopped at a checkpoint. All of us alighted. The officials checked the Burmese people for their IDs and we got our passports checked. Chatted a little with an official who commented we were all "ASEAN" people.

At the dinner rest stop place we had a whole "set meal" for K1800/pax, inclusive of soup, tea, side dishes, rice and raw veggies. Apparently it's a "Shan Buffet" because once we finished any one side dish or soup it was topped up. We didn't take the raw veggies because (1) we didn't know how well they've cleaned it, how long it's been exposed and whether or not it's been in contact with raw meat (2) the flies landed on them multiple times. However all in all it was a nice warm and delicious meal. I liked the soup and Bamar tea (which I filled up my bottle with), and especially a veggie + peanut side dish.

There was another shorter breakdown at night. Slept around 11pm.

Day 3

Slept quite well but woke up around 1.50am. By then we were climbing up the hills. The road itself seemed to be only one-lane wide or at most a tight two-lane, but it seemed like they are widening the roads as there was quite a lot of excess space at the sides. Also on the way up the hills it looks as if they had used dynamite to clear space.

There was probably another short breakdown. I forgot to mention that the TV was switched on most of the time. They played Burmese drama, comedy and music videos on it. There were so many songs that were originally sung in Chinese! E.g. 小城大爱 by Lee Hom and 我的驕傲 by Joey Yung.

There was the final breakdown which lasted 2 hours. It was getting a bit stuffy in the bus and the guy beside me had a super irritating Chinese ringtone/song for his alarm (I was so bored I even wrote down the lyrics: “如果我还有一点时间，我一定要把你找到。在只有我们知道的地方，啦啦啦啦。。。” sung to the ubiquitous Nokia ringtone *shudders*). So I went out to jalan-jalan. Around sunrise the bus was fixed and we moved on.

As you can see, our bus is "Nishitetsu"

Passed by Kalaw which is renowned as a backpackers area, cool weather and the starting point for the trekking routes. As we had limited time in Myanmar we didn't do that. The 2 European guys left. Awhile later we had breakfast. K300 for tea (Royal Myanmar Tea... good stuff!) and K250 for bread.

As the bus was preparing to leave we boarded the bus and suddenly the driver talked to me in Malay! Wah! 吓到！Apparently he worked in Malaysia before and used to stay in Balakong, near KL @.@

The end point for our bus was Taunggyi but we alighted at Shwenyaung. It was around 9.30am. We took a 20 hour bus ride!!! From there we had to get to Nyaungshwe. Cab driver quoted K6000, but I said K5000 and we got the deal. Which was a mistake because we could've gotten much cheaper by using a pick up truck.

Entrance to Nyaungshwe, which is the entrance to Inle Lake. At the side (out of picture) were propaganda asking the people to be friendly and helpful to tourists

We decided to stay at Queen Inn as suggested by Lonely Planet. The owner is a nice lady called Ma Soo (always serves us nice strawberry smoothies! ). She helped us buy our ticket to Mandalay. After putting down our bags we walked to "downtown" Nyaungshwe to have lunch. We settled on Smiling Moon Restaurant. The whole place seemed pretty dusty... doesn't seem like they've had patrons for quite some time. However the food was good and the Mango lassi was nice!

Cute dog!

It started raining so we went back. I got a bit better at wearing longyi. Haha. After some rest we decided to get some bikes to cycle around with (Ma Soo helped again). We cycled along the water passageway that goes leads to Inle Lake. We were attempting to reach Inle Lake but realised it was too far and our bicycles was not well equipped for such terrain (+lots of cow dung on the path and if we were careless we might've fallen into a paddy field).

So we went back to downtown Nyaungshwe and used the internet for awhile. The connection was really slow though, and they have to depend on generators to backup all the time as the electric current fluctuates and get cut every now and then.

Myanmar keyboard with Burmese script

Notice in Internet cafe:"Not allow to use Myanmar Political Websites and Myanmar Political Email"

After seeing the sun set in the mountains we went back to our lodgings. Dinner was prepared by Ma Soo and it was a nice home cooked food. Chatted with the only other person staying there at the moment which was a Swiss guy.

Blackout occurred so couldn't do any reading. Slept.

Next to come: Inle Lake and Mandalay!

Buying Furniture Online

2009-08-27T17:29:00.009+08:00

After coming back from my grad trip in July I had to move directly to my new place in Marine Parade that I was sharing with Kok Vui and Shing Yeong (coz the hostel admin didn't let me stay later than June). We got quite a good deal for the flat but it was unfurnished. So I had to source for my own furniture. I was thinking along the lines of 2nd hand stuff, but for things like my own mattress and pillow... 2nd hand would be a bit... unhygenic?

Heard from KV and Shing that they got their mattresses from beds.sg so I decided to check the website out. They have quite a number of brands under them, and they also have customer reviews for their products (and customer ratings in terms of comfort, quality and value for money), which helped a lot. Apart from mattresses and bed frames/divans they also sell general stuff you find in the bedroom like dressing tables, wardrobes etc. You can get the stuff you order within 1 or 2 days.

Was looking through the matresses section and it was great that they label their mattresses with 5 different levels of hardness. Made it easier for me to make my decision. I decided to get a mattress with the second hardest level called "Maxcoil United Athena" (Single Size S$189). The prices of their pillows were cheaper than many of those I bought outside, so I bought one called "Maxcoil Orthopedic X-Tra Firm Pillow" (S$15). They usually charge a S$10 delivery fee for pillows but since I was buying their mattress too I got free shipping! =)

As I was looking through their website I also saw a display bookshelf going for S$98 so I got it too. Originally I was considering getting these from IKEA/Carrefour etc but they have shipping charges and/or installation charges.

So what do I think of my new stuff?

The mattress was not as hard I would like it to be, but I believe many people might already find it too hard. I've always liked hard mattresses and I chose this particular mattress because it has coconut fibre inside which I also like. 10 year warranty, anti fungi, anti bacteria, anti dustmite... Verdict: Value for money, good for alleviating my lower back pain.

The pillow was really firm though... and that's great! Though someone commented to me I might as well get those ancient chinese squarish pillows. Haha. Anyway it was also anti-fungi, anti-bacteria and anti-dustmite. Also, just thick enough for me so that I don't have to always slide my arm underneath to support my head like I used to. Verdict: One of my favorite pillows to date. (and cheap!)

My bed! (Sans the bed frame, which I have yet to buy)

I chose a "walnut" colored display bookshelf. It has 5 shelves (+ the upper surface which I also use). Looked really solid and the colour was nice (colour doesn't peel off, unlike my desk which was bought elsewhere). The wood piece at the back is flimsy but doesn't matter coz it has no supporting purpose anyway. Verdict: Sturdy and good finishing.

Overall, very happy with my purchase at beds.sg and would definitely recommend to it you! =)

A post before October

2008-09-29T23:07:00.003+08:00

I know i've been away from blogging for a very long time. I've lots to say but there's just too little time.

I'll just post these 2 "Get Fuzzy" comic strips here. "Get Fuzzy" is one of my favorite comics strips, even though I don't get the jokes all the time, e.g. when the topic is very "american", such as those relating to baseball (Red Sox blah blah) etc.

I like these 2 strips Darby Conley (the author/illustrator) has made in particular because he dealt with US politics by mixing it up with the geniuses of Monty Python.

Michael Palin for president! Lol!

人在异乡

2008-08-20T21:15:00.012+08:00

写主体之前让我先介绍一位马来西亚的朋友，Lee Chyi。她在日本已经呆了蛮久，目前也在那儿工作。她去过鲜少旅客会想要去的地方，比如说孟加拉和尼泊尔。她旅行时喜欢跟当地人接触，就算独自一人偶尔会跟陌生人聊天，甚至到他们家做客。

有一天我踏入前往文礼（Boon Lay）地铁站的火车，没空位只好站着。我面前坐着2位来自中国的工人（多数是建筑业的吧），还有一位马来妇女。工人甲翘着脚时（4字型）,鞋底碰到马来妇女的裙子，她很快地把他的脚甩开，并用力擦拭自己的裙子，嘴里念念有词。

不久后她站起来离开了（因为到了她要下车的那一站）。我便坐在马来妇女原本坐的位置。工人甲首先跟工人乙说了一些他对马来人的看法，我没听得很清楚。一路上一直聊，到了裕廊东地铁站时他的话题变成批评新加坡人（嘴边还一直说着他妈的）。

我其实已经想了很久要跟他们聊，因为很好奇人在异乡的他们对新加坡/新加坡人有什么看法。所以就。。。

我：这位老兄，你似乎对新加坡人有一些偏见。
工人甲：是的。Blah blah blah...
我：没有关系，其实我也不是本地人。。。
工人甲： Blah blah...
我：我本身认为他们之所以那么觉得是因为。。。
工人甲：（插嘴）中国面积大，我们 Blah blah 很多不同blah blah 环境分别blah blah。。。
我：（重申）我不是新加坡人。
工人甲：哦，那你是哪里人？
我：马来西亚。
工人甲：我以前在中国就有听说，印尼的华人被欺负，马来西亚的华人被欺负；没想到来到新加坡竟然会被华人欺负！
我：是地，我明白。。。
工人甲：那，你是马来西亚人你应该了解。。。

大概就是聊这样的话题。后来到了湖畔(Lakeside)地铁站，他下车了。

工人乙便移到我旁边的位子。

我：那这位老兄当初又是为什么离乡背井来到新加坡工作呢？
工人乙：这。。。不方便说。。。
我：那，没关系，没关系。。。
工人乙： blah blah 兑换率五倍
我： blah blah 兑换率两倍

过了一阵子。。。

我：你是从中国哪一（nei3）个省来的？
工人乙：长春
我：哦，对不起，不是很清楚在哪里。（城市的名字听起来蛮熟悉的，只是一时记不起来）
工人乙：吉林省
我：哦，我知道了。。。
工人乙：是吗？
我：就是。。。东北区嘛
工人乙：对啊（稍微惊讶）！
我：我对中国还略有认识。。。
工人乙：很好，很好。我们一伙儿，有三个中国人，两个马来西亚人，我们跟他们很__（不记得用了什么字，总之就是说很谈得来）。可是他们总是不承认自己为中国人，偏偏说是马来西亚华人！（一半无奈，一半好笑地说) 我真是被气到！
我：哈哈，我也是会称自己为马来西亚华人啊。中国人，我不敢当。
工人乙：不敢当。。。嗯，但你们祖先是中国人嘛。大家blah blah。。。
我：是啊，我祖先是从广东来的。

etc etc... 到了文礼站还在跟他聊。后来他甚至跟我要了电话号码，有空时大家可以出来玩玩儿（我猜是去喝酒吧。因为他身上有酒味）。我跟他说对不起大学很忙，没空出来。最后握了握手，跟他说：“有缘再见”。

我觉得这样跟陌生人聊还蛮好玩的，以后可能会再试试看。反正在火车上没事做。

Anyway, 之前看过润桓写过的一篇blog entry, 关于我们马来西亚华人的身份到底是什么？是马来西亚人？华人？中国人？

我一定会把马来西亚人的身份放在前端！！

'Glocal' Malaysia

2008-07-03T23:30:00.004+08:00

I remember first hearing the word "Glocal" when Najib, our current Deputy Prime Minister, used it. There isn't any precise definition of the word, but as it is a combination of "globalisation" and "localisation", I take the meaning being local yet global at the same time.

To me, this ironically describes what is going on in Malaysia now, and even more interestingly it implicates Najib as well.

When I was drafting this blog entry there were already some links in place that I wanted to put in but I never expected more global links to emerge! So anyway...

Mr Anwar Ibrahim, a former deputy prime minster, claims that he can form a new government by September 16, which is Malaysia Day. Recently he claims to have received death threats and went to seek shelter at the Turkish Embassy. A 23-year old university dropout Mohd Saiful has accused Anwar of sodomizing him (for real? A 62-year old with a bad back?0, and this is the 2nd time Anwar has been accused of sodomy.

However 今时不同往日, the situation has very much changed in these 10 years (i.e. since the last time he was charged). I believe more Malaysians are supporting him than before, and the United States (who seem to like Anwar) has issued a statement opposing any politically motivated investigation or prosecution of Anwar and that it hoped there was no "pattern" in the new accusations against him.

The high-profile murder of a Mongolian model, Altantuya Shaariibuu, was big news in 2006. Based on new "evidence" by the private investigator (PI) of Mr Abdul Razak Baginda, Mr P. Balasubramaniam, she was introduced to Razak by Najib in Singapore. Eventually the three travelled together, including once in Paris, France, where Altantuya felt entitled to a huge commission for helping the Malaysian government in clinching a submarine deal. Not only that, when Altantuya met up with the PI she also told him that Razak and her were married in Korea.

And then there's the HINDRAF (HINdu Rights Action Force). Apart from popularising the now-famous cry of "Makkal Sakthi" (மக்கள் சக்தி in Tamil), one of the main original ideas was to submit a petition to the British High Commission. At some point of time there were also some talks (dunno rumour or what, dun remember liao) about engaging the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam) in Sri Lanka to help out.

I'm sure there are many more other links... do tell me if you know any more!

Peranakan

2008-05-06T11:59:00.010+08:00

Sorry for the long hiatus from blogging. Didn't have much time and also the internet connection wasn't very good.

Anyway, I went to the new Peranakan Museum here in Singapore on May 4. It was their first week so I got a discounted entry ticket price of S$2. There were also many events going on that day so I enjoyed my trip very much.

This is not their dining table... it's their dessert table...

Peranakan, or better known as Baba Nyonya (Singapore spells it as Nonya), are descendents of early Chinese immigrants in South East Asia, in particular the Nusantara region. Due to their long history they have adopted local ways, especially food, clothing and language. My only recollection of Baba Nyonya culture was watching this show on RTM that had two Chinese looking middle-aged ladies (actually I think are guys) in traditional clothes (which I now know to be Baju Panjang) talking in Malay.

Baju Panjang worn by Nyonyas, picture from Kementrian Kebudayaan, Kesenian dan Warisan Pulau Pinang.

It is interesting to note that the Peranakan have their own special brand of Malay, which they call Baba Patois (pronounced as Patua... coz French word mah). I learnt some simple Baba Malay words during one of the activities they held. Most of the time the words they use are simply pronounced slightly different, such as Keday (pronounced as "Kedae"/"Kedé") for shop (Kedai in Malay). Other times they include Hokkien words, like Kamsiah for thank you, instead of the usual "Terima Kasih" in Malay.

You probably can't see this letter clearly, but I'll just transcribe the first line: "Dear Chin Tuan, Lu punia surat pada 10 hari bulan ini gua suda trima."

Their costumes, such as Baju Kebaya, are of course one of the main attractions. One thing about Nyonya clothes though... they seem to be rather tight-fitting... you've gotta have a slim waist to look beautiful wearing them. Malaysia has been promoting the wear of Baju Kebaya, Kain Songket, Batik etc. and I hope to see more people wearing them. Here are some photos I took during their fashion show event:

Nyonya cuisine, many of which I have yet to taste, is a potpourri of innovation and fusion, a wonderful blend of Chinese food with local ingredients. The amazing Laksa for example, is such a creation. But I was more surprised at this dish called Ayam Buah Keluak. The speaker in front mentioned something about having to bury the buah keluak underground for a few days, soak it in water for 3 days and peeling it before it is cooked with chicken and other spices. My god! Makes you wonder how they even knew it was edible. The explanation he gave was that the buah keluak was buried under volcanic ash (lots of volcanic activity in Indonesia) in the past etc. Possible explanation, but still, the process to prepare just this one meal is rather tedious.

Ayam Buah Keluak dish, picture taken from umami

It's a pity the original traditional Peranakan culture is disappearing. But I'm glad there are still people out there striving to preserve it. It's also a pity that they are not recognised as "Bumiputera" in Malaysia as their ancestors have been around in Malaysia longer than many Malays have. They way they had assimilated into Malaysia and the wonderful contributions they have made to Malaysian culture, these we should all cherish and eagerly promote.

On a side note, some of my friends would know that I sometimes grumble about the Chinese from China. It's not that I hate them; it's more of an assimilation issue. When I read about the how the Peranakan Chinese were wary of the new wave of Chinese immigrants, I see a striking similarity. There is always resistance to change, but I'm afraid the change will come. I'm trying not to describe it as good or bad though. Culture is fluid, it changes with time. With more PRC Chinese coming to Singapore it will inevitably cause some changes in society. My main worry is simply that something unique to this region might change in the pace of globalisation; just as how the Peranakan culture has been sidelined.

To learn more about the Peranakan, you can go to: The Peranakan Association Singapore and the The Main Wayang Company.

施氏食狮史

2008-05-02T00:54:00.007+08:00

I found out about this "story" in Wikipedia (I can spend hours in there!). I wonder why I've never seen it! For those who aren't familiar with 文言文 (Classical Chinese), I've written a translation below (well, usually classical chinese is tough for me too, but this story was rather easy. Still, there might be some mistakes).

What's so unique about this story is that if it is read in Chinese (Mandarin), all the characters have the sound "shi", in either 1 of the 4 tones. Almost no one would understand you if you were to read it out loud, yet it would be rather clear for someone reading it.

施氏食狮史

石室诗士施氏，嗜狮，誓食十狮。
施氏时时适市视狮。
十时，适十狮适市。
是时，适施氏适市。
氏视是十狮，恃矢势，使是十狮逝世。
氏拾是十狮尸，适石室。
石室湿，氏使侍拭石室。
石室拭，氏始试食是十狮尸。
食时，始识是十狮尸，实十石狮尸。
试释是事。

The Lion-eating story of Mr. Shi

In a stone room lived Mr. Shi, a poet, who liked lions, and swore to eat 10 lions.
Mr. Shi always went to the market to look for lions.
10 o'clock, 10 lions arrived at a market.
At the same time, Mr. Shi arrived at the same market.
Mr. Shi saw these 10 lions, and using the might of his arrows, made these 10 lions dead.
Mr. Shi picked up these 10 lions, and went back to the stone room.
The stone room was damp, Mr. Shi asked his servant to wipe the stone room dry.
The stone room was dried, Mr. Shi began trying to eat the 10 lion corpses.
As he was eating, he realised that the 10 lions, were actually 10 stone lions.
Try to explain this matter.

~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~

I like Classical Chinese as it is complex and yet simple. The same text, written in Modern Chinese is always longer than the Classical Chinese version. But it's difficult to understand, as sometimes a same character is used for different meanings, or the word has a different meaning from its present use, or I don't know the word at all. @.@

Me & 石狮 @ Pergamon Museum, Berlin, Oct 2007

初恋

2008-04-29T22:15:00.002+08:00

First Love. What would that remind you of? Or what would you hope it to be like? Famous poet Wisława Szymborska (one of my favorite poets by the way) writes of 2 very different encounters:

The conventional, lovey dovey, impossibly romantic form:

Love at First Sight

They both thought
that a sudden feeling had united them
This certainty is beautiful,
Even more beautiful than uncertainty.

They thought they didn't know each other,
nothing had ever happened between them,
These streets, these stairs, this corridors,
Where they could have met so long ago?

I would like to ask them,
if they can remember -
perhaps in a revolving door
face to face one day?
A "sorry" in the crowd?
"Wrong number" on the 'phone?
- but I know the answer.
No, they don't remember.

How surprised they would be
For such a long time already
Fate has been playing with them.

Not quite yet ready
to change into destiny,
which brings them nearer and yet further,
cutting their path
and stifling a laugh,
escaping ever further;
There were signs, indications,
undecipherable, what does it matter.
Three years ago, perhaps
or even last Tuesday,
this leaf flying
from one shoulder to another?
Something lost and gathered.
Who knows, perhaps a ball already
in the bushes, in childhood?

There were handles, door bells,
where, on the trace of a hand,
another hand was placed;
suitcases next to one another in the
left luggage.
And maybe one night the same dream
forgotten on walking;

But every beginning
is only a continuation
and the book of fate is
always open in the middle.

~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~

The above poem was of course made popular among Chinese due to it being the central theme of the movie 向左走，向右走. Pretty poem, be it in English or Chinese, and I bet, even better in Polish. Actually I think there might be some errors in the translation above, but that's not for me to judge. I learned during the China Synergy Programme (CSP) that translations aren't really easy to do; a lot of meaning gets lost.

Let's move on to the next, the unconventional, honest form:

First Love

They say
the first love's most important.
That's very romantic,
but not my experience.

Something was and wasn't there between us,
something went on and went away.

My hands never tremble
when i stumble on silly keepsakes
and a sheaf of letters tied with a string
-- not even ribbon.

Our only meeting after years:
two chairs chatting
at a chilly table.

Other loves
still breathe deep inside me.
This one's too short of breath even to sigh.

Yet just exactly as it is,
it does what the other others still can't manage:
unremembered,
not even seen in dreams,
it introduces me to death.

~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~

Oh, how the author belittles first love in this poem (probably because of all the emphasis and attention people and the media tend to give it), how seemingly unimportant she places it amongst "the others". How fleeting is this 'first love'...

So I continue interpreting the poem, until I get stuck at the very end where she places a sentence that just confuses me. "It introduces me to death"

Despite all she said about the first love, it is unique as it is, unique as an unremembered love. It was the first to introduce the author to love. It was the first, the first of many loves and relationships to come. And to love leads to certain death. The willingness to sacrifice for love. The "everlasting", "eternal", "til death shall we part" vows in a relationship. Lethal. Brilliant. Was würden Sie sagen?

Well unfortunately I will never fully understand the true meaning of the poems, as the originals were in Polish. But as they say, love transcends all boundaries, language included.

~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~

Before I proceed, please view this video clip I saw last year:

Yasmin Ahmad, the Malaysian film director I respect the most, has once again managed to pull off an amazing advertisement. Simple, like Wisława Szymborska; almost naïveté. Just had to grin after watching it. No wonder it has won so many accolades around the world!

Oh the look on his face! =)

Whither me?

2008-04-28T12:00:00.008+08:00

Me @ Duomo di Firenze, 2007

After roughly 3 more months I will be coming to the end of my 3rd year in my 4-year engineering course. I'm kinda approaching a crossroads in my life. Which is why I made a promise to myself earlier this year that I'll make a decision by the end of this year (preferably earlier) on where I'll go after graduation.

I've more or less narrowed down my options to these 3 sectors:
1. Engineering
2. Banking/Finance (option 'inspired' by Eric)
3. Foreign Service/Ambassadorial (option suggested by Jiinjoo)

Of course the first step to take is to know more about each. Recently i've been focusing particularly on the Banking sector, going for asset/wealth management talks, investment talks and the like. Some people find it strange, or downright a waste of time, for an engineering undergraduate to go into banking.

Well first of all I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do when I entered uni, so to continue going down the engineering path may not exactly be the right path.

Secondly, I was terribly ignorant about banking, business etc. (and didn't bother to find out more) before I entered uni. Blame it on poor financial knowledge. It was after taking the Business Finance module that I found business, banking, finances etc. to actually be something that I can probably engage in.

And lastly, engineering pays are well known to usually not commensurate with the professional education that engineers have gone through.

Nevertheless, for whatever I choose to do later, these few aspects must be taken care of:
1. A reasonable pay
2. Opportunities to work overseas; international environment
3. Opportunities where my language skills can be put to good use
4. Good opportunities to advance; promotions

But now my main focus would be to gain work experience from my internship and complete my university education with first class honours.

Despite the uncertainties, the future looks bright and I'm lovin each day =)

Veränderung - Ein neuer Anfang

2008-04-24T14:25:00.002+08:00

I needed some change, so here's my new blog.

So why am I 'ditching' my old blog... Well, with this new blog it's kinda like starting afresh, which is something that I need in my life once in awhile. Getting stuck in a rut of old ideas, old mindsets etc. is something that I'm all too familiar with.

So with this symbolic new beginning I wish to make some changes. Change for the better. I've constantly labelled myself an introvert and pessimist, but I believe I've made quite a progress in the past few years to overcome my shyness and pessimism. I need to persevere on.

Still there are some immediate challenges to overcome, like the fight with my eternal enemy Procrastination. I'm making some progress but I still need to put in more commitment. Apart from that I'm trying to rely less on my parents for money so for my entire internship period I (hopefully) won't call them for money. =P

Me @ Anglican House, 2004