Let This Moment Be Enough

"LET THIS MOMENT BE ENOUGH..." Whispered quietly in an open room, lined with people, silent, breathing, eyes closed. The rain tapped on the bamboo roof and candles flickered against the night sky. In that moment, I am reminded that nothing else matters but my mind, body, heart... I feel like the luckiest person on Earth.

Let me rewind. We left Kuta Thursday morning heading for Ubud. I didn't know much about Ubud except the fact that it was the filming location for the movie Eat, Pray, Love (based on the best-selling book by Elizabeth Gilbert). In the movie, Elizabeth reaches Bali as her final destination in her search of an old medicine man, Ketut. Elizabeth, of course, meets a man and eventually, they fall in love. Ubud is also known for its beauty, layered rice fields and serene settings appreciated by yogis far and wide.

After an hour bus ride through the country, we reached Ubud and found our way to Bening Bungalow. Although we ended up in a room with just one bed and no air conditioning, the balcony overlooking rice fields made up for it! First we rented motorcycles and set out to grab some lunch and explore the new place. In the middle of our lunch, it began to down poor - typical of a tropical island. Optimistic, we set out hoping it would soon clear up. Less than 5 minutes down the road, I tried to pull off the road (because I had lost Ayesha), hit a patch of loose gravel and my motorcycle slipped right out from underneath me. My dad always said to ride motorcycles in pants and closed toed shoes. Had I been following his directions, I wouldn't have scrapped off a chunk of my big toe and bruised up my knee as I went down. As my toes started to gush blood, we decided it was time to turn around and head back so I could clean all the gravel out of my toe.

Unfortunately, the rain continued throughout the rest of the day (and the rest of the time in Ubud), and kept us indoors for most of the time. That night we were able to walk around a bit after dark, and after the rain let up, and grab some dinner at a local diner. The next morning, my eyes shot open just in time to witness the sunrising just outside of our window, so we sat on the balcony and enjoyed the view.

My favorite part of Ubud

That morning, we took a cooking class at Warung Semesta - an organic and vegetarian specialty place near Monkey Forest. It was only Ayesha and I and another couple from South Africa. Our cooking instructor was very informative and knowledgeable with a great sense of humor. He gave us a tour around the kitchen, introduced us to the ingriendents (some familiar and some new) and gave us some information surrounding the Balinese dishes we were going to make.

 We chopped, grated, mashed, sauteeds and wrapped until each paste, veggie, and meat was hand prepared from scratch. Our menu included Jukut Metantok (vegetabe salad with peanut sauce), Tun be Siap (chicken and spices wrapped in banana leaves), Pepes be Pasih (fish with spices in banana leaves), Be Leleng Base Manis (pork in soy sauce), Mei Goreng (fired noodles with chicken and eggs). For dessert, we made Dadar Gulung (crepes with coconut and cane sugar). After the morning of cooking, we got to sit down and enjoy our lunch together.

Surprise, surprise, it was raining again by the time we were finished with the class, but we invested in some ponchos, refusing to let the rain lock us inside, and continued our walk around the city. That day, we discovered the Yoga Barn. Tucked away in the thick of the jungle off the main road, it was an oasis for yogis or anyone looking for a little bit of an escape. One looks, and I was considering staying forever! It was all outdoors with bamboo roofs and open walls to let the surrounding green enclose the large rooms. Later that night, we tried our first yoga class at the barn -Tibetian Bowl Meditation. Now let me just say that meditation is not my strength when it comes to yoga. I can stand on my head all day long, but ask me to lay still for 90 minutes and clear my mind... it is a recipe for a nap! The class came highly recommended, so we gave it a whirl. We lay on our mats in a dark room, lit only with a few candles. We were instructed to get comfortable with pillows and blankets and close our eyes. The instructor gave few directions after that but began to play the bowl instruments and walked around the room swinging the instruments above everyone's head to let the vibrations flow through the body. I think I did pretty well for the first 30 minutes. Then, I started to get hungry, and think about what I wanted for dinner. Then I kept getting bit by the mosquitos that we also invited into the class. Then the guy next to Ayesha began to rumble and snore (there is always one in the group). After that, my eyes were wide open, for fear of being that guy. Tibetian Bowl Meditation, yes, check, but most likely a once in a lifetime experience.

Yoga Barn in the middle of the jungle

The next morning, we had planned to hike Mount Batur for the sunrise. So we rose at 2:00 am and set off in a bus (with two other girls) for an hour drive to the mountain area. After a quick breakfast, we began the hike up one of the active volcanoes on the island in the dark of the early morning. We began the hike inside the large crater of the volcano, now partially filled with Bali's largest fresh water lake (Lake Batur) and villages. The hike only took about 90 minutes or so and was pretty simple, aside from the slippery volcanic rocks and the darkness. Once at the top, it was pretty certain that we were not going to get a magnificent sunrise. As we sat in a cloud, waiting, the air cleared a bit for us to see the mountains surrounding the low crater and Lake Batur. We sat for a while and tried to enjoy the peace and quiet, but there were so many people on the top, and with the sun came the monkeys! Unlike other monkeys, these were pretty tame and placid, used to visiting tourists. As we walked around the summit, our guide took us to serval different craters where steam poured out from the hot volcanic lava below. He also showed us a smaller crater on top that erupted in 2010, covering one of the local villages with thick black lava.

Eventually, we made our way back down the mountain... not an easy task, as the rocks were very slippery, it was beginning to rain, and my injured toe was being smashed against the front of the shoe due to the decline. We got back into the van and headed back to Ubud. Ayesha and I were exhausted, so we took a little nap as it rained, more. After some relaxation, we went to another yoga class to stretch out a bit following the hike. It was a really great class. I really just cannot get over the ambiance of the Yoga Barn, and the natural environment only adds to the calm state of relaxation. During this class, we held a variety of posses to stretch and the instructor talked us through settling our minds and disconnecting from our body. It was a rather spiritual experiences - peaceful and quiet, rain softly tapping on the hatch roof, and the breeze blowing through the open walls. As Tina whispered, "... forget about your stress, forget about your fears, forget about your life racing through your mind... let this moment be enough to comfort your soul..." It was comforting, and again, I was reminded of how blessed I am to lead this glorious life and that I don't need anything more that my mind, body and soul to make me complete. Following yoga, we spent the rest of the rainy evening reading at the Kafe.

On our last night, we were determined to make the most of it, despite the pouring rain outside. We rented motorcycles (round 2) and spent some time riding outside of the city into the smaller villages and rice fields. The rain was relentless, so we took lots of breaks to shop around in the small galleries. After a quick stop for lunch, Ayesha wasn't feeling well, went back for a nap and I continued my exploration. The surrounding villages were very peaceful and beautiful with all of the rice fields, but soon, I surrendered to the rain and headed back.

I had my final yoga class that night, and my favorite of them all! Although the calming meditation yoga classes were interesting and a change of pace from the strength and endurance classes I am used to, I was looking forward to a power class to test my abilities again the real yogis! it was fantastic! Ninety-minutes of stretching, strengthening and holding on to power positions - most of the posses I was used to doing on a regular basis, but not holding them for the extended length of time. When our instructor asked us to get into head stand positions, most of the people in class found their position on the wall for support. I love doing headstands and I can do them pretty well. The few people in class that could hold the headstand independently, we then asked to hold steady for 5 minutes... FIVE MINUTES! It was hard, and I fell once to let the blood drain out of my head, but I was a trooper!

That night, Ayesha and I wanted to go out for a nice dinner and find the popular night club in town, The Jazz Club. We got all dressed up, bought a bottle of wine to drink a little before dinner. The cheapest wine we found was certainly a cheap bottle of wine, for 16 dollars. It was terrible, but we were determined to finish it off! Suited up in our ponchos to face the rain, we headed out. It was raining harder than it had in the last couple of days and the streets were completely flooded. By the time we made it a block down the road for dinner, we were drowned rats! Dinner and drinks were delicious, but we were quickly losing our will to face the rest of the night so we headed back early to drink some beers on our balcony instead... our cute neighbor boy came out and joined us for a little bit, then we called it in early to get ready for our 6:00 am bus the next morning.

Kuta, Bali, Indonesia

Monday afternoon we were not sure we were ever going to make it to Bali, but our hopes were high and we persevered through a challenging day and boarded our flight at 1:30 am Tuesday morning, nearly 12 hours behind schedule. We arrived at the International airport in Depensaur, Bali around noon Tuesday morning and jumped into a taxi heading for our Bed & Breakfast in downtown Kuta. The sun was shining, the air was clean and the weather was hot (although I was still dressed in my layers from the plane) and I could not have been happier!

Kuta is the popular tourist desitnation for Australian surfers. Based on our research and recommendations, Kuta would be great for shopping, restaurants and nightlife. Just as expected, our B&B was smack in the middle of the busiest street, lined with shops, cafes and bars. The beach was about half a mile walk, but was nothing to write home about... sandy beaches, lots of people (mostly Muslims in all of their clothing) and a few surfers playing in the water.

After we got settled in and freshened up, we spent the afternoon walking around - did a little shopping, ate some food and eventually made our way to walk down the beach. Kuta is definitely consumed by tourism, which is something that I have found to be a turn off. People were constantly calling out to us, grabbing us to pull us to their shop, then quoting ridiculously expensive prices! The men were rather inappropriate staring as we walked by and saying things like, "sexy lady", "hey honey", "I want to fuck you"... yes, believe it or not, someone actually yelled that out across the street.

Once we were on the beach, we were harassed by surf instructors, and people trying to sell necklaces, ice cream, fruit and beer. Then, we were approached by a whole army of young teenage Muslims. At first, it seemed sweet. A couple of shy girls walked up to us and asked if they could take a photo with us, so we did (this is something that happens frequently in China, too). Then, another group, and another groups, until we were completely surrounded by teenagers taking photos with us - I now know what it feels like to be Justine Timberlake! After several minutes, we had to say no and run away from the beach. That evening, we met up with Justine and Natasha, co-workers who were also in Kuta for a couple days, for dinner and drinks before calling in an early night (I didn't get much sleep on our over night flight).

The next morning, we started our day with a 5K run on the beach, following by breakfast before returning to spend the afternoon on the beach. The rest of the day was lazy before going for India and meeting up with the girls, now joined by Nani (co-worker) and her friend Dave. We went to the Sky Garden Bar downtown that was advertising for one hour of free drinks. We met up with some people from Justine and Natasha's hostel and had a fantastic night of drinking and dancing! Eventually, the combination of Indian, fruit free drinks and a handful of shots was giving me a stomach ache, and after my fair share of dancing and sweating, Ayesha and I headed back to our B&B early!

Our last day in Kuta, we spent at the beach again until a storm rolled in and sent us on our way. The rest of the day, we wondered around the other side of town, souvenir shopping and eating Wendy's (yup, we have to come all the way to Bali to get Wendy's). Sine the rain still wasn't letting up, we treated ourselves to the most amazing Balinese 4-handed massage (seriously, it was amazing) for only 14 USD! On our way back to the B&B, we stopped off in a bar that appeared to be promising for some hookah and drinks. Turns out, it was not the place for two single ladies. We had the best seat in the house for people watching, and we watched girls in tiny dresses gather in front of the bar and strut around for the Westerners that walked by. In less than 30 minutes, we saw several guys come up to different girls and kiss them. Several other guys walked over, chose a girl, then proceeded into the bar. We were so horrified that we quickly left before we were mistaken for hookers! Later that night, we read about the prostitution and HIV epidemic taking place in Bali at the moment - specifically, Kuta. Male and female prostitutes, alike, are targeting young foreign tourists in shops, bars, and on the beach. Men play surf instructor by  day and work to pick up the young girls. Women set up in massage parlors and hostels waiting for a westerner to scoop them up. The lack of education for diseases has caused serious issues as these prostitutes are refusing to wear condoms, thus spreading HIV like wild fire!

Side note: are we were parusing the markets, we kept seeing these shirts with slogans about Ketut and Rhonda... things like Fuck Me Rhonda, Sorry Ketut I Fucked Rhonda, Rhonda is Mine... Of course, my mom's name is Rhonda, so I was curious. I asked several shop owners who is Rhonda, but no one knew. I later looked it up to find that Rhonda and Ketut were two characters from an insurance commercial which gained a lot of media due to the controversial relationship between Rhonda (an Aussie tourist in Bali) and Ketut (a Balinese prostitute, commonly called a Kuta Cowboys). Rhonda and Ketut have become the names and faces of sex tourism in Bali. Interesting, huh?

Anyway, next we are off to Ubud for a couple days for the "More than Eat, Pray, Love experience" (it is the film location).

Anti-Air Asia

Air Asia is a popular airline in south east asia, known for it's cheap flights in and out of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In the last couple years, I have flown with Air Asia at least a dozen times, as it typically proves to be 100's of dollars cheaper than its competitors. However, after my recent experiences with them, I will choose to pay the extra couple bucks and stick with an airline with a little more service and competence. Let me explain...

Yes, I understand that Air Asia is a budget airline, and I have low expectations, believe me. You get a cheap flight, then add on all the extras - taxes, service charges, baggage, food, etc. Once you are on the plane, there is not a single thing provided. Travelers can, however, pay for drinks (including water - not free), rent blankets and headphones. I am actually shocked there is not an additional fee if you use the toilet during your flight. So I have come to expect little from an airline that provides nothing short of a cheap flight.

Back in September, Ayesha and I booked our flights to India through Air Asia. It was by far the cheapest, but still cost us a little more than 700 USD. We had booked the trip as one flight with a short lay over in Kuala Lumpur before reaching our destination. When Ayesha was unable to get a visa for India, we had to change our plans last minute - like one week last minute. Although I figured there was not much they could do for us, Ayesha and I went to the Air Asia service office in Shanghai one week before our departure. As I expected, they were not able to help us in any way. They told us that we could reschedule the entire flight to a later date, and pay the difference in ticket cost, but we were not able to change the flight route or destination. Annoyed by the situation, but Ayesha and I went ahead a booked another round trip flight through Air Asia that would take us from Kuala Lumpur to Bali, forfeiting the second leg of the original journey to India - adding an additional cost of 140 USD.

Previously, Air Asia only flew out of HangZhou, so the morning of our flight, we had to take a taxi to the HongQiao train station, a train to HangZhou, then a taxi to the HangZhou airport - a journey I have made with each Air Asia trip. However, that morning, everything seemed to be working against us. We left right on our scheduled time, but it was raining in Shanghai and traffic was terrible getting to the train station. Because we were late getting to the train station, we missed the earlier train and had to take the train one hour later. We were now cutting into the two-hour check in window, but were still doing ok for time. Once we arrived in HangZhou, there was a long wait before getting a taxi, lots of rain and traffic, and suddenly, Ayesha and I began to panic! We were watching the clock as we sat in parking lot traffic, begging our taxi driver to hurry!

When we finally arrived at the airport (after over an hour taxi ride), we ran straight to the gate only to discover that check-in had closed. So we ran to the information desk and they put me on the phone with the Air Asia representative. Although we had made it to the check in desk before the 30 minute mark, they had decided to close the check in early (we missed them by two minutes). I pleaded with the women to just let us on, we didn't even have baggage to check, but she started yelling at me saying, "There is no way you are getting on that flight! Do you just want us to hold a plane of 300 people waiting for you?" I have honestly never been treated more poorly by someone in costume service. I was so angry that I yelled back, "Thanks for nothing" as I slammed down the phone. Then the costume service person called someone else, who then told us that we could get on the flight. After we hung up with him, she called back the evil bitch lady from Air Asia, and she continued to yell at me, telling me that I was stupid for missing the flight and that there was nothing anyone could do to help us.

This is your costumer service person, Air Asia... really?

As the flight began boarding without us, we were frantically exhausting our limited resources in an airport without internet or a service desk to book tickets (what kind of airport doesn't have a ticket office). We were left with no other options than to call back Air Asia's costumer service to try and change the flight. Thankfully we ended up talking to a girl that was as helpful as she could be (even though Air Asia sucks), and was much more kind.

In the end, Air Asia wanted to charge us 400 USD to change our flight to a later day. Unfortunately, there is only one flight from HangZhou to KL, and it wasn't leaving until 11:00pm the next night (it was around 2:00pm on Monday). Then, we needed to stay the night in KL and catch the flight out to Bali the next morning - loosing two days of our Bali trip, and two days of a hotel that was already paid for (yup, the money just keeps going...). We had even bought the flight insurance for the Bali flight. Turns out the insurance only protects lost baggages, and nothing else. On the other hand, for us to book an entirely new one-way trip from Shanghai to Bali (with a layover in KL) was only 300 USD. Please tell me how that even makes sense?!?! So again we booked another flight with Air Asia - we didn't really have many options at this point that wouldn't leave us completely broke during our actually vacation.

So we got on a bus to go back to the HangZhou train station, bought a new train ticket back to Shanghai, took the train then a taxi back to my apartment, where we hung out for a couple hours before we had to head to the Shanghai airport. All in all expenses...

700 - original flight to India
140 - round trip from KL to Bali
300 - a new flight from Shanghai to Bali
50 - round trip train ride to and from HangZhou
15 - taxi ride in HZ
15 taxi ride in SH

... more than 1200 USD for our BUGDET AIRLINE!

So some of those extra expenses were our fault. I understand that we missed our flight, due to many circumstances out of our control. What really killed me about the situation was how unwilling all of the Air Asia costumer service people were to help us in anyway. They either laughed or yelled at us. I get that it is a budget airline and to not have high expectations, but I do require a little bit of costumer service and a willingness to work with a rather loyal costumer.

So thank you, Air Aisa, for your three years of shitty flights, tiny ass planes and cranky staff. Enjoy pissing people off for many years to come!

Lip Sync, anyone?

RBIS is upping the morale this year, and the Boss has instituted all sorts of competitions and such to keep people energetic and happy... photo challenges, raffles, and the latest, a lip sync contest. Yup, a lip sync contest, inspired by Jimmy Fallon's show. My co-worker Lauren and I decided to do a duet together, and naturally, we chose a Chinese song. Check it out...

The song is called Wo You Yi Ge Hao Ba Ba, which translates to I Have a Good Dad, and it talks about my dad makes me do the dishes and wash my clothes, and if I don't do it then he spanks me (hens me spanking my colleague). The sound and video do not much up now that it is run through blogger, for some reason...

AQI exceeds 500

It's really no secret that China has a problem with air and water pollution, but lately it has been getting worse! I remember my brother-in-law telling me, "There are people in China that have never seen the sunshine because the smog is so bad" after I had decided to move to Shanghai. Although, I know that to be untrue now, it is not too far off as places like Beijing (and other northern cities) experience more days of dense dangerous smog than they do clear and fresh days! Shanghai is only half as smoggy as Beijing in average, but that victory is comparable to being the smoker who smokes only 5 packs a day instead of 10.

Yesterday, the Air Quality Index reached an incredible 580! But first, let me put this into perspective. The US Consulate has a rating system which put AQI between 0-50 as being "healthy" and over 100 as being "unhealthy". According to data from michigan.gov, in 2008, the average AQI was below 50 - "healthy". 2% of the year was considered to be "unhealthy" days and the highest recording was an AQI of 173 for the year.

Our policy at RBIS is that the children are not able to play outside on days when the AQI exceeds 200, and the government recommends that physical exertion indoors is even unhealthy when the AQI exceeds 300. So again, that number was 580! The highest that it has been in all of my time in Shanghai! Cars were being ordered off the roads, factories were being shut down and flights were begin canceled due to the high level of pollution, decreasing visibility.

my new favorite accessory

my friend sent me this photo of the view from his office (on the Bund)

Friday was over 500, but what about the rest of the week? In the last two weeks of school (10 days), my students have only been able to play outside once... ONCE. One out of ten days, the AQI was below 200 and considered "healthy" enough for children to run outside and inhale the pollution! That one day, I asked our school nurse about the AQI and she responded, "Today is good. Only 178!" 

Sure, it's not every day that I have difficulty breathing. It's not every day that I have to wear a mask the entire day (even while I'm teaching) because the air inside is not any better than the outside. It's not every day that I choke on the smog simply walking out of my apartment, smell it in the air or feel it burning in my eyes. Some days, the air quality is actually good (by good, I mean less than 100). Research shows that pollution intake on a day when the AQI exceeds 300, is comparable to smoking an entire pack of cigarettes. Microscopic air pollution particles have also been directly linked to respiratory problems and lung cancer. 

China doesn't want their dirty little secret getting out to the rest of the world though! "Wu Xiaoqing, the vice minister for environmental protection, demanded that foreign governments stop releasing data on China's air." Xiaoqing states that it is a violation of environmental protection and is a misrepresentation of the overall air quality of China (according to the NY Times).

So what is one worried expat to do? Wear a mask every day? Spend 1,000's on an air purifier? Avoid physical exertion outdoors? Move away?

Interested in seeing CNN's photos of the pollution from a satellite, click here.

Shanghai Marathon (5K)

It is only a small victory, I know, but my first of many running goals. I completed a 5K in the Shanghai International Marathon. It was the first race that I have ever competed in, but to be honest, there was not much of a competition. I did nothing to train. I ran a total of 10 miles in the two months leading up to the event, but I am a firm believer that if I am of an average fitness level, I can wake up and run a 5K... and so I did - with 30,000 other people!

freezing at the starting line on the Bund

My friend Beth and I decided to sign up a couple months ago, but we were soon regretting our decision as the air quality was proving to hold strong (by strong, I mean strong enough to give a non-smoker lung cancer)! Nevertheless, we decided to go through with it (with a littler persuasion, ok, a LOT of persuasion). So we gathered at the starting line, crowded with 30,000 other running enthusiasts. It was not difficult to distinguish the professionals from the amateurs. I though Beth and I looked pretty legit - standard non-flattering running leggings and shirt with our numbers secured to the front. Our iPhones strapped to our arms with our favorite hits to motivate us. The real runners, however, were in shorts barely big enough to not be considered underwear and tiny tanks (or topless). While I was doing jumping jacks to keep my body warm before the run, the real runners were running laps to warm up (honestly, who runs before they have to run?).

Anyway, in pure Shanghai fashion, people watching provided the full 30 minutes of entertainment. For starters, there were tons of people in jeans and/or slip on shoes and/or carrying a backpack (?!?!). As we began the race, we saw a girl in a full black pleather cat women suit, a man dressed up like a chicken, and another wearing a blow up sumo suit. There was an old man in his jammies that must have rolled out of bed and thought, "hmm, I think I'll run the marathon...". I wish I would have had my camera in hand recording all that was unfolding around us, but it will forever be locked in my memory.

We completed our 5K in a little more than 38:00, but it was definitely not a race for time. There were so many people in that first 5K that sometimes we had to walk, or even stop to break the crowd. It was a nice run though - down the Bund, up JinLing, to Nanjing Pedestrian Street to Nanjing Rd, across Yan'An and finally ending at the Shanghai Exhibition Center. Beth's family, Kirk and Mimi and our friend Ayesha were waiting for us at the finish line in support of our glory!

It was just a 5K, but it was the first step. Next, a 10K in the spring...

Yangon, Myanmar (Burma)

Although we have had our flight booked since August, less than a week ago, we were not sure if we were even going to be able to make it to Myanmar. It is no secret that Jen and I like to find challenging places to visit. It's not like we have planned to be travel rebels, it has just sort of worked out that way! Our original plan was to visit London during October holiday, but when flights were more expensive than going to the States, we changed our minds… Second option: Myanmar. Why? Why not, really? Neither of us have ever visited. The country has only just opened its doors to foreign tourists after many years of isolations during a cultural revolution. Mostly, I wanted to visit because it is unknown. You may think the unknown is scary, I think of it as an opportunity to learn more about a country, its people and a little bit of their ancient history. 

So we had a little bit of trouble getting our visas… In reality, it was no trouble at all, but a lot of confusion. Every online resource gave us different information for how to obtain our visa - in person, by mail, online or upon arrival. Not to mention that the information was changing daily because of government challenges within the country. Although there were many sources that told us we were unable to obtain a visa upon arrival, we found an online application that would process the acceptance letter for the visa upon arrival. Less than one week away from our trip, we decided to give it a shot (it was better than just giving up). On Wednesday evening, we received our acceptance letter. During our layover in Kunming, some of the customs people were a little bit confused by our paperwork, but we made it through and Saturday morning, we were en route to Yangon, Myanmar. When we arrived, we went straight to the booth marked "Visa on Arrival" where our application paperwork was already waiting for us. Just a couple minutes, our passports were stamped and we were good to go.

Myanmar, formally known as Burma, formally known as Myanmar (as Uncle Kiang told us - but I'll get to that later) is in South East Asia nestled between China, Thailand, Laos and India. Once a British settlement, the decrepit capital city of Yangon, formally known as Rangoon, still bares resemblance to a once remarkable colony, and the surrounding countries have played a significant role in the history, culture and food. We were lucky enough to visit during Monsoon season so the weather forecast was hot, humid and rainy all day, every day. 

When we first arrived in Yangon, we were picked up and taken straight to our hotel - the Inle Valley Bed & Breakfast. It was a last minute, Friday night booking. It was cute, quant and quiet, but very far our from the city center. When we told the man at the hotel that we were going to walk downtown to get food, he laughed at us like we were crazy. After a thirty-minute taxi ride, we understood why he was laughing. Our first taxi ride pretty much took us driving around the whole city; down streets with big houses, up a lanes with tiny markets, through the slums of decaying apartment building and families sleeping on the streets. Children came up to our window begging for money or selling strings of flowers. Dogs ran the streets like they owed the place, and men walked around in skirts, called longyi. When we were dropped off, we walked until we found the perfect restaurant. It didn't take long for Jen to discover that being a vegetarian in a country that spoke very little English was going to be very difficult, but the food was decent enough. It was dark by the time we finished up with dinner and we were very unsure of our surroundings so we headed straight back to the hotel. 

My first impression of Yangon: It was hot, humid and dirty. I felt a little bit squeamish, like I didn't want to touch anything. Every looked very dirty, smelled a mixture of sweltering body odor, sewage and garbage. Sidewalks were a combination of mud, garbage and torn up sidewalk cement. There was also a canal between the "sidewalk" and the entrances to the shops and restaurants (part of the drainage system or sewer?), so we had to jump across or walk a plank. It was also very busy. There were people walking everywhere, tons of cars, street vendors and people just hanging around outside. On a positive note, the people were so friendly and hospitable. Unlike the rest of SE Asia, it is not over populated with tourists, so we were stared at everywhere we went - of course Jen with her blonde hair and big boobs. In China, we get stared at all the time, but it is a very different "in your face, dead stare, nosy" kind of stare. When Burmese people looked at us, they smiled with kind eyes and said, "Hello". They were curious, but genuine and very sweet. Although we were uncomfortable being out at night, the people certainly did not make us feel uncomfortable and we did not feel like our safety was in jeopardy, but we played it safe anyway (for my mom). 

Day two brought all sorts of experiences. We left our hotel first thing in search of booking a bus to our next destination. We only wanted to stay in Yangon for a couple days before traveling into the villages more. After our bus was booked for Monday evening, we set out to walk the streets of downtown. The buildings were old, moldy, and near tumbling over, but full of character and unique beauty. Along rows of tiny lanes were street food vendors, one after the next. Apartment building piled on top. We just walked around taking pictures, interacting with the locals when they smiled and initiated a kind, "Hello". When the afternoon rain began to roll in, we made our way to the Strand Hotel - a famous spot in Yangon - for brunch. I tried their fermented tea leaf salad (a favorite of mine) and found it to be not as good as the salad at Lost Heaven in Shanghai (but I'll keep trying). 

When the rain finally let up, we made our way to the local market to do a little shopping. Although we were unimpressed with the market and didn't buy anything, that was where we met Uncle Kiang. As we strolled along minding our own business, an old Burmese man walked up to us wearing a longyi and a grey bun on the top of his head and asked, "Hello, where are you from?" When we told him we were from America, he pulled out his beloved notebook and began to show us letters from friends he had made along his travels. He spoke English very well (the best we had heard), and he told us that he was a teacher. He taught foreigners Burmese and taught locals to speak English. Additionally, he was a tour guide in the city and offered a unique experience of seeing the "other side" of Yangon through a local's eyes and many stories. I was skeptical as I always am with tours, but he offered us a very cheap price, and he was such an interesting character that we decided to give him a chance. 

After a nap and a shower, Uncle K took us to the Shwedagon Pagoda (or the Shw-agoda, as I liked to call it) in town. He had so much information, tons of stories to share and so many things that he wanted to teach us about Buddhist culture. It was interesting but a bit overwhelming. He told us the history of the three Buddhas and the fourth that is coming - things I will never remember. He also told us the history of the Pagoda, more information I will never remember. I do remember that it was built in the 18th century as a Buddhist symbol of worship. 326 feet built in layers of gold, silver, bronze, lead, iron and brick, then lead plates and 1 square feet plates of gold screwed together. There is nothing on the inside of the Pagoda, but the center masterpiece of acres of smaller temples, pagodas and shrines for Buddha.

Like Astrology, Myanmar Buddhists use the day of birth to characterize personalities with a symbolic animal, planet and Buddha. Since I was born on a Wednesday afternoon, my Buddha is the first Buddha, Kawnagmana. My planet is Rahu (a planet in Myanmar astrology, but Mercury in Western astrology). My animal is the mighty tusk-less elephant with a robust character. Because the elephant has no tusks, he has a powerful big body, strong trunk, and extreme character. One would not want to make the tusk-less elephant angry. Interesting fact: Myanmar astrology has 8 days because Wednesday is the only day divided in half, which they call Wednesday morning and afternoon.

Uncle K took us to our perspective Buddha and taught us how to pray by pouring one cup on Buddha for each year of our life, plus one extra cup for longevity. Then we poured five cups on our animal: one for Buddha, one for his teachings, one for my day of birth, one for my parents and one for my teachers. Although I found it all to be interesting, I also left very uncomfortable. In case you did not know, I am not Buddhist, and I felt as though I was being disrespectful partaking in these sacred practices while Uncle K told Jen to take pictures. At one point, he told me to kneel down in front of Buddha in the middle of a group of people (who were really praying) so that he could take my picture. I told him that I felt uncomfortable, but he nearly pushed me to the ground and I posed quickly to get it over with. Two hours spent at the Pagoda listening to all of his stories and we were beyond ready to call it a night and get some dinner. Uncle K insisted on a local restaurant at Happy World across the street from the Pagoda. It was a decent enough meal, but Chinese style fried rice and saucy fried vegetables. 

The next morning, we had made plans to meet Uncle K at his apartment for a short morning tour. Although I was feeling a little bit apprehensive after his pushiness at the Pagoda, I was willing to give him another shot. He told us that he wanted to take us to a local medicine man, and to see a couple other sights in town. When we got to his apartment, he was still teaching a small class of four students English. They were excited to talk to us, and he encouraged them to speak with us and ask us questions. When the lesson was complete, one of the teenage girls invited us over to her home for tea so that she could speak with us more. Unfortunately, we did not have much time and we already had our morning planned with Uncle K, but the offer was very kind. She asked us the next time that we visited Yangon, we would visit her home.

The medicine man was not exactly what we had expected. Uncle K had so much information that he wanted to share with us and so many stories that he wanted to tell, but I was getting frustrated. Instead of letting us wondering around looking at the photos and shrines, reading the newspaper articles on the wall, and gather information and asking questions, Uncle wanted to tell us stories about every picture and convince us of the Shaman's spiritual powers with accounts of his healing incurable deceases of people from all over the world. Again, I am not Buddhist, nor do I exactly believe in spiritual healing nor shaman practices with special powers or alchemy. I can respect their beliefs, and it is interesting to learn about it, but I do not want anyone trying to convince me or make me believe in it. After nearly an hour of listening to his stories, I could not listen anymore…

Then, we sat down with the shaman, Dr. U Shein for tea and snacks and Uncle K translated more of his stories and accounts of healing. The doctor insisted on arm wrestling Jen to show how strong he is - he did beat her even though he is 87 years old. Then he showed us his "spiritual powers" as he waved his "magical" hands in front of one of his "disciples" to bring out the spirits and she began to grunt and make noises. He waved his hands in front of us and claimed that there were not spirits living in us because we did not convulse and grunt. Then, he rubbed hands with Jen telling her that he was temporarily giving her the spiritual power, so when she put her hand in front of the girl, she began the same grunting noises. For his final trick, he lay each of us down and poked us with a special alchemist stone to check our health. He said he was checking our heart and lungs, but was mostly just jabbing our boobs with a stone. He concluded that we were very healthy because had we not been healthy, we would have screamed out in pain. We may not have any spirits inside of us, but at least we were healthy! Before leaving, he gave us some parting gifts, asked to take a picture with us and we paid our respects with a prayer while we gave us a blessing. 

Uncle K took us to a traditional Myanmar style restaurant that he called "very nice and expensive". I had read about the canteen style restaurants and I had wanted to try, but I certainly will not be eating it again. In Malaysia, they had a similar set up with many dished lined up. You pick what you want from the pre-made dishes and they bring you a plate. In Malaysia it was delicious. In Myanmar, it was not. As soon as we walked in to the restaurant, there was nothing appealing about the smell nor look of meats and veggies that had been sitting out all day. We gave it a shot anyway and decided on a couple veggies and rice (safe?), but it was rather disappointing. I choked down a little bit of it, as I felt bad wasting food or turning my nose up to it, but our discontent for the meal was not unnoticed, and Uncle K felt bad for his choice. 

After the meal, it was still monsooning outside, as it had been all morning, and we decided that we did not want to do anymore site seeing, so we finished up our time with Uncle K and parted ways. Jen and I went back to our hotel and eventually got some other food and got ready for the next phase of our journey... but ride to Inle Lake.

Lovely Luxor

On Thursday, we loaded back up into the bus and drove three hours north to Luxor, another main import/export city along the Nile loaded with temples. That day, we visited Luxor Temple, Karnak Temple, and Al-Deir Al-Baharti Temple. Each on was cooler than the next, but we mostly used this time to take ridiculous photos around the temples - walking like Egyptians, mummies, jumming, yoga, ecertra. Thankfully our tour guide Imad (who was also with us in Aswan) was really patient with us, enjoyed our energy and humored us as our photographer. Everywhere we went, we attracted a crowd with our non-stop laughter and photo sessions. People were taking photos of us and with us constantly! 

One interesting thing about one of the temples (I think the Luxor Temple, but I can honestly not be positive) was that before the temple was discovered, there was a mosque built on top of it. The sand had long since buried it, leaving no trace of its existence  until the top of the tallest pillars began to appear. Because a mosque cannot be destroyed, they had the build support under the mosque as they unburied the temple. Now, they mosque stands in the center of the temple, supported by some of the pillars of the temple and a later added basement. 

While visiting another temple (again, not sure which one), we learned that the Egyptian government gifted an Oblisk from the temple to the USA and it now rests in New York City's Central Park. Additionally, the Washington Monument in DC was modeled after the ancient design of the Oblisks. 

On our final day in Luxor, we went to the Valley of the Kings, which ended up being one of my favorite parts! In the earliest Egyptian history, the overzealous Kings built massive tombs so they could be remembered. The bigger the tomb, the greater the King (example: the Giza Pyramids). In the later history, the Kings were beginning to realize that they large displays were just an invitation to tomb raiders and theives to break in and steal all of the gold and riches they were buried with. As the kings become more wise, they began to create their tombs below ground and less of a spekticle to avoid the theift, thus creating the Valley of the Kings. More than 60 Kings, Queens and other important people were buried in lavish tombs in the desert mountains of Luxor. When an Egyptologist discovered the tombs thousands of years later, many of the tombs were in fact raided for the riches, defaces and used as hideouts during the crusades. As he uncovered 60 tombs of the Kings, he realized that there was a gap in history and a missing tomb. Later, the tomb of King Tut Ankh Amun (the famous King Tut) was found accidently and the only one discovered completely entact with gold and whatnot.

Let's be honest, King Tut is really the only King I remember from Egyptian history and I am sure most would say the same. You would think that he was some big, really important King that everyone loved and adored and made a huge impact the way that he has stuck out in ancient history. The fact of the matter is that he was a young King and died at the age of 19. He accomplished nothing during his reign, but did not have a bad reputation either. The only thing that made him special in history is that his unremarkable tomb was untouched and his mummified skeleton was still resting peacefully in his sold gold coffin. There is also some contriversy surrounding his death because they do not know if he died of natural causes, or if he was killed.

Anyway, while visiting the Valley, we were able to visit three different tombs of various Kings. The famous King Tut was an addition 100 LE, but I just had to see his tomb and his mummified body. However, it proved to be rather anti-climatic as it was the smallest and most unimpressive of all the tombs we saw (everything but his mummy had been moved to the museum). His mummy was a black skeleton-like figure. Although we were not supposed to take photos in his tomb, or any others, we managed to sneak just a few... afterall, this was the King Tut's tomb. The other tombs were much more impressiver - long hallways and staircases lined with drawings and heiroglyphics, several rooms and several tombs to trick the theives. They were large and colorful (well, restored colors) and really magnificent!

We visited a couple more temples after that (shocker) and by the end of the day, I was hot, tired, cranky and completely Templed-out! I know that I am lucky to have these opportunities, but one can only see so many decrepid piles of stones before they all look the exact same! Last stop before home was at an alabaster factory so we could watch how they produce alabaster (natural stone unique to the mountains of Luxor).

We spent the night next to the Nile drinking some Egyptian wine and smoking Hookah after some market shopping! The next day, we took a flight back to Cairo and spent our last day wondering the streets of the capital with our friend, Fadi. We got to do a little shopping and see a different side of Cairo from a local perspective that was really wonderful. Fadi also took us out for a wonderful last meal in Cairo. Overall, such a wonderful experience!