SEA Trip 2009 (Part 4)

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)

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