TravelStream™ news feed for member rofo on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/rofo en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Wed, 06 Dec 2006 19:26:56 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rofo/rtw05/1125735360/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rofo/rtw05/1125735360/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rofo/rtw05/1125735360/tpod.html Wed, 06 Dec 2006 19:26:56 -0500 Where in the world is Sammy the Seal.

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Dallas, Texas, United States

YO!!!!!!!Where do I start. It's been a wicked start to the holidays and everything has gone to ......... well I'm still alive. Starting off I had to whisk my way to plane and in typical fashion arriving 10mins before boarding time. Only second to an Indian family who had to manage to get on the plane (atleast they had an excuse, with 5 kids and all).It was a long flight 15hrs in total and as it took off I experienced a trickle of water which turned out to be a waterfall from the above luggage cabinets. Turns out it was water condenseing due to the air con unit right above. Fortunately I was able to block it off with my pillow. Anyhow had a good chat with Wendy who was an aussie which had done her own trip around the world in the 70s. This trip however was to tie up some loose ends in the states before she settled back in OZ after 31 years in the US. After having arrived in the good ole U S of A it was a big culture shock as all prejudices and things you would see in the movies and on tv were nothing further from the truth. Got to watch a Dallas Cowboys game which had all the atmosphere and intensity of a grand slam.The city is full of western texan cowboys who all drive oversized utes. To the point in which they have 8 tires, how pointless.The bars are cool and the burgers are nice. Food is relatively cheap hear, visited a couple of burger joints including Whataburger and Jakes. Went to an area which was lined up with bars left right and centre. The girls all look like they're straight out of a music video, kinda like Britney. We went bar hopping, lost count of how many but ended up at the Candle bar which is "members only" oh my god, hot. Think bungalow 8 but with twice as many gorgeuos girls and 1/2 as many guys. Such a meat market. Tomorrow is another day filled with booze in this sweltering heat, 34c to be exact. Can't wait!You gotta love it.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rofo/rtw05/1162983600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rofo/rtw05/1162983600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rofo/rtw05/1162983600/tpod.html Thu, 30 Nov 2006 04:49:49 -0500 Where in the world is Sammy the Seal.

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Yangon, Myanmar

With one day left in Myanmar it was sad that we had spent it in the unattractive town of Yangon. But we made the most of it as New Delhi required a mandatory 5th and final visit and also we took in some beautiful views over a lake before heading back to the movie district for the new Bollywood flick Tere Naam.The cinema was a plush red and virtually empty on the weeknight, the red seats looked like as if it had never been cleaned and the air con was useless as we decided to sit in the front row of the top balcony level but we were determined to get into the mood. The movie had gotten to a great start with a lot of dancing and singing but after ten minutes it had turned into a very, very bad idea. Here is a synopsis of the plot line for those that dare:Radhe the main character finished college over five years ago but decided to become protector of the people and bashes up the bullies and steals food off the new students. One new student, Ninjara, that enrolls is the daughter of a priest and Radhe ends up falling in love with. She however is already in an arranged marriage with another guy. Radhe then proposes to Ninjara and afterwards threatens her fiancée to stay away from Ninjara. In some strange way Radhe ends up saving Ninjara's best friend from the brothel and Ninjara's fiancée witnesses it and approves Radhe's union with Ninjara. Ninjara accepts the news but before she can say anything she is kidnapped by Radhe who takes her too an abandoned metalwork factory and starts threatening her life but ends up not killing her. Ninjara is impressed by his rough tactics and they fall in love?? A song and dance ensues and all of a sudden he is alone and strolling around along the train tracks when the owner of the brothel and his henchmen beat Radhe into a pulp. Declared as comatose by the doctors he is sent from City Mental Institution to a decrepit Ramajiri Crazy house. Radhe is miraculously healed by his strong love for Ninjara and attempts to escape but manages to fall from the 8 metre high wall resulting in a broken leg. The next day Ninjara visits Radhe for the first and final time but sees Radhe asleep and leaves. Radhe wakes up to Ninjara leaving but could not reach her as he is chained or contact her due to the loud screaming of the other captives/crazy people in the dungeon.Ninjara is therefore set to marry her ex-fiancée as everyone has given up hope of Radhe's recovery so the wedding is scheduled for the following day. Radhe miraculously escapes the prison and makes his way through mountains, valleys and rivers evading the guards and making his way back to Ninjara's house where the wedding was being held. In his chains he wonders through the house until he enters a room where everyone is crying and mourning the death of Ninjara, she had committed suicide. The mourners were too preoccupied with her passing, don't even acknowledge the crazy man in chains and Radhe slowly leaves the building and is greeted by his family who are ecstatic to see him alive and well. In too much pain he opts to return to the crazy van waiting to take him back to the place he had escaped from. The end. WTF?With thoughts of Radhe in our minds we stumbled home in disarray preparing for our early flight back to Bangkok. Not the lasting impression I wanted of Myanmar but an impression nonetheless.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rofo/rtw05/1162897740/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rofo/rtw05/1162897740/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rofo/rtw05/1162897740/tpod.html Thu, 30 Nov 2006 04:46:14 -0500 Where in the world is Sammy the Seal.

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Bagan - Yangon, Myanmar

The maps had proven to be inaccurate and our cycling too steadfast as we again passed our destination and ended up at various pagodas that were not on the day's itinerary. For a split second we thought it wasn't meant to be as the pagodas that we had planned to climb to the upper reaches were banned from doing so and the sun was rising too quickly. Steve and I passed a solo German runner who too was enjoying the view of the hot air balloons take their passengers up for the sunrise over the temples. It wasn't until 9am until we stumbled on to one which you were allowed to climb to the top and it was worth the wait. The 360 degree view of the area revealed the vastness of the pagodas and stupas in the archaeological site, countless were dotted out through the lush green flat lands unobstructed by trees or jungles as like in Angkor Wat. The observation tower constructed and erected by the military junta stuck out like a sore 60 metre steel thumb in the middle of the beautiful landscape.We were back with plenty of time for lunch and set off at 2pm towards Yangon. It was going to be a long taxi ride back, buses were booked again, in fact for our entire stay here we were unable to book a direct bus to go anywhere except for the very first one! Even then we wanted to go to Inle Lake first and not Mandalay! Anyway we were lucky to get the minivan for a steal at $60 as oppose to the $200 that everyone else was asking for but on the way back we encountered a flooded river and had to be pulled across by the entrepreneurial tractor driver taking advantage of the situation. Happily we forked over the charge and we crossed the 50 metre wide river slowly dragged by the tractor with the water gushing downstream from left to right and into the van. The water churned and the wheels turned, they were useless and at the deepest point filled the inside step of the van next to the door. Thankfully we were only subject to the scare for a short time as the tractor maneuvered us back to safety on the mainland. A quick check up and we went on our way to the dinner stop where the driver and his companion ordered a bottle of Myanmar Rum to accompany their dinner. It didn't last long and the bottle was empty by the time they finished their meal. Concerned but not alarmed as we noticed that most of that was stored in a plastic bottle for later and also it was mainly the second driver who was drinking the rum so we were safe for the time being.The following stops became more frequent and longer as the first driver became more and more tired. We were happy to stop and rest as it would have been far more dangerous for the second driver to continue on (he was far too wasted) so we sat at a street stall and enjoyed our Myanmar coffee (Nescafe 3in1 Satchel) whilst watching a Korean soap opera dubbed in English and subtitled in Myanmar language at 4am in the morning.The second driver got his chance at driving and lasted for less than an hour before the original driver got back in the wheel. That hour was probably one of the scariest hours of my life as I had my eyes on his rear view mirror ready to catch him napping so that I would shout and help him recover his consciousness. The car finally arrived in one piece but not unscathed as the first gear had given way about 8am in the final hour of the ride.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rofo/rtw05/1162811220/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rofo/rtw05/1162811220/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rofo/rtw05/1162811220/tpod.html Thu, 30 Nov 2006 03:15:23 -0500 Where in the world is Sammy the Seal.

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Bagan, Myanmar

Excerpt from UNESCOCapital city of the first Myanmar Kingdom, the site measures 13 by 8 km and contains more than 2500 Buddhist monuments (temples, stupas, monasteries, etc) built from the 10th to the 14th centuries AD. Several of these monuments are still highly venerated by the population, and attract numerous pilgrims and devotees from all over the country, particularly at festival times. Other are in various states of conservation and maintenance. The large corpus of contemporary stone inscriptions have been the most reliable source for the history of the Kingdom. The mural paintings inside more than 300 temples constitutes a unique corpus of paintings of that time in southeast Asia. For the recovery day we decided to bike our way to the market and also to one of the pagodas for sunset. We misjudged our ability and sped through the Old Bagan Archaeological area and made our way almost to New Bagan which was a good 20 kilometres away. A change of plans was in order and we rode back stopping first off at a bottle shop for some beers and then second to the river side to watch the sunset over the river. The kids that hung out there were very friendly and inquisitive and the four of us held separate conversations with all the school kids who had questions coming left, right and centre. The conversations would be halted from time to time with a shout from one of us to stop a kid who was about to throw a rock at the sea snake that swam past several times. An uncle of one of the kids had some sand paintings which we admired until there was not enough light so we continued back to his house to look at how he made the sand paintings. The brief introduction to the family was followed immediately after by a power shortage (quite common in Myanmar) so we resorted to candles and a battery operated light.We thanked him for his time and hospitality and bid him and his family farewell and made our way back along darkened streets and returned for our Indian rendezvous at Aroma 2 Restaurant where they served unlimited curries and chapattis on a big banana leaf...yum!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rofo/rtw05/1162724760/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rofo/rtw05/1162724760/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rofo/rtw05/1162724760/tpod.html Thu, 30 Nov 2006 03:12:26 -0500 Where in the world is Sammy the Seal.

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Bagan, Myanmar

The day started at 6am with everyone on the back of a pick-up bus that took us to the junction. From their we jumped on top of a mini-bus for some phenomenal views but the novelty wore out quickly as the combination of the morning chill as well as the wind factor made the ride chillingly cold. We all huddled up together to conserve warmth except for Steve who was at the front by himself braving the cold in nothing more than his shorts, shirt and green hat. We started off with a comfortable eight people on top of the bus but after the end of the nine hour journey we ended up with 22 people. The locals laughed at us as if we were the first foreigners they've seen on top of a bus but one was nice enough to return Paul's left shoe when it got launched off the back after we hit a pot hole. Packed liked sardines we all baked in the sun and were only relieved by the flash down pour of rain twenty minutes before arriving. We were absolutely soaked!It didn't finish there as another three hour bus ride stood between us and Bagan and by the end of it I had gone from losing sensation in my buttocks to regaining colossal feelings of pain in them. I carried my battered buttocks with me and we arrived at our destination at 9.30pm. It was an epic test of endurance which we survived but we also found out on later inspection that Ashley and I had our bags rummaged through whilst we were on top of the bus. Not again! The kid had some nerve when he ransacked through our bags right under our noses. Luckily for me I didn't lose anything of real value, Ashley on the other hand lost her new IPOD.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rofo/rtw05/1162638240/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rofo/rtw05/1162638240/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rofo/rtw05/1162638240/tpod.html Thu, 30 Nov 2006 03:04:31 -0500 Where in the world is Sammy the Seal.

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Inle Lake, Myanmar

With our packed breakfast we started at 5am hoping to catch the sunrise on Inle Lake and make the most of the day as the day before all I had achieved was eating a lovely mint fish curry at Unique Superb Restaurant and Paul achieved diarrhea. I was happy to leave the stench of the room for the fresh lake breezes on our long wooden boat but we missed the sunrise as the boat driver needed time to smarten up in the morning and organize the boat such as gas and seats, a whole 45 minutes he took. The sunrise couldn't be seen anyway as the mountain ridges hid it from view till at least 9am but it would have been nice to see the fog clear from the 2,500 km/square lake that is situated at 900 metres above sea level. It was full moon day and offerings were being made at one of the pagodas so we sat in the back of the pagoda trying to not be noticed, we failed miserably. One by one the locals would turn around, look at us and laugh, it was as if they thought we had got lost. Afterwards we shared morning tea with the village elders outside a monastery and they fed us tangerines and big red bananas that tasted a bit too starchy but they were free and we thanked them for it and went on our way up to the forest monastery.A girl's orphanage was on the way so we stopped off and we were shown around the grounds by the resident teacher (the others had the day off because of the full moon day). We felt like celebrities when they sat us down at the front of the class and the teacher made the children sing their good morning song to us. One by one the kids would stand up and say there name and also say what they want to be in the future. The majority of them all wanted to become doctors and teachers. After the introduction we then had a badminton contest outside the main building and I was able to show my prowess whilst wearing the most ridiculous outfit ever. Picture me in a blue bandanna, grey shirt, blue checkered longyi and hiking boots; much to the humorous delight of everyone including Ashley and Steve. We reached the top of the hill and the source of the chanting to Forest Monastery where a lone man was reciting prayers into a microphone that broadcasted to the village down below. On our trip down we decided to head into the boy's orphanage just to make things fair and were lucky to have met an inspirational man who has devoted his life to the orphans since he was 26 years old. He explained to us the roots of the orphanage and how nowadays it is more of a home/school for kids who come from families unable to pay for the kids schooling as opposed to an orphanage per se.Back in town we hunted for a taxi to take us to Bagan but we lucked out so we decided to ask Moe if he knew of anyone heading towards Bagan. Upon checking at his hotel we were informed by his friend who owned the place that yesterday he had received a call from his family informing him that his father was ill so he left straight away to be by his father's side. Several hours later a second call was received and the news was that the father had passed away; Moe was still on the road at that time. We were speechless when he told us and couldn't help but feel guilty for leading Moe away from his father to take us to Inle Lake. If it weren't for us Moe could've been by his father's side but then again I guess his father would have been proud that his son was continuing with the family business, maybe.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rofo/rtw05/1162465320/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rofo/rtw05/1162465320/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rofo/rtw05/1162465320/tpod.html Thu, 30 Nov 2006 02:43:54 -0500 Where in the world is Sammy the Seal.

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Inle Lake - Taungyii - Inle Lake, Myanmar

The monk we met previously was nice enough to send us off in the morning when we boarded with Moe the taxi driver again who agreed to take us to Inle Lake. Moe's English was very good for a non native speaker so we were able to learn a lot more about his life and about the Myanmar people and their traditions. The drive on bad roads took us through beautiful scenery of lush hills, colourful pastures and high passes and the 10 hours seemed to have passed by with out minimal fuss although Paul was there to make sure everyone got their fare share of the front seat.A short rest after we arrived into town we boarded Moe's cab for the second last time and arrived into the town of Taungyii where a sea of people had formed. On top of the hill was a festival that for four days over a million people will visit to watch the launching of countless home-made fire balloons into the night sky. After our crash course into Myanmar cuisine with Moe, he guided us to the action past hundreds of stalls selling everything including plastic guns, clothes, hot dogs and gambling services. The gambling services were very creative and old school. They even had a zoo there along with many rides such as a Ferris wheel where young boys were hanging off the compartments when the ride was in motion, very dangerous and upsetting to watch. Plowing our way through the crowd we reached the area reserved for foreign tourists and VIPs. Locals were not allowed within the fenced perimeter with raised wooden platform offering a view of the area where the balloons were to be set up and launched. There had not been many times where I had felt the segregation between the two more so than when we entered through the blue wooden gates. Feeling more like caged animals we opted for a closer look and ventured out of the "protected" area into the crowd. The big flood lamps attempted to light up the dirt area where thousands of people were anticipating the first launch but did poorly to help with illuminating the area.They set up all of a sudden right next to us and we were there for the whole process from unloading the balloon from the truck to the sorting out of the candles required by dozens of people and amongst it all we were told gradually to step further away back from the balloon sprawled out onto the floor. The sign had been given and they proceeded to fill the balloon with hot air from gasoline drenched wooden sticks. The candles in different coloured holders were hung into place one by one until the balloon reached its maximum size. Slowly the balloon would rise but within seconds be dragged back down by another framework of candles attached to the balloon. The suspense almost killed me when I saw the balloon rise and fall and the organizers of the balloon frantically go about their roles ensuring the balloon stays afloat, amazing. After twenty minutes of see-sawing back and forth the balloon made its last effort to rise and continued to rise up into the night sky. What followed was pure ecstasy on the part of the team members of that balloon as shouts and cheers filled the area as months of labor and planning had paid off for a successful balloon launch. The candles hanging on the side of the balloon and also on the wooden frames resembled pictures of animals and also spelt out the maker and district of the balloons in Myanmar language. That was just the first one! Straight after we noticed another balloon nearing completion and raced over to see the action unfold. Unfortunately it had come across trouble towards the end and the wooden frames being hung had to be cut loose for the balloon to be launched. The third balloon had worse luck and drifted its way towards some power lines and got entangled. The balloon did not explode as expected as it was made of special Shan paper and as the fire engine initialized its sirens and headed over the balloon miraculously shot up straight into the air minus the wooden frames. The last balloon was scheduled to be launched just before the crack of dawn but we had to make our way back a lot earlier than that.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rofo/rtw05/1162292340/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rofo/rtw05/1162292340/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rofo/rtw05/1162292340/tpod.html Thu, 30 Nov 2006 02:17:26 -0500 Where in the world is Sammy the Seal.

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Mandalay, Myanmar

Shoes in hand we trudged up the path leading to the peak of Mandalay hill. The climb up the stairs was sheltered and was reached with relative ease but the path however did not receive the same amount of care as did the various stupas and Buddha statues that we passed on the way. The summit provided a 360 degree view of the surrounding area where other pagodas and stupas could be seen on the horizon amongst the rice paddy fields. On our way down we took advantage of the rather pointless elevator that was built and traveled down 20 metres to the car parking lot and from there we walked past the other equally useless escalator taking people up to the summit. A total waste of resources and money but this is what the military junta have set there minds on to increase the flow of tourist activity in the country, somehow.Our $10 mandatory tourist ticket took us to our first stop to Kuthodaw Pagoda famous for being the site of the world's largest and heaviest book. Inscribed on 729 marble slabs are Buddha's teachings all housed in separate mini white stupas with golden peaks. Visiting more stupas after pagodas led us to the Golden Palace Monastery which stood out for its intricate dark wooden carvings of deities and designs on all the doors, walls and ceilings. A couple of novice monks vied for their photo taken so that they could not receive money but only to see their photo on the review screen. The main event was supposed to be Mandalay Palace which was in the centre of town. Surrounded by a 70 metre wide moat (which lived goldfish), the palace grounds measured 2.2 kilometres on either side which made walking to the only entrance allowed for tourists a stretched out affair. Within the grounds were a local community living and working within the 8 metre high wall and also a collection of emptied out wooden buildings that were restored after being burnt down in WWII. The highlight was the view from the disused water/watch tower that rose up 20 metres but it was a real anticlimax considering the beauty and ambience of the other sites visited earlier that day.Our ride back included taking a trishaw which consisted of a regular bike with a side riding compartment that could fit two people back to back. But the poor guy had a hard time as his tires leaked air and we had to stop the trishaw a couple of times to re-pump air into them. If we had walked it probably would have only been 15 minutes more but we had to try it out. Our driver was in his late 60s and the strain I could see coming from his veins was unbearable. I couldn't take it any longer so at the start of the street of our hotel I asked him to stop and we paid him the full fare and walked the rest of the way. Paul and I zoomed to Amarapura for sunset on the world's longest teak bridge. At the base of U Bien Bridge which span for 1.2 kilometres there massed a conglomeration of Korean and Japanese tourists all vying for the perfect picture; we sourced out the ones with the biggest and most impressive camera gear and took position next to them. Strolling on the bridge we met a cool monk who wanted to practice his English with us so we spent half an hour conversing with him and when the sun set we offered him a lift back to town in our taxi with Moe the driver, who used to be a professional kick boxer in his past life. He had made fights in Thailand as well and only retired after he lost on his 37th fight due to a broken rib. When we arrived to the Monks destination, for our good deed he offered to take us around Mahamuni Pagoda where he was been for the past 10 years studying. Unfortunately we had to decline as our schedule required us to make our way to Inle Lake the following day. We arrived at the home of the Moustache Brothers house with high expectations. In 1996 two of the three comedians in the group were jailed for making politically sensitive jokes and they had to endure five years in a labor camp. The troupe continued their routines minus Par Par Lay and Lu Zaw but now they were confined to the house and banned from performing at public events. A lot of hype surrounded them as they were seen as rebels towards the military junta. The wife of the younger brother also had featured on the Lonely Planet cover of Myanmar in one of its earlier editions. Also they received a visit from the leader of the democratic movement leader Au Sung Suu Kyi when she was still under house arrest for opposing the government. However with all its history and what it stands for, the routine act has been reduced down to traditional dancing and jokes that were all based around his knowledge of English sayings such as "the cats out of the bag" and other everyday sayings. I'm sorry but listening to a guy rant on from saying after saying isn't funny. To top it off the traditional dancing accompanied by a tape that played a collection of loud noises from a boom box situated 40 centimetres from my right ear. The dancing was performed by various family members but the only one that looked like she was enjoying it was the wife of the younger brother. Her mood changed from lovely wife to shrewd business women when it came time to collecting the steep "donation" at 5000 kyat ($4) for the hour long performance. Later our trishaw driver who took the three of us back (Ashley, Steve and I) informed us that they charged locals 12000 kyat total for the whole show. There were easily 20 or more people in the small area but I guess some one has to fund their lifestyle of scooters, cars and large properties that they own. I felt like they had sold out but nevertheless it was good to see Par Par Lay out of jail and in good health.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rofo/rtw05/1162131840/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rofo/rtw05/1162131840/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rofo/rtw05/1162131840/tpod.html Thu, 30 Nov 2006 01:54:25 -0500 Where in the world is Sammy the Seal.

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Yangon, Myanmar

Daytripping in Yangon turned out to be an uneventful affair as Paul and I walked past The Strand Hotel (frequented by Oliver Stone and Mick Jagger) which has lost its grandeur of old and also frequented both the Australian and British embassies which were both conveniently situated in the same block but inconveniently closed. So does that mean if there was a diplomatic emergency on Sunday you would have to wait till Monday 9am to address the situation? New Delhi restaurant however was not closed on Sundays and we had our fill of chicken curry toeshay, best part about that was that you also get free refills! An excerpt from www.sacredsites.comThe origins of Shwedagon Pagoda are lost in antiquity, its age unknown. Long before the pagoda was built, its location on Singuttara hill was already an ancient sacred site because of the buried relics of the three previous Buddhas. According to one legend, nearly 5000 years had passed since the last Buddha walked the Earth, and Singuttara hill would soon lose its blessedness unless it was reconsecrated with relics of a new Buddha. In order that such new relics might be obtained, King Okkalapa of Suvannabhumi spent much time atop the hill, meditating and praying. A series of miracles ensued and eight hairs of the historical Buddha were, somewhat magically, brought to the hill. To enshrine the relics, multiple pagodas of silver, tin, copper, lead, marble, iron and gold where built one on top of the other to a height of twenty meters. During the following centuries, passing from myth to historical fact, the pagoda grew to its present height of ninety-eight meters. Much of the continued construction of Shwedagon was actually reconstruction following disastrous earthquakes. During the 17th century the pagoda suffered earthquake damage on at least eight occasions. A particularly bad quake in 1786 brought the entire top half of the pagoda to the ground and its current shape and height date from the reconstruction of that time. While much of the pagoda's beauty derives from the complex geometry of its shape and surrounding structures, equally mesmerizing is its golden glow. The lower stupa is plated with 8,688 solid gold bars, an upper part with another 13,153. The tip of the stupa, far too high for the human eye to discern in any detail, is set with 5448 diamonds, 2317 rubies, sapphires, and other gems, 1065 golden bells and, at the very top, a single 76-carat diamond. Surrounding the pagoda are a plentitude of smaller shrines housing pre-Buddhist spirits called Nats, miracle working images, and even a wish granting stone. The entire temple complex radiates a palpable sense of beauty and serenity. Hundreds of people converged on this site before sunset and a dynamic group of people included tourists, pilgrims and monks all in absolute awe of the impressive structure. Bells gonged (sik) and the familiar smell of sandalwood filled the air again. I had chanced a meeting with a local English teacher who offered his services of showing me around the site. He explained about the different shrines and also showed me my Myanmar calender animal. Different to the Chinese animal sign, the Myanmar people derive their animal signs by the day that you are born. With a one in seven chance, I had to be born on the day of the rat. Could be a good thing though. The loop took a good hour and I was re-united with the guys at the time they were also being shown around by their guide who doubled as a monk in full monk cloth. Somehow that doesn't seem like it would sit too well in the monastry if they knew the monk asked for "donations" afterwards but he provided them with an insightful tour anyhow. A weird sensation engrossed my feet, they throbbed with the sound of the bell and that is when I realised that I had circled the Pagoda three times already. The sky turned a dark blue and Shwedagon Pagoda never looked more magical.After our usual fill at New Delhi restaurant I tried to change the battery in my watch with a street stall but instead somehow broke the alarm function on my watch in the process. He offered to fix it tomorrow as he was closing shop but I informed him that tomorrow I was off to Mandalay and would not be around. What I didn't expect was when the man started to take off his own watch and offered a watch swap. Done deal, a two-dollar watch for another two-dollar watch seemed fair and I thanked him for his quick thinking and went on my way back to the hotel where Steve had a fried cricket with my name on it.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rofo/rtw05/1162041600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rofo/rtw05/1162041600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rofo/rtw05/1162041600/tpod.html Thu, 30 Nov 2006 01:08:40 -0500 Where in the world is Sammy the Seal.

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Yangon, Myanmar

Happy Birthday Mum!The big four frenzy is how the lonely planet named the suggested itinerary and that was what a great way to start it off with the driver of our hotel pick-up driving to the airport as if he had Michael Schumachers blood racing through his veins. In all the mayhem at the airport Danielle and Jared pulled out literally in the last minute just outside of check in as Danielle seemed like she was coming down with something. Indeed she did and half an hour after we checked in Jared had to bring her to the medic for a check up and a penicillin shot. Some rest and relaxation was in order for them and we continued on our little Myanmar adventure and vowed to take their share of photos and memories.Paul, Ashley, Steve and I boarded the Thai Air Asia flight who are the Jetstar equivalent in Thailand and we landed with minimal fuss in the brand spanking new Yangon airport still under construction. Nothing immerses you more than flying into a country as opposed to crossing borders on a bus. The first thing I spotted through the window was the longyi's (thick material sarongs held together by a knot at the front) that everyone was wearing and also the big yellow marks on all the children and womens faces. The marks were applied with a special type of wood to their faces to protect them from the sun and keep their faces white as white is a sign of beauty. Sometimes they would draw circles and at other times designs such as leaves and flowers. After several attempts we managed to secure a room at the Beautyland 2 hotel which was closely situated to Sule Paya and also Aung Sun Boyoke market. Street vendors lined the pavements selling their wares which included fried crickets (Steve was nice enough to grab a bag of them and offered them as a beer snack later that night. In order to enjoy them according to local custom you first had to remove the legs and wings then devour them whole. The texture was suprisingly crunchy and tasty in its own way. Not at all gooey like I had imagined it.) and betal nut parcels. The cause of many sets of red stained teeth in Myanmar, the men chew on this religiously everywhere they go and from time to time they spit bits of it out and continue to milk the juices out of the concoction of flavourings. Extremely bad for the stomach if swallowed and also bad for open toed shoes as inevitably you would have betal nut splatter on your exposed feet on a daily basis. On the way to Aung Sun Boyoke market we passed a row of cinemas that were showcasing the latest Bollywood flicks, Myanmar movies and also the 007 classic Moonraker. The big billboards were all hand painted and the movies were a steal at 50 cents a ticket. The scene outside the cinemas had street vendors with a weird set up of a large block of ice suspended in the air on an angle. The water dripping off the ice block was being filtered through a cloth bag underneath and then finally the drops were collected in a plastic bucket and cups of the water were for sale. Somehow it works, or maybe not, but it sells. Totally aware of the current situation with the oppressive military government we planned to be very careful of where our money went whilst travelling around Myanmar so that we would try and direct our money towards privately run businesses and products as oppossed to government owned businesses. But no matter who we asked we would contiunally get contradicting information on what was and what wasn't government owned. We did discover however the great privately run restaurant called New Delhi which dished up toeshays, curries and chapatis to your hearts content. I was shown the way by Ashley and ate rice curries with my hands. The trick was to play with your food! You first should roll the rice into a ball several times and when you were satisfied with the consistency then you pick up the rice ball and scoop the ball into your mouth with the back of your thumb. The finger licking only comes in at the end of your meal.In the night sky Sule Paya glistened a radiant gold from the light reflecting off the gold gilted pagoda set as the main roundabout in Yangon. Shoe off was the custom and we carried our shoes in bags circling the beautiful Paya. The smell of burning candles and josticks filled the air and the ambient sounds of chants echoed around the Paya in unison. Walking back from Sule Paya we passed red and white wooden barricades with barbed wire entangled throughout outside one of many dibilitated buildings which took us back to reality, and you wonder how faith in some countries play such an important role in society.
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