Day 92 - Back to Kuala Lumpur

The flight back to KL took about 2.5 hours, and there were a surprisingly good amount of Myanmar people aboard the flight. I was curious as to how or why they were traveling outside of the country, since their wardrobe made it appear that they were not going on business, but possibly for leisure. It was obvious that for many of them, this would be the first time they flew on an airplane. I sat next to a two Myanmar people and asked them what they were going to do in Kuala Lumpur. Unfortunately, they didn't speak English, so I tried to see if they were going to work there, tour the city, or maybe even fly to Singapore to work since I hear it's popular for Myanmar people to work there. They still didn't understand so I gave up.

Arrived in KL around midnight, and luckily, my couchsurfing host, U-Chop, was awake to have me over this early in the day, or else I would have had to sleep at the airport. I arrived at his place, and it immediately reminded me of home, with many IKEA furnishings throughout. It felt nice being in a home, instead of a hotel/guest house. We chatted a little when I arrived, and I learned that he, being Muslim, was celebrating Ramadan along with much of the KL population for the entire month, which meant fasting from dawn until dusk. He would later wake up around 6am to eat before the sun rose.

I wondered how the local restaurants would have been affected by such a holiday, but U-Chop said that business wasn't affected too much, as there were a great number of Chinese in the area who would still be customers during the day, and Malay Muslims being customers at night. This was later empirically resolved by my observation at a couple of the malls in the city, the great number of people who were crowded around all the restaurants including the McDonalds (where I just HAD to satisfy my Big Mac craving).

Spent the rest of the day sightseeing a little of Chinatown (Petaling Street), before the rains came. They usually come in the afternoon/evening, and when it rains here, it pours.

It was nice to come back to a highly developed, and clean city. I very much enjoyed the airconditioning everywhere and just sitting around at a mall, reading a book and people watching.

Malaysian Street Art

Day 91 - Parting Thoughts on Myanmar

I have many mixed feelings about my trip to Myanmar. I loved the majority of my three-week trip in this country, but I also feel a sigh of relief to be able to leave back to Kuala Lumpur as well.

It was wonderful to be able to see the country (or the parts that were allowed by the government) with my own eyes and to meet some of the locals, some of whom were unafraid to outwardly criticize the government, and some who only did with a whisper. The people were for the majority of the time, extremely friendly, without much of the fakeness that accompanies someone with the intent to sell merchandise. It was sometimes very depressing to hear some of the hopelessness that some of the locals felt at their current situation, but was also shocking to know how ignorant some people were about how much they were being oppressed by the leaders of their country.

I felt that the restrictions on tourist travel throughout the country made it very contricting on me in my freedom to explore what I wanted, partially due to direct government restrictions, and partially due indirectly to the lack of proper infrastructure to satisfactorily transport people from one city to another. I found myself having to take extra time going to one city, only to have to reverse my steps to get back to a city I had already travelled to, in order to get the next city.

The sights in every city were unique, each with their own character and charm, with different things to see and do for each and every traveller. Some cities were more developed than others, and more comfortable than others. I couldn't be picky about the accomodations that were available to me in each city, but some of the more dirty and danky places put a toll on me, my energy, and my happiness. I guess that's my own fault, growing up in a first-world country with so many amenities made available to me. Call me spoiled or even just lucky...

I don't know what exactly is to come of the country in the coming years. Most of the people have hope that things will improve, but they also hold doubt that much will actually change given the power that military junta has in the government. The country doesn't need the help of ally countries, and international sanctions have don't nothing to pressure the government to improve the lives of its people. In fact, it might even be said that these sanctions have only made things worse for the people, since so few jobs are even available to the people. I would love to visit the country again, maybe when things improve, or more of the country is open to the world. We shall see...

Mural at Yangon Airport

Fermented Tea Leaf Salad

Day 90 - Schwedagon Pagoda

I survived the 16 hour bus ride on an empty stomach and arrived in Yangon at around 5:30am, taking a shared taxi cab ride to the hotel. Luckily, they had a room available for me to doze off in for the next 5 hours since sleep was seldomly achieved on the entire bus ride.

I woke up to a rainy Yangon, which continued throughout the day, so very little was explored of the city. Plus, I had already been in this city at the beginning of my trip here. Given all the sights I had seen and all the cities I visited, this city has got to be my least favorite of all of them. It's the least clean, rainiest, and least easy to traverse on foot.

I decided I would visit the main attraction of the entire country, the place that clearly symbolizes all of Myanmar – the Shwedagon Pagoda. I decided I would give in and pay the $5 entrance fee to the government given all the details I learned throughout my trip. Five dollars really wouldn't help the government all that much, and I'm sure some of the money went to the maintenance of the Pagoda, since this was the MAIN ATTRACTION. Neglect of other sights could be excusable, but not at the Shwedagon Pagoda.

I took a taxi with my new Japanese friend, who I met on my three day trek in Kalaw. The pagoda was very impressive, not just in size, but in the glimmer that was created by the lights at night. It was almost as if I was in Hollywood, or Las Vegas, given the grandeur of the structure. I believe the entire center Pagoda was covered with a sheet of pure gold, which gave it a unique luster that was not seen at any of the numerous other pagodas I had seen throughout the country.

I found it fitting that I would come here to see this pagoda as the last attraction on my last full day in Myanmar.

Days 86-88 Three Day Trek from Kalaw to Nuang Shwe

The next three days were spent treking through the mountainous terrain from Kalaw down to Inle Lake. The total distance was around 55km in total, while we walked through rice terraces, vegetable fields, forests, and mountains, coming into contact with various small villages in the vicinity, consisting for anywhere from 20 to 200 families per village.

Thankfully, the weather was cool most of the days, as the clouds shaded us from much of the direct sunlight. It also only drizzled throughout the day, which made it easier for us to trek through the mud and red dirt.

We stopped by various villages to greet them and also to stop for lunch and even stay overnight. It was probably the best seven meals I have had in all three weeks of traveling in Myanmar because we had our own chef who trekked with us and cooked our meals.

The first night was spent in a village while the second night was spent at a monastery with around 15 novice monks ranging in age from 6 to 14 years old. They would chant throughout the day, and even in the morning around 4am, serving as our alarm clocks for the day. It was a special experience being able to share and witness their spiritual activities, and to be able to sleep inside the monastery as well!

Our guide was also very informative of the vegetation around us while we trekked, and was very open about speaking about the current situation in the country. He actually doesn't believe the country needs any support from China at all. The country is actually very wealthy with a very strong military. According to him, the country spends 60% of its GDP on the military (and a measly 3% on healthcare and 1% on education). It doesn't need any monetary support from other countries as well because of the rich resources the country has in gems.

He says that very few people in the country actually live in poverty because the people take care of each other, and there actually is enough food and bare minimal resources to go around for everyone.

Much of the country is inaccessible to tourists because there aren't enough roads built to reach these areas, and the government doesn't care to create these roads, but would rather force wealthy tourists to take flights to reach these areas and pay exorbant amounts of money for access to these areas. They also don't want foreigners to see that most of the people in these areas are actually living quite comfortably, despite what UN figures tell the rest of the world.

While there are international sanctions imposed on the country that prevent major corporations from having presence in the country, some of this activity occurs behind the scenes. He has even speculated that the country obtains US weapons and arms through Singapore.

One of the most interesting things he said was that the country knows about all these problems and believes that they can't do anything about it. He said that the country is a majority Buddhist and many people have a sort of fatalistic mentality and outlook on it all. They all believe that something occurred in their past lives that made them deserve their current conditions and that they should just accept it. It would be interesting to argue that religion plays an important part in complacency if it were indeed true.

The treks each day took around 6 – 8 hours, and we woke up around 5am both days and we out by 7am, which was quite the early start for me personally. When we reached Inle Lake, we took an hour-long boat ride to reach Nuang Shwe. Ay By the end of it all, my toes and shins were terribly aching, but it was a very adventurous three days, and the longest trek I've ever done so far. Hopefully there are more to come in India and/or Nepal (and with better hiking boots).

Traditional Village Medicine Man Instructional Book

Playing "Shithead" on the Last Night with my Trekking Group

Day 85 - Worst Bus Ride in Myanmar

So far the worst bus ride in Myanmar today! I woke up at 3am to catch a 4am bus ride from Bagan to Kalaw, a city in the mountains with many trekking opportunities. The bus was a minivan without any air-conditioning, and again, they packed the bus with as many people as possible, both inside and on top of the bus.

All of this would have been fine, had I not gotten stuck with the WORST seat on the bus...I was in the middle seat in the back row, without a headrest, and no handrests to hold onto while the bus traversed up the rocky and windy roads towards Kalaw. There was little room to move, and my feet couldn't reach the floor when I sat up straight, so I had to slouch half the time. The whole ride took 10 hours...!!!

By the time we arrived in Kalaw, I just took a fatty nap for about 3 hours before heading to town to grab some Nepali food, finally some good food! You may have noticed that I have not been posting too many food pictures from Myanmar, partially due to my disappointment with most of the food I had eaten so far. Everything is oily and bland... The curries are usually meat dishes soaked in oil, with a little bit of curry at the bottom of the dish. I ended up splurging on imported Thailand knock-off Pringles chips because I didn't want any of the other food...

I ended up just taking it easy today. The climate was cooler than Pyin Oo Lwin, which is a nice change from the heat in Bagan.

Tomorrow I head on a 3 day/2 night hiking trek through Kalaw, headed to Inle Lake, and stopping at local villages, monasteries, and guest houses.

Day 84 - Bagan Temples Part 2

I decided to take another route today through Bagan to see some more temples. It was one of the less traveled routes south of Nyaung U and through some of the more difficult and dusty dirt roads. I must have seen only 3 other tourists on bikes cycling through the trails, one of whom I met on the boat ride from Pokkoku to Bagan. This would be the third time in three days that I saw him at a random temple!

I started my biking trek at noon, probably the worst time to start as the sun was bright and the sky was cloudless today compared to yesterday. It was quite a workout, although this was all alleviated by random stops in the temples, where the air was cooler and the breeze flowed through the passages.

After seeing temple after temple, I arrived at a small village called Min Nan Thu. The only electricity they had in the village was powered through batteries similar to those used in cars. The villagers were friendly and one of the men asked if I was interested in purchasing some bronzeware. I told him it would be too heavy to carry around, so he asked if I had any extra tee-shirts to barter with. I asked him why everyone seemed to want tee-shirts and he explained that Myanmar produced bad quality tee-shirts and everyone wanted clothing outside of the country since it would last longer and wouldn't stretch out so quickly.

I was given a tour of the village, where much of it is self-sustaining. They make their own cotton and clothing, sesame and peanut oils, horse-cart wheels, and cigars among other things. The main crops they cultivate are peanuts, sesame, and various legumes.

At around 6:30pm, I decided to head back to the last temple I visited yesterday so that I could catch the sunset. It was anti-climatic since the sky was full of clouds in the distance near the horizon, so there wasn't much of a sunset to see. I met my sand-painting friend again and he said:

“My friend, the sun is going down so my prices are going down!”

I jokingly asked him if it would be free at around midnight and he replied:

“Price goes back up because the moon goes up!”

He later explained that the sunset hasn't been up to par lately because there hasn't been much rain in the area, which has also affected their farming.

He successfully sold a sand painting today, after 4 days of nothing, so that was a good way to end the day, although it would have been better if he had sold more. I asked him why he didn't become a motorbike tourguide since he had a motorbike and was a very personable and talkative individual, but he said that the government made it illegal for any foreigner to ride a motorbike in the city. I find that ridiculous, since it limits his opportunity to make some money on a talent he obviously has. It might be to limit how much access foreigners have to the country, but it ends up hurting the locals as well. I took a motorbike in Mandalay, but he said it was still illegal for me to do so...

We parted ways at the end of the night, but he said:

“See You Later Alligator!”

Instead of “Goodbye” because he hoped to see me again either in Bagan in a year, or at the White House in the United States... I wish him the best of luck and to hope to meet with him again.

Making Cotton

...and Cigars

Nearing Sunset in Bagan

Day 83 - Bagan Temples Part 1

There are two popular ways to view the temples in Bagan – either by horsecart with a tourguide or by bicycle. I opted to rent a bicycle so that I could go at my own pace, and because I was running out of Myanmar Kyat currency.

There are three sections of Bagan to explore – Nyaung U, Old Bagan, and New Bagan. Most of the more popular temples are situated near Old Bagan, which used to be where many of the locals lived before they were forced to relocate to New Bagan by the government when it was developing tourism.

I decided to take the popular route from Nyaung U to Old Bagan, stopping by whatever temples that caught my eye. Many of the temples have “key-keepers” who take care of the temples and hold the keys to the gates at the entrances to the temples. I found most of the locals to be extremely friendly, being tour guides when I entered each temple. Of course, they also wanted to try and sell me some of the merchandise that they had, ranging from lacquerware to sand paintings to tee-shirts. I didn't find it to be too distracting as their friendly demeanor made up for it.

Many of the temples had upper levels that weren't accessable due to restrictions by the government, but I did come across some that I was able to climb up. Once up top, the view was even more incredible, with thousands of temples sprawled across the small city in every direction. The terrain was flat, so there wasn't any sort of obstruction of my view of the many temples surrounding me.

Most of the temples were built in the 13^th century, and many of the paintings are still originals inside. Some of the Buddha statues have had to be restored though, and there was a major earthquake in the 20^th century that destroyed many of the temples completely.

The city of Bagan is one of the biggest tourist draws in Myanmar, but many of the temples I visited were empty. Near the end of the day, I settled on one of the temples that I could climb and just enjoyed the moment by myself for the next couple of hours. While there, a sand-painting seller came to the temple to try and sell me some of his paintings. He was a humorous, and good-natured salesman and we had a chat about the country, all while he cracked jokes.

After telling him I wasn't interested in buying the paintings, he said:

“OK, I give you present (sand painting), and you give me present ($$$)”

After telling him that I had already heard so many people saying their would give a “great price” for the paintings, he said:

“OK, I give you Wonderful price instead!”

He asked me if I was happy, and I replied that I was just “OK”, so he said:

“If you were happy, I sell for $15, but since you are just 'OK', I give you discount!”

He was pretty open about his dislike of the government. He said that he was only able to talk about it so openly on the tops of these temples, and if he said anything in the streets, he'd be handcuffed and led to prison. I asked him if he participated in the protests in 2007 and he said he protested everyday...but “in his dreams”. He said most of the money that was made in Myanmar ends up in the governments' pockets and in their families' pockets.

There aren't any private of government jobs in Bagan and most of the villagers have had to resort to selling merchandise to tourists to make any sort of income. You could either own a restaurant, work at a hotel, be a horse-cart driver, or sell merchandise. There isn't enough restaurant or hotel work, so the only other feasible way of making any money is through souvenir sales. And tourism has waned in the past couple of years, starting with the protests in 2007, and then a cyclone that swept through the country in 2008, then the protests in Thailand that closed down the airport for a while (Bangkok is one of the most popular cities to fly to Myanmar), and now the US Dollar is not worth much in exchange with the Kyat... It's a pretty depressing scenario.

But this young 22-year old salesman continued to be in good spirits throughout our conversation, and I could tell he got through the struggle by cracking jokes and talking a lot. There were times when he did get serious and I knew he hurt inside, telling me how hard it is to sell a painting, and how he'd come home and his mom would ask him how his day went, and how his silence was enough of an answer for her to know that he was unsuccessful for the day. He said most people made around 40K kyat each month, and if he were to move to Yangon, where the opportunities were better, that he would make around 60K kyat. This was better, but it would only be enough to support himself in the city, and he would be somewhere where he couldn't take care of his family or see his friends, so this wasn't an option.

It's times like these that make me think about how these people survive here...The government doesn't seem to care enough about its people to make the living conditions better, or to provide jobs, and internationally, most countries have sanctions that prevent any sort of business to enter the country that would help the locals. He said the key to everything was with China. The country has strong ties with Myanmar, and that is where the country gets most of its support. If China put some sort of pressure on the government to change things around, maybe things would be better... a sobering thought, all of this.