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Monday, 28 February 2011

From Thailand to Myanmar

So much has happened since last post, there is no way to record it all. We left Khao Yai National Park and caught a ride to Ayuthaya, the former Capitol of Thailand. Once a fabulous place, legendary Ayuthaya is an island at the confluence of two rivers covered in dozens of huge temples and palaces, until the Burmese sacked it four hundred years ago. Now all that is left are ruins and a few reconstructions surrounded by a crowded busy city. We rented bikes to tour the ruins, dodging all manner of traffic. From there we took a minibus back to Bangkok and then we flew to Yangon, Myanmar.

We were met at the airport by Myint, our guide for the next 20 days, and Louise Desy, the mother of friends in Santa Barbara.


Louise is a nurse who came to Myanmar on vacation eleven years ago, fell in love with the place and has returned every year since. Louise started an orphanage in Yangon in partnership with a Buddhist monastery. She spends half the year back home in Quebec working, and the rest of the year in Yangon. Our burmese guide, Myint, has been her driver for all these years and they have become close friends. Louise helps Myint by connecting visiting friends and relatives to his guide services and he is her steadfast protector.

Myint's Toyota Camry is twenty years old, like most other cars in the country. Since Burma was a British colony (1880s to 1946) when cars were introduced to the country the vehicles all have steering wheels on the right. When the British were expelled and Myanmar once again became an independent nation the government declared that all cars will drive on the right side of the road. They also effectively stopped importation of new cars by imposing huge taxes. Now you have a country full of old beat up cars, with the steering wheel on the wrong side. It makes it pretty difficult to pass yet they do it all the time on one lane roads.


These "highways" are the major thoroughfares through the country, they are in a constant state of repair and are full of everything from extremely loaded trucks, bicycles, tuktuks, motor scooters carrying one to four people, wooden ox carts pulled by water buffalo or brahma cows, and pedestrians. I don't think they have tow trucks as I have seen several large semi-trucks blocking one third the roadway, with the engine half disassembled and four to six "mechanics" working on them. Myint, and most drivers are very careful, in part I'm sure for survival reasons, part to protect their precious vehicles, but also because the Burmese are very friendly patient people, even when driving.

Our first stop was a wedding party for one of the teachers at the orphanage, a surprise to us, and something we were not exactly dressed for!


Nevertheless, the bride and groom seemed very happy to have us there and we met many of the children from the orphanage as well as some of the monks. The kids were beautiful and very sweet, as are all of the children we meet here. There are about 35 kids at the orphanage since it doubled in size after the cyclone of two years ago. The building is cement, very basic and unfinished. It had just been finished when the cyclone came and the top floor was torn off. Louise continues to fund raise from small private donors to finish the building. The devastation was massive with everyone suffering to some degree. Myint and his family waited it out for two days on a mattress that he put on top of all their furniture because water was three feet high in the house, they could not stay upstairs because the roof blew off. Recovery was tough as no one has insurance, no one has savings (no one uses the banks at all) and the government was not only of no help but a deterrent to foreign aide. Myint had no business for two years because no tourists came, so he used his car as a taxi to get by.

The country is very poor (among the 6 poorest nations), but friendly, quite Buddhist and interesting.


There are lavish and gaudy Buddhist temples everywhere, amidst the poverty.


People are very devout and supportive of the monasteries and monks. All men spend time as monks twice in their life, for a week at the minimum (some remain as monks for life). They lead a very strict and austere life, only two meals a day completed before noon which they solicit from the general populace (they are fully supported by the people in their neighborhood).


In rural areas the monks make all of the local laws.

The people here are lovely and very friendly. Crime is rare, especially against tourists due to stiff penalties. Virtually all men wear a longyi which is basically a full length wrap around skirt, and a nice button up shirt. The women wear a similar skirt and fitted modest shirt (no shoulders or cleavage showing). The women apply a decorative paste, made from the wood of a particular tree, daily to their face as make-up/sun screen.


Everyone wears flip-flops (no footwear in temples or houses).



Yangon is a big sprawling, active city. Although there is a new airport, some nice parks and lakes the city has a rundown appearance. Once beautiful colonial buildings in the downtown area are deteriorating, remnants of the British occupation. Small businesses occupy the lowest floor behind a crush of sidewalk vendors. Not far from the city center you are reminded that you are in a third world country by the poverty, old bamboo homes and deteriorating half paved roads. Inside our fancy hotel ($46), with pool, internet, lavish buffet breakfast, clean and comfortable rooms and musicians serenading in the lobby, we were in a different world.

The main attraction in town is the Shwedegon Pagoda, a massive temple covered in gold leaf and containing five hairs of the Buddha Gautoma, topped by precious stones.


It is surrounded by a huge plaza splattered with religious structures full of gilded
buddhas, temples, smaller pagodas.
Although certainly a popular tourist destination, it is mostly used by the Burmese as a place of reverence and worship.


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Location:Taungaloo, Myanmar

Tuesday, 8 February 2011

Khao Yai National Park to Ayuthya Thailand

http://garberasiablog.blogspot.com/2011/02/off-to-grand-palace.html

Second day in Bangkok, Feb 5th, went very early to the Grand Palace. Busloads of tourists, mostly Asian, even at 8:30 but http://garberasiablog.blogspot.com/2011/02/off-to-grand-palace.html got worse later on. Makes the Wat Pho seems modest despite it's over the top dazzle, many hundreds of Buddhas, a hundred huge colorful tiled spired columns and ornate statues. The palace has a gold leaf painted mural from the late 1700's, during the reign of King Rama the first, depicting the epic tales started by the abduction of Somebodies wife by demons surrounding the inner court for about 100 meters or more.






There are more spires and temples, Buddhas and status than you can imagine.





The main temple alone - Wat Phra Kaew, containing the Emerald Buddha, is surrounded by about a hundred Buddhas on each side.





Other temples are surrounded outside with life sized demons, each with a unique fierce expression and their arms up as if holding up the walls.





The entrances are bordered by life sized gilded female creatures, like Pegasus only with the body of a deer.






There must have been at least ten temples in the complex and it looks like the part the public sees if only one section on a much larger complex which walls off what would be the equivalent of about nine square city blocks.
Filling in between Pahd Thai and Panang various meat curries with papaya, mango, pineapple, rambutan, mangosteen, sesame candied nuts.
Feb 6th: Could not rent a car to go to khao Yai, Thailand's first and most famous National Park located about 2 &1/2 hours from Bangkok, because it's Chinese New Years weekend. Landed up hiring a Taxi, driven by Sao who was very nice but spoke almost no English, for the entire day for less than the cost of a car. A small town the the foothills is famous for American style cowboys,
steak houses and growing corn. We stopped at the corn and sorghum research market and had fresh boiled sweet corn, delicious pork spring rolls and corn (milk) juice for lunch.





The area was surrounded by "Thai palms" (Foxtail or Woodetia bifurcate, a large Prichardia sps., and various flowering trees. As we ascended into the park for 30 km from Pak Chong it got cooler and the vegetation became much more tropical. On entering Khao Yai





suddenly there we were in winding mountainous terrain with large stands of bamboo,






a tiered canopy and wild understory palms. Just our type of place to hang out. Found a small vehicle to buzz around the park in and off we go, leech socks on and smothered in Deet, "trekking"', birding and hunting down waterfalls. The food in the park is a little too rural authentic but some is very good if you don't look at it too closely.

We have encountered a variety of interesting birds like the Bronzed and Greater racket-tailed Drongo,
White rumped shama, Bulbul, Dollar bird, Barbets, Great hornbill, Asian honey buzzard. We seen a large deer and a miniature one called the Barking deer,
a huge porcupine, groups of white handed Gibbons in the trees and lots of Macaques by the road side. Still looking for the Asian elephant (300 in park) , Asian bear, Gaur, Civet and Tiger (very rare if any). back to the observation tower tomorrow at dawn. We have no Internet here so I don't know when I will publish this.

Feb 8th. Left KhaonYai park today. Very interesting journey via friendly policeman on vacation and bus. Arrived in Ayuthya, capital of Thailand for 400 years until mid 1700s. The river encircles the town and then continues to Bankok. Loaded with Wats and interesting history. Pictures to follow after our bike tour tomorrow. Circled the town by boat this evening for perspective. Entire town is a fiesta, like the State Fair at home, celebrating Chinese New Years still.


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Location:Naresuan,Hua Ro,Thailand

Thursday, 3 February 2011

Off to Watt (temple ) Pho In Bangkok - home of the reclining Bufha




Woke at at 2 AM because of the time change and checked the clock every 15 minutes all night to see if it was morning yet. Becca had same problem. Mow it is FINALLY 6:30 and suddenly Becca is asleep. I better wake her as there are too many exciting things to do. This morning we are taking a beautiful boat taxi ride (the locals use it like a bus) to the Grand Palace in the old sector of town. I expect lots of Buddhas. They would not let us in yesterday because you could see a bit of Becca's shoulders. thought we would go early today before








the heat and the crowds.

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Location:Soi Thewet 2,Bang Khun Phrom,Thailand