19 DAYS IN MYANMAR

So, here’s the plan—we have our house rented and that gives us 2 months to visit Myanmar, Thailand and southern India; first up being Bangkok for a week in order to procure visas to Myanmar. We arrived in Bangkok, went to the Myanmar embassy and got the visas the same day, but we still have a week before our flight to Yangon, the capitol. So we spent 2 more days in Bangkok sightseeing and sampling the foods from the street stalls (wonderful) then headed down to Hua Hin, on the coast, for a bit of a beach holiday.

Hua Hin is a pretty big city that very popular with ex-pats and tourists from Europe, mostly Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Holland and Germany. The place is chock-a-block with European restaurants and bakeries, and many, many seafood spots serving some of the most beautiful and fresh seafood imaginable. We dined every night on fish, squid, tiger and jumbo prawns, mussels and crab—can one tire of this? So, the food is great, but the city itself is pretty boring. The beach is fine white sand and the waves are good, but enough old, white Europeans already! Some obviously live here year-round but there are lots of snowbirds who come down during the cold Scandinavian winter to play golf, hang out on the beach and eat western food. Then there are all the older white men walking around with younger Thai women on their arms—aren’t they lucky! Christmas was evident all over town with standard Xmas music and decorations.

Finished with this initial Thailand leg of our journey, we’re off to Myanmar where credit cards are not accepted and there are no ATMs, so everyone must bring in US$, and if they are not crisp, perfect dollars they won't be accepted. We have heard that internet usage is slow so I know what that means—no chance of uploading photos or this blog post. I’ll have to wait until we are back in Thailand mid-January to upload this post with photos.

Now in our 9^th day in Myanmar and there is much to report—not all of it positive. Yangon (formerly Rangoon), the capitol and largest city is big, dusty, full of car and truck fumes and so spread out, that there is no center in which to walk around to peruse restaurants, shops, museums, et al. We stay at mid-range & budget hotels when we travel because we spend so little time in our room we don’t feel the need for anything fancy or upscale. The Motherland Inn was our choice in Yangon and a good choice it was—small, decent room, hot water, clean, free hearty breakfast (more about food later) and a wonderful, helpful staff of young women. Being in the Lonely Planet it is a favorite with both backpackers and older, independent travelers (like ourselves), so we met and talked with many fellow travelers from all over the globe. Everyone was comparing notes and trying to figure out where to go and what to do. The only drawback is that it was in a lousy, funky, out-of-the-way neighborhood, so one has to take a taxi to go anywhere. But we found a decent local restaurant in the area and learned to walk most places.

The first thing one must do in Myanmar is change $ into Khat (pronounced chat)—no problem—our hotel took care of that. The next thing to do in Yangon is to go to the fabulous Shwedagon Pagoda in the center of town, and fabulous it is—gold, gold, gold.  We went to a couple of museums, some local and some tourist markets, tried some of the street food (not too good), visited the old synagogue (which is kept in good repair and very interesting) and walked a lot. There is not that much to see or do in Yangon so we spent a couple hours at a movie theater seeing a recent Hollywood film, TinTin.

You probably want to hear about the food, but there is not much to report in that department. There are tourist restaurants, and these are okay—Italian, Chinese, Thai, et al, but the Myanmar eateries serve pretty bland food—of course, lots of rice and noodles, served with various sauces, none distinctive. Oh well, it will be interesting to see what is put on the table in the rest of the country.

As I have said, the city is not very colorful or beautiful—it is mostly grey and dull with no sense of beauty anywhere, and no architecture, just simple block buildings. The roads and sidewalks are in need of repair—badly, and the horn honking is incessant. We had a few surprises when we came upon a modern shopping center and supermarket. Have I mentioned the monks?  Many and ubiquitous!

During this time in Yangon we were planning the rest of our stay here, thank you Lonely Planet. There are still some places that are off limit, both for political reasons and as a result of Cyclone Nargis of a few years back. Everyone seems to go to the same places, mostly because they have the most to offer and have hotels and restaurants. So after 4 days here we took an overnight bus to Inle Lake, one of the big 4 destination spots that everyone goes to. The others being Yangon (check), Mandalay and Bagan.

The bus ride brings up an entire issue that might as well be discussed now, kiddies--the infrastructure or lack of such. To put it bluntly the roads here suck, big time. They are rocky, bumpy, sometimes asphalt, sometimes dirt, but always bad. On top of that the buses for tourists are not up to international standards--read cramped seats. This leads to a problem which did not foresee--how to get around this country. Many tourists know about this problem and fly using local airlines, but this is fairly expensive (believe it or not) and we did not bring enough money in with us. So we were stuck with ground transportation.

The ride was 14 hours with a dinner stop and a couple of toilet stops. We arrived in Inle Lake at 5:00 AM having had no sleep and a miserable night, and luckily our hotel, the Teakwood Inn had our room ready for us so we went right to sleep. Why is Inle Lake a tourist stop? Because it is a small town on the edge of a large lake that offers some trekking (declined), some chilling, bicycling, some eateries and hotels and the chance to spend a day cruising around the lake on a long, motor boat checking out the local lake life.

One day we bicycled the area (saw a really cool, old teakwood monastery that is still active) and went out on a canoe for a few hours exploring the narrow backwaters. Our day-long motor boat trip was beautiful and enlightening--the weather being clear and sunny, as it was the entire trip. We spent the day with 2 other people as the boat has 4 chairs--a German woman and an Oregon man who were both fun and interesting and made for good company. Things we saw on the lake--life as it has been lived for centuries--fishermen, farmers, kids, mothers et al; weaving with thread from the lotus leaf stem; potters; silversmith; floating gardens; and a large market for both locals and handicrafts for tourists.

Next stop--Mandalay, and how to get there. We settled on a shared taxi, which was cheap and only took 8 hours, but went over the same lousy, bumpy roads. Oh well, here we are in Mandalay for New Year's Eve without a party to go to--can you imagine?!?

Mandalay is smaller and more manageable than Yangon, but shares with Yangon the same, dusty, polluted air, loud trucks and buses and boring food. Butt--and this is a big one--we saw the Moustache Brothers! These 3 men in their 60's have performing for 40 years; 2 of them spent 5 years in prison in the 1990's for political remarks against the government. They are out now and were granted the right to perform in their home, but only in English and only to tourists. They were great and a highlight of the trip! There were jokes galore, singing and dancing and all with great verve and enthusiasm. Plus I bought a Moustache Brother t-shirt!

Note:  Have I been sounding a little negative? Don't get the wrong impression--Myanmar is a fascinating place to visit; a disappearing world and I don't regret being here. There are many beautiful, eye-opening things to see and experience. It is just the cities that are forgettable--the pollution and noise seem to overwhelm at times. Even now, as I sit in the small town of Nuang U the traffic outside is so loud--the drivers use their obnoxious blaring horns non-stop and the young people on their loud motorbikes create a big distraction. Oh, yes, young people--this is a young country, so many more people are young than old. I don't know what the future holds for these people, but the youth seem curious about the outside world and intent on being part of it. Posters of Aung San Suu Ky are ubiquitous and she is revered as the hope of their future.

Next stop on our tour--Bagan, which is the Myanmar Archeological Zone for the temples, monasteries and stupas built in the 11th and 12th century that are being restored, and an amazing place it is. We stayed in the small town of Nuang U which gives easy to the area, which is huge--many, many acres. The town caters to tourist so has quite a few decent restaurants, even real, fresh salads, plus a good Indian and Italian restaurant--good pizza. One night a perfectly steamed river fish with a simple lemon garlic sauce--wonderful!

The trip to Bagan was the best transport yet--a large, comfortable boat that took all day and had an okay restaurant. We spent our time on the deck in the sun.

This was to be our last leg of the journey before heading back to Yangon for our flight out, and luckily the town and environs turned to be a perfect place to end up. We spent 6 nights here in a comfortable, hotel, again with great, friendly hosts. The first day we took a horse cart out o ride around and examine up-close the stupas and temples. This was really a cool way to take it all in as the ride was slow and relaxing, and although it is almost impossible to see all of them (and who would really want to, anyway?) the driver (and Horse) took us to some of the highlights.

They are spectacular and when you climb up high you can see the size and scope of the area--hundreds upon hundreds of these structures. The next few days were spent bicycling and walking around the area, talking with people and relaxing. Luckily, there was the annual full-moon festival going on at the beautiful Ananda Temple which had it major shindig while we there. What an incredible scene--monks upon monks receiving donations, kids playing on rides, and pilgrims coming to pray. We also climbed the 770 steps to the top of Mt Popa for a spectacular view. A truly unforgettable experience, and a great way to finish up our time here. Tomorrow we hop on another bus, zip(?) down to Yangon and the next day fly to Bangkok.

    

 The weather has been perfect the whole time here--sunny and warm, but not too hot.

As I have said, not very many tourists.

The food has been just okay--local cuisine pretty simple and basic. Twice we tried Shan food, which is an assortment of small dishes--meats and veggies--all tasting pretty much the same.

 We ate a lot of fried noodles, usually overcooked--this country need to learn the concept of al dente. The street food was, for the most part unidentifiable and, although I tried a few things, the best I had was a perfect chapati.

 In some photos of people, especially women, you will strange, yellowish face painting.  This is Thanaka which is peculiar to this culture only and is the paste made from grading wood from the Thanaka tree and mixing with water. This paste is then applied is varying patterns focusing on the cheeks and often in very unusual, clown-like designs, especially on kids. What the hell is this for? You ask. Well, the most common answer is for sun protection, but we have also been told conditioning of the skin. Whatever, it is strange.

 The people are generally friendly especially in the smaller towns and villages. We visited a few villages that I have not mentioned and the locals are warm, smiling and open. The kids are adorable everywhere.

 We hear that the Chinese are investing a lot of money in Myanmar, and I hope it is for the good, they are known for exploiting. The government as it stands is a military dictatorship which bring in a lot of money from natural gas and oil sold to China and Thailand. And, of course, gems!

Modes of transportation taken: 4 kinds of boats, 2 horse carts, 2 motorbikes, 2 pick-up trucks, 3 taxis, 3 buses 3 trishaws (similar to rickshaw), 2 bicycles.

 Tourism could be big here, but first, how about some infrastructure and the use of credit cards and ATMs. The thing is, we would have spent more had we been able to use plastic to pay or at least withdraw from a machine, but once out of cash, out of luck. As it turns out, I'm glad we didn't spend more, for now we have more money for Thailand and India!

If you are at all interested, you can see my complete album of photos at the following site:
 https://picasaweb.google.com/hank.abramson/Myanmar?authkey=Gv1sRgCKm4ubLD4ZGw4wE

Here We Go Again!

After a few months in Ubud, Bali we are are going to hit the road again.  We have had some wonderful and enjoyable guests this fall (Bali does not really have seasons as we know them--only a dry season and a wet one).  Peter and Anne were here for 2 weeks from Northern England, bringing their great British sense of humor and their own Manchester honey--delicious. Ken and Vicky were here (also 2 weeks) bringing their Oakland sense of humor and lots of memories.  Good times! Nicole spent 3 weeks here planning and ordering her yoga clothes to sell at fairs around the west.

Our movie club keeps on going--everyone still enthusiastic and we get together once a week to watch a classic movie from around the world. We're making more friends and meeting interesting people so we're intellectually stimulated and keep busy within our little ex-pat community. The ex-pat community here in Ubud is a small but interesting scene, full of all types--from ex-professors to artists to world travelers. We attend  lectures, go to yoga class at least once a week, check out art openings and always look forward to the new restaurant (we eat well!). The ex-pat community on the southern part of the island is a much fancier, high fashion, bar-hopping, socializing thing--much money down there and they flaunt it. Not for us!

So the house has been full--we even had the bungalow rented for most of the past 2 months. We have also finally got the pool and fish pond working properly, which took a few specialists and some money, but it has been a long time coming. The house is in tip-top condition--we did all the little repair things that show themselves during the first 6 months.

And now we have the house and bungalow rented for the next 2 months (thanks to Barbara's tireless efforts and hard work) and we have nowhere to go. Just kidding! We have some great places to visit, like Myanmar (Burma), Northern Thailand and Southern India. Our favorite and funny little pug Milo will be spending time with a local man who loves dogs--have a good time Milo!

We'll leave here tomorrow and will be in Myanmar for 2.5 weeks; and will see how they celebrate Christmas and New Year's Eve. This is a good time to see Myanmar because of the recent loosening up of the political regime and from everything we have seen and heard this is a beautiful and fascinating culture and country.


Next up--Thailand.  Barbara and I have been to Thailand a few times, but this time will be different. We will arrive in Bangkok in the middle of January, where we will meet up with Barbara's sister Alicia and our youth brigade, Sasha, Eli, Darci and Aaron (sorry you couldn't make it, Zoe). After a few days we fly up to the northern city of Chang Mai where we will tour, trek for a couple of days, eat and celebrate my 70th birthday!

The family goes home  (except for Sasha) and we fly over to Mumbai where we catch a train for Goa on the west coast in the south. Goa was a Portugese colony and so, therefore has Catholic and European influence.
Goa was the big scene (and to some extent still is) of the great hippie parties and gathering of the sixties and seventies. This was the start of the full moon parties that now occur in many backpacker resort areas. But Goa has beautiful beaches and wonderful food. From Goa we'll travel east and see some interesting and exotic towns and cities until we come back to Bali February 17.

Just realized that we never posted pictures of the garden, yard and fish ponds since we've been back this fall and everything grew exponentially during the six months since we planted. We can not believe how lush it is and how fast things grow here! So here are some pictures:

I'll post along the way and put up pictures.  Hope you all have a great holiday season and a happy New Year!

BACK IN BALI AFTER SPENDING THE SUMMER IN THE STATES

We've been back here since the middle of September but haven't posted due to our extremely busy schedule! Just kidding!  Actually we have been kind of busy--hosting friends, the 8th Ubud Writers and Reader Festival (for which we volunteer and attend as many events as we can squeeze in), and working on house updates, repairs and improvements. And of course, spending some quality time with our pug, Milo, now 10 months old and sooo cute!

Sasha & Alicia

Darci & Friends

Our Turn to Feed Aaron

House on Lummi Island

 

Zoe & Palmer

Right now it seems like so long ago, but it was only July & August & part of September that we were with family and friends enjoying great weather wherever we went; wonderful food, both at friend's houses and at restaurants; and partying the nights away until we couldn't stand up any longer!

Willows Inn Birthday Dinner--Darci, Barbara, Sasha, Henry, Alicia, Aaron, Zoe, Jeff

The summer started in Seattle where attended the memorial celebrating the amazing life of our dear, departed friend and partner in our first house in Bali, Steve Bremner. We spent time with our Seattle friends and then drove and took the ferry to Lummi Island in the San Juan Islands where we had a (almost complete) family reunion.  We stayed at a beautiful and perfectly situated house on the Island and celebrated the birthdays of Darci, Zoe, Barbara, Aaron and Alicia at the now famous Willows Inn where Aaron is the Sous Chef and has helped in putting the restaurant on the international culinary map. 

Willows Inn Kitchen

After hangin' and chillin' in Seattle for another week or so we decided to drive for the next two months and take advantage of the invitations to stay with friends.(Aren't you the lucky ones.)

First up was up a stop in Eugene, OR for a meal with a friend from Bali; then south to Oakland (staying and sailing with Vickie & Kenny--who will be visiting us here in Bali very soon); Marin County, where we partied with Isa and Terry and their amazing -looking mother; had dinner with Michele in Sausalito; and a wonderful BBQ chicken dinner with my sister Joan & husband Steve at their golf club in Walnut Creek. 

Sailors

Barbara & Vickie

Ken & Vickie

[Much to my chagrin and disappointment I took very few pictures in the Bay Area, but made up for that omission afterwards.]

Dinner with Fran

Then down to Las Vegas and Fran's house for a couple of days of non-stop gambling (kidding!) and relaxing.

Mark, Gita & Barbara

We went to Crestone, CO to spend a night with Gita and Mark and were amazed by this small, funky town nestled against a number of 14,000 peaks. This place is a throwback to an earlier hippie era, replete with organic food stores, meditation retreats and all the tie dye you can wear. 

Palmer Serrano Alberter (Our cucu--grandson)

This was right before a few weeks in Lakewood, CO with Zoe, Jeff, Eli and our grandson, Palmer-- a year and a half and just so adorable.  Lots of fun with him! During this month in CO we cruised up to Steamboat Springs for a couple of nights with Jack and Brenda (who we met in Bali) in their cool house and cool town.

Jack, Brenda & Barbara

There was also five days in Santa Fe and hangin' with the homeys: a party with Andrea, Linda, Taz, Cherilyn, Mary Ellen and Jessie, Dinners with Angela and Harlin, and with Joseph, Julie & Adam and you know who you are. All along the way we ate in interesting and varied restaurants--some old familiar haunts and some great new places.

Cherilyn, Barbara, Linda, Andrea

 
Back to Colorado with Zoe, Palmer and Eli fora fun-filled night of camping near Vail before we flew to New York and a week on Staten Island with Barbara's sister, Alicia. 

Camping with Palmer, Zoe & Eli

The first few nights in New York saw Barbara go out to South Hampton with Alicia and (a visiting Sasha) to friend Brenda's house and some barbecuing.  I spent a night with my sister Paula and husband Stephen and had dinner with some old (like from way back in the fifties) friends who all looked faaabulous (we're all turning 70 this year) and we had our NY visit extended thanks to a hurricane! In the Big Apple we had a lot of fabulous dinners in some out-of-the-way neighborhoods including one on the boardwalk in Brighton Beach before strolling to Coney Island and a great fireworks show!

Pool in South Hampton

Coney Island Fireworks

Me with Alicia on the Brighton Beach Boardwalk

My Sister Paula & Stephen

Old Fogeys--Steve, Tommy, Hank, Vinnie, Joe

Holy Moly! Did we do all that?  Yes and more, because after New York and many museums and Ellis Island and a Reuben sandwich at Katz's, we went back to Lakewood, CO for more fun with Palmer, Zoe, Jeff & Eli, then a long drive back to Seattle and 
a final few days with Sasha, Darci & Aaron before the flight to Bali. WHEW!!

It was crazy, but fun and good to see so many people and talk, talk, talk. 


























So, now we are back in our house, which survived the summer months with all the guests coming and going, except for some minor work that we have since taken care of.
Peter and Annie Hall, our friends from Northern England were just here for two weeks and they had (I sincerely hope) a pretty good time.  Well, we certainly had a good time showing them around.