Monday, September 29, 2014

Ancient temples of Bagan

First and foremost, Bagan is HOT!!!! It's only 1000 and it feels like you're walking through soup. I actually overdid it yesterday and got heatstroke. Thank goodness I have my own personal doctor with me, who forced me to drink 2L of water, despite feeling super nauseated. A couple of antirmetics, Tylenol, and a good solid sleep in an air conditioned room, and I feel on the mend. Still nauseated and not eating much, but much better.
Anyhow... Our night bus arrived at around 4am.  After taking a taxi to our guesthouse and finding out our room wouldn't be ready til noon, we rented 2 bikes (1500 kyats each) and peddled off into the darkness in search of a temple to watch the sunrise from. Before sunrise the temperature is much more pleasant. We made it to a temple and climbed to steps to watch an underwhelming sunrise. After that we bikes around the dirt roads looking at various temples. It feels almost like your Indiana jones, searching out forgotten temples. Barely saw anyone else around in the early morning hours. However, by 10-11 am it was ridiculously hot and I was about ready to curl up into a ball and die. Heatstroke is no fun, folks. Part of my problem was my water tasted disgusting and I didn't want to drink it. So dehydration + extreme heat = recipe for disaster. Our room was finally ready around 12 so I finally got to take a cold shower and crash. 

Today we are taking things much slower. We rented an electric bike, which kat drives and I sit on the back. It is so much zippyer than the pedal bike!!!  Watched another sunrise from a different temple. Then went temple hopping again. I've been taking pics in my actual camera, hence the lack of photos. Also went to be market and bought some guava, bananas, and what we think are cherimoya. Came back and are just chilling on the guest house terrace. Might take a nap soon as it's way too hot to go out and do stuff. 
We are planning on heading to sittwe and Mrauk u soonish, but this oppressive heat is giving us second thoughts. Think cool thoughts for me!!!

Edit: looked up the temperature for Bagan. It was a high of 35, but a 'feels like' temp of 39. Mrauk u supposedly has a feels like temp of 42!!!!!

On cellphones

It seems like everyone and their dog has a smartphone here. For example, today we went to the Irrawaddy river and observed everyday life on the riverbanks. Here people were bathing and washing laundry in the murky brown waters. It did not look sanitary at all!! Among them was a young man washing himself and his longyi in the river. As he walked by, sure enough he had large screened cellphone in his hand!!!


Saturday, September 27, 2014

Yangon

Yangon is hot and steamy! I don't believe I've sweated so much in my life!!
The city is a mix of rundown colonial buildings and your typical less developed country low rises. 
Trying to book a bus to Bagan tonigt. The VIP bus is full, so we're taking the normal bus. It's a 12hr journey!  Wish us well!!!

Friday, September 26, 2014

Up up and away!!!

At the airport eating for our flights!!! My luggage has been the smallest it's ever been (for a compulsive overpacker like me).  Checked bag was actually under 7kg!  The airline lets you have 23kg free. So I totally should've packed more. Jk!!!! I kid!

The plan is Yangon, Bagan, Inle Lake, Mrauk U, Dawei, and back to Yangon. From there, a couple of days in Taipei, then back home. The next couple of weeks are going to go by so fast!  

I'll try to keep in touch, however the sketchy wifi in Myanmar might prevent that. 

Airport chic footwear!!!

Friday, September 19, 2014

Test.

Downloaded the blogger app for iPhone. Here's hoping I can actually use on my travels!!! 
My iPhone 4 has trouble with weak wifi signals. I'm crossing my fingers that it will be sufficient to keep in touch!!!

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Trip Planning

What goes into self-planning a trip to Myanmar?
Lots and lots of internet research!!! 
Myanmar is a country that is changing so fast, that all guidebooks are woefully out of date.  Yes, guidebooks are usually a couple of years behind.  I heard once that it's a 2 year process to publish a book? Don't quote me on that though.  Anyhow, so I've been spending inordinate amounts of time combing the internet for blog posts and trip reports from 2014. 
Despite ragging on guide books, we still will be bringing one, mostly for the maps and blurbs about the various historical sites. 

A big difference between this trip and the India/Nepal trip is the cost.  Myanmar is not a cheap country to visit, when compared to other similarly less developed countries.  We are trying to keep our costs down by minimizing internal flights.  Internal flights are ~$120 USD one way, so you can see how fast it adds up!!!  Alternate forms of transport are bus, very rickety trains, and boats (sometimes).  I am not too keen on taking too many 10 hour bus rides.  Yes, buses are a good way to see the countryside and how the locals live.  But, they're crowded, loud, and there's nowhere to walk around.  The trains actually sound worse, as the tracks are apparently very poorly upkept.  Taking a boat is an option for some legs, except it'll take almost twice as long as a bus.  And we are on a rather tight schedule. 

So, we shall see how the balance between budget and comfort ends up!!  I'm leaning towards more comfort because I'm getting old and soft in my old age ;)


Saturday, September 6, 2014

Revival!

This blog is being revived! Only 5 yrs later ;)
This time the destinations are....... Myanmar and Taiwan!
This is not to say that I've been stationary for the past 5 years. No, just means that I've stuck to holiday vacations vs. adventure vacations.
This time around, trip planning has been +++ stressful. Perhaps it's trying to balance full time work, summertime excursions, and the boyfriend. Such first world problems, I know.  I almost feel like I'll be less stressed once we're on the plane.

I'll post more updates with our plans etc...  Right now it's my bedtime for another 'week' at work!