U Bein Bridge

There are many sights to see around Mandalay but the only one that really interested me was U Bein bridge in the village of Amarapura, about 7km from Mandalay. On my walk back to the downtown after applying for my permit, I was approached by a taxi driver. I was going to rent a motorcycle to visit the bridge but wasn't looking forward to this due to the traffic. This taxi driver agreed to go for the same price as a bike rental so we agreed to meet at my hotel at 3.30. I wanted time to explore the bridge and to see sunset there.
The taxi driver was there on time and we left, dodging the traffic of Mandalay. My driver's vehicle was a blue 1962 Mazda pickup,but it was unlike any taxi I've ever been in. This vehicle was absolutely tiny. Our shoulders almost touch in the front cab. The pickup looked like it belonged in miniature world. It could have easily been lost in a child's dinky car set!
The road to the bridge went along the lake it crossed on one side and the village on the other. The village was really dirty with trash littered everywhere. The bridge is obviously a very tourist spot for independent and package tourists. There were large open air restuarants and vendors along the bridge. Beggars placed themselves strategically along the bridge. There was almost no hassle though so it was okay. When I arrived there was almost no other visitors there. I took time to walk almost the entire length of the bridge, taking photos along the way. I saw 2 snakes in the shallow water below. Around 4.30, the busloads of package tourists began to arrive but the bridge is wide enough for a car and 1.3 km long, so their numbers never felt overwhelming.
U Bein bridge is the world's longest teak footbridge and is over 200 years old. It's quite an amazing sight and unlike anything I've ever seen. Normally I'm not too into bridges but this one is something special. It was possible to hire a boat to take you across the lake but I thought this expensive for the very short ride. As it got closer to 5pm and the sun began to drop, a boatdriver approached me and offered me a discounted price because it was close to sunset. I accepted his offer because I did want to see the bridge from the water and thought there would be excellent photo opportunities for the bridge with the setting sun in the background. I was right, it was a very photogenic scene and an intense sunset. I stayed out on the lake after the sun went down for the after sunset colors. I was the last boat to come ashore.
Coming back into downtown, the traffic was horrendous. The fumes were enough to choke on and I thought 'I have to get out of this place!' and I did. The next day I left on a bus for the mountain town of Hsipaw.

Bagan to Mandalay

Most buses in Myanmar seem to leave really early morning, at 6am or before. Thankfully going to Mandalay I had a choice and choose the latter bus at 9am. The bus wasn't in great shape. I didn't get a window seat either! Myanmar is one country that is really particular that you sit where your seat number says. I've never seen this more strictly enforced in any other country. After an hour the guy beside me got off, so I took his window seat. We stopped around noon and I asked a guy if we were staying for lunch. He said we were. He spoke a bit of english and I sat beside him and his friend. He was very smartly and cleanly dressed.
There are a few things very unique to Myanmar. One of them being the longyi, kind of like a skirt for men. Women also were them but they just look like a regular skirt on a woman. About 95% of the men wear a longyi and it looks comfy but I'm not going to be one of those foreigners that wears one! The other thing is thanaka, a sandalwood type paste that is smeared on the face during the day and the body at night. It's a natural sun block and supposed to be good for the skin.
This guy from the bus was wearing pants, not a longyi. After lunch, he paid for my meal, very nice of him. The bus trucked along slowly. At another rest stop, this guy paid for my pop too. There was no stopping him!
We finally arrived in Mandalay at 4.30 at the highway bus station, 7km from the downtown. The guy, his friend and I shared a pickup into town. I took the $7 room at the Nylon Hotel, over the $5 room, basically because it was much larger, nicer and had TV, HBO at that! Mandalay is the second largest city in Myanmar and is kind of a smaller version of Yangon. I didn't like it too much. Lots of crazy traffic. The British designed the block grid street system, which is great for finding streets. The downside is, there are mass intersections and hardly any traffic lights. The traffic that wants to cross the street just inch their way out slowy into the other traffic until they are forced to stop and they can cross. It's a crazy system but seems to work. I've learned to stand right beside a car or motorbike and cross synchronised with them.
I ate a delicious dinner of chapattis and curry chicken on the street at a chapatti stand. All that and a Star cola, for $1.80. I watched movies later when the power was on. The electricity is erratic here to say the least. When it's not on, the city is very dark. Many places have a generator, hell, Nylon hotel is above a generator shop! But there are few street lights on the government grid, so it's dark in the streets. Thankfully, traffic dies off early in the night. It's really warm here, my room stays a lot warmer than outside and at night it's about 28C. I do have A/C but it only works when governmentt power is on, so I've just been using my fan. It's fine, I can sleep in the heat with a fan. I'm on the 5th floor which is a pain for going and coming on the stairs but breakfast is served just outside my door in the dining area.
I'll be spending the next 2 weeks of my trip in this area of Myanmar. I wanted to fly from Mandalay to Chang Mai in Thailand when I leave Myanmar and then overland into Laos. The guidebook said it was possible but I went to a travel agent and he said those flights haven't been running for 2 years now! I wonder if the guidebook authors do update everything or just add it in from previous editions? I have the latest edition, with information no more than a year old. Going back to Yangon and then flying to Chang Mai is expensive and time consuming. I can fly to the border with Thailand but need a government permit to do this and cross the border. Going overland to the border is not allowed, not sure why. There's stuff going on there the government doesn't want seen, like opium fields. It is afterall part of the Golden triangle, the tri-border area of Laos, Thailand and Myanmar that grows much of the world's opium.
I went to the government run Myanmar Travels and Tours (MTT) to apply for my permit. It would take 2 weeks but that's fine because I have 18 days till my one month visa expires. When applying they want to know everything. Where I've been so far, where I stayed, how I got around and where I will be going for the rest of my trip. Maybe they'll follow me around! Seriously, they do that. The guy at the office said permits are generally issued without hassle most of the time but can't guarantee. A lot hinges on this permit for me. He told me to call the office in a week and he will know for sure then if I get my permit. Either way, they have my $50!

Bagan

Bagan
Upon arriving in Nyuang U,I was still tired from the early morning bus and the first thing I did was catch up on some sleep. I went out to eat lunch after that. The New Heaven guesthouse where I'm staying, is a block away from ' Restaurant Row', a road lined with restuarants, shops and travel agencies geared towards foreigners. Many of the places have the same menu. I just relaxed on my porch for the afternoon until I went out for dinner.
The guidebook mentions a few standout places for dinner so I thought I would try their recommended Aroma 2 for Indian food. This restaurant, like many, has a great atmosphere with tables out under the stars with candles on them. The food was very delicious and probably as close to real Indian food that I will find in Myanmar.


Day 2
I slept in till 8 and then had the complimentary breakfast. There are many ways to explore the nearby temples and today I decided to rent a bike for $1.50. It was a junky chinese bike but it would do. The temples started just minutes after I left the small village of Nyuang U. Some of the temples are marked and described in the guidebook but there's just too many to mention them all.
At last count there were 2230 temples and another 1800 brick mounds that used to be something. The temple builders started in 1057 and built relentlessly for the next 230 years before being overrun by the Mongols of Kublai Khan. The temples are crammed onto a small 26sq mile plain. It's mindblowing to be standing on one of the higher temples and look out over the bagan plain and see an endless vista of stupas, the cylindrical cone that tops the temples. A massive earthquake in 1975 devastated Bagan, but many of the temples have since been restored.
The first few temples I explored were lesser known and I had them all to myself. It wasn't until I got to one of the more famous ones that I saw how touristy and annoying Bagan can be. Vendors selling souvenirs line the entrances to the pagodas and are relentless with offers to buy or just come have a look. Even just making eye contact can result in constant pestering but I found that most respond to a firm 'no thank-you'. The only souvenir I bought here was some old Burmese $ for my $ collection back home. I spent the whole day exploring different temples, some were crowded, some I had almost to myself. I only stopped for lunch. I rode back to the guesthouse around 3 and then headed out again for sunset at 4.30 atop buledi temple. Some of the temples are jam packed with foreigners at sunset but Buledi was supposed to be a low key sunset place and it was. There was only about a dozen other people up there. Sunset from third level of the temple, reached by climbing outside stairs, was amazing. The silhouttes of the temples with the vivid colors of dusk was very photogenic. The sun sets very early here. I thought it would be around 6pm but at exactly 5.20, the sun dipped below the horizon. However some of the most intense colors didn't begin to reveal themselves until long after the sun had set. At around 5.40, the sky was intense. I was the last one to leave the temple and rode back in the dark.
Once back at the guesthouse I met Charlie and Nina, a British couple staying at New Heaven who I had been seeing around during the day. We went out to eat at a restaurant specializing in Thai food. After eating there and the Indian place, I knew I would just divide my time between these 2 places for all my dinner meals.


Day 3
I hired a bike again today to explore but instead I hired the bike from an outside travel agency as they had newer and better bikes for the same price as the shitty New Heaven bikes. It was so much easier on this bike. I road straight to Old Bagan, a walled city with many famous temples in a small area. I parked my bike at the first temple and then did a circuit on foot.
I ate lunch at Golden Myanmar, a purely Burmese place that was packed. I was the only white face. I ordered chicken curry and rice and this came with 8 side dishes! This is normal for Burmese cuisine, many small side dishes.Some of the side dishes were good, like corn and veggies, while others were bitter and disgusting. They fill up the rice and side dishes as fast as you can empty them. Lunch with a soda averages about $3.
Back at the guesthouse I ran into Charlie and Nina again as I was getting ready to go out for sunset. They had a temple in mind for sunset that they had seen earlier in the day and I joined them. It was far out but reachable along a paved road. There were only 3 other people there. Sunset was great, though not as colorful as the previous night. Charlie,Nina and I went out to eat at Aroma 2. They also love curry. They are on a year long driving trip across Europe and Asia but left their Landcruiser in Thailand while they came to Myanmar. They were short on time and were leaving the next day.


Day 3
I was a bit sore from the seat of my bike and was looking to hire a horsecart to explore today. It would be a bit pricey for just me so I was hoping to find at least one other person to share. I saw two guys looking over a map at my guesthouse and approached them after I ate breakfast. They were also looking to rent a horsecart and I could join them. They were Rihot and Jaron, both from Singapore. Our driver first took us out to near the place where I had spent sunset the previous night. From there we toured to some temples I had already seen and others I had not. Our driver Min Min spoke some English and was a funny guy. His horse, Rambo, was in good shape and seemed to know the route as well as he did. I wasn't too picky on where we were going so I ended up back at Buledi for sunset again. Tonight's sunset was spectacular. Vivid and surreal colors of pink and orangey red that got more intense after the sun set behind the distant hills at 5.20. I have so many sunset pictures!
Back in Nyuang U, the 3 of us went out to eat at the Thai restaurant. Rihot and Jaron weren't really my type of traveller though. They moved much too fast and left the next day for some other place.


Day 4
Besides the temples, there were some other sites I wanted to see in the area. The main one being Mount Popa, about 60km away. I would have to hire a car to go there and was only going to do it if I could share the car. I met John, an American, the night before and he was also interested in seeing Mt. Popa. The 2 of us and another older Austrian guy shared the car to Mt. Popa. The mountain is actually a small and freestanding ancient volcanic plug in front of another higher and larger mountain. On top of the 2418'Mt.Popa are numerous monasteries, stupas and shrines. Macaque monkeys are all over the mountain and unafraid of humans. The 25 minute climb to the top has to be done barefoot. The walkway is covered to provide relief from the sun but I had to watch out to avoid monkey feces and urine on the steps. Thankfully some locals spend their days cleaning the steps but not all of them are clean. The bold monkeys have no fear and it's possible to get very close for a photo, just hold onto your bag and camera! I hung out on the top for a while taking in the views of the surrounding plains. I ran into Paul, an Irish guy I had been seeing all over Bagan but never really spoke to him before. Now I run into him on top of Mt. Popa, it's a small world!
I ran into him again in Popa village were we had lunch. He came here by public transport but his ride had left before he got down the mountain. We squeezed him into the middle seat in the back of our taxi. On our way back we stopped at a small shack where they make peanut oil. No one was really doing anything when we were there but they sat us down and gave us tea and snacks. I saw bamboo ladders tied up to palm trees nearby which means only one thing - palm wine! I asked our driver about sampling some Toddy, as palm wine is known here, and it was no problem. They brought us out a shot glass each. It wasn't the best palm wine I've had, but it was still good. After that they brought out the heavy stuff. Jaggery wine is crystal clear and 40%. Again we were given a shot glass of that. It was harsh but not as bad as I thought it would be and had an pleasnt aftertaste. After our local liquor sampling, we each gave some small money and then we headed back to Nyuang U.

I hadn't been online for over a week, so I went to check my email. This internet cafe was able to bypass government restrictions and I went on my blog to update. I had dinner again at Aroma 2. After spending 4 days in Bagan I was ready to move on. I bought a bus ticket for Mandalay to leave the next morning.

Yangon to Bagan

Yangon was my first stop in Myanmar but it obviously wasn't the first place I really wanted to be. That place was Bagan, about 400km north of Yangon. Bagan is famous for it's many ancient temples and pagodas, slightly similar to Cambodia's Angkor Wat and I really wanted to see it. I spent a week exploring Angkor Wat and really enjoyed it even though I'm not much of a history buff. There were basically 3 ways to get to Bagan
1. Fly. It took me 4 flights to get to Myanmar, I was done with flying for a while.
2. Bus to Mandalay and then another bus to Bagan.This was the most popular option most people went with but since I was going to Mandalay later, I wanted to avoid backtracking to it.
3. Bus to Bagan, the 'back' way through Pyay and Magwe and this is the route I went with. I would have to overnight in Pyay and Magwe but that's Ok, I wanted to break up the bus journey anyway.

I took a taxi from Golden Smiles to the bus station, near the airport. Buses to Pyay went every hour. I got on the 11am bus that left exactly at 11. It was a nicer bus, no A/C but that's Ok. Comfy seats and a pouch on the back of the seat in front of me and a coat hanger and 2 plastic bags provided. This was a great idea and something I'd never seen before. They were useful for garbage or spitting your red slimy saliva from betel nut chewing which was alive and well here. Betel nut is a stimulant which reduces appetite and provides energy. It was really popular is Northeast India and globs of red stain the pavement everywhere like they did in India.
The scenery on the way was nothing much. Very dry and flat golden brown rice paddies. We reached Pyay at 5.30 and I went to the Myat Lodging House. The owners were super friendly and my room was very nice. Carpet, fridge, TV (no English channels though) desk and many other little nice features. Though it didn't have a private bath and was kind of expensive at $12, but for one night it would do just fine. The communal bath was very nice and clean. I ate at a local restaurant and drank a Tiger beer while watching Resident Evil on TV.
The next morning, the owners of Myat took me on a motorbike to a larger hotel that they also owned for the the complimentary breakfast. I wore a skullcap helmet with a brand new Nazi swastika sticker on it! I don't think they even know what it means. The bus left on time at 8.30 and I arrived in Magwe at 4.30. The scenery was much of the same from the day before.

There were only 2 listed hotels in Magwe and one was out of town. Hotels have to be licensed by the government to rent rooms to foreigners and not many hotels have done this outside of touristy areas. The place was a dive and overpriced. I didn't like it all but it would only be for 12 hours as my bus left for Bagan at 6am the next day. I went to eat at Monarlizar 2, the happening place in town. Behind the place was an impressive and newly built 2km bridge over the Ayeyarwaddy river. The food was fine and the staff was very attentive and professional. Entertainment was provided by some young and beautiful Burmese women dancing in harmony. After that there were some individual women singing karaoke style.

My bus left at 6am promptly. The sun wasn't up yet but it was just getting bright at that time. This bus, as yesterdays, was getting lower in quality that the first day. The road was the same and it disintegrated into a potholed one lane road. Thankfully there wasn't much traffic because we had to slow down for oncoming traffic and we both squeezed over a little onto the shoulder to pass. The scenery was more hilly and treed and more interesting. I was dead tired from getting up at 5am and by 10, couldn't keep my eyes open anymore. I rested my head in the bus and was awoken by a tiny Burmese women. I had arrived in Bagan and was to pay my one time $10 admission fee. This was great news to be woken up for. I took a bicycle rickshaw to the New Heaven guesthouse. This was a great place. My $6 room had a private (and working) hot shower, towel, toilet paper, porch, reading lights(also working) and was very neat and clean. I liked it a lot was glad to be here finally. I would easily stay 4 or 5 days exploring the temples and surrounding area.

Myanmar!

First day in Yangon
The hour long flight to Yangon, capitol of Myanmar, was smooth and easy. Going through customs and immigration wasn't as strict as I thought it would be. It was just like anywhere else. Since Thailand just another longer stopover on my trip,I consider my trip to have begun officially now that I'm in Myanmar (pronounced me-an-mar). I shared a taxi with a German for the 18km ride into the center of town. I went to the Golden Smiles Inn. I took a simple room with shared bath for $5. I was starving and stopped to eat at a busy street food place just outside the hotel. I had rice, potatoes and prawns and a Star( Myanmar's cheap version of Coke) cola for 900 kyat. $1US/Can will get about 1000 kyat (pronounced chat). It was a really funny scene that I wasn't used to be seems to be the norm all over Myanmar, the tables and chairs are all like for little kids. The seat of the chair was only up to my shin!



Second day
I got up at 8am and had breakfast on the balcony. The Golden Smiles Inn is located on the second floor of some huge building. The cool and fairly unique thing about Myanmar hotels is that they often include breakfast in the price of the room. Sometimes, it's basic but can be substantial. Golden Smiles included bananas, toast, omelette and coffee. My first order of business was to check the cinemas to see what was playing. Unfortunately at the one 'Hollywoodish' place, they were showing Michael Jackson's movie, no thanks. As I stood out front of the cinema a Burmese man approached me and we started talking. His name was Willam Tate, 53, and an English teacher. He didn't want any money, he just wanted to talk with me and hear my accent and pronunciation. That was fine with me and he would direct me anywhere I needed to go. I needed to change $, so we went and did that at a reputable place. Banks are a waste of time here. There are no ATM's and practically no place changes Traveller's cheques, so cash is king in Myanmar. I changed $100 and got a huge stack of bills. Myanmar's largest bill is 1000kyat, so I got a stack of 97,000 kyats! I told William I collect $ and the money changer gave me a few old bills of small donominations in really good shape for free. We continued my quest for collectable $ and went to a gold shop owned by one of his students'parents. They gave me a few more bills.
I had read in the guidebook to check out Sakura tower. A twenty floor building in the center of town with good views of the city. On the top floor is a posh restaurant, the Sky Bistro. It was empty then and they let me in to take some aerial photos.
We then went to check the rest of the cinema's in town and at the last one, an American movie 'Sudden Impact' was playing. I've never heard of it but decided to come back and watch it at the last showing, 4.30pm. Next was to get cleaned up and get my yearly haircut. We went to a small place down a side street with a bunch of young girls there. One of them cut my hair and did a good job, for $1. I parted ways with William next but we agreed to meet the following day. He wanted me to talk to his class. I thought this would be fun.
After that I went for lunch and then to relax in my room until it was time to leave for the movie. The cinema was Ok, the sound was good but the picture was only showing on half the size of the screen. Turns out the movie ending up being 'The Long Kiss Goodnight' with Samuel L. Jackson from the 1990's, which I had already seen! No big deal though, I stayed to watch it anyway. Hell, I already paid my 60 cents to watch it!
I went for some Ok Indian fast food after that I went back to the Sky Bistro for some beer and night photos of the city. For the month of November there was a promo on Tiger beer, one glass for 1000kyat. I sat down for a few beers and pulled out my tripod for some long exposure shots of the traffic below. It was a very nice place but not very busy. A meal there cost 6000kyat. After a few beers and lots of photos, I walked back to Golden Smiles.



Day Three
After breakfast I walked 45 minutes to Shwedagon Paya, a huge and famous Buddhist pagoda in Myanmar. Yangon is not like Thailand at all. It's much more rundown with street markets selling everything, everywhere. Traffic was only busy in some places and for a capital city, I didn't hate it. They sold lighters the size of an ice cream bar! The city is fairly crime free, as is the whole country. If a local steals from a foreigner, they can get 5 years hard labour in prison. The military government, run by a few greedy generals, have 'spies' all over and someone would never get away with trying to sell something stolen from a foreigner. The sidewalk, like many roads, is a crumbling mess that requires constant attention or else fall in the sewer below. The Pagoda is one huge pagoda surrounded by many more smaller pagodas. The main stupa (spire) is covered in gold and the top plated with diamonds, rubies and sappires. It is a very important place for Burmese people. After hanging out there for a few hours and getting my picture taken with some monks (at their request), I walked back into the center of town. I ate lunch and then went to the cinema at 4 to meet William, who was already there. We walked to his class, about 10 minutes away and up 3 floors in an old building. Not all his students were there, but there was about 15 of them, roughly divided equally between male and female and between the ages of 17 and 25. The Burmese people are extremely hospitable and before I did anything, they brought me some mohinga, a fish/noodle soup and a coffee. The soup wasn't bad at all. William said all Burmese people like it. The coffee was 3 in 1, that's coffee mix, sugar and creamer all together. It's a rich and sweet blend that I quite like. I've bought these before at an Asian store back home and they are perfect for camping. There are huge billboards advertising them all over the country. At local restaurants, it's normal for a pot of weak Chinese tea to go complimentary with your meal.
After my meal and meeting a few students, I went to the head of the class. I wrote my name and where I was from on the chalkboard. I was the first foreigner that they've had in the class. I told them a bit about where I was from and then it was more like a question and answer period. I helped them pronounce a few words that were written on the chalkboard too. They asked me questions in English about my hobbies, favourite place in Myanmar, what I though of the Burmese people, etc. It was a lot of fun and very low key.
When that was over, William and his teaching partner, Jeffrey wanted to take me out for dinner but first I needed to shower. I had been out walking around all day since 9am and it was now 6.30pm. The weather here is almost perfect. It's the 'winter' season and a bit cooler. Days were sunny and about 30C with only %50 humidity, which made it not as hot. Nights dipped to a comfortable 25C. I showered at Golden Smile and then met William and Jeffrey. We took a taxi into the suburbs to go to a really local place. They bought me dinner and a few beers and wanted nothing from me. They were both very friendly and genuine and invited me back anytime I wanted. It was probably the most time I've spent with locals in a long time that weren't a girlfriend or a guide.

Bangkok

Nov. 18
I arrived in Bangkok at midnight. I had 3 flights from Toronto to Chicago to Tokyo to Bangkok. I must say all 3 were very smooth with minimal turbulence. I got to my hotel, New Siam II at 1am. My room was very nice with attatched bath, TV and even a safe and strangely enough a scale too. I watched a bit of TV before crashing. It had been about 45 hours (including time change of 12 hours) since I left Niagara Falls.

Nov. 19.
My only task today was to secure a visa for Myanmar. I kept waking up and telling myself the next time I get up, I will eat and get a visa. Well, this didn't happen till almost 1pm. I asked around at a few travel agents and it seems things have changed. Instead of the travel agents getting the visa for you, I would have to go to the Myanmar embassy and apply in person. A travel also told me that the embassy closed at 1pm so I was out of luck for today. I ate a delicious breakfast of yogurt, muesli and fruit for $2. There is only a 9% difference in currency between Canadian and American right now so any prices I mention will be in Canadian. The exchange rate is $1 Can = 30 Thai baht. With nothing else to do today I went back to my room to watch TV and sleep more. I went out for a very tasty evening meal of spicy green curry vegetables and rice. Behind my hotel is a pedestrian street full of restaurants, guesthouses, vendors and more. It is similar to the backpacker ghetto of Khao San Rd. about a 10 minute walk away. There are tons of foreigners here. I have easily seen more foreigners here than I did on my whole last trip to East Africa and that's no exaggeration. I stayed up late watching movies. I'm still very jet lagged.

Nov. 20.
I was up at 7.30 today and watched a bit of TV before eating a tasty breakfast in the hotel restaurant. My goal today was to get a visa for Myanmar. To get to the embassy I first had to get to the pier, which was a 5 minute walk away. The traffic can be hectic in Bangkok and for where I had to get to, taking a public boat was the best option. The ticket was 50 cents and I rode to boat to Central pier which took about half an hour. The boat was very efficient at docking and dropping off/picking up passengers in minutes. From the central pier I took a mototaxi to the embassy. It was a bit unnerving on the moto as the driver weaved through Bangkok's traffic. Surprisingly though, they gave me a helmet to wear. At the embassy I filled out the detailed forms for a tourist visa. They wanted to know everything, eye color, hair color, complexion,my father's full name, hotel I'll be staying in, why I wanted to go there and my last 3 jobs! I also had to paste in 2 passport photos which I had brought with me from home. They told me to come back to collect my visa on tuesday and this was friday! I did not want to wait that long in Bangkok or travel anywhere in the meantime so I asked about an express visa. They told me if I paid $15 more I could have the visa today, so I went with that option, considering it would cost me a lot more to hang around for another 4 days.
Visa application done, I went back to my hotel to rest and eat lunch. I got back to the embassy right at 3pm when they told me to come back to collect my visa. The place was jam packed! Thankfully they opened up another queue for visa express applicants. I only waited 10 minutes in this line before getting my visa. Now I had to get a flight to Myanmar as there are no overland options into the country. I went to the travel agency at my hotel and they told me that all flights into Myanmar were booked until monday! This was terrible news so I went to another agency to confirm it and they told me the same thing. So I went back to my hotel agency to buy a ticket for monday. As they searched, a seat became available for tomorrow, saturday. This was the news I wanted and I promptly paid for my ticket.
Myanmar was turning out to be more popular than I had thought. The travel agent told me that the high season is beginning now and that anytime last month I could have gotten a seat anyday for a flight. I relaxed in my room and then went out to eat dinner. Back in my room I had planned on watching a movie but 20 minutes in I began to fall asleep. It was only 8.30, but I decided not to fight it and crashed.


Nov. 21
I was up at 7.30 and watched a movie before eating breakfast. My flight is at 6pm and checkout time is 11am. I didn't want to hang out in cafes for 5 hours till I had to leave for the airport so I paid for half a day in my room. My next post will be from Myanmar.

Southeast Asia 2009/10

Hi everybody. Welcome back to my blog. It's been almost 8 months since my last post but that's going to change soon.
On Nov. 17, I begin another 4 month adventure. This trip marks 12 years of seasonal travel for me since 1998. This year I am exploring SE Asia for the fourth time. I will be visiting Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam but I begin my trip in Bangkok. I'm only staying a few days there to get a visa and a flight to Myanmar. Flying into Myanmar is much more expensive than flying into Bangkok. After about 3 or 4 weeks in Myanmar, I will be dividing my last 3 months between Laos and Vietnam. I have been to Thailand and Cambodia before but this year's countries are all new to me. I really like this part of the world. The people, food, weather and economical prices make this a great region to travel in. Although it doesn't have the big game parks like Africa, I'm still looking forward to spending a lot of time in national parks. Finding wildlife here in the rainforest will be much more challenging but I'm up for it. Besides the national parks, I will be visiting ancient temples like Bagan in Myanmar ( a smaller, version of Ankgor Wat in Cambodia), trekking, caving and maybe a few beaches. I also look forward to exploring the tunnels of Vietnam. This region (though maybe not Myanmar) is firmly on the backpacking circuit but I will be doing my best to get off the beaten track and into remote areas.