A Bangkok Surprise

December 17th, 2008

Well, I am now back in Thailand after an amazing adventure through Burma. Bangkok was quite a shock after blissing out in the peacefulness of the Myanmar countryside.

I was in a bit of a hurry to get out of there so I headed to an office to buy a train ticket to Northern Thailand. I had just stepped out of the office and started down the street when I saw a familiar blond woman passing in the other direction. Oh, that's Marian I thought to myself. Wait a second, where am I?? Hey, that's Marian!

It took me a moment to comprehend that half way around the world, in a city of over 6 million people, I had just ran into a co-worker from Washington. She took me over to meet up with my other friend, Geoff. We all ended up hanging out with my uncle, enjoying the famous Bangkok street food and several Beer Chang. It was eerily similar to a strange dream and now as I write this down, I'm almost questioning the reality of the whole thing.

Leaving Inle

December 14th, 2008

Tears unexpectedly jumped to my eyes as I stepped off the dock of our grass hut hotel for the last time. I was not prepared to part with this land that had stolen my heart.

I spent yesterday afternoon touring around in a canoe with my uncle. We weaved through the "streets" of a local village. Westerners normally never go in a boat without a guide so the locals were quite shocked to see us in their neighborhood.

The whole family in each house would run to fill the windows and doorways of their homes built on stilts to watch us passby. Old people and young alike would giggle and wave. "Mingalaba!"

My favorite reaction came from two men that were fixing a bamboo hut. It was in a relatively empty area so they hadn't heard the commotion that are presence was creating. They were both concentrating quite intently on their work so we had almost passed by the time they both casually glanced at us. In unison, they both returned their eyes to their work, shook their heads then wipped back with gaping jaws and bugged out eyes.

I can't imagine they could have looked any more shocked if I had been riding on the back of a swimming dragon.

After our little tour, we paddled a ways away from the village into the middle of the lake. I practiced my leg rowing as my uncle went for a swim. We were quite the spectacle for all those fishing around us.

We stayed out there until the sun had disappeared and the sky and lake were painted with the beautiful shades of dusk.

At the hotel they held a cultural performance for us. They demonstrated some traditional PaO dances including a martial arts dance with fire, a man acting like a marionette, and a dance of a mythical creature that is part deer and part, uh, something else, a lion perhaps.

A resort with this amount of natural beauty would be enjoyable anywhere in the world. However, sharing it with the gracious people and strong, interesting cultures of this area makes it a truly spectacular experience.

Inle Lake, Burma

December 11th, 2008

For the past several hours I have been racking my brain, trying to figure out what I could have possibly done to deserve being here. I am now laying in an oh-so-cozy bed, under a mosquito net in a bamboo house built on stilts reachable only by boat, over Inle Lake in magnificent Burma.

I would pinch myself to see if I am dreaming, but I won't dare risk that because if I am dreaming, I never care to wake. Surely I must live my next nine lives as a cockroach to balance these blessings.

Cruising up the river in a long boat, wearing my banana leaf hat, I feel like I must be in some exotic movie. Wait, that came out wrong, well you know what I mean.

I only catch glimpses into the lives of the small villages as we pass by. There was a novice monk running along the river with his flittering kite in tow, a woman washing her clothes, some water buffalo stopping for a drink. I can only guess on what their lives must be like living along the Inle River.

Yesterday a local boy taught me how to leg row a canoe. At first I could barely manage to balance while sitting on the small platform at the back of the boat. After a little while I caught the rhythm of the boat and I stood up. My legs were shaking and the boat would tip back and forth narrowly escaping capsize. The boy and my friend Jody were getting a good laugh about it safely back on shore.

Eventually I was able to relax and lift up one foot. Once I was proficient at that I slowly wrapped my leg around the oar and pulled it back through the water. As soon as I exerted pressure on the oar, the boat tilted hard to one side. I quickly unwrapped my leg and got both feet back on the boat just in time to keep from going over.

More laughs from ashore.

Pretty soon I was rowing around with my leg. I never quite got to the steering aspect of the whole thing though.

When I got back to the dock, the local boy took over to show me how it is really done. He just jumped right on and cruised that canoe with complete control and unwavering grace. Certainly, he could have rowed circles around me.

Shan State, Burma

December 10th, 2008

Our arrival in Shan State was quite welcomed. We have traded in the hustle and bustle of city life for a peaceful spread out country side. This is definitely a piece of paradise.


We visited the Pindaya Cave of 9,098 Buddhas. On our way we came across a group of nuns that had been traveling for ten days to reach the cave. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them to see it. We gave them a ride in our van for the rest of the jourey.

There was the regular hoopla surrounding the cave, but once inside it was truly a unique experience. The natural beauty of this large limestone cave was enhaced by the presence of no less than 9,098 buddhas tucked into every corner.

As I went deep into the cave I again crossed paths with the nuns. The youngest nun, that was about 10 years old, kept repeating "Mingalaba!" (blessings) to me with a huge smile and a nod.
I took a picture of her and went I bent to let her see, she pressed her head to mine. "Mingalaba!"

Tears well up for me now just writing this down. Buddhists believe that the head is the most sacred part of the body and normally you aren't supposed to touch anyone's head, particulary that of a nun.

"Mingalaba!" I somehow managed to repeat.

The sacredness of this place is not something that I can share with words. Let me just say that if that cave was the only place that I visited on this whole journey, it would have been worth it. It is an experience I will never forget.

Bagon, Burma

December 4th, 2008

We started off in Burma a couple of days behind schedule because of the civil unrest in Bangkok. This required us to fly out the city of Yangon on just our first morning there to get back on itinerary.


So, we woke early and hopped on a small, very old plane for the short flight to Bagon. As we landed I could see the beautiful temples scattered all throughout the countryside. Our first stop was at a market in the center of town.

I was a bit intimidated stepping out of the van amongst women with baskets on their heads, oxen carts and children with painted faces. Suddenly I was immersed in a culutre that previously I had only seen on the pages of National Geographic.

The people seemed to be just as interested in me as I was of them. One brave girl came up to me and smeared "thanaka" on my face just as all of them had. In that country any self respecting woman or child wears thanaka on their face. They believe it protects them from the sun.

Another woman came and wrapped a "longyi" around my waist. Men, women and children alike wear them every day. It is similar to a serong that is sewn together at the ends. She helped me look through all the longyis in her stand until we found just the right one. I purchased it for just a few dollars.

She then wanted to demonstrate to me how to wear it. She quickly opened up her own longyi and said, "easy, one, two, three!"

I watched her skillfull hands maneuver the fabric in just the right way, as she had a million times before.

"Uh, yeah, I didn't quite catch that."

She looked at me with a puzzled expression and repeated, "easy, one, two, three!"

I realized this lesson was going nowhere so I thanked her and walked away with my new purchase.

Flying Out Continued

December 3rd, 2008

Phew, we are here! Five days of traveling and now we have made it!

What a trip it has been. I left Tucson at 4:30 on Friday morning. My folks drove me to the airport in Phoenix to catch my flight.

Crossing my fingers, I tried to use the automated check-in. "Please see attendant" the screen told me.

They would only let me check in for my flights through Tokyo. All I could hope for was that they would have the situation at the Bangkok airport figured out by the time I got there.

"Ms. Lyon?" a Japanese flight attendant asked me as I arrived in San Francisco to change flights.

"Why yes, that's me!" I replied, feeling quite special.

"Please come with me."

Huh, maybe this isn't so good. My mind flew into motion wondering if I had done anything wrong, like perhaps the dreadful offense of smuggling in a bottle of lotion measuring over the allotted 4 oz.

"Madam, have you heard about the problems in Bangkok?"

"Oh, yes. Is the airport still closed?"

"Yes, madam. You can stay here and we can help you find a hotel... or ... you could fly to Tokyo, but we cannot help you there as the hotels are all booked."

"Tokyo please!"

"Hmm... uh, yes madam... I would like to make sure you understand. We cannot help you with a hotel in Tokyo. Hmm..."

"Well, I guess I'll just have to try my luck then."

"Hmm... very well then madam, please follow me."

She rushed me across the airport and through the international security and finally to the gate to Tokyo.

As I boarded the flight I glanced around and noticed that I was the only person on the whole jet that was not Asian.

Let the adventure begin!

After 11 hours on the plane I was in Tokyo still holding onto this great fantasy that I would be able to continue on to Bangkok.

"Ms. Lyon, please see the flight attendant as you exit the plane." they announced over the intercom as we prepared to disembark the plane. Again, foolishly, I felt quite special.

"Yes madam, as you know the airport is closed in Bangkok and I cannot help you find a hotel here in Tokyo. Ok, thank you!" the flight attendant informed me before giving a quick bow and scurring off.

Luckily I hade made a back-up plan with my uncle and another woman on the tour to meet at the Bangkok departure gate if we were to become stuck in Tokyo.

This was a great plan, or I should say it would have been a great plan if I had been given a boarding pass to get past Tokyo. As it was, they would not let me into the departure terminal.

I looked around in each direction, searching in vain for a clue for what to do next. This is going to be a long night, I thought to myself as I reluctantly collected my checked bag and made my way through customs.

"Kelsi?" an american woman asked as I passed through the last gate.

"Chris!?!"

I gave the woman that I had just met a big hug. She was part of the tour as well. I was so relieved to have a partner to face this mess with. Together we waited at the gate and by some bit of fate, eventually my uncle and a woman from the tour named Shirley showed up as well.

By this time it was late in the evening. My uncle and I settled down for the night in the airport waiting lounge as the other two women ventured into the outskirts of Tokyo to stay in an overpriced hotel room.


"Excuse me madam... madam!"

I groggily pulled my blanket off my head.

"You no sleepy here!"

Oh, you've got to be kidding me. I grimaced as I considered the cold Tokyo night and my wardrobe meant for travel in Southeast Asia. "Huh??" is all I could respond with.

"No sleepy here." He repeated. "Come with me."

Fortunately he led us to another waiting area, inside. I resumed my position on the new bench.

The next morning we played the hurry-up-and-wait game. Eventually we did get on a standby flight and were on our way to a military airport outside of Bangkok.

Over seven hours later we landed at the airport but were informed that we must wait for at least 30 minutes to disembark. This was the first of many delays in this ill prepared airport. Such a cruel joke. Thailand was so close and yet, as it turned out, so far.

When we finally arrived in the tiny one room airport we witnessed first hand the hecticness the strike had created. The floor was littered with blankets, bags and whole families sprawled out upon them.

The muslims that were on there pilgramage to worship had been stopped short in the airport. Everywhere there were people praying and chanting and babies crying.

Three hours after landing, we were finally able to retrieve our bags from the single baggage carousel.

We stepped out of one circus environment right into another one. There were shows set up with people in traditional hill tribe clothing dancing and groups of people selling interesting foods, pushing their wares and offering services.

Despite my exhaustion I was ecstatic to be in this new exotic land. Good thing too, because we still had another 3 hour commute to the hotel in Bangkok.

The next morning after some failed attempts to arrange flights on to Yangon we settled upon exploring for the rest of the day.

We took a taxi to the Banglamphoo area. Walking along the street was absolutely exhausting to my senses. People were cooking over little open fires, tuk-tuks were racing by, colorful wears were being pettled and travelers form all over the world were somehow weaving throughout it all. One moment my nose would be filled with delicious odors of sweets and spices, then the next moment a repugnant odor of spoiled fish guts would rush through.

That night we sat on little stools out in the street enjoying large bowls of steaming broth with noodles and a variety of meats and a large bottle of Thai beer. I was amazed at how satisfying a meal out could be for only a couple of dollars.

As we were dining a commotion started across the street. Everyone was taking out their cameras and pointing them towards the sky. When I went to investigate I saw the crescent moon with the points facing up and Venus and Jupiter shining brightly just above. It was as though the sky was smiling down on Bangkok. Somehow right then, I knew we were going to make it to Burma.

That night my uncle got word from a source that it was possible to get to Yangon if we went directly to the Myanmar Airways offices in downtown Bangkok. So, the following morning we took a taxi downtown to make our attempt. Luckily they had just enough seats for the four of us. The plane was to leave in 3 hours from the military airport.

Oh, great! We are only two and a half hours away! but wait, we still have to go pick up our bags from the hotel in the other part of town. Thus began our hectic day.

We rushed to the hotel, threw our bags together, hailed a cab, and settled in for the long ride down to the military airport.

When we arrived at the airport we asked where the check-in for Myanmar Air was located.

"Oh, just over there under the tree."

We trampled over a field through swarms of people and found the fold-away table right under the tree just as promised.

By this time the plane should have already taken off, but miraculously they checked us in and seemed to believe that we would make the flight.

They must not have seen the line for the security gate. The airport was stuffed to the gills with people trying to squeeze their way up to the single x-ray machine.

Somehow Chris and Shirley managed to negotiate their way through and recruited some airport officials to fetch my uncle Don and myself.

They shuffled us through security and rushed us to the already loaded plane. Judging upon the expression displayed on the faces of the other travelers, they had waited for quite some time for us to board.

After all that, somehow we have made it to Burma, and oh how we are reaping the benefits! We arrived at the most beautiful, peaceful hotel I have ever been to. There are gardens and little bridges over koi ponds, and most importantly a large soaking tub inside a beautiful bathroom. There is a light breeze traveling throughout the hotel that carries the scent of jasmine and everyone I have met has been incredibly gracious.

We enjoyed a delicious four course meal in the garden before I slipped into a deep and peaceful slumber filled with lovely dreams of this magical land of Burma.