Day 6 & 7 Myanmar- Yangon

Our second round of Yangon was nice, though the weather had gotten significantly hotter during the course of the week we were there! We were able to squeeze a few things in before saying goodbye to Myanmar. 

Making more friends on the airplane

Walking around Yangon- lots of street vendors selling all sorts of goodies, including samosas

A warning to anyone who might travel here- huge holes (several feet deep) are all over the place, including right in the middle of the sidewalk. It was actually worse than Ecuador (where you also had to watch your step). Had a few close calls! 

We spent our day in Yangon doing a "colonial building" walking tour, which was really interesting

View of the city 

On our second day in Yangon (the day we were flying out) we decided to find something to do that included air conditioning...we definitely made the right decision to go to the movies! We watched Thor, but for us the most interesting part was the whole experience. The movie theater was a converted performance theater and they sold tickets at different prices based on the level/tier. Once the movie started, we discovered that there were no subtitles- everything was completely in English. No doubt there were a few in the crowd who could understand, but the majority probably could not. This was probably the loudest movie theater experience I've ever had too (which was great! I didn't mind it at all)- people were talking, phones were ringing and being answered, and sunflower seeds were being eaten during the entire show. 

On our way to the airport, a heavy thunderstorm came in. I wouldn't want to be the guys holding on to the back of the truck. =(

We had some extra time at the airport, so I made Adam pose with the cardboard cut outs. 

So that was our Myanmar (Burma) experience. It is a truly beautiful country (better visited during cooler months!) with incredibly friendly and kind people. I would love to visit again, especially once I've had the opportunity to do more reading on the country, its history, and its people. There was so much we didn't know going in, and so much we learned from our trip there, and also a realization that there is more that we don't know and need to learn. 

Day 5 Myanmar- Mandalay

We had to hire a driver for our second day in Mandalay since the outlying areas are quite far away. Before we headed out on the town, we stopped by the river so Adam could get a morning workout. Ha! 

On our drive, we passed many farms and pastures with huts that workers took refuge under once it got really hot. Seriously- it was almost unbearably hot on this particular day!

We had the opportunity to see some of the industries in the area, including marble carving and silk weaving. Nearly everything is done by hand or with very basic machinery. It was quite interesting to see. Most of the marble carvings are for temples, both in Myanmar and in other countries (such as China and Thailand). 

Some final products

Women weaving silk into various patterns for skirts, shirts, and scarves (many of them sold for special occasions such as weddings)

I liked that this girl decorated her area with pictures of famous movie stars

We also visited several temples, including one that was made entirely of teak wood. I cannot recall all the names of the temples that we visited, and plus it was incredibly hot so it was pretty tough for us to focus! Lol.

Remember the Buddha I mentioned that is covered in something like 6 inches of gold? This is the one! I couldn't get close to it (no women allowed in the area up close to the Buddha) but you can probably Google this and find a better quality photo!

Again, gorgeous views once we got to the top

I couldn't even count the number of figures!

Teak wood temple

We also took a boat across to see....more temples!

These are our "It's soooo hottttttt!" faces

Andy at one of the temples (photo courtesy of Andy)

We did ride on horsecarts again, but it was nothing like the leisurely ride in Bagan. The drivers were moving super fast, so I was holding on for dear life to not fall out. 

*photo taken by Andy

We then arrived at Ubein Bridge, which is the world's longest teak bridge. It is made of teak wood and stretches across the Taungthaman Lake. Andy got some awesome photographs at the U Bein Bridge that I'll post here. Andy, Tim and Shara also saw the sunset by taking a boat on the lake. Adam wasn't feeling like it, and I didn't want him to be alone, so I got photos of the sunset at the bridge from higher ground.

We were told by some locals that during the rainy season, sometimes even the trees are under water. I can't even imagine!

 Like kids in most countries, they aren't shy about shouting "Hello!!" and posing for a photo

Lots of ducks swimming in the lake

*photo taken by Andy

*photo taken by Andy

*photo taken by Andy

As with other places in Myanmar, we encountered some very nice people that were open to chatting with us. At the U Bein Bridge, a group of men (most of them monks) approached us to ask if we spoke English. They are studying English in their first year at one of the local universities and were looking for people to practice with. They were very friendly and accompanied us on almost the entire stretch of the bridge.

This might be the point where one of them thanked me profusely for being so nice!

*photo taken by Andy

 Andy, Adam and new friends. Note that Adam is holding hands with one of the monks (not uncommon but still took Adam by surprise) * Photo courtesy of Andy

Sunset on the U Bein Bridge

After sunset, we headed back into Mandalay for dinner. We attempted to go to another restaurant named "The Green Elephant" but it just seemed that destiny did not want us eating at any place called the Green Elephant because our driver took us to a Nepalese restaurant that we had mentioned prior to deciding finally to eat at the Green Elephant. It worked out though because the food was quite tasty.

Still working on it...

I know, I know. You all are wondering when I'm going to get finished with our "Asia 2011" blog posts right? Soon...I promise! At least before Adam and I head out of Cali (on Monday!). I'll eventually get to all the fun photos and stories of Taiwan!

And once I'm done with the Asia posts, I'll post up our Yosemite/Sacramento/SF photos. And then our OC photos...and then our Santa Barbara photos and then our photos from Ridgecrest. And then I'll have sufficiently overwhelmed you all with photos.  Hoorah!

Day 4 Myanmar- Mandalay

We got up bright and early and flew from Bagan to Mandalay. Again, we had no problems with the flight. We had arranged for transport ahead of time...it's kind of nice to arrive in a new place and have someone there to greet you, even if it is a stranger.

The drive from the Mandalay airport to the hotel took quite a long time (maybe just under an hour?) but we still arrived super early in the morning. Our rooms weren't quite ready yet so we hung out in their computer area. The hotel we stayed at was quite beautiful and used local teak wood. The staff was super hospitable and when we finally entered our room, we saw a lovely fruit basket. Adam and I ate a mango before we headed out for the morning!

The pool at our hotel and the restaurant/breakfast room in the background

We headed out in the mid-morning to Mandalay Hill, a nearby hillside that the city takes its name from. It was incredibly hot and much longer of a walk than we expected! We finally arrived at the hill and took the ascent to the top of the hill via a series of stairways through various pagodas and temples. We were following the instructions of the Lonely Planet guide, so several times we thought we were at the top, only to turn a corner and find more stairs. At least there weren't monkeys everywhere!

The Shweyattaw Buddha, apparently standing and pointing to the future site of the city of Mandalay (we thought we were almost to the top at this point...turns out we were only halfway there)

When we arrived to the summit, we were rewarded with 360 degree views of Mandalay. We were fortunate to also catch a few breezes!

Another view...you can see trees in the bottom that are covered in red blossoms- super vibrant in real life!

On our walk down, we came across this man painting portraits of famous landscapes in Myanmar, only by using some old brushes, a razor blade, and shoe polish. 

We watched him for a while, totally impressed with his skill and his work. Andy ended up purchasing a portrait that we got to watch him paint before our eyes (not the one above) and we also picked up a few additional ones that he had already painted. Very neat!

While waiting for Andy's painting to dry, a group of young women approached us and asked if we would take a photo with them. They were super sweet and giggly, but when we posed for the photo, they put on very serious faces! 

On our way back from Mandalay Hill, we decided it was too hot to walk back to the hotel (at high noon) and found this gem of a taxi cab! It was petite, bright blue, and incredibly cute!

We all managed to squeeze in (Adam in the front seat). Because it was such a pleasant ride (haha), we decided that we would arrange for the same taxi driver to come back later in the afternoon/evening to take us around.

After our afternoon rest-up in the hotel (trying to stay cool!), we headed back out into the city of Mandalay. The feel of Mandalay was completely different from calm and tranquil Bagan. Lots of cars, bicycles, and motorcycles on the road.

We stopped at one of the many places in Mandalay that make gold leaf. It was fascinating to see how they make the gold leaf, how much time and labor go into it, and the access that people have to purchasing gold leaf for visits to the temple (for example, in one of the temples we saw, one of the Buddha's bellies is covered in so much gold leaf that I've heard it is at least 6 inches thick in some parts! I'll try to post a photo when I come across it). I was just so astonished how a small amount of gold turned into such a large number of sheets of gold leaf. 

Afterwards, we stopped by the night market, where they sell tools, clothing, and books for people in the community. We saw old copies of Newsweek magazine (some from 10+ years ago), bound xeroxed copies of English books, and other odds and ends.

We also saw some xeroxed copies of engineering and biology text books. It made me appreciate even more the access we have to books and other texts in the U.S. (in our public libraries, in our bookstores, on the internet, etc.) whereas in Myanmar, the options are limited, used, and harder to come by.

We also saw an incredibly odd poster of a baby with its private parts showing. It was just so odd because I didn't know what people did with it (i.e. did they hang it up on their wall? why?). I am not going to post it here, but if you want to see it, you can just let me know! Lol.

Afterwards, we asked our taxi driver where the best place would be to eat some skewered meats that we heard so much about. He brought us to a place that was super good.

One of my favorites- plain and simple grilled corn on the cob (that they cut off the cob for us)

I got a Coke with my dinner that night...which had been imported from Thailand. Tim and Shara could read it all and I was thoroughly impressed.