Day 95 – CS Meetup in KL

I finished my first leisurely reading book in probably over 10 years,
which is a big accomplishment in my mind. It took me over three months
to finish Pride and Prejudice, even though I had ample time throughout
my travels to do so. I think the free time in Myanmar and here in KL
helped elbow me forward in finishing the book. Hopefully this leads to
more reading... I downloaded Kite Runner on my kindle, since I'd heard
from many people that it was a good read.

I spent the majority of the day around Chinatown and KLCC again. It's
just so easy to find a place to sit and use the (free) internet or
read a book!

Later on, I joined a Couchsurfing Meetup around Bukit Bintang and we
had dinner and drinks. I met some locals there and we shared some of
our couchsurfing experiences and I got some advice on some of the
places I should visit while here, even though I'm running out of time!
I also got a little insight on the recent rally that occurred in the
city about a month ago, which lead to hundreds of people detained by
the police. The rally was to call for cleaner elections, but the
government never allowed the rally to occur in the first place because
they didn't issue a permit to the group responsible for holding the
rally. In Malaysia, any meetup with more than 5 people required a
permit (technically even if you and 5 of your friends go out for
dinner, for example). Once the rally occurred, the government blocked
many of the roads into the city center, and stopped the train and rail
lines into the city. They randomly arrested many people who were at
the scene of the rallies, even if they weren't participants. In the
end, both sides were wrong for what they did. One, the group didn't
obtain a permit, and two, police shouldn't have handled the even in
such a way because there wasn't a national security issue.

I wish I was there at the time it occurred! I might have even gotten
arrested, since I could pass for a Chinese Malaysian easily.

Hindu Temple near Petaling Street

Day 82 - Pokkuku to Bagan

Decided to take the scenic river route on my way to the city of Bagan down the massive Ayeyarwady River. I took another local bus from Monywa to Pokkoku, which thankfully only took 2 hours since there weren't as many stops to pick up more locals.

Pokkoku is best known as the city that initially started the monk protests in 2007. They are also known for their tobacco and thanakha (sandalwood powder make-up) production. I didn't get a chance to explore the city, as I took a motorbike straight to the jetty.

I ended up being about 3 hours too early, so I sat around and had some tea and lunch, chatting with some of the locals about their traditions of marriage and whatnot. The area was very poor, and people kept asking for shampoo for some reason. I think that's the hot item these days. Others were selling blankets or at least willing to trade us for tee-shirts or other items we had in our backpacks.

The boat ride was pleasant, but there wasn't much to see along the river. The only thing I can really note is how wide and massive the river is. It was probably the biggest river I've rode along on a boat.

Arriving at Bagan was beautiful as you could begin to see some of the temples along the cliffs, waiting to be devoured by the river as the cliff slowly eroded.

After settling into my motel room, I rented a bike to explore the town. I headed to one of the biggest pagodas, the Shwezigon Pagoda, and along the way, I saw some small temples just outside one of the villages to climb and explore. It must be something to have some ancient temples that are hundreds of years old, right outside of your village.

I rode my bike around the village, just seeing the way the people lived. Some monks were playing soccer, mothers were walking around with their babies, and other boys were playing with rattan balls.

Along the Ayeyarwady River

Shwezigon Pagoda