The Conners Conquer Mt. Bromo

by kinsay20January 6, 2018January 6, 2018

We departed via metro train to the Singapore airport around lunchtime- next stop, Indonesia! We were a little disappointed to find out our flight was out of terminal 4- a newer terminal that doesn’t have all the glitz and glam that the rest of Singapore airport is famous for. We had seen specials on all the fascinating things at the Singapore airport and were looking forward to exploring- oh well. We did have access to a nice lounge where we had one more bowl of Laska for breakfast- yum!

And Conner really likes thing Asian 100 plus drink – like an energy gatorade type beverage

Our hour long flight on Air Asia was delayed 2 hours. Once boarded, the flight was quick and we soon arrived in our first Indonesian stop, Yogyakarta on the island of Java. A rather large city, Yogyakarta is located in Central Java, and is the only region governed separately by their own Sultan. Indonesia consists of about 18,000 different islands, Java being one of the largest.

Going through customs was quick and easy, and we didn’t need a visa, only our US passport. As soon as we stepped outside, we were swarmed with taxi drivers begging us to pick them as our driver. Conner had googled how much it should cost to get to our hotel and the drivers were all asking for much more. In many Southeast Asia countries we have learned it is best to negotiate the price before getting in the taxi. One man finally lowered his asking price and we compromised. He was very nice and spoke good English. He gave us his card and said to call him if we wanted him to be our tour guide to the temples the following day. Driving through the city, we immediately felt like we were in the SE Asia we remembered from other cities such as Bangkok, Siem Reap, Saigon. Singapore and KL were not typical SE Asia cities. They were so clean with everyone well dressed, and traffic flowing smoothly. Yogyakarta, known by the local as Jogja, definitely had a rougher, more rugged vibe. Hectic motorbikes and cars driving without any apparent order. Three, and four people on one motorbike, often times even a small baby or child. We arrived at the beautiful Jogja Dusun Village Inn, a lovely fortress like hotel. It was such a pleasant, earthy place somehow in the middle of a crazy city. The pool area was so lovely, and our room so pretty!

We enjoyed a nice lunch at the restaurant overlooking the pool.

A torrential downpour rain began, and it was quite pretty to watch. It lasted hours though. It was ok though, to have time to relax a bit. The staff in the restaurant was so nice and friendly. One guy was hilarious and entertaining. He recommended a fabulous restaurant which we walked to for dinner.

We texted our driver from the airport and arranged for him to pick us up in the morning for tours to the temples. The next morning he texted us saying he had a family emergency but offered us his friend to drive us. We felt a little uneasy about that, so we ended up booking a tour driver through our hotel.

The driver took us to the beautiful Borobudor Temple, the largest Buddhist temple in the world , built in the 9th century. The second we arrived we realized we were the only white Americans. In fact, there weren’t any other obvious tourists. Everyone seemed to be Indonesian. They all stared at us. I read in other travel blogs, that Indonesians commonly stare very hard at tourists, and also like to ask a lot of questions. As we walked up, approaching the temple, we began getting asked by many if they could take a picture with us. Lines started forming around us. They all wanted a picture! There were many students as well, who wanted to practice their English. They were assigned to speak with tourists over the holiday break, and had little grading cards we had to fill out for them. They each said the same few questions, some better English than others. They asked “What is your name?”, “ Where are you from” and “what do you think of this place?”. We had to sign our names and circle if their English was “good enough” “Pretty good” or “excellent”. I gave them all excellent, but Conner was a harsher grader giving some “ good enough”. Conner definitely stood about a foot taller than the locals.
It was really, really hot, and we were both definitely sweating. Remember, with buddhist temples shoulders and legs must be covered. Typically shorts on females is not allowed, and they will sell you a skirt and/ or scarf for shoulders if you are not dressed appropriately. The temple was very crowded, but very impressive!

Women, children, men, people of all ages kept asking us for pictures. Now I know how celebrities must feel 😉 It was pretty flattering actually. Women loved my makeup, and the kids all thought Conner was an athlete. I was interested to see many Muslims at the temple, since it was a Buddhist temple. We spent about 2 hours walking all around the temple compounds.

Arriving back in Jogja city we spent the afternoon walking all around the city- probably a good 7 miles or more. We saw very few other tourists. That night we had delish Thai food. I had vermicelli noodles with prawns- so good! We then walked around the popular Maliboro street, where there is shopping, restaurants and pubs. We had a couple of beers ( yes, I had beer because wine was too expensive- typical in SE Asia.), at a cool place with live music and pool tables.Conner played pool and I chatted with some interesting people. Lusi, a waitress was very sweet and brought me some black rice dessert to try.

Luis introduced me to her boyfriend, an investor from the Netherlands, who was in Yogyakarta with a job to preserve the Borobudur temple. He had invested in a bio- chemist who invented a product that is organic and cleans algae and other things from ancient temples. The product had been UNESCO approved and he had already had jobs in Tibet. His plan is to eventually get approved to do temples in Siem Reap and Thailand.
I really enjoyed the band- they were so good! I requested “Maggie May” by Rod Stewart. They didn’t know it, but looked it up and I taught them how to play it and sang with them. It was so fun! Conner and I chatted with a guy from London, another from Belgium. Really nice guys who are political advisors. A cute older woman selling fans who had seen me earlier at our Thai dinner, remembered me and came over to say hello. She was so sweet but didn’t really speak English. Her smile was so warm and kind. I purchased a beautiful blue fan from her- definitely would be needed in the daytime heat!

The next morning we awoke and had the hotel arrange another driver to take us to the other famous temple Prambanan. It was near the airport , so we timed it so we could just go catch our flight to our next city, Surabaya, right after the temple. Our driver was really great and explained so much on the ride. He told us his family was from a very small village of 400 people about an hour away. The village makes brown sugar, and he taught us the whole process of how it is made.
We loved the temple! It was just as marvelous as the Borobudor, in my opinion , and way less crowded. Part of the temple compound had HIndu characteristics as well. Conner took a try at archery, and did pretty well! We had more admirers ask for pictures.

Arriving about an hour before our flight to the super small airport, we went into the lounge area. It was pretty disappointing, with cold food and really dirty bathrooms. Our flight on Wings air, part of Lion air, was delayed 2 hours. Argh! This was not an airport we wanted to spend more time in. It was hot, and nobody could seem to explain in English to us, why the flight was delayed. Conner and I came to the realization that about 90% of all flights we have taken have been delayed. Again, I am equating this a quantity versus quality issue. More and more and more flights, less likelihood of good quality and accurate schedules.
We boarded the old school propeller plane, and set off for Surabaya, in East Java, the second largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. We chose to skip Jakarta, hearing from so many that it was just an overly crowded city not worth visiting. I have had patients who lived there, and said it was good to live, but to visit not so much.

We hired a taxi and had about a 45 minute ride to our hotel Swiss Belinn. Surabaya was much more modern then Yogyakarta, with many sky scrapper buildings. Our hotel was pretty nice- the room very clean and modern. We ate dinner in the hotel restaurant and relaxed. We booked our day tour the next day to Mt Bromo, a huge active volcano. We paid 3 million in Indonesian money- about $220 USD.

The driver picked us up at 7am and we had a 3 hour drive towards to volcano. The drive wasn’t bad, and I enjoyed seeing the sights and villages along the way. Once at the volcano base, we switched to a jeep (included in our pre paid deal). We crammed into the front seat of the jeep, me in the middle of Conner and the driver. There were no seatbelts, and I was a little scared as we drive around the curves up the mountain.The jeep driver was more talkative then our car driver. He pointed out potato and green onion crops along the way, as well as a Hindu village area. Arriving closer to the volcano, the terrain switched to desert sand-like, formed by lava flow. It was really neat!

The driver loved taking selfies and pictures with and of us- which was really sweet, except when he was driving around cliffs! The volcano was so incredibly beautiful! We climbed to the top passing all Indonesian locals- once again the only white Americans/ Westerners anywhere in sight. Again, locals wanted pics with us- celebrity status! I didnt mind 🙂

The smoky, active volcano was by far one of the coolest things we have ever seen. Standing at the top, looking into it , the sound of a roaring ocean- or I guess lava in this case, is what we heard.

We spent a good amount of time enjoying the view and sounds until it looked like a bad rain storm was approaching. We rushed down the super steep volcano, trying to beat the storm. Some locals tried to sell us variance of items- peanuts, hats, bracelets.

Once back at the bottom we found our jeep driver buddy, who wanted more pics and then we headed back down the mountain.

Once back to our faithful original car driver Conner inquired about where we could have some lunch. The driver said if we could wait about 30 minutes, he would stop at a place we would like. Well, we waited and waited- about 45 minutes until he stopped at a place. It was very underwhelming- or overwhelming depending on how you look at it. The place was a huge cafeteria type setup , not appearing very clean or organized. Everyone inside was local and nobody spoke English. Approaching the front, we assumed we had to order at the counter. The man handed us a menu with all Indonesian writing. No pictures Nothing, We had no idea what we were ordering. I tried to ask the man for “chicken?”, “fish”? He looked at me puzzled. Conner, frustrated said “ just pick the first thing on menu, thats probably safe”. Umm or their local speciality like fried chicken toes??? Eventually another customer walked up who sort of spoke English. He pointed out a beef soup to me and another beef dish. Ok fine- sold. We sat at a dirty table waiting for our food. It arrived and was eh—- let’s just say this was a praying we don’t get sick moment. This happens in travel and you just have to go with it.

Back in the car we headed back on the 3 hour journey to Surabaya. Getting back to our hotel we were exhausted. Settling in for dinner at the nearby famous and gorgeous Hotel Majahapit was all we had energy for! It was lovely!!

One major downside to the Swiss-Belinn hotel was the very loud , and very early Muslim prayer call at 4:30am. We respect other cultures and religions, and have awakened many times in other places due to prayer calls. The difference at Swiss Belinn , was that they opened the pool at 5am after prayer, so all the children were loud and screaming/ playing at the pool from 5am on. And we had a room overlooking the pool.

In most Muslim dominated cities, the hotels have an arrow on the ceiling pointing toward where they are to pray-

But the next morning – Christmas Eve, we were heading to the islands- yay! The Gili Islands- what a dream come true ❤

For those traveling to Indonesia, I would say Yogyakarta and its temples are amazing! The volcano Mt Bromo also unbelievable!!! But be prepared for cities that are crowded, with traffic and not great food. One thing I will say, Indonesians are welcoming, sweet and sincere people. Way more friendly and curious about us than Singaporeans or Malaysians.Yogyakarta and Surabaya are great destinations for well-seasoned travelers- perhaps those with previous South East Asia experience. I would not put it as the first choice destination when going to Asia for the first time.

Where do I think are great first time travel spots to get acclimated to Asia? I think Tokyo, Japan is a fabulous start to begin travel in Asia. As far as Southeast Asia, I think Chiang Mai, Thailand, Siem Reap, Cambodia, Hoi An and Saigon, Vietnam and Luang Prabang, Laos are great first timer destinations! Feel free to message me for any tips/ suggestions 🙂

More on the beautiful Gili islands coming soon

<3,

Kinz

Singapore Slinging

by kinsay20December 28, 2017December 28, 2017

Disclaimer- Singapore sling is an iconic drink that Singapore is known for. Ironically, John and I didn’t even have this drink while in Singapore. We talked about it , and planned to, but we just never did. As we sat on the plane flying out John said, “wait, we never had the Singapore Sling.”…oops! So now we plan to look up the recipe and make one when we get home 😉

We departed KL for Singapore around lunchtime on a Sunday. The flight was short (about 1 hour). When we arrived at the airport we purchased a 3 day pass for unlimited metro train and bus access. Great deal, and I highly recommend it! It saved us so much money! John also purchased a SIM card from the airport so that he could use Googlemaps / Trip Advisor to help us get around the city.

Check out hubby’s brilliant way of carrying both his bags front and back lol

The super clean and efficient metro train took us right near our hotel- the Hilton Garden Inn . We had to switch trains once, but were at our hotel in about an hour. Our hotel was in the area of Singapore known as “Little India”.

Little India is known as being the closest thing to India, without being in actual India. On the metro we noted almost all Chinese Singaporeans, so we were shocked when we got off in Little India. Hundreds and hundreds of true Indians everywhere. For as much as we have traveled, we had never seen a complexion quite like this. We both were in complete awe. There were so many very, very dark complexion people in Little India. We later learned that many are actually from Bangladesh, and move to Singapore to work, sending money back to their families.

I realized something during our stay in Singapore. I truly believe most prejudice and racism in the world is from ignorance- and simply exposure, or lack there of. I remember just 5 years ago, waiting outside of a DC metro station, and feeling fearful of women near me in Muslim hijab covering all but their eyes. I actually considered waiting to get on a different metro bus. Why was I fearful? I had no bad experience personally with them or anyone dressed like them. In fact I had previously had a few Muslim friends, and good experiences. Was I fearful because of the media? Because of Islam terrorism constantly being brought up in the news? I don’t know. But what I realize now, is that I barely notice when someone is wearing a Muslim hijab near me. After spending a lot of time in countries which are primarily Muslim ( i.e. Morocco, Myanmar, Laos, and now Malaysia and Singapore), I can be the only one in a crowded space not wearing the traditional Muslim attire, and I feel fine.

Now here we are in Little India, and John and I definitely stand out. We are the only white Americans amongst large crowds of much darker skinned Bangladeshi and Indians, many wearing their traditional/ cultural attire. Did we feel odd or out of place? Maybe for a minute or two, but since we are now used to traveling and being” out of our comfort zone” we adjust to these feelings rather quickly. Because really, that is all they are is “feelings”, that we place upon ourselves. We make ourselves feel comfortable and not comfortable many times in life. It is all about perception and overcoming ignorance. If anything, we were more fascinated by the new culture and experience. One of the reasons why I think travel is so important- it forces you out of your comfort zone. It makes you understand others and realize that as different as we are, we are also very alike.

The Hilton Garden Inn was nice, and we had a great view. The hotel is located next to a Hindu temple.

View from our room

We quickly set out to explore. Singapore is a city and a country. The Singapore Chinese make up a huge amount of the population, followed by the Malay and Indian. Apparently when the British were in control of Singapore, they didn’t help assimilate the cultures, so that is why there is such segregation. The charts below show the demographics breakdown in Singapore.

We took the metro over to the China town area.

Where we walked around and found a famous Hawker stall area for dinner. There are hundreds of stalls and choices of food in one area.

These aren’t like food courts you see in the US. No, no, these are good quality food at amazing prices. I had a delicious dinner of laska- the popular Singapore dish. For my first Laska, I had a coconut curry top broth with chicken. Conner was eager to try the famous chicken and rice dish from a place famed by the likes of Anthony Bordain and Chef Ramsay. We also got a 3rd dish to share and try 😉 This was all about $25 USD- more than other Southeast Asia countries, but still less than in the US.

After dinner we walked around some more, and then headed back to walk around Little India. We couldn’t believe how crowded the Little India streets were. Hundreds of mostly men, were sitting around everywhere. They were talking, playing cards, hanging out. We weren’t sure if this was a nightly event. We later found out it seems to be a Sunday night thing. I think many of those there to work from either India or Bangladesh, leave their wives and children back home, and send them money (hence why less women and children seen in the area). Some research I found was pretty sad. I read that some Bangladeshi have big dreams of making good money in Singapore, but it doesn’t always work out to their advantage. One man I read about sold his family farm and home in Bangladesh to have enough money to get to Singapore to work. When he arrived, his promised job no longer needed him, so he ended up working construction. Years later he was returning back to Bangladesh in debt- with less money and no family farm or home. I also read some interesting interviews/ articles about how the Bangladeshi and Indian feel unwelcome in parts of Singapore. They state that many Chinese Singaporeans get up and move if they sit by them on the metro. They often avoid the fancier shopping and business districts, afraid of being shunned by the Chinese. Very interesting, and sad.

Interesting article Bangladesh in Singapore

As we walked through Little India, we noticed many shops selling Gold and jewelry, as well as many fruit markets and smells of incense all around. A few times we heard the sound “ Tsk, tsk” as we walked by. We weren’t sure what it meant, but my dear friend google explained to me later. It is basically an expression in Singapore showing “displease”. So perhaps they were expressing “displease” for us being in their area? I am not sure.

The next morning we got up early knowing we had a full day ahead. I will commend John and I on the fact that we make the most of our days. We are not relaxing, lackadaisical travelers. We are very “go-go”. We like to see the most and do the most we can in a day. We have tried relaxing on trips, but after an hour by a pool or a beach, we often are ready for the next activity. I am glad we are both this way, as it makes us extremely compatible companions. Most days on trips we walk anywhere from 5-10 miles- whether hiking, or just walking through cities. This is good, because then we can enjoy the food without feeling too guilty 🙂

Our busy day in Singapore began with a train ride to the popular attractions area. We bought a combo ticket for the world renowned Cloud Forest and Flower Dome. The cloud forest was really quite amazing- a massive indoor greenhouse-like ecosystem. We spent a good amount of time walking through it and enjoying the sights.

We enjoyed the flower dome as well- many beautiful trees, flowers and plants that we have never seen.

We found another popular Hawkers food stall area ( thanks to John’s awesome research) for lunch. We ate at a famous place called “ A noodle story”, which serves unique Singapore pho. It was so very yummy! A fried potato wrapped shrimp and very delicious and unique noodles, made this unlike any pho we had ever had!

We then walked off our pho by exploring around Quay clarke area, the world known Marina Bay Sands, Fort Canning park, and a huge Singapore mall. Like the Malaysians, the Singaporeans definitely love they malls!

For dinner, John did more research and found us a fabulous authentic Northern Indian restaurant called Aromas, right near our hotel in Little India. The food was really good! The samosas were the best!

The next day we decided we would go to the Singapore zoo. It is rated in the top 10 of zoos worldwide! We were interested to see some animals that we aren’t able to see other places.

We stopped to get some water from a little store. I really wanted chewing gum! I realized I hadn’t been able to find it anywhere in Singapore. Later on doing some research, we learned that selling gum in Singapore is illegal. Turns out this beautiful, pristine country has some really odd and disconcerting laws to include- singing in public, walking around your house naked if curtains aren’t closed, not flushing a public toilet, and homosexuality. Really “modern” “futuristic” Singapore? You don’t realize how lucky you are to live in freedom, until you see that others do not have the same luxury. Read more in link below.

Ridiculous Singapore laws

To get to the zoo we used our unlimited 3 day transportation cards and took the city bus system. The zoo was pretty far- about an hour or so out of the main city area. The zoo was really awesome though!

After hours wandering around the awesome zoo, Conner got really hungry and was craving a burger. He googled the top rated burger place in Singapore, and we set out on a long bus journey back towards the main city. Once arriving at the burger place we were really disappointed to find it was closed. Conner was pretty hangry and would not settle for anything other than a burger. We trekked quite a bit to try to find another highly rated one. We arrived at the huge famous shopping area in Singapore called Orchard road. There were many high end stores and of course, a huge mall! We soon realized the burger place we were in search for was in the huge mall. We couldn’t figure out where it was and walked around for quite awhile. We tried looking at maps, but still couldn’t find it. John had his mind set on this darn burger, so we weren’t going to give up until we found it. The website said it closed at 3pm- it was 2:55pm and we still hands found the place. Finally right at 2:59 we found it. Thank goodness the crazy hunt was over and we could enjoy our burger.

We headed back to our hotel to change clothes for nightly outing- the famous rooftop bar and infinity pool at Marina Bay Sands. We decided to first have a drink at the top of one of the Supertree Grove restaurants. When we arrived we were told we had to purchase ticket to enter the area of the Groves because it was a “winter wonderland” event. After some sweet talking Conner convinced them to let us in to go to the restaurant only. We had to pay $20 each once inside to go to the bar/ restaurant, but that included a drink each. The views were great but it was really, really windy!

After sunset, we made our way over to Marina Bay Sands rooftop bar. Now this place was impressive! Pictures don’t lie- it is just as marvelous in person! We enjoyed the views and people watching!

It was a fabulous way to enjoy our last night in Singapore!! And the next stop would be a truly big change as we headed for Indonesia!

Sayonara Singapore! Perhaps we will meet again one day 🙂

<3,

Kinz

The Conners take Asia, 3.0. New places, New adventures….

by kinsay20December 22, 2017

There’s just something about Asia. My husband and I first travelled to Asia in 2014 on our honeymoon. We were fortunate enough to visit 5 countries that trip- Japan, China, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. We fell in love with the different cultures and knew we would have to return. To read about our honeymoon adventures click here- Conner Honeymoon

Last year we visited Laos, Myanmar and Thailand (again- new area). While each country is very distinct- they each have their own charm, extensive cultural traditions, and deep routed history. They all are wonderful in their own ways. I can’t even explain how much I have learned from visiting these amazing places.

This year we are heading back, this time to 3 new countries- Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

We typically travel with backpacks when doing our longer international journeys. This was a bit of a challenge for me to get accustomed to, as I am an indecisive packer, and always felt like more is, well more. But I have had to learn that less is more.

There are many pros to traveling with a pack. For starters, you can board flights easier, not having to check in a bag. You also can catch connection flights and get out of airports faster when not checking a bag. You also don’t run the risk of your bag getting lost in transit. Additionally, moving around cities is much easier with a pack on your back instead of trying to negotiate large crowds, busy metros, stairways and curbs with a suitcase or rolling bag.

I have gotten much better at packing, and have learned some tricks. Packing cubes are ideal to keep things organized and compact. Travel underwear is ideal because it can be washed and dries very quickly. Silk robes bundle up very small and can be used to sleep in. Hubby likes his hybrid shorts that can be used as bathing suits also. Toms and regular tennis shoes are a must for lots of walking. I always still squeeze either a pair of wedges or heels into my pack- just in case, although I end up wearing them only once or twice. The only thing that really still challenges me is the liquid limits. I mean considering, hair products, skin and cleansing products/ lotions- to fit a month’s worth in 1 quart size ziplock bag is tough. I do like Lush’s “coalface” hard soap for face wash, and take it whenever I travel.

All packed and ready to go! Up at 4am to catch our first flight out of Washington DC Dulles , scheduled to leave at 7am. Kissing our sweet kitties Shiraz and Syrah goodbye, I was comforted knowing they are in good hands with our fabulous kitty sitter.

Arriving at the airport timely, we enjoyed great lounge access for breakfast. Arriving at our gate for an on-time flight, we were annoyed to hear the announcement overhead that one of the flight attendants was late. We were not able to board the plane because the attendant ( per announcement ) slept-in at her hotel and was “on her way”. Are you kidding? We became anxious knowing that we could not miss our connecting flight in Dallas, or we would be in trouble. Our flight from Dallas to Hong Kong was booked using America Airlines points and there weren’t any others out to Hong kong later that day.

The attendant arrived 25 minutes later than our scheduled boarding time. I couldn’t help but snarl at her dumb grin as we boarded the plane. I can understand situations that can’t be controlled (i.e. weather), but I can’t understand an ignorant woman who simply just didn’t wake up in time. We then sat on the runway as the pilot informed as that they were now fixing a maintenance issue. Really?? John (aka Conner, aka hubby for new readers), and I began frantically researching on our phones back -up plans in case we missed our connection. A nice steward came over and told us he realized our situation, and that they were trying to figure out an alternative plan for us. John also called the American Airlines priority help desk. Since he flies American Airlines for work travel too, he is considered Sapphire, which gets us priority access, lounge access, upgrades, etc. It is a nice plus sometimes. The woman on the phone offered to put us on a completely re-routed journey. Instead of going to Hong Kong, our only other option was to fly all the way to London, via British Airlines ( another one world alliance airline). From London we could then fly to Kuala Lumpur. So we basically would be back tracking and going all the way around the world. Considering our flight still hadn’t departed , we didn’t think there was any way we could make the connection in Dallas. We accepted the phone offer. The steward offered us the option to get off the plane in DC and try to board another flight from there, but that wasn’t a guarantee.

We arrived in Dallas with 10 minutes to spare before our original Hong Kong flight was to take off. We literally sprinted through the huge Dallas airport ( worst place to have a short connection). It takes quite some time to get from one terminal to another in Dallas. We tried though, thinking we had nothing to lose. We arrived at the Hong Kong gate just minutes after it took off. With a now 5 hour layover ahead of us, we begrudgingly found the American airlines help desk, just to confirm again that our only option was to go through London. It turns out it was. We had to go all the way out of security, and then re-enter via British Airlines. Thank goodness we were able to relax in another lounge area during our long layover. They were conducting actual real fire drills, which was interesting to watch!

I called American Airlines customer service from the lounge, expressing my many concerns. The fact that us missing the connection was the airline’s fault, made us feel as though they need to make it up to us. Here we are losing time, losing money on a hotel for a night, not getting all the miles points that my husband had paid for ( since we were switched to British air), amongst other things. After some very unhelpful customer service reps , I finally got a call back from a supervisor. She granted as each a $300 travel voucher, and said we could be reimbursed for other things ( i.e. hotel) via written request online. I sent a very detailed email, and as I type this ( 1 week later) I am waiting to hear back.

Eventually we boarded our 8 hour flight to London. Because of the whole fiasco , we also weren’t in the extra legroom seats that Conner paid for us. Not to sound spoiled, but an 8 hour flight is a very long time to be in a regular seat. I can handle it as uncomfortable as it can be. But Conner is over 6 feet tall, and being stuck in the window he had no room at all for his legs.

I suppose the frustration (stated clearly in my email), was that people work hard, save money and plan well in advance (6 months in our case) for a big trip like this. Why should the consumer be penalized for something not their fault? Airlines in the US have been gradually declining their quality over the last few years. They are all about quantity and less about quality.

To make things more uncomfortable for my poor hubby- the woman in front of him put her seat down for about 7 of the 8 hours. The media screen was basically in his lap, so even watching a movie to distract himself of the discomfort was difficult. We watched “ It” and tried to relax. We both were able to sleep a few hours of the flight.

Landing in London we had another couple of hours before our flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We again had to go out of security and then back through. The TSA flagged my bags. I had removed my quart ziplock with liquids as asked. They insisted on searching my other bags. They considered my makeup in my cosmetic bag as liquids. Um huh? I had traveled with a makeup bag separate from my liquids through 12+ countries now, without any issue. They said I had to get rid of stuff. I was livid. They considered another face wash I use, ultrabland, from Lush as a liquid. It is not a liquid. They also said I was “lucky” that they would not consider my contacts as needed to be in my liquid bag. “what???”, I said “ they are prescribed and I cannot see without them”. Contacts lenses in their original box with prescription on them are not a liquid! What was wrong with these people? The woman then said “ miss I’m sure you also have glasses!”. At this point I was so angry I started to cry. They continued to analyze all my belongings, even considering my cream eyeshadow and mascara as liquids. Complete jerks! I am all about safety and TSA security, but nothing they were saying made any sense, nor had I ever been treated and humiliated in that way before at an airport check point. I was very upset after they threw away about $100 worth of products. Conner tried to console me but I was just angry. I honestly think the rude TSA woman took my brand new Younique liquid foundation and ultrabland face wash for herself.
After I finally calmed down a bit we rested in the Malaysian airlines lounge before our flight. We definitely save money by having access to the lounges. We don’t need to buy food at the airport, and always grab water bottles for our flights. They of course provide water on the flights, but on a 14 hour flight, a tiny cup of water doesn’t get me very far. I like to have my own bottles.

We were able to talk to Malaysian airlines and get extra legroom seats! Things were looking up! Woo hoo! Thank goodness for that! This was a very long nearly 14 hour flight!

It actually was not bad, and quite enjoyable, considering how long it was. I watched two new movies I hadn’t seen- “The Glass Castle” and “ The Shack”. Both really good! I am notorious for crying during movies on long flights. This time was no different. Both movies were tear jerkers. Malaysian air fed us a decent chicken and potato dinner. We took a couple naps. I enjoyed watching one of my all time faves ‘ The Sound of Music”, and then we were fed breakfast prior to landing.

Landing in Kuala Lumpur, we were so excited to finally be in Malaysia! We had left our condo 36 hours prior to finally arriving! Malaysia does not require US citizens to have a visa of staying less than 90 days with a valid passport good for at least 6 months. Going through customs and immigration was easy. You pay a set price for a taxi inside the airport, receiving a receipt to redeem at the taxi stand. We suppose they do this to prevent over charging.

The drive from Kuala Lumpur airport into the city is quite long- at least an hour without traffic. We were amazed at how many billboards we passed along the way. It is crazy, and we have never seen anything like it! The Malays must love their billboards!

Arriving at the beautiful Doubletree Hilton around 9am, we both were in dire need of a shower and fresh change of clothes. Our room was very nice with complimentary treats and a great view!

After our showers we headed out to explore! We used the city metro system, which was pretty easy to figure out and very inexpensive.

metro token

Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, consists of 1.6 million people- 50% Malay, 23.7% Chinese, 7.1% Indian, plus 11% indigenous tribes such as Orang Asli and Iban.
All of whom are considered Malaysian nationals.

We walked all around the city, exploring the downtown area, spectacular Petronas towers, and had lunch at an authentic Indian restaurant.

Malaysia has a large population of Indians, Chinese, As we walked around we definitely stood out. As opposed to other Southeast Asian countries, there were far less American and European travelers here. It was very hot, 90+ degrees and humid. We both were definitely sweating. We did so much walking ( probably 7-8miles) and needed another shower. We enjoyed the executive lounge happy hour that evening, with glorious views of the city.

We were able to eat enough in the lounge, that we didn’t need to venture out for dinner. We were pretty wiped out after all the travel, and walking. Not to mention the time difference of 13 hours back home.
We were asleep by 9 that night, which was good because we had big day ahead! Our breakfast the next morning at the hotel was one of the best hotel breakfast buffets we have ever seen. The only others of which are even comparable that we have seen are Tokyo Hilton, Myanmar Hilton and Beijing HIlton.

This breakfast was so impressive and delicious! Fresh made Roti with curry sauce, coconut chutney, fresh squeezed guava juice, lentil fritters, yellow watermelon, jajik salad, ….yum!

With full stomachs, we called an uber to take us to Batu caves. Uber is very popular in Kuala Lumpur ( known by many as KL), and is advertised everywhere. It is also very inexpensive! After only a 20 minute ride, we arrived to the Batu caves. The entry is free, with signs asking visitors to carry pails of clay up to the workers remodeling the structures in the caves. A steep set of stairs, brought us to the top.

The caves were very impressive with monkeys everywhere! These monkeys were way less aggressive than the monkeys we encountered last year in Myanmar. Mt. Popa in Myanmar had nice views, but the experience itself was tainted by having to take our shoes off and climb many stairs covered in monkey poo. Monkeys aggressively jumping over us and approaching people unafraid, grabbing things from them. Batu caves monkeys, were much more polite. They were cute , and their poo was not covering the grounds.

After the caves we ubered back into town and found a great food stall place for lunch. Food/hawker centers are very popular in Malaysia. We had delicious Penang style soup!

We spent the afternoon walking around the city more , exploring. We enjoyed the Butterfly park , as well as a 3D art museum, and many monuments.

The Malaysians did not stare or make us feel uncomfortable, even though we clearly stood out. They were nice enough, but not overly friendly towards us. I think we both agree, the friendliest people overall in our travels have been the Cambodians. They were just so incredibly friendly and nice. The overall rudest so far have been the Chinese in China (in Malay the Chinese are nicer/ more polite). In Morocco and Vietnam, we were definitely stared at by local groups of men, and harassed at times to buy stuff. Don’t get me wrong though- we came across very nice people in Vietnam and Morocco as well. The Japanese were reserved and mostly kept to themselves, but when they did interact with us, they were very nice. Oh, and the Thai! How can I forget mentioning the Thai! They were also another very friendly, welcoming group overall. The French in Paris were surprisingly very nice- not what we had expected hence debunking the myth that the French don’t like Americans.

Ok, back on track. So we enjoyed our afternoon and even came across a huge Comic con with hundreds of people in crazy and cool costumes!

We had these delicious sweet treats from a street vendor cooked in bamboo. We saw them featured on a travel special and just had to try them! They were so yummy!

We changed clothes to head back out for the night. We planned to see the Petronas tower fountain and light show. We were pressed for time so ended up eating dinner at a restaurant near the fountain, connected to the mall next to Petronas.

The Malays like their malls! They have huge, clean and beautiful shopping malls throughout KL. I should mention, KL overall is very clean. The architecture is amazing and so modern! Every building is like artwork! We kept thinking, “ Why can’t the US have buildings like this”.
Dinner was good and the fountain light show was awesome!

After the fountain light show we headed to Skybar. We had heard good things about this place, and were excited to check it out. There was no entry fee because we got there before 9pm. They had drink specials so Conner had a few beers and I got two wines for a great deal. We enjoyed the stunning views and music. A really beautiful nightclub! It wasn’t very crowded since we were there early, but I can imagine that place gets pretty busy!

The comic con people even came to Skybar

The next morning after enjoying that ridiculously delicious international buffet again, we packed up our stuff to head to the airport for our next stop- Singapore!!

KL, you were super interesting and we really enjoyed getting to know you!! We will see you again on our last night of the trip before heading back to the US!

harap sabar menunggu (stay tuned in Malay)-

<3, Kinz

Make a Bucket List & Make it Happen!

by kinsay20November 13, 2017

travel-not-to-escape

Where do we begin? It’s been awhile since my last blog post. Although— so much has happened. Sometimes the stress of life overwhelms, and we just can’t seem to catch up. ‘Writer’s block” has happened to me a few times. I find I write best when my head is clear for hours – and I haven’t had that in awhile. Since my last post we have had some amazing travels- which I will be sure to fill you in on!

Before we begin, I would like to post a disclaimer: I never, ever, ever want anyone to feel envious regarding our travels. I share because I want to encourage others to travel, and perhaps help them with their planning. I know reading others’ travel blogs has really helped and inspired me! Some may think we “travel excessively”, or I often hear ” how do you get time off from work?” The truth is, Conner and I both work really hard. We both went to school for a long time, and are fortunate to work in good fields. We both love our jobs and we work hard, so that we can have fun and see/ do things. Compared to other countries (i.e. Europe, Australia), Americans actually travel very little. We don’t get enough vacation and holiday time ( in my opinion).

My husband and I work to really live- not live to work 🙂 I think anyone and everyone should, and can make their travel bucket list a reality if they plan and save!

Nomadic Matt is one of my favorite travel bloggers. He writes great information on how to make travel work on any budget- click here-You Don’t need a lot of money to travel

inspirational-travel-quotes-10

Check out these interesting articles comparing American holidays/ PTO compared with other countries-

Forbes article

UK business article

And one may think that since Americans typically work longer hours and more days, we are more productive, but this is not the case.

Country Productivity

Quite interesting don’t you think? And so now back to the fun stuff— travel adventures!!!!

So let’s back up, to where we left off- December 26th, 2016. The bittersweet “Gibbon Experience”. What an awesome opportunity to zip-line through the jungles of Laos and sleep in a treehouse! As scared as I was, it was really the coolest thing ever. And if you aren’t a scaredy cat like me, you would enjoy every second!!

So we leave the Gibbon experience in a crazy, non comfortable ride on the back of a truck. We arrived back at our not- so -nice accommodation to sleep- the Riverside Huay Xai. The choices are limited in that area, and I would have much rather spent a 3rd night in the jungle treehouse (tree rats and all- see previous post), but it is what it is. Our dinner at the hotel restaurant was not appetizing ,but we ate what we could bear, only drinking a beer to wash it down. I was exhausted – thank goodness.Awoke early to transfer from Laos to Thailand border via land. What a crazy experience!

We arrived at the border and arranged for a driver to pick us up. At the border we had some trouble. They said we owed more money because it was an “ off time”—hence, this was not an off time- this is just a communist country’s way of getting more money from Americans. So Conner got us more cash . We wait , and wait for our “driver”. While waiting Conner got stir crazy- he went in the bathroom to shave off his beard-and while doing so I watched a few families cross the border back to Laos from Thailand with new born babies. I mean brand – spanking- newborn babies. It appears ( and makes sense)- the Laos would cross over to have their baby in Thailand, which has better healthcare- and then they literally just walk their new baby across the border into Laos. Wow!

Laos-Asks-For-Longer-Hours-At-Checkpoints

So our personal driver finally shows up- with a mini van . We get in and meet our co- riders- two young Israeli girls. They were so sweet. Over the next 2 hours we talked alot. I learned they were in the Israeli military. Apparently it is required for all citizens to be in the military. The two young girls-19- were in for 1 year Isreali military. I was fascinated to hear their stories.They explained that their parents encouraged them to travel after they were done with their military time. The girls would now backpack together through Asia for 6 months, how cool! They had already done volunteer work for weeks with a Mongolian tribe. They said it was an incredible, life changing experience. They were glad they did it- but would not do it again. They both got terribly ill with salmonella.

So we drive along across the Laos to Thailand border. We have been to Thailand before, but never to the North, and were headed to Chaing Mai- a city we had heard wonderful things. Cultural, political and just overall interesting talks between us and our new friends commenced as we rode along- our driver drove quite crazy at times. Our Israeli friends actually told him to cool down and drive slower. Thank God. I was too nervous to say anything, but was scared out of my mind. After a bumpy 4 hour journey we arrived in the beautiful Chaing Mai. It was 9pm but the city was bustling. There seemed to be a festival going on, the streets crowded with locals of all ages. Just the sight of the familiar tuk-tuks driving all around warmed my heart. Oh Thailand, I had missed you so!

teaser

We walked around a bit but eventually decided we wanted a good night’s sleep so we could make the most of the next day. We really only had the one entire day to explore the city. And boy did we make the most of it! We saw walked and explored and saw so much! Starting bright and early we wasted no time! We set out in our tuk -tuk to get closer to some amazing temples.

We had a busy and fun filled morning exploring Wat Phra That Doi Suthep and Wat Phra Singh, and just walking the streets of the glorious town!

I love architecture of all kinds. While I am Christian, I really appreciate learning about other religions and beliefs, and I find Buddhist temples to be beautiful! In Morocco, we saw some absolutely gorgeous mosques and Jewish temples, in Spain magnificent churches, in Cambodia Hindu Temples, and Japan and China ancient structures with so much history! Some say ” you’ve seen one temple, you’ve seen them all”, but I disagree whole heartedly. They are all amazing and unique to me and Chiang Mai did not disappoint!

We had the most spectacular lunch at Cooking Love- a wonderful, authentic , family-owned restaurant. The food was phenomenal and the service immaculate. If you come to Chiang Mai you must come here!!!

The Owner came over and chatted with us for awhile. She explained how her little family size restaurant has become so popular with tourists, that she continues having to expand. She is trying to find a balance between success but staying authentic. She introduced us to her small infant child , and her sons who were part of the cooking team. She gave us each handmade shirts as a keepsake as well. She was just wonderful. In our experience the Thai are typically so nice and friendly. They welcome guests, and treat outsiders with such warmth.

We said goodbye to our new friends and headed back out to see more of the city. Chiang Mai had some similarities to Bangkok, but was also different in so many ways. It seems quainter, and although a “ city” it seems more homey with a small town feel. At one temple I met a local man who told me many Thai prefer Chiang Mai over Bangkok. He explained the “authenticity” of the Thai culture was more intact in Chiang Mai. Conner and I enjoyed both cities so very much! I definitely recommend Chiang Mai to anyone visiting Thailand, or even the nearby country of Laos, as crossing the border was pretty easy!

For more reading on our previous Thailand and other Asia adventures click here –Conner Honeymoon Adventures

We had quite the long haul back home after our Asia adventures. We still had quite a few more adventures to come before we would return back to DC. Our next destination was Chicago. We had a layover there, and decided since we had never been there we should make the most it. We extended our layover from a few hours to 3 days. Now keep in mind this is December. We were leaving SE Asia where it was hot, hot, hot and going to one of the colder cities in the US. May I also remind you, we were traveling with backpacks, so we had limited space, and only clothes for warm weather.

Thank goodness, my brother Christopher had told us about a store in the Tokyo Haneda airport (our first layover), where we could buy reasonably priced winter clothes. We definitely hit the goldmine in this place!

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We both bought warm coats, insulated long sleeve tees and pants at a very fair price! We were good to go! We just had to carry -on all of our new attire, since our packs were full.

As we were preparing to board our flight, I stopped in a shoe store just to look around. I checked out a few pairs of boots, but they didn’t have my size. The woman working at the store must have thanked me so sweetly about 5 times, just for coming in. I didn’t even buy anything! Boy, would I miss the sweet Japanese!

I don’t remember much at all about this long flight back to the US. I suppose I must have slept a lot, probably enjoyed a movie or two, as I often do on those long flights.

We arrived in Chicago late afternoon. A year earlier, while on a food tour in Madrid, Spain, we met an awesome guy Mark. We hung out a couple of times in Spain, and kept in touch via Facebook. Mark lives in Chicago and invited us to attend a Blackhawks game. He had a VIP box section for work! We were super excited, but literally had to rush to make it in time. I realized I had my dirty hiking shoes would not cut it for the fancy box seats. Thank goodness there was a DSW right next to our hotel- The Wit. The Wit is a DoubleTree Property, and since we earn Hilton points we got to stay complimentary.Beautiful hotel- and the complimentary chocolate chip cookies weren’t bad either!

We ran into DSW, and in under 10 minutes we both had a pair of winter shoes. I got some really cute black leather ankle boots! We were ready to go to the game! Mark met us at our hotel and we cabbed to the arena together. The VIP box was awesome! We had all the food, wine, beer we could think of!

We some very nice friends of Mark’s, and after the game we went out for another drink at a local night spot. We were pretty tired though and knew we needed sleep sow e could make the most of our Chicago days!

We were lucky- it was a fairly warmer winter week for Chicago- with a low of mid 20’s and no snow on the ground. We walked all around downtown, Millennium Park, Navy Pier, Chicago Riverwalk. It was wonderful!

I was impressed at how clean the downtown streets were! People were fairly friendly, and it was easy to walk around, as well a hail cabs. After all that walking we had really worked up an appetite! We decided we just had to get some deep dish Chicago pizza! Conner googled one of the best places and we ended up at Gino’s East- and boy was it good!!!

The restaurant had a really cool vibe with graffiti walls all around. At each table you are given markers to add your own design to the walls.

gino-s-east

We walked around some more, but were tired pretty early. The jet lag was setting in. We got a good night sleep, so that the next AM we could get up early to go the top of Willis Tower! A MUST do if in Chicago! If you get there right when they open, you avoid long lines!

We enjoyed Chicago very much, but it was soon time to move along!

I think 2-3 days is a decent amount of time to get a feel for Chicago and see many great sites! I would love go back sometime (maybe when it is warmer :)).

chic

We still had one more stop before home! Conner diverted our flight to yet another layover in Orlando, FL, so that we could ring in the New Year with great friends! We figured we had off of work, so why not?

When arriving in Orlando we exhaustingly checked into the downtown Embassy Suites. It has become our go-to hotel when in Orlando. It is a great location, includes breakfast and happy hour and has decent rooms. We immediately went to sleep, but the next day before visiting with friends we first had to find New Year’s Eve attire. The only nearby mall had literally 2 stores- Macy’s and Express. We were able to find what we needed, and then enjoyed our NYE weekend ringing in the New Year!

By the time we arrived back to DC, we were so incredibly exhausted- but the adventures and memories made were extraordinary! Another fab trip in the books- but where oh, where would be our next stop?

The Gibbon Experience– I survived!!

by kinsay20February 12, 2017

Our time in the lovely Luang Prabang, Laos was coming to an end. We had really loved our time in this amazing place! We had just one more thing we were told we “couldn’t miss”. The “Alms giving ceremony”, in Luang Prabang , is an ancient tradition in which over 200+ monks depart from their various temples around the city at sunrise to collect their daily food. Traditionally, the locals (and now tourists) are supposed to offer cooked sticky rice to the Buddhist monks as they parade down the roads of the city in a single file line. They historically should only eat the rice that fills their alms bowls, as their daily food source. Throughout time, traditions have changed, as they often do, and they are offered more than just rice. Maybe some fruit or bread, or whatever people want to offer. Culturally, this is supposed to be very sacred, but unfortunately tourism has changed that, as we would soon see.

We would have to head to the train/ bus station to catch our bus out of the city by 6:30am. Our hotel told us the alms ceremony would begin around 5:40am and end right at 6am, so we would have plenty of time. Well, we were up and out there right at 5:30am. We were immediately harassed by local women begging us to buy rice and snacks from them to offer the monks. Snacks- to include- cookies, chips, candies. Hmmm, this did not seem like things the holy monks were supposed to be eating. I may not be Buddhist, but I knew that much! We tried to kindly tell them, “no thank you”. These women were very pushy and they were definitely trying to overcharge us! No way were we paying 5$ for a small thing of rice! And we definitely were not offering the monks a chips ahoy snack pack.

We finally found a woman offering a rice portion for a decent price. Once you buy the rice, the seller guides you to her area of blocked off seats. This is where you are to sit and wait for the monks. We kneeled down to the very low seats and waited. By 5:55am the monks still hadn’t started walking. We were getting concerned that we wouldn’t get to see the alms. We couldn’t be late for our bus! We were heading to Houay Xai (a town in Laos with so many spellings, yet nobody seems to know about it besides tourists). Houay xai, not being a common destination for Laotians, was known by tourists for it’s once in a lifetime ,”Gibbon Experience”- (more on this later). Because of this, there weren’t many options on ways to get there. No flights, a boat would take a couple of days, and the busses were offered only 2 times/ day. We could not miss it or we would miss our Gibbon experience all together!

We decided if the monks didn’t come out soon, we would just have to leave and miss it. We got up from our special seats and started walking towards what appeared to be the beginning of where the monks would start. We couldn’t leave with the woman’s rice bowl, so we forfeited our money, and our rice ,and left our bowl.

As we walked down the street, we began hearing drums and low chanting sounds. And that’s when we saw them-the barefoot monks in their orange colored robes. There were a lot of them ! All different ages, walking in their single file line, collecting their alms. A well -traveled Canadian woman we met in Myanmar, told us this was the,”most touching thing” she had ever seen, and that it ,”brought her to tears”. Welp folks, I am one of the most sensitive, sentimental people you will ever meet, and I will tell you that it did not bring me to tears. Not even close. I cry over holiday grocery chain commercials ( Publix, ahem!) . This did not make me cry. It was too distracting and upsetting to see the super rude tourists using flashes in the monks faces. Yes, they would get right in their faces with their obnoxious cameras and flashes. Not to generalize a population, but I did observe on this particular day it was all Chinese tourists who were being very rude. The British, Australian , Japanese- all politely staying further away and not using flashes and force. The monks gathered all their goodies, some with things falling out of their overflowing bowls. I later learned that they give back the snack food that they aren’t supposed to eat, to locals. Pretty sure they are just supposed to eat the rice.

So we got a few pictures (without flashes). I had a very rude man push in front of me multiple times with his large flash. I said “you aren’t supposed to use a flash- respect other cultures”, multiple times, but the Chinese man did not seem to understand me. Whatever. We came, we saw.

We headed to the train/ bus station hungry wondering if we would be able to get something for breakfast before our long ride. The ride from Luang Prabang to Houay Xai was estimated to be anywhere between 9-12 hours. You have to remember, this is a country without the same rules/ roads and customer service as we are used to in America. I tried to figure out our ticket/ bus situation with a man who did not speak any English, while Conner went in the store to find us breakfast.

This is what Conner came out with for our bus ride breakfast — haha- some strawberry cookies and squid flavored chips. The cookies actually were pretty tasty.

We rushed to the station but still had a good 30 minutes wait before our bus arrived. Our bus, that was actually a minivan. A man greeted us and led us over to his van, which wasn’t so clean inside. It wasn’t horrible, but it definitely wasn’t super clean looking. We were the only ones boarding, so we chose our seats and spread out our stuff. We were happy thinking we may have this whole van to ourselves for the long ride. Boy, were we wrong!

The first 2 hours were nice. Peaceful, quiet- empty! Then the driver began picking random people up. When I say “random” , I mean, we literally were driving through mountain villages and locals would get in the van. It didn’t seem “booked” or planned to us. It seemed more like people waving him down for a ride. The first two girls hopped in the front seat with the driver – a 3 person bench. Two cute, local girls, who didn’t even acknowledge us in the back. Next, we picked up 3 other girls from a very remote village. The girls were very “modern” looking though, for a mountain village. They were wearing makeup and modern clothes. They also did not really acknowledge me or Conner, and sat behind us. Next town we picked up an 2 older men and a younger man. Before we knew it our van was packed full. We went from just the 2 of us, to a packed van with 15 people.

We love to travel (obviously), and being in a packed van going around very, very, VERY winding mountain roads is part of the experience. And we were embracing it. The young girls in their 20’s behind us starting blasting music videos from they phones. Two of them at once. And then the guy in front of us also starting playing loud music from his phone. Hmm… this is interesting. Different than in the US. Let’s all blast different songs from our phones and overpower each other, and just have a big loud mix of craziness. Yup, that’s what it was like. We looked at each other and just laughed. We were enjoying the craziness of it all until– well until– the vomit began.

The girl behind Conner began vomiting in her personal vomit bag. I forgot to mention, our fearless driver gave all of the Laotian people a vomit bag.We didn’t get one. When we boarded however, he did give us a little snack pack with a water bottle, snacks, etc. which was nice. But yeah- so pretty ,little local girl is vomiting profusely in her bag, when the man in front of me starts also vomiting. Oh my gosh. Is this really happening? Then a third girl joined in, and a 4th guy in front of Conner. He was nice enough to open his window and let the spew flow out, leaving some on the window for Conner to look at the rest of the 10 hours.

So this goes on for awhile. Then we stop for lunch. A rest stop. Whew, thank goodness. A rest stop with beautiful views.

Conner orders us some chicken wings for lunch. We didn’t get just wings though- we got the whole chicken. The head, the toes. Very appetizing ( sarcasm– I was suddenly not so hungry anymore)

So at the rest stop I noticed our lovely co-passengers eating also. All of them. The ones who were just puking their brains out. We board the bus, and literally in less than 20 minutes they ALL start puking again. All of them. I mean in their defense, it was a rough ride. The curves were non -stop on very tall mountains. However, if you know you just got sick, why oh why would you scarf down a huge plate of food?

So, they are puking. Conner and I look at each other and just laugh. We couldn’t help it. Was this really happening? An older man, a local, sitting near joined in our smiles knowing what we were thinking.Thank goodness it wasn’t smelly puke. The Laos diet is so much rice. That is my theory on why it didn’t smell. The ride goes on. We stop again for a bathroom break. Our pukers get more food/ snacks. And they begin puking more. Are they serious? Conner mentioned that I should pick up my carry -on satchel bag off the ground.

Well, he was right. Just a short time later vomit began rolling down the floor of the van. I am sorry if you reading this in disgust, but this is how it happened. So the vomit is all over, under my raised feet ( my knees clutched tight to my chest). I am wondering how the heck can I do this for 4-6 more hours? After a few minutes we stop for another rest break. Nobody seems to let the driver know about the mess, and he doesn’t seem to notice. So I spoke up. Unsure how much English he knew, I mimed and tried to explain what had happened. He got upset once he realized. He bought tissues and water and made the girl behind Conner (the vomit -leaker culprit) clean up the mess as we all waited outside the van. She acted really ignorant about the whole thing. Almost snooty. Like really? I am the first to accept other cultures and differences in beliefs, but I don’t care where you come from- this was rude and gross. This girl was not from a reclusive background. She had on jeans my friends in the US wear. She had her nails done, and her makeup perfect. She just was rude to her fellow passengers and didn’t want to clean up her own nasty vomit.

Ok rant over. But really, Conner and I were appalled. To make us not sound like snobby US travelers , I want to point out that we have traveled along one of the poorest river towns in the world in Cambodia- where the people were amongst the most amazing we have ever met!!!!! We have gone to the bathroom in more holes in the ground than I can keep track of. We have slept in sketchy places with rats. We can handle what comes with travel- but when a human being is just rude and gross – that we can’t handle. She rolled her eyes like the driver was rude to ask her to clean her own vomit. Puhleaseeee girlfriend.

SO the ride continues. They get new bags. They vomit some more. Conner and I came to the conclusion that the Laotian people perhaps aren’t used to riding in cars, especially not for long periods of time. They ride bikes and motor bikes, and many stay in their home towns most of the time. This may be why the driver gave only locals the puke bags.

After an interesting 11 hours we arrived at the Huay Xai bus station. It was already dark and we were greeted by a bombarding local group. “Where you going?Hotel? We take you”. They were asking for way more money than we knew we should pay. We politely declined but they kept hounding us. “No thank you”, we kept saying. The leader of the group seemed the most aggressive. He wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. We looked around , and realized we didn’t have many options. Unlike other parts of Laos, there weren’t Tuk-tuk drivers everywhere for us to hail. The local group seemed super shady and gave us a bad vibe- plus we didn’t want to get ripped off. We tried messaging Jess and Chris, who we knew were already at hotel where we were all staying. We also tried calling the hotel directly with no luck. I finally ran over to our mini van driver ( our fearless 12 hour vomit man driver), and asked him if he would take us to our hotel. He agreed on a price. Yay! The mean bullies came over and scared him away. Really? Now, Conner and I were feeling cornered. It seemed we had to go with these jerks. As they smoke their cigarettes and tried to look tough, they told us to wait 20 minutes. Really? In the dark? And for a ride where you were already triple charging us?

We had no choice. We waited. Another bus came and one German couple got off. It was relieving to see other travelers- an instant feeling that we suddenly had “backup”.The bullies convinced them to join in on our ride- much to their fight ( like us). So the four of us boarded the back of the super shady leader bully’s truck bench. He forced us to pay upfront. We all refused but he wouldn’t back down. I angrily looked for a license plate to take a picture of. I was not going to have it. I was going to report these jerks to the Laos police. Conner said, ” babe, please , don’t let them see you take a picture – this is a communist country”. Oh my gosh – please. These guys needed to be reprimanded for treating tourists this way. Needless to say I never got my picture. I prayed , as we rode along that this man would take us to our hotel and not some alley way to kill or rob us.

We made it to the German couple’s hotel and ran off. We didn’t even stay on to continue traveling to ours. We found our hotel and were more than less thrilled. Since Huay Xai is not very well known, there are few hotels. Conner picked the best rated one. It wasn’t clean, but wasn’t awful. We went downstairs to see if we could find dinner. The hotel owned a restaurant on the river, which had decent reviews. We sat along the river, where we could see Thailand right across the way. Pretty cool!
We both ordered pad thai- which was not very good. We both were so hungry but could barely eat it. We drank our Laos beers and headed for bed.

As I lay in bed, it hit me that the next AM, I would have to face my fear. I would have to zipline at crazy high heights, above the jungle. I could it. I booked it. I planned it. I wanted to to do it. “Kinsay, you got this” , I told myself as I fell asleep.

I grew up in theater. I was an actress. Being on stage, performing was my childhood. It was my passion. Early on , in 5th grade I was cast as a “flying monkey” in a community performance of “Wizard of Oz”. Little did I know how close friends the other flying monkeys would become to me! Victoria and I had met at age 4. Our mothers, friends and co-workers. We now met again as “flying monkeys”. Our paths kept crossing and we ended up becoming best friends in high school. To this day we still have a bond like no other! A friendship I can always count on! I am the Godmother to her two beautiful daughters. It is so cool to think how a friendship can grow and go on for so long! Tony, another “flying monkey” became another huge person in my life! We went on to star in plays together and be very good friends through the years!

Why am I telling you this? Oh right, because I was dreaming of flying monkeys the night before the Gibbon experience. I suppose my inner subconscious was channeling me , flying, like a monkey.

Ok, I may sound crazy. Did I have a fear of heights? I thought so. I did fall off of a balcony in 11th grade. I had hiked tall mountains, been on the top of high buildings. Maybe it wasn’t heights I was scared of? Was it flying? Ziplines? I didn’t know, but I knew I was scared, and I wanted to conquer whatever it was! YOLO!
So we wake up, have a decent breakfast outside by the river, where we met Jess and Chris. We walked over to check in for the Gibbon experience. I had read so many other’s blogs and reviews. Jessica’s cousin from Australia had done it and loved it! The consensus was- it is a ” once in a lifetime” experience- a “must do”. I was psyched! I was ready! How cool to think we would be waking up in a treehouse on Christmas day?

That’s right. We would be ziplining and hiking all day until we reach our treehouse (our hotel), in the middle of the forest. The company began as a conservation project for the Gibbons, who were endangered.

They built some absolutely amazing treehouses- some of the tallest in the world where people can stay! They developed the plan to have guests experience the life of a gibbon- and zipline through the forests, above the tallest trees.

We arrived to the Gibbon experience office and checked in our bags. We would only be able to take a small bag (that could hang on us while we zipline). We signed away our lives on the liability forms. I had read on blogs not to take smelly items to include- soaps, perfumes, makeup- anything that could attract tree rats. I also read the the “office” can hide away those things separate from the bag closet, because they also had rats in the office. I inquired and they took the stuff and put away for us. We were led to watch a safety video with a large group There were 3 different tours leaving that day, so not everyone would be with us. The video began, and so did my fear. Tears streamed down my face as I listened to this safety rules. It seemed so scary watching this “safety video”. I didn’t mean to cry, but I did. Jess handed me a tissue.

The video ended, we gathered our stuff and set off. We rode an hour into the woods on different trucks. A bumpy ride but enjoyable. I was ready. I could do this. We arrived and they gave us harnesses and our ” zips”. Oh Lord. What was I thinking? I put the thing on, inspecting every inch of it. NO way. No way. How could I trust this metal thing to hold me hundreds of feet in the air? I had lost my mind. Had all these people lost their minds?

We were separated into groups. There were 13 in ours. Our treehouse could sleep all of us! Our guides were Ki (pronounced Key) and Input. They were in their early 20’s at most, but seemed confident. Jess noticed my safety notch seemed worn out. What? Are you kidding me? OMG. They swapped it out, but now I was really worried. We walked to our first little test line. It was short, and over a river. Ok, ok this doesn’t look so bad. I can do this. Conner, Jess and Christopher comforted me , saying it would be fine and we were ” oh so safe”. I watched as everyone in our group zipped their way across so effortlessly. The small village children gathered to watch us. We had passed them as we were walking. They were so adorable ! I later learned that our guide KI, was from the village.

How cute – seriously!! Makes my heart melt!

Ok, so I am ready. I can do this. And I get ready to go. Conner and the village kids are watching, and I start to cry. Like really cry. I didn’t mean to- once again. I was scared! After some convincing I did it. And it was fun! Really fun! OK, this isn’t bad! I can do this!!! I was excited – heart still pumping from adrenaline. Conner makes his way across and we begin a long hike to our next line.

We hiked up a very, very steep hill. I felt short of breath, which I am sure was due to my anxiety I just experienced. I can hike . Heck, I can run 7 miles without an issue. I was fine. Jess, Chris, and Conner ahead of me, I just kept walking. I couldn’t catch my breath. It was weird. I suddenly felt like I could pass out, I gasped ” Conner, I can’t breathe” before hyperventilating. If you have never had this happen to you- you are lucky! It is scary! This is only the 2nd time it has ever happened to me. It feels like what I imagine a panic attack to feel like.Conner and the guide ran over to me. I was gasping for a breath. I finally managed to catch it, but tears streamed down my face. It was a super scary feeling. Conner and the concerned guide rested with me for a few minutes and then I was ok to go again. There were others in our group behind me who were finding the hike itself challenging, so I didn’t feel so bad.

After some more hiking we arrived at our next zipline. There were a lot of lines. I got very nervous every time but would pray, and go. I actually felt like I was starting to get the hang of it. I can do this! I can do this! If I could get over my fear I would LOVE every second!

Sometimes I needed extra reassurance—

The views were incredible

I watched as the rest of my group seemed to love it and have no fear! Our eclectic group of a French father with his 3 daughters, 2 women cousins from Indonesia, a South Korean married couple, a Switzerland ultra marathon runner Marcel, and the 4 of us Americans!

The young French girls were super fearless! The sisters 15, 17 and I think 19, were just adorable! They would just jump out there like they were invincible! I wish I had that courage! I was hoping I would get it if I just kept going! Jess and Chris looked like pros- granted they had done it before! Conner also seemed so comfortable! Why was I so fearful? I enjoyed the shorter ones, but some of the really long ones ( up to 570 meters) were so intimidating! At some points I would beg to walk. Conner was like “Babe, come on- you can’t walk. It will take hours- you have to zip”. Omg. I was stuck. I had no choice at this point. I had to keep going.

Overall, the views were incredible. The experience amazing.

We stopped along the hike for lunch, in which the guides gave us some yummy sandwiches. We continued on and on until we reached our glorious treehouse! Oh we did pass the “tallest tree” in Laos along the way!

our treehouse aka hotel 🙂

Our fabulous group!!

We had to “zip” to our accommodations, where we would be sleeping. Our food for dinner and breakfast would be delivered via zipline. I was immediately impressed with the treehouse! It was huge!!! 3 levels, with running well water. We picked our areas where we would sleep.Two cots next to each other for the couples. Our only privacy a mosquito net around us.

After checking out the place we all congregated in a “dining room” area. We all started talking and hanging out. Ki and Input gave us snacks and tea/ coffee. Some took showers- some didn’t. The shower was pretty cool! If you have never showered above the forest with the open woods surrounding you- I highly recommend. The not so warm shower water, was ok- the views made up for it! Talk about really “being in nature”. Amazing!

Everyone hung out and just relaxed. Ki started showing card tricks. He was quite the entertainer! Before I knew it, I was his assistant. He kept asking me to help him with his tricks. It was fun!

We enjoyed the glorious sunset!!! It was difficult to take good pictures, but it was so beautiful!

They offered all of us Laos beers to put in our small packs earlier in the day before our departure, if we wanted to bring them. Many of us did. Conner also brought a small bottle of Laos whiskey. I think whiskey is so gross- however , I did try this Laos whiskey and it was pretty good!!

With our beverages, we were served a nice meal of mostly rice and veggies. Our nice Korean friends offered us their hot sauce that they brought. It was so yummy! The rest of the night was really enjoyable! One of my favorite parts of travel is meeting people from all over the world! I am a people -person, no doubt! I love , love , love hearing about others lives and experiences. When you travel to a place like Laos, especially a secluded treehouse in the middle of nowhere- you can bet , the people you meet are adventurous and have travelled well! The conversations are fabulous! I have learned so much from others’ experiences and cultures. Ki really opened up about his life. He was a resident of the small village outside of our departure earlier. He really wanted to go to college, but his mother had passed away , and his father told him he had to keep working for the family. His girlfriend is a medical doctor student in a city a few hours away. He seemed so smitten for her. He said they text all the time. So cool to imagine a person , living in a very small, remote village in Laos, chats with his girlfriend the same we do in the US. I encouraged him to stick to his dream of college, and never give up!

After hours of card tricks and good conversations, we finally started tapering off to bed. People slowly started sneaking away to under their personal mosquito covered tent areas. Conner and I stayed up a bit to help Ki clean the food. He said he was giving the leftovers to the tree rats. He told us they don’t bother him and they actually taste really good. He said he would catch one and make us tree rat soup. Um, no thanks Ki!

I had heard / read about these tree rats. Our mosquito nets had little bite holes in them, so I was a little nervous. As we laid in our area I asked Conner if I could pretty please keep the flash light on. It was pitch dark- and there were noises everywhere around us. Oh, and we are in the middle of nowhere in a foreign country. So, was I being a baby? I don’t think so!! He was sweet and said I could. Being on electrical engineer, he then inspected the flash light to make sure it wouldn’t get too hot and blow up in my face during the night. I felt semi -safe with my blaring light, sweet hubby, and mosquito net high up in the trees.

Lots of animal noises all around- Ki called out to us- “guys, there are mountain cats everywhere, come see!”. Oh boy! Conner got up and went out to look. He spotted some eyes in the trees.

During the night I slept on and off. Scattering noises would wake me. I would anxiously grab my light and look all around the covered area. “Conner, what is that” I’d ask. His reply ,” sorry babe , that was me”. This went on. He got up once or twice to go to the bathroom. Only days later would he tell me of the numerous tree rats he saw. He saw their shadows all around our sleeping area. He purposely lied telling me it was him making noise, knowing I’d freak out! I graciously thanked him!

We awoke Christmas day in our treehouse. How magnificent. We awoke on such a special day, in such a special place, surrounded by pure nature!

Stay tuned for more in Laos and adventures in Chiang Mai, Thailand….

❤

-Kinz

Lost in Laos….

by kinsay20January 17, 2017February 12, 2017

We awoke bright and early—- ok, not really bright- it was 6:00am, (which on this trip was sleeping in), to catch our bus to Vang Vieng. Conner, Chris, Jess and I had booked our bus a couple of days earlier and were told they would pick us up at our hotels at 7:30am. After a good hotel breakfast, to include my favorite- passion fruit- we sat in the lobby waiting for our bus. Chris and Jess were at their hotel down the street and we figured we would just meet on the bus. Around 7:45am we started getting worried. Where was our ride? I asked the front desk staff to call and check for me. She ensured me that they were coming. A mini van arrived and I watched in worry as the driver haphazardly threw our bags on top of the van. We climbed into a packed 14 seat van with 2 seats left for us. Conner and I remembered the ticket seller saying we would be taken to the big bus. We started driving and arrived near a big bus. Conner and I had agreed we would run off so we could get seats next to each other for the longer ride. As soon as we stopped, we jumped out and were quickly told by a man on the side of the road- “no, no, stay”. After our driver had a discussion with the man, our driver got back in and began driving again. We couldn’t understand what was going on, and nobody tried to explain it to us, but what we sort of assumed the big bus was full. It made sense, as there was no method of tracking bus ticket sales. In the entire town of Vientiane, (and we found later throughout Laos), everyone could sell bus tickets. The woman selling bikes, the guy at the street corner, the ladyboy playing pool at a bar—- yes, anyone could take your money and give you a paper receipt for a bus ticket. How could they possibly keep track of how many were sold?

It seemed their method was to just have a driver, or 3 extra on hand to drive the “extras” in the mini vans. Well, we had paid for a big bus. We thought we would be on a big bus. And now where were Chris and Jess? Were they on the bug bus? Who knew? We couldn’t reach them , since they didn’t have Wifi access.

So here we were on a cramped mini van with our luggage on top of the van , for the 4-5 hour journey. John and I were the only Westerners in the van, and the only English speakers it seemed. After 5 minutes the driver stopped again at a gas station. He was filling up the tank. We found out this was common practice too. In our next Laos rides, we would see they always fill up their tanks with the van full , and even change tires. It is just funny because in the US, these are things that are typically done before picking up the customers. However, this driver didn’t seem to have planned to be driving us all the Vang Vieng.

So the journey began. We tried to nap on the ride, but the winding roads up and through the mountains made it tough. The ride was quite beautiful, if you have a string stomach. I was ok, and actually really enjoyed the beautiful views.

Our Korean and Chinese co-passengers mostly slept during the ride. We stopped half way at a rest stop for lunch, and ran into Jess and Chris! They were on the big bus! Thank goodness! They figured we had been put on another bus when they saw their’s was full.

As we arrived closer to the beautiful mountain- river town, I thought about it’s crazy history from my previous research. The legends say that the main flowing river was named “Xong (bed) of Phra Nha Phao” — or “Nam Song “— in 1356 AD, after the body of the deceased King was seen floating down the river. Nearly 700 years later, the bodies were still coming. Sounds gruesome right?

After many, many years of the town being a sleepy fishing and farming village, backpackers and travelers began to catch on to its beauty. It started becoming a destination for rock climbing and caving. Many travelers would volunteer to help local farmers, in exchange for a place to stay. In 1999, an organic local farmer had an idea to use old tractor tires as tubes for his volunteers to float along the idyllic lagoon-like river. Once more guesthouses opened and saw how much the travelers liked tubing, they all began offering tubes. More and more people started coming. Word of mouth amongst the backpacker population really spread. A few locals opened little bars along the river to offer the tubers drinks. Once the locals realized that these young travelers enjoyed the “party” while they float along the river- more and more and more bars opened. Signs would advertise “free joint with booze” along the river.

Next came ziplines, rope swings , and very intoxicated backpackers. Many locals were making money off of the new escalated tourism, but many were upset. The lovely, quiet village now had loud techno music blaring over rice fields. And then people started getting hurt. In 2011, it is said that 27+ backpackers/ travelers died in the river. Many drowned, or hit their head falling from swings or ziplines into shallow water. Interesting article link—

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/apr/07/vang-vieng-laos-party-town

Families of the injured or deceased contacted their embassies with concerns and despair. Reports stated the bars were serving laced alcoholic drinks. Drinks with mushrooms and opium. Eventually this “unregulated tourism” was recognized by the government and a huge overhaul took place. All of the bars were shut down. The years that followed required tourists to wear life jackets along the river that was only accessible during certain hours. Tourism and business drastically declined. Apparently in 2015 it started to pick up again. A couple of “regulated” bars were approved to open again. (We will get to that later).

It is quite sad to know and think how a beautiful destination could be so tainted with such circumstances. I can say from my experience with spending some time, talking and hanging out with some backpackers- they are a very unique group. They are like modern day hippies, or beatniks. Some start as young travelers freshly out of school, just exploring the world. Many Australians, Israelis and Europeans encourage their children to do so. Not just for a few weeks or months. Many do a year, some 2 years. And some just keep going. It seems it is common for some to get caught up in the lifestyle. Who can blame them? They just travel, hangout, meet new people. No job, no responsibility. Southeast Asia is a very popular destination for this group because it is so inexpensive. They can live on $10 USD easily. A cheap hostel and street food. Of course Conner and I do not stay in those hostels, or eat in that way. But then again, we aren’t traveling for a year at a time. We have enjoyed hanging out near the backpacker hostel neighborhoods in the past though. In Cambodia and Vietnam we had great times having late night talks with some interesting backpackers. Some have fascinating stories! Their ages range from 18- 40 (with some outliers).

One of the bloggers I follow wrote this interesting piece on the subject—( Make sure to watch the video on the site as well)

http://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/why-are-backpackers-in-southeast-asia-so-stupid/

So we arrive in the lovely town. After getting our packs we set out to find our hotel. Walking along the streets you could immediately see the “backpacker” presence. They were everywhere. The restaurants and stores catered to the population with signs saying “ free drinks”, “magic milkshakes”, “ cheap pizza” etc. I was in agreement to come here knowing it wasn’t as crazy as it had been years earlier. It was startling to see some of the open advertisements for drugs. Did I mention this is a communist country? They say “ social republic” but it is really a fancy term for communist ( in my opinion, and from my research).

Conner and I found our hotel and checked in. It was ok- “Laos Haven”. Nothing special, but it was fine. Jess and Chris messaged us. They had found it too and were ready for lunch. We met at a German- Laos restaurant. A small restaurant with one man working. A small menu of both German and Laos food. We all had pork schnitzels , which were pretty tasty!

We decided to use the rest of the afternoon tubing. We were going to wait to tube until the following day but it was still early afternoon, so we had plenty of time!

Signing waivers for our tubes was like signing off on our life. They would accept no liability if we were hurt. They wrote numbers on our hands in permanent markers and we were led to a truck that would take us to the tubing starting point. We passed an extremely intoxicated couple , probably in their mid 50’s. The man was mumbling nonsense and stumbling. They were in bathing suits and returning their tubes. Eek- scary to think they were just in the river. We set out on the river – the water a bit chilly, but the scenery really beautiful. There were some other small groups tubing near us but everyone was calm and enjoying the ride. We rode along for quite awhile with mountains surrounding us. Only a few spots had strong currents.

We approached closer to loud music and people laughing. As we edged closer we could see one of the river bars on the side packed with tubes. We decided we would stop and take a look. As we got off of our tubes and walked up the shore, Jess gave me a look like “ oh my gosh”. There was just a bunch of people in bathing suits dancing and acting silly. It did look a bit like a hot mess as we approached. I warned Christopher and Jess that they would see way more of this when they go to areas of Thailand-especially Phuket. Nobody was necessarily doing anything wrong.They just were drunk and some of them looked really ridiculous. One girl’s breasts were pouring out of her way too small bathing suit- if you think that sounds sexy , well it wasn’t -hah…she was a non-hot mess. But you know- more power to her. She was having fun. One guy was dancing in circles by himself. The bartenders at the makeshift bar were Australian and European tourists in their 20’s. It seems they will stay and work in the Vang Vieng bars for a month or 6 months to make money and just hangout, until they decide to travel on to their next stop.

We had a beer and people watched. It was great “people watching” to say the least. Back on our tubes we floated along the lovely river. We passed multiple small boats with monks. They were taking our pictures, while we were taking theirs. How funny!

As we neared the end of the tubing (takes about 2-3 hours or so to get down the whole river), we unloaded out at the same time as a bunch of other tourists. We all bargained with a local driver to take us back in his truck with benches in the back. There were about 10 of us. We loaded in and drunk boob girl made room for herself laying on a hammock over the rest of us. The driver seemed shocked that she was laying in his hammock. “Oh hey guys. Now this is weird—“, she said in her Australian accent, “ you aren’t any of the people I started with tubing today. Haha, so funny. Who are you people”? Oh jeez. She continued to say silly things during the ride. One guy begged for money to borrow to pay the driver. “ I promise I will pay someone back”, he kept saying. Everyone just kind of ignored him, until finally after the 5th time of him asking one guy gave him money.

There was a nice couple we chatted with a bit. They would be traveling for 8 months they said. They seemed young- probably 22 or so. We returned our tubes- boob girl tried to accuse my brother of taking her tube because she couldn’t find hers. But hers was right in front of her. Yup, that happened.

We went back to the hotel to rinse off quickly so we could go eat dinner. All that tubing made us hungry! Conner, Chris , Jess and I had a nice dinner of Asian dishes. Many of the restaurants in Vang VIeng offer a similar eclectic menu- one that caters to tourists. Menus that have asian dishes, pizza, burgers, etc.

After dinner we walked around the cute and busy street. We stopped at a cool looking bar to hangout for a bit. It was really cool, you take off your shoes and sit at a very Japanese type table. We took a look at the menu to pick out our beer or, in my case wine- and were shocked at the menu items—- an entire section with items like “mushrooms” , “opium” , “joints”. Were we in an alternate universe? I am going to go with yes. Yes, we were.

We saw this type of thing in Cambodia 2 years ago, but it wasn’t so blatant. It wasn’t listed on a menu with prices right next to pizza and a soda. Hmm ok——well, needless to say after one drink we left. We left to find another bar—- have you seen “locked up abroad”- that show will scare you to death! They literally give tourists the death penalty in Indonesia for drugs.

So we found another bar with pool tables and music. They weren’t advertising drugs, but they were giving away free shots. Yes, just giving away free liquor to anyone who would take it. No strings attached. Now, I don’t drink liquor so it was a no for me. Conner had one free drink. We sat and watched the interesting people. This particular bar had good music, cool pool tables and games, and lady boys. A couple really attractive ladyboys. Yes, they are men who look like women, and dress like women. Some of them are very attractive, and you just can’t tell. Conner and Christopher say you can “always tell”, but I don’t know- they had me fooled. Christopher thinks the key is looking at the hands. Conner says he can “just tell”.Hmmmm— ok well I know some ladies with bigger hands.

After our people watching entertainment for the night we set off to bed. I woke up in the middle of the night feeling quite sick. Maybe it was something I ate? I don’t know. I was hoping it would pass because I was so excited to hike the next day.

Well it didn’t pass- I still felt weird and sick in the AM. Conner brought me a sandwich and smoothie but I didn’t feel up to eating. It is quite common to get a little food poisoning or sick at least when traveling , especially in Southeast Asia. I eventually told Conner to go enjoy without me. He, Chris and Jess rode bikes and took a hike that I had been so excited to take!!!! I was so incredibly sad to miss it!

By 7pm I was finally feeling better, so Conner convinced me to go get pizza. We walked around, had some pizza and enjoyed the town. While Vang Vieng is tainted with a history of poorly behaved tourists and unfortunate situations, it is still a very lovely town. I definitely recommend a 2-3 night stop here when in Laos.

The next AM we set out for Luang Prabang- another city I was so incredibly excited to see! Our mini van bus picked the four of us up at outside our hotel in the AM. Conner got us some really delicious breakfast sandwiches. The french baguettes with egg and cheese were so yummy!

The ride was another twisty, turning, stomach- wrenching ride along the mountains. Really, really beautiful. But again- if you have a queasy stomach- take something!
We arrived in the quaint and beautiful town around lunch time. Conner and I walked and found our adorable hotel “Villa Ban Lakkham” and Chris and Jess walked a little further to get to theirs- only about a 2 minute walk away.

I really liked this hotel! The room was so pretty and clean, with our own private balcony.

Overlooking the water, the hotel had a very rustic, but chic feel to it. We settled in and then went and walked around. Jess and Chris met us along the pretty Mekong riverside for lunch. After a nice lunch we walked around the town and then hiked to the really cool temple view point.

We saw monks making crafts in the street, women selling birds that you could buy to “set free for good luck” at the temple. At the top we had amazing views! We even saw buddhas footprint in a cave!

We then walked along the night market, and tried to figure out bus tickets for Huay Xai-our next stop in a couple days. Huey Xai was where we had booked the “Gibbon Experience” ( more on that later). This town is far out- way out- even Laos locals have no idea where it is. It is not a super common place to go to, so we didnt want to miss our chance to get a ticket booked. Did I mention you can’t book these things ahead of time? Bus tickets in Laos , are not able to be booked via online, phone or other means that we could figure out. So odd, considering it is a pretty established country. More established than Myanmar overall, and way more accustomed to tourists- but somehow Myanmar had their bus/ train system planning down better than Laos.

We tried chatting and negotiating with a few sellers. After some debate and chat, Conner and I decided to do a day bus trip to allow us an extra night in Luang Prabang. Chris and Jess decided to do a night bus ride, so that they wouldn’t lose any day time. Both have their plusses I suppose. Conner and I wanted to maximize our time in Luang Prabang and didn’t think we would get a good nights sleep on a bus. We felt a rested nights sleep would be better for us. Jess and Chris felt they could pass out and sleep their whole ride.

That night Conner and I had an amazing dinner at a French restaurant right along the main street of Luang Prabang called Tangor. It was such a cute place with so much detail and art. I had a delicious cheese & meat plate for dinner and Conner and a duck breast!

After some more investigation and negotiation we booked our daily activities for the following day with a tour guide. We had planned to see the well-known Kuang SI waterfalls, and the “Living land farm”. Jess and Chris just wanted to the do the falls and booked a separate time. As it worked out, for us to do both, we had to get up early in the AM to go see the waterfalls so that we could be back in time for the Living Land at 1:00pm.

Getting up early to an alarm on vacation is never intriguing, but sometimes in order to make the most of your time, and see everything, it is the only way! Up bright and early we enjoyed breakfast on the balcony of our hotel, and then our private tuk -tuk driver picked us up. The journey from town to the falls took about 45 minutes. I realized all of the group tour times advertised were for 11:30am and later in the afternoon. None for the morning! This meant we would have the whole place to ourselves! Only 1 other vehicle was outside the entrance when we arrived around 8am.

As we entered, we were excited to see the awesome bear sanctuary. I had read about it online but it was even cooler in person! There were so many bears- and they were set up living in natural habitats. We watched them wrestle and play. It was really neat!

We then began our hike to the falls. There are some beautiful pools and falls near the ground level entrance- they go on and on and are so pretty. Some are described and called “fairy pools” because that is what they look like. They reminded me of a movie I loved growing up called “ Fern gully”.

Conner and I decided to take the hike to the right side to the top of the falls. Conner had read it was steeper and more challenging but that it was a better view. It was actually very steep and both of us almost fell a couple of times. Once we made it to the top, it was so worth it!! It was so pretty and peaceful!

We had a really great time! Eventually, we knew we had to head the hike back down to find our driver. We started walking and figured we could go down the left side- the opposite of the side we came up. So we walk, and we walk— and we walks some more. After some time we started thinking something wasn’t right. We had no clue where we were, but we knew we weren’t heading the right way. We realized we were lost. With no internet/ cell connection, we didn’t really know where to go. We were officially- lost in Laos.

We kept hiking at a faster pace, hoping we would see something, or somebody. It is a little scary when you truly have no idea where you are. This happened to us on a hike in Thailand. We went over a Tsunami -struck island- a hike the locals told us we were crazy to do.We made it through that time, as we would this time ( that’s what I told myself). I wonder how long it be for someone to notice we were missing? Would our driver care if we didn’t return? Would the hotel report us missing? What about Chris and Jess? They probably wouldn’t worry for a day or so-thinking we just didn’t have cell connection. I could see the headline now ” US couple mysteriously vanishes in the waterfalls of Laos”.

As my imagination ran wild, we suddenly heard a lovely sound– the sound of the falls! We were getting closer. We knew once we found the falls again, we could follow them all the way down the mountain.

Once we made our way back down the steep mountain, we found our driver and made our way back to town. Whew! Thank goodness! We had just enough time to grab a sandwich to scarf down quickly!

Our afternoon was spent at the Living Land farm. We arrived, greeted by a sweet, local guide. Our 4 hours there was magnificent! We had a nice group of people from all of the world. There were about 12 of us- Germans, French, Australian, Canadians. Our guide took us through all 13 steps to make rice. Who knew rice was so complicated? I appreciate rice now, like never before. The process is quite amazing!

We were able to partake in all the steps- that includes ploughing the sweet water buffalo. Conner was so good at it! Keep in mind, the fertilizer is water buffalo poop. Yes- that huge water/ mud looking stuff is poop, and we walked all through it. Your feet sink like quick- sand! Oh, and there are leeches too!

Our awesome guide singing —

It was really such a fun afternoon! After working hard in the rice fields, we got to enjoy some rice treats and rice wine!

After a fabulous day of waterfalls, bears and rice farming we relaxed! We had an amazing dinner of Korean Bbq to end our night in Luang Prabang!

Korean BBQ, allows you to get to cook at your table! They light coals and provide you with all the veggies, raw meats, and sauces. It was so fun to have Conner cook dinner, since at home in the US, I usually cook ;).

An amazing night to end a great day! To bed we go to get up early for the alms of the monks!

ບໍ່ໄດ້ສູນເສຍ

bode sunsia (not lost)– In Laos,

Kinz

From Rats to Riches…

by kinsay20January 2, 2017January 2, 2017

Ah, yes we began our travels in Myanmar staying in a hotel with rats ( see previous post, “Yangon(e) goes my passport”) , and now we are staying in a huge suite in a Hilton. Actually, we basically have the entire Hilton property to ourselves, or should I say “compound”. The Hilton property in the capital city of Napithaw was deserted. Workers, maintenance and beautiful grounds surrounding us, but no other guests. Weird right? The entire town seemed deserted (hence “post-apocalyptic”- previous post). There were no cars in the highways. None for miles and miles, along a city with many 5 star hotels and large homes. Where were all the people?

Interesting article —

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/05/10/they-built-a-capital-and-no-one-came-inside-burma-s-ghost-city.html

We slept really well in our amazing, enormous room(s). The next morning after a fabulous buffet breakfast, I decided to get a good workout in at the hotel gym before we set out back to Yangon. It felt good to get in a good run- even though we do a lot of walking when we travel, it’s just not quite the same.

We set out on our bus ride back to Yangon where we would fly out the following morning to Laos. The 5 hour bus ride wasn’t too bad, with a lunch break rest stop along the way.

Jess is unsure of this tentacle in her soup— haha—

We arrived back to Yangon, but we were not returning to that awful hotel we stayed in last time we were in this city. Christopher and Jess booked a nice hostel and John and I found a hotel near the airport. It was nothing spectacular, ( I am convinced Yangon accommodations just stink overall), but it was way better than our rat hotel.

John and I enjoyed a nice Myanmar beer and Thai meal at the hotel and went right to sleep. I should say, I am not particularly a beer drinker, but there are some beers in Asia I like very much. I like the Myanmar beer, Singha, Tiger and Asahi are also good. In Southeast Asia the beer is super cheap. For .50 cents you can get a tall beer in most countries.

The next morning we met at the airport for our flight to Laos! The check -in process was quite archaic with no technology involved. Our paper tickets in hand, we headed to the waiting area where we could watch obnoxious Chinese tourists, and Myanmar locals chew their betel nut.

I didn’t want to be rude and take a picture of someone’s teeth- but the googled pic below does a good job showing you the common sight seen in the country-

Our flight was pleasant and we were even fed on it. Not bad for a propeller plane. One thing I have mentioned in previous blog posts about Asia- all the stewardesses are pretty! Like really attractive people and so polite. This is across the board in Asia- Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and now Myanmar and Laos. They are so polite and nice and professional.

We arrived in Laos around lunch time and had only a short wait to get our “ visa on arrival”. We had applied and obtained our visa for Myanmar weeks prior to our trip. Research online made it clear that most just did the “on arrival visa “ in Laos. While Myanmar is newer to tourism ( only about 5 years for Westerners), Laos has been one to tourists for over a decade. Our Laos visa cost us 35$ USD plus $1 for a picture. The process really didnt’ take more than 30 minutes.

As we were departing the Laos airport we saw a place to buy SIM cards. John and I have used SIM cards in many other countries , and found it is very helpful. You can then use google maps to help you get around, and websites like TripAdvisor to find places to eat, attractions, etc. We paid $5 USD each for 5 gigabytes . The Laos cellphone company employee set up our phones. John’s phone wouldn’t register to 4G, not even 3G. I have the exact same phone and mine was in 4G. We were a little frustrated and the women offered to not have John pay for his, but he did anyways.

Outside the airport we were swarmed with drivers again begging for our business. We settled on a tuk -tuk who took us to our hotels in Vientiane. We dropped off Chris and Jess first, and then were taken to ours, a lovely place with a pool. Our room on the second floor, accessible either by elevator or a beautiful, winding staircase.

After we freshened up John and I set out to explore and find a place for lunch. Ahhh a new city, and a new country!! So exciting ! We had heard great things about Laos from many backpackers and avid travelers we met on other trips.

Walking down the streets of Vientiane, we immediately noted how different it was from Myanmar. The streets were much cleaner and were lined with magnificent cafes. The French influence was abundantly obvious! Laos was a French territory for quite some time. We would soon find the baguettes, pastries and sandwiches were very “ french”. John found a popular Italian place called “Tyson Kitchen” on TripAdvisor for us to enjoy lunch.

We were greeted by a sweet young server, a teenager. I spoke him for quite some time. He was from the Philippines. He and his family had made their way out of the Philippines and to Thailand 6 years earlier. They had been in Laos for 1 year now. He was explaining to me that he has to go back to the Laos/ Thai border every 30 days to get another 30 day visa. His father is in Pensacola, FL- which coincidentally, is where my father is from! He, his mom, and siblings are all doing the paperwork to get to Pensacola to be with his father. He said the Thai are getting “suspicious” with his monthly border crossings. He told me he goes to school and works every day. He even has school on Saturdays! His English was very good, and I encouraged him to follow his dream and get to FL!

John and I had delicious pizza, mozzarella balls and — red wine! Yay! Good, red, French wine! I saw a woman sitting at a nearby table talking to something in a box. I walked over and saw the tiny kitten inside. I had been missing my kitties, so this was a warming sight to see. The woman, an American from New Mexico, told me her name was Annette. She was friends with the restaurant owner and was just watching his rescued kitten. She and I then talked for quite a while. Poor John has to deal with me doing this often. I can’t help it- I love people! I love meeting new people, and leaning about them.

Annette appeared to be about 60. A woman with a thin frame and bobbed silver hair. She had been traveling as a single woman all over the world for her entire adult life. To places where people don’t tend to travel for pleasure. She told me about her time in Syria, and how she had to be rescued out by the embassy. And her time in some African countries. This was her 10th time in Laos. She had been to Myanmar 13 times. Annette was just fascinating! She told me she had been married for a few years, but was always traveling for work- sometimes a year at a time, so her husband left her. I inquired about her work, and how she had the time and money to travel so extravagantly. She said she was “ a very smart business woman”, and left it at that, although she did mention CEO at some point. We exchanged emails and talked about getting together for a drink the following night. I knew Jessica would really like to talk to her as well.

John and I walked around the adorable, quaint town and got an AMAZING massage for equal to just $7 USD for 1 hour. John whispered that he didn’t want a man to massage him as we walked in– haha too late! He still enjoyed it 🙂

Jess and Chris had traditional Laos cuisine somewhere else for lunch. John and I spent a good amount of time walking through the night market area. We saw a huge group of local woman doing workout dancing in the park! This is something we have seen in Vietnam. So fun! Love it!

A bit later we stopped at place to get a sandwich / burger for dinner. Jess and Christopher met us and we had a nice dinner outside. Afterwards we found a cool bar called “ Wind west” where there was really great live music! The female singers were very talented! We stayed for an hour or so, enjoying the music and the crowd.

Christopher & Conner trying to win us prizes at the night market

The following morning John and I got up pretty early. We decided to find a place to rent bikes for the day. It was not hard to find, as bike rentals in Vientiane are everywhere. We ran into Christopher outside his hotel. Today was laundry day for us all. John and I had given ours to our hotel and Chris and Jess found a place near theirs.

We bargained and found a good deal on bike rentals. I tested mine out, and was nervous at first seeing the busy streets with cars. I asked for a helmet. “ Helmet only for motor bike”, multiple women told me . “ No, please I want for regular bike, I will pay extra”. After I insisted , they finally gave me a helmet. Look, in my career I have seen patients with traumatic brain injuries, and some hit by cars. If you have seen what I have , you would insist on a helmet too!

Chris and Jess were still getting ready for the day so we said we would meet later by the river. It was challenging at times to keep in touch, We had our SIMS, but they were using Wifi so at times we couldn’t reach each other. John I rode along the water and then to some Wats (temples).

It was really nice riding along the city. I love bike riding, and I think it is a great way to see a city! We did an amazing bike tour in San Fran with my dad and brother Michael, sister Kelly this past Summer. John and I also rode bike through Vietnam. Traffic on some roads in Vientiane was a bit hectic, but overall it was nice.

We stopped at an indoor shopping mall plaza. It was a huge 3 level mall. I found 18k gold earrings for only $25 USD ! John bought a couple of cell phone cases. As we were riding along on our bikes outside the shopping area, I saw Jess and Chris on the other side of the intersection. I frantically called and waved to them. We were able to meet each other and discuss afternoon plans. They had already been to the arc we wanted to see, so they set out for the mall as we went to the arc. We decided we would meet for lunch in an hour.

The arc was really cool! We climbed to the top for some fun pics!

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John and I rode around a bit longer and then had a nice lunch with Jessica and Christopher. We went to the COPE center together. COPE ( Cooperative orthotic and prosthetic enterprise) is a rehabilitation center in Laos, which provides those with physical disabilties free, quality care.

http://copelaos.org

During the Vietnam war, many Vietnamese soldiers were hiding in Laos. Of course there are multiple sides and opinions to every story, but it is true that the United States dropped many bombs on the country. Google fact check-

“From 1964 to 1973, the U.S. dropped more than two million tons of ordnance on Laos during 580,000bombing missions—equal to a planeload of bombs every 8 minutes, 24-hours a day, for 9 years – making Laos the most heavily bombed country per capita in history.”

It makes the US sounds awful- and it is awful. War is awful! But- we were trying to help many people in Vietnam escape communism. The Laos were helping hide their Vietnamese neighbors- those neighbors who were also attacking us.

Unfortunately, the aftermath of war can be just as a brutal. Many of the explosives did not go off and are still “live” in the countryside of Laos. Children playing in fields, and farmers have been badly injured when these explode- all these years later.

The COPE center helps many amputees, and those injured from these explosives, as well as those born with disabilities, or in motor accidents. Being a physical therapist, I found it especially interesting, that they have used all sorts of materials to create the prosthetics.

No matter how you feel about war, or specifally the Vietnam war- I think it is important to see the aftermath and learn from it. There are teams of workers who go out every day, searching to recover the millions of remnants and possibly “active” explosives in the countryside.

Artists throughout Laos use the materials found to create images.

Later, after walking around a bit more, we found a cool rooftop bar where we could oversee the night market. We sat there for awhile, talking and relaxing.

Night market

The following morning we planned to head to Buddha park.I was so excited about this! I had read and seen pictures and knew it was going to be amazing!

After some negotiating with different tuk -tuk drivers we finally settled on a good deal. The driver would take us to Buddha park and another amazing, famous temple. We also thought about adding in Laos beer brewery to our itinerary, but decided not to. I had just taken John to 4 breweries in DC for his birthday a few months earlier , so we had our fill.

As we arrived at Buddha park our driver tried to communicate that he wanted some money. The boys insisted we would pay him after our day was complete and we were back in the city ( the park was a good 40 minutes away). The driver kept trying to mime what he was saying . I understood- he needed money for gas. He needed to fill up his tank. He was just asking for a small portion of the money so he could get gas. Finally John and Christopher gave him some. Sheesh!

Buddha park was even more phenomenal than I imagined! Pictures just don’t do it justice. It was so incredibly cool! Incredibly cool, but incredibly hot! Imagine this is their cold season? (90 degrees and sweating!)

Me & John

We stayed for awhile just admiring the beautiful sculptures and art. The temple also magnificent!

Reclining Buddha

Jess and Chris

The Amazing and beautiful Pha That Luang

Back in the city, John and I got a sandwich and rested at our hotel for a bit. Jess and Chris also went back to rejuvenate.

John and I spent the evening walking around some more and visiting the rooftop bar again. We loved the vibe and view, although this night, we got to see some disturbing Westerner men with “escorts” situations. This is EVERYWHERE in Thailand. We also saw it some in Cambodia, and even Japan. The scenarios can be really awkward and I have got to learn to keep my mouth shut. There was one time in Cambodia, where there was a very old American man being inappropriate with a girl who looked about 12. I said something . Yes, I sure did. John was a little upset telling me that I am in another country and I can’t do that. Oops! Sorry, I was just so bothered by it, that I couldn’t contain myself.

The next AM we were heading to the mountain, river town of Vang Vieng. A popular tourist attraction for the last decade, that was tarnished by poor behaving tourists! The government had to put some serious retrictions on the city a few years ago. I had read about it and was excited to see the new, clean and improved town.

ສໍາລັບໃນປັດຈຸບັນ (goodbye for now- in Laotian),

❤ Kinz

Magical Mandalay to the Post-Apocalyptic Capital

by kinsay20December 27, 2016February 12, 2017

The remainder of our slow boat ride from Bagan to Mandalay was nice and we just relaxed on the top deck. The southeast Asia sun definitely burned me and Conner!

As we disembarked the boat in Mandalay we were surrounded with cab drivers begging for our business. We found one who seemed nice and had a good price. He drove us the 15 minute ride to our hotels. Jess and Christopher were staying down the street from our hotel Yadanarbon.

As we entered the nice lobby we were greeted with a welcome drink and nice cloths to wash our hands ( pretty customary in Asia). After settling into our room Conner and I went to the nice rooftop for sunset.

We were given a complimentary cocktail and ordered 2 orders of spring rolls appetizer. When they arrived we realized we could split an order-they were huge- each had 10 spring rolls. They were very good and the sunset was beautiful. They informed us a traditional show with singing, marionettes, musicians and dancing would begin at 7:30. We messaged Jess and Christopher to come and join for dinner and the show. We had a pretty good dinner and I really enjoyed the show! The costumes were really pretty and performers very talented.

After the show we went to bed, again planning to get up early to explore the city of Mandalay. The next morning we quickly realized Mandalay was very different from both Bagan and Yangon. Mandalay had the hustle and bustle city feel of Yangon, but not quite as hectic. Most roads in Mandalay are dirt roads, much like in Siem Reap, Cambodia. As walked near our hotel we walked through a crazy street market. We have seen many of these throughout southeast Asia. At times you question the cleanliness, and we reminded ourselves that all the restaurants we eat in likely get their produce from these markets.

I’ll never forget the time Conner tasted durian fruit in Vietnam from a woman on the street who looked like she hadn’t showered in weeks and was cutting the fruit with a knife that has probably never been cleaned. I thought he was nuts! Jessica is pretty liberal with her street food tastings. I like to consider myself adventurous- there was the time I ate a bowl of snails from s street vendor in Morroco, and I’m pretty sure we never really knew what exactly we were eating in Beijing half the time.

Many street vendors in Myanmar have women selling these fried looking patty things that are filled with different things- beans, shrimp, vegetables. I kind of wanted to try one, justifying it was probably safe considering I just saw the woman remove some from the hot fryer. Christopher changed my mind though when told me about “ gutter oil”. Apparently it is a thing in China, not sure about other asian countries. It is literally oil from the gutters. Yup, I’m good. Not that hungry.

We set out to find a camera repair shop (1 of only 3 in the city) for Jessica’s sunscreen damaged camera. We found the shop down a side road. The repair man was very nice and told us to come back in 3 hours (at least thats what we thought he was saying). He told us he wouldn’t charge her any money if he couldn’t fix it. We prayed he would be able to!
We continued on to find the Royal palace. Passing a public exercise area on the way, they decided to try it out. These types of things are common in Vietnam as well.

Once we arrived at a palace entrance locals tried to tell us we couldn’t go in that way. As we got closer we realized they were right- tourists could not enter from that point. The entry point we could use was about a 45 minute walk. A guy offered us motor bikes but I refused. I have heard from too many people about tourist injuries , especially in the cities with busy traffic.

We couldn’t find a cab so after some time the motor bike guy waved down a pickup truck looking vehicle with benches in the back. We have seen locals transported this way but we hadn’t done it. It was actually a cool experience.

A man with betel but red-stained teeth sat in the back next to me trying to make conversation. I was distracted by his teeth, but he seemed nice.

As we arrived near the palace we noticed a parade lining up along the street. We asked to get off the truck so we could check it out! It was so fun to see! All the beautiful multi colored costumes, hundreds of horses and carriages, elephants and cows. It was quite a parade!

On our walk to the palace we find little public workout exercise area. These are common in Asia also. So fun! LOL

We made our way through the palace. As we walked through I tried to imagine what it would have been like to live there thousands of years ago.

After the palace we walked up a hill to a pagoda surrounded by white structures. After taking off our shoes and socks we were allowed to walk all around. It was really a beautiful place! We were definitely hot though at the peak sun time of the day!

We found a nice taxi driver outside the pagoda to take us to the camera repair shop. He called himself “ Mr Very Nice guy” and tried to sell us on letting him be our driver the following day. We had planned to venture to a few area outside Mandalay to see some sites. We got his card and told him we would call him.

Back at the camera repair shop we arrived to find it closed. Oh no! Didnt he tell us to come back at this time? We were confused and concerned until an elderly man approached us telling us the repair man was at lunch and would be back. He even called him for us to let him know we were there. The man was so cute. He kept insisting we sit down in his nephews shop next door. He told us he was a retired teacher and was receiving a pension.

When the repair man returned, we were bummed to find out he wasn’t able to fix the camera. Jessica was pretty sad, and we all felt badly. We continued on to a hillside pagoda for sunset. It was really pretty. We all agreed we had never seen a sun set quite that way. The sun itself appeared to be 5 different colors at one point. Magnificent!

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Conner found a good rated Italian restaurant on trip advisor for dinner. We were all excited to have something different! Mangia, a cute, clean Italian restraint was only about 1/2 mile from out hotels. The overwhelmingly strong smell of garlic was refreshing as we entered!

I ordered a beef pasta with red sauce, while the others ordered the cream bacon sauce pasta special. I was hoping I could have a glass of red wine to go with my pasta, but learned the didnt have any. They only served Myanmar beer. The waitress explained that to sell anything other than Myanmar beer required a special license. No wine for me!
We found a taxi driver who offered to be our driver the following day for almost half of what Mr very nice guy had offered. We agreed and he said he would arrive at 8:30am to pick us up.

Our following day began with a local pagoda we hadn’t been to.

Check out the boys in their skirts 😉

We then drive 1.5 hours to an outside town. Jess got a little car sick. It was a pretty bumpy ride on dirt roads. She had some motion sickness medicine back at the hotel but didnt want to take it because it makes her drowsy. After we were out of the car she felt better.

We explored the interesting , unique sites and walked around. Mingun.

Looks like an elephant behind–

Ancient Mingun bell

Christopher bought some bamboo wallets and we checked out the old Mingun bell. After finding our driver we asked him if we could stop for lunch. He took us to another amazing pagoda area –amazing!!!

Conner cleaning his yucky feet for the 20th time that day 😉 ( we carry wipes in our bags)

And then to a village area and pulled up to a local place telling us it was good to eat. The place seemed to be the stop all drivers bright tourists too. The drivers ate in one side of the place, and the tourists on the other. Me, Jessica and Conner ordered a chicken curry dish, and Christopher a fried rice and meat dish. Our food was way less than appetizing. I ate the rice and some of the chicken just because I was hungry. We all prayed we wouldn’t get sick. It just didn’t seem like the most hygienic place. Again, when you travel to other countries, these are just things you will come across, and learn to deal with.

After lunch we were led down to the surrounding river area where we were told to board a small motor boat to take us across the water way to the island village. I was a little afraid the boat may tip over, but we made it across. As we pulled up I noticed a group of 10 local girls pointing to the boat and I knew just what they were doing. They were each calling dibs on which tourist they wanted. We had learned previously in Myanmar that this was common practice. They do not want to “compete” with each other so they each pick their designated tourist to attempt to sell to.

They are sweet and although somewhat pushy, they are just trying to make a living. They all have the same English lines- “hello, you look so pretty. Look at my necklaces. You should get for Christmas present.” and “ You will be my first customer of the day which means lucky money- you will be lucky if you buy from me!” Haha and my favorite- “it is so cheap it is almost free”.

I politely tell the girl that I have already bought things and have no room left in my bag. We start walking through the island where there are about 50 horses and carriages. The carriage drivers started aggressively harassing us “ carriage ride to monastery- you must ride, walk too long”. They kept saying the walk would be 2 hours, some even said 5 hours. Conner’s trust GPS map confirmed that it was indeed not that far- maybe a 20 minute walk. We kept refusing the carriages but they followed us. It got a little annoying after a few minutes. We kept walking passing many local villagers, pigs, banana trees everywhere.

We arrived to a cool pagoda to climb. The stairs were a bit sketchy and not sturdy, but we made to to the top.

View from the top-

rice fields everywhere!

locals playing volleyball type game

with 2 of my fave guys!!

We walked around some more and saw some local girls staring up to a tree. I asked what they saw. They explained that a burmese python lived in the tree. “She comes out in the morning”, the young teenager told me, “ I see her when I pass by on my way to work. She is sleeping now”. They kept staring up as though it may come out. We looked for awhile but never saw anything. That would be crazy to have seen a wild python! The girls said it was 6 feet long and very wide.

We got back on the little boat with the bottom floor made of 2 inch width boards, water seeping through some. We made it back to shore and found our driver waiting for us. I desperately needed to use the bathroom. Conner and Christopher had warned us about the lunch restaurant’s bathroom, but it was our only option. It was an outhouse type bathroom. I waited outside while Jessica went in first. I heard commotion and chatter from behind the fence. I peaked around to see a group of men gambling and playing cards. I snapped the photo below and the laughed saying “ five dollars’. I knew they were kidding. They immediately dispersed after that though. Jessica came out and said the bathroom wasn’t “the absolute worst she had seen”. Ugh. I went in holding my breath as long as I could. I wanted to get in and out as fast as possible. It was a squatter, meaning no seat- just a hole. It smelled so incredibly bad that I started gagging. Needless to say I made record time getting out.

The “outhouse”– yuck!!!!!

locals I caught gambling — busted!

We carry hand sanitizer everywhere. I used a lot all over my hands and arms. Our driver then drove us to our last destination for the day- U bein bridge. This very popular bridge on many postcards is a photographers dream. Surrounded by beautiful scenery and water, it is quite pretty. We walked across the bridge. It definitely did not seem sturdy or extremely safe but many people were walking across. The wood panels have many gaps between them and my foot slipped through a few times. We were getting restless and although it was pretty, we didnt want to wait another hour for the sunset. We know the pictures would have been amazing but we still had an hour drive back to the city.

locals playing games

Arriving back in Mandalay we decided to have dinner at a Korean restaurant. We were led to a second floor where 3 young people tried to take our order. I noticed the one girl spoke very good English and seemed to be helping the others. Conner ordered korean BBQ chicken wings, while I got a bibimbap dish. Christopher and Jessica have been to South Korea so they ordered some unique things that we got to try. One thing was kind of like a fried sushi roll without fish , just veggies. It was pretty tasty. Our meals were all good!

We started talking with the young girl who spoke good English, As it turns out, she is a 21 year old student at University of Mandalay. She is not employed by the restaurant but her sister is a cook. She told us the owners are Korean and introduced us to their daughter. We learned her Myanmar name was Chow, chow, (meaning beautiful, beautiful), and her English name was Madison. Apparently, many students are given an English name by their teacher. She already had completed a degree and language and was now working towards a second degree in diplomatic studies. Chaw chaw was 1 of 5 children, to a mother who sells chicken in the street market, and a father who helps her. All 5 kids attended university. Amazing!

Jessica and I loved talking to her. We learned so much. She is christian and hopes to marry a Christian man. She was sweet and smart! The boys were tired and had to pull us away from chatting to go back to our hotels. We said goodbye and took a picture. Jessica got her email information to stay in touch.

The next morning we were taking a bus from Mandalay to the capital city Napitaw. This is the “new” capitol in a country with a long-term political divide. This article posted in Time this week explains in detail—- fascinating article–

http://time.com/4597920/myanmar-peace/

Originally Christopher and jessica were not sure if they were going to stay in Mandalay an extra day or come with us to the capitol. We had to all make it back to Yangon to fly out to Laos two days later. Conner had found that the capitol city had 1 of only 2 Hiltons in the entire country. He figured we could break up the 8 hour journey back to Yangon by staying overnight at the Hilton.

The 4 hour bus ride was fine. We slept most of it, and stopped halfway for breakfast. As we arrived in the Napitaw we saw many very large mansion homes and many nice hotels and government buildings. The town seemed like a ghost town though. Conner described it as “post-apocolyptic. It was obvious this city was built and designed specifically to host summits and foreign diplomats. The story goes that a high-up official was told by his astrologist or psychic, the capital of Yangon would get attacked and that a new capital had to be established elsewhere. The city of Naypyidaw ( different spellings), was built in secrecy. Government and military were apparently told without notice they had to moe there in a few days time.

Another article explaining so much-https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/mar/19/burmas-capital-naypyidaw-post-apocalypse-suburbia-highways-wifi

Getting off the bus we were again bombarded with about 20 taxi drivers begging for our business. I found one to take us for 4,000 kyat (about $3 USD).

The Hilton property was like an enormous compound. Arriving at the gate surrounded by police and security, our car was checked for bombs upon entry. Jessica and Christopher didnt have a room booked, but lucky for us, Conner was able to work some magic. With his diamond status we were able to get upgraded at no extra cost to a suite. It was a nice size suite and we were happy! We immediately changed to go out and enjoy the beautiful pool. The hotel was very scarce with occupants. There were many workers everywhere, but very few guests. The place was immaculate. We had lunch ordered at the pool and enjoyed the sunshine.

Back at the room it was discovered one of the bathrooms had a leak from the AC. Well, this worked in our favor! They upgraded us again to an even bigger and better suite. It was beautiful! Huge bathrooms, living room, bedroom. Very nice!

We got lounge access where we enjoyed complimentary wine, beer and appetizers. It was enough to fill us for dinner. We played monopoly in the lounge for a couple hours and chatted with a Canadian man who lives in the hotel. He is a teacher to the diplomats and military children. He has lived in different countries in Asia for 10 years teaching.

After our game (Jessica and Christopher tied), we headed to the lobby bar area where there was some live music. I was fading fast and tried to stay awake for the entertainment. I just couldn’t do it! Plus, I wanted some good sleep because we were heading back to Yangon the next day– and after that Laos!!!

kaunggsawnyapar ( goodnight in Burmese),

King

No shoes, no socks, no problem! (unless there’s monkey poo and dog urine)

by kinsay20December 21, 2016

Our first night in Bagan we had a great dinner at a place called “7 sisters” that was recommended to us by our taxi driver. They served a variety of Thai, Myanmar, Chinese and Indian food (as many restaurants in Myanmar do). Jessica and I had a delicious soup. Walking through Bagan ( Yangon as well) you see dogs EVERYWHERE! Like everywhere! Easily 6-10 on every street. Many female dogs are nursing or pregnant. They run free and most don’t seem to belong to anyone. They all look to be the same breed and are not aggressive at all. Jessica loved seeing the many puppies everywhere.

After dinner we were walking back to our hotel when we spotted a larger adult dog in the street next to 3 puppies. As we got closer we realized she was licking their blood. They were all dead. All three puppies dead in the middle of the road. It was horrific. I couldn’t bear to look and felt sick to my stomach. The mother dog was confused and didn’t seem to understand why her babies weren’t getting up. It was so awful. The dirt roads are very dark so it is pretty likely a car hit them.

It was tough to go to sleep after seeing that. We had arranged with our airport taxi driver to be our driver the following day. He would pick us up super early at 4:30am to catch the sunrise at the top of a very tall temple. Bagan is known for its over 2200 ancient temples, some dating as far back as 3rd century. Waking up at 4am was a little rough but knowing what was ahead made it easier. We arrived at very tall temple with very, very steep steps to the top. After taking off our shoes we climbed to the very top. It was already a bit crowded, which our driver warned us about. This was supposed to be the very best view for sunrise. We waited about 30 minutes before the sunrise began. It was just gorgeous-absolutely breath- taking! To see the sun rise and horizon around the temples was just spectacular! We all got so many awesome pictures!

After sunrise the famous Bagan hot air balloons took off floating above the temples, just like you see in pictures. We had planned to do the hot air balloons , but after much consideration and thought we decided not to. It was $350 per person for about 1 hour or so in the sky. After talking to other travelers we learned the views were just as good at the top of the temples.

Our driver drove us back to our hotel so we could enjoy nice breakfast on the rooftop to include fresh honey melon juice, watermelon and bananas, eggs cooked to order how you like, and toast with fresh preserves. Much better than our Yangon hotel breakfast.

Our driver drove us to all the best temples for the next 8 hours (about $33 USD, 45,000 kyat for the whole day), stopping along the way at local villages. In most countries they do this whether with a private driver or tour bus, in hopes tourists will buy something from the village. I love stopping at the villages and learning about what they do, how they live. Each village has its own specialties. Our driver explained to us that he came from a village that has many tour guides and taxi drivers. At one village a nice woman showed us around. She told us 600 people lived in the village and they were encouraged to marry within. They weave beautiful cotton blankets, table cloths, as well as make cigars. She introduced us to her 80 year old aunt who was smoking a cigar on seated on the dirt ground weaving. She offered us the local popular thanaka to put on our face. You see people everywhere wearing it on their cheeks. It is sun protectant and seen as a makeup-like trend made from tree bark. Jessica let her put some on her face.

man climbing for coconuts…on a not sturdy make shift ladder

She showed us the school and the clinic, where a doctor comes 1 time/ week.She told me her husband had passed away 7 months earlier. She wanted us to buy something but we just gave her some money instead as a thank you for showing us around. We can’t buy too many things, seeing as we have no room in our travel packs.

At one of the first hotels we met a sweet woman and her brother. They talked to us a lot and told us they were from a family village of artists, After we toured the temple we looked at all of their artwork. It was very impressive! They make colors from different parts the trees and paint on cloth that can be rolled up and folded very small. She told us we could easily travel with it rolled up and iron the back of the cloth when we returned home. I convinced Conner that we should buy one! We decided on a beautiful one and I am so excited to find a perfect spot for it in our condo!

After a day of numerous buddhas and ancient temples,our driver ended our day program with the best temple for sunset. We again climbed to the very top where it wasn’t as crowded as our sunrise temple. While waiting for sunset some small children kept asking us to buy postcards that they hand-made. The parents make their children work so young in much of southeast Asia. At times it is heart breaking. Jessica started playing with one of the kids- a boy, probably about 10. They kicked a rock back and forth like it was a soccer ball. The kid has some skills. The younger child, a pretty girl, about 5 or 6 shyly joined in. The rock kicking got a little aggressive and we were afraid someone would get hit. I suggested tic tac toe. Jessica knelt down on the ground and drew a tic tac toe board with a rock. I was shocked to see the kids knew what it was ! The boy started playing and even won a game. The kids looked so happy to be playing and not working, until their mom showed up and they were reprimanded. They were told to get back to work. The kids look sad and solemn. Jessica found them and gave them each a dollar, hoping it would appease the mom.

We watched as the beautiful sun set behind the temples, and got more extraordinary pictures!

A long day ended with a Myanmar meal near our hotel- more noodles topped with a fried egg for me. Eggs seem like the safer option, when you are unsure of the meat. I have never had so much rice and noodles, as when we are in Asia. i normally don’t eat this amount of carbs at every meal, but when in Rome…….The southeast asian diet is rich in carbs. Cheese, wine and vegetables (my main faves in the US) are less common here. Many times when there are vegetables or salads in southeast Asia we can’t eat them. Or I should say, we shouldn’t eat them. Anything not cooked or cleaned in local water can get us very sick. We have to be very careful not to get fountain drinks or things with ice. Did I mention I am taking malaria pills? So far ok- not side effects,( knock on wood).

For our final day in Bagan we arranged for our taxi driver buddy to take us to Mt. Popa, which was about 1.5 hours away. It was a bumpy ride on dirt roads. Jessica took some motion sickness medication but it made her sleepy. Along the way we stopped at another interesting village. The locals didn’t talk much but they did show us how they made peanut wine, coconut sugar candies, honey and tamarind candies.

Our driver showed us the long pipeline that provides China natural gas. He told us it was a bad deal because they aren’t getting enough money for what they are giving.

Arriving near Mt. Popa there were very nice mountainous views. The place was swarming with wild monkeys. They were running, swinging and jumping from everywhere. We watched as monkeys would steal food from the street vendors when they turned their heads. Sneaky little monkeys. It was quite funny!

As we walked into the entrance to Mt. Popa we had to remove our shoes and socks before climbing to the top. The stairs to the top were stained and dirty with monkey poo and who knows what else. Yes, it was gross. Yes, it was very gross. Just walking with bare feet in temples where hundreds and hundreds of others have walked barefoot gives me the heebie jeebies. But you know- it is part of traveling. You have to go with the flow. As I walked up stair after stair I just mentally kept reminding myself that my feet can be cleaned.

There were vendors selling small peanut packs that many people were buying to feed the monkeys along the climb. These monkeys had no fear of humans and were just jumping over our heads at times. It scared me a bit and I definitely screamed once or twice. As we got higher the monkeys decreased. At the top we had some lovely viewing points. The temple itself was nothing spectacular. We took some scenic pictures and then made our way back down through the poop stairs and monkeys.

The tiny baby monkeys were so adorable. It is funny to watch dogs and monkeys interact. The dogs are a little intimidated by the monkeys. We scrubbed our feet like crazy!! I literally doused them in an entire bottle of sanitizer …

Arriving back near our hotel we had an Indian lunch of naan, chicken and rice that was pretty tasty! Conner and Christopher decided to rent motor bikes from our hotel and drive around the temples. Jessica and I stayed back at the hotel to relax. We sat on the rooftop deck where we enjoyed chatting. I typed some of my blog while Jess took care of some reservations and loose ends. She and Christopher plan to continue traveling for many more months. They still have Thailand and Cambodia planned, and also will likely return to see more of India. Jess wants to end their trip with Australia. My brother feels he needs to get back to work though. I say YOLO! They are young and if they can do it, more power to them! I would LOVE to travel for a whole year! Every time I set foot in a new place I get chills! I get a rush of excitement. It is the best feeling!

After 3 hours of motor biking the boys returned and we set out for dinner. The town of Bagan is divided into New Bagan and Old Bagan. We were staying in New Bagan. It still had an “old” feel to it. A cozy town with a street lined with quaint restaurants. Our last dinner in Bagan was at a nice place with a big menu. Conner and I ordered pizza. We needed a change. Our personal size pizzas tasted like totinos you get in the freezer section of US grocery stores. It was still decent for a change. Conner also ordered a side of french fries. Can you tell we were noodled and riced out? We headed for another early night knowing we had an early rise the next day- 4am to be exact. We were set to sail along the Arrawadway river from Bagan to our next destination – Mandalay!

Mandalay

Waking at 4am to an alarm when in a deep sleep is never pleasant, no matter what country you are in. We jumped out of bed though not wanting to miss our boat. After scrambling to get ready we arrived outside to the car to find out that Jessica’s sunscreen exploded in her bag all over her really good camera! She is a great photographer and this camera means a lot to her for documenting their travels. She tried to clean it thoroughly but it wasn’t working. Poor Jess. We were all pretty bummed for her. We are hoping Sony can fix it since it is still under the 1 year of purchase.

We said goodbye to our Bagan driver friend. He was very kind and during the drives we learned some things about him. He was engaged and would be getting married next month. I wished him the best for his wedding and marriage. We walked along 2 unsteady boards made into a plank to get on the boat. Once on board we found seats on the lower deck and all tried to sleep some. A man who works on the boat covered me with a blanket. With only 6 other passengers and crew there was plenty of room.

trying to sleep …..

The sunrise woke me up around 6am and we went to the top deck to take some pictures. They provided us a box breakfast of hardboiled egg, croissants and bananas.

I spent the morning on the top deck enjoying the sunshine, the river views and tying this blog. As I write this we are sailing.The ride can take anywhere from 9-11 hours. At this point it has been 8. It has been really pleasant and enjoyable. For about an hour earlier in the day I chatted with a very friendly French man. I found a place on the top deck to charge my computer. I sat down closing my eyes next to it while it charged. The older man immediately sat next to me asking my name. He is from Normandy and is 80 years old. He is traveling with his girlfriend of 7 years. They travel about 4-5 months of the year and have been to so many different countries. They just came from 2 months in Vietnam. He has lived and worked throughout his life in many different places- Egypt being his favorite. He told me about his travels and asked about ours. We looked at his map book together. He told me the French think Americans travel too quickly. Visiting a place or a city for 3 days is not enough in their mind to get the full experience. He and his girlfriend spend 9 nights in each city. I can see that in some places ( Tokyo, Bangkok), but not smaller towns, and definitely not Yangon. He also talked about staying healthy and saving money to travel when we retire. He worked for Pfizer for many years and loves that he is 80 but healthy enough and wealthy enough to travel the world. He has not been to the United States though, which really baffled me! Lunch served on the boat was quite good. I saw one crew member cutting up the vegetables to cook. They brought each of us our plate which was rice, stir-fry veggies and a noodle type salad. It was actually really good.

Soon we will be in Mandalay— ahh I have heard great things! Stay tuned 😉

swarrtotmaal ( goodbye in Burmese),

Kinz

Yan-Gon(e) Goes My Passport…

by kinsay20December 15, 2016

We arrived to Yangon airport in Myanmar (AKA Burma)- shocked to see it was way bigger and more established than Cambodia and Morocco airports.

My brother Christopher, and my sister-in-law Jessica, had arrived a couple of hours prior and were already at the hotel. They told us it should only cost about 7,000 kyat (local currency- less than $7 USD) to get to the hotel, and our hotel confirmed via email. There were 30 taxi drivers outside trying to get our attention. We tried to negotiate but they insisted that because of the late time (it was midnight), the price was higher. We settled on 9,000 kyat (pronounced chat), and were led to a man’s car. In other countries it is always initially odd just getting into stranger’s cars. There was no regulation like in the US. Who knows if this guy was even really a taxi driver? You just have to say a prayer and hope for the best.

We were interested to see that drivers sit on the right side, but still drive on the right side of the road. This was new to us. We drove through Yangon, passing by car dealerships, large buildings and high-rises. This was a major city, far more progressed and modern than we thought it would be! There were lights everywhere! Many building covered in christmas-like lights.

We arrived at our hotel, which on first impression looked ok. Upon check -in, the petite, pretty front desk attendant asked for our passports. After filling out paperwork and getting our key we asked for our passports back. “I hold them.” she said. Huh? “Um, no thank you, we will hold them”. I replied. “NO, no, we keep.”What? I had recently had a conversation with some military and state department friends, who stressed and reiterated the importance of never letting someone else have your passport, unless they were immigration officials. Passports are technically property of the US government. I became frustrated and insisted that the girl give us our passports back. I got a little heated after a few minutes of her refusing to give them to us. “ I will not let you keep my passport!” I said. Conner was trying to get me to just go to up to the room and deal with it the following day. Why was he not as concerned? “Babe, what are we going to do? Where are we going to go at 1am?” he kept saying. I told the hotel staff that I had never encountered this at any other hotel in any other country. I asked if it was a Myanmar law, and they said “no, hotel policy”. I was so incredibly angry at this point. I did not feel safe letting them hold our passports. The front desk girl agreed that she would give them back to us the following day. I begrudgingly followed Conner to our room, but I was not happy! Our room was fine. The size was good and a hot shower sounded nice. Sounded nice. There was no hot water coming out of that shower. After a cold shower we went to bed.

The next morning we woke up and met Christopher and Jessica for breakfast (it was included) in the hotel restaurant. It was so great to see them, and even cooler that we met them on the other side of the world! Over cold fried eggs and fried rice and noodles, they told us about the rats above their room. They said there was a rat party on their roof that kept them up all night. Rats? Oh my gosh! I would freak out! Our room was on a different floor and the only noise we heard was loud car horns and kids singing before school at 7am. I thought it was cool they could laugh about it. They have been traveling to some remote places all over for the last 8 months, so nothing seemed to surprise them. They recently did amazing treks through Nepal, Tibet and Mongolia. When traveling to these places, you just learn to roll with it. You learn you are lucky to sometimes get a shower at all- let alone a warm or hot one. You learn you may eat things you would typically never consider eating in the US , because you are hungry, and it is all there is. You learn that nobody cares if your clothes match, if they are wrinkled or even dirty. I learned these things in Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. You think I’d be a pro by now. I needed a refresher- it had been some time.

After breakfast we set out to see Schwedagon temple. As we walked through the streets we couldn’t believe how difficult it was to cross the busy roads. Traffic didnt stop. In other southeast Asia countries, swarms of motor bikes and cars make it intimidating to cross, but when you do cross they stop. In Yangon they don’t stop. You have to run

The streets of Yangon were very busy with hustle and bustle of street vendors, shops, markets and just people everywhere. Yangon is by no means a clean city. A rather dirty city with an overwhelming amount of smells- some good, some not so good. Although crowded, the people in Yangon do not hassle tourists for the most part. Unlike in Thailand and Morocco where we were constantly harassed in some cities by vendors and street beggars. It was nice to not be hounded to buy things.

We arrived at the amazing Schwedagon temple. We were instructed that we had to wear the traditional Longyi- which looks like a long skirt – both men and women. You see people wearing them all through the streets of Yangon. It is their typical, daily attire . We donned our new longyi that we bought and took off our shoes and socks, as these are not allowed in the temples. Once inside it was really quite awesome! We spent a good amount of time walking around and taking pictures. A monk approached me asking if he could take a picture with me. He said ,” I am very happy to see you here”. He was so nice and probably close to my age (early 30’s). He brought his monk friend and sister over. They got a kick out of how tall Conner is, especially next to his petite sister.

We explored the city some more and found a zoo. It was about $2 USD to enter and it would take us through to another side of the city we wanted to see. As we walked through the zoo we became somber. There were so many beautiful tigers, cougars and mountain lyon, but they were kept in very small areas. We realize this is how it is in many zoos, in many countries, but we did not want to support it. We quickly rushed out and found a place for lunch. It was traditional Myanmar food- rice or noodles with a choice of meat.

After lunch we explored some more! We found a nice park and another pagoda. There are buddha statues all over . In every temple and pagoda there are many, many buddhas.

We also found a beautiful church! About 88% of the Myanmar population is Buddhist, 6% Christian and 4% Islamic, with the remainder (Burmese Indians) being Hindu.

After a nice afternoon, we clocked in at 13 miles walking for the day- did I mention it was 90 degrees? Pretty hot!

We decided to try a high rated restaurant on Tripadvisor. It was owned by an expat from Thailand. A nice, friendly woman probably in her 40’s, who greeted us at the door speaking good English. Conner and I had the most delicious curry! It was one of the best we have ever had! Jessica enjoyed a nice soup and Christopher ordered a different type of curry.

Back at the hotel we asked for our passports back. At first the front desk girl hesitated but eventually gave them back. (After I politely reminded her that she had promised she would return them to us ). If she hadn’t returned them I was ready to call the US embassy- I was not messing around!

We went next door to our hotel and sat outside having a beer and watching the locals.Our beers served to us by a boy no older then 15. It is quite common in Myanmar to have children serve alcohol and work as cooks,/ servers in restaurants. A drunk, very rude Australian man showed up. He rudely asked the owner if they served any french fries or pizza. When the reply was “no”, the guy freaked out and started making a drunken scene – “is there anywhere I can get ****bleep bleep bleep*** western food in this bloody town!?” He was such a jerk! Talk about embarrassing for Westerners to have tourists portray us this way. To a country who is newer to foreign western tourists especially. It sets a bad precedence! We saw some very intoxicated Australians in Thailand acting foolish, as well as some extremely rude Russians in Cambodia who belittled the locals. It’s a shame really.

After a semi good sleep after another cold shower we had another less than optimal breakfast. Conner and I decided we would do the 3 hour circular train. The train ride circles around the outskirts of the city and is the main transportation for locals to come to Yangon. Anthony Bordain did the ride, and all the travel blogs/ books say it is a “must do”. It was Jessica’s birthday- 28 to be exact! She gets motion sickness, so riding a bumpy train all morning was not what she wanted to do for her birthday. She and Christopher opted to skip it. The travel book did make it seem rough- it was described as “feeling as though you are on the fast part of a washing machine cycle”.

According to the map and GPS it would take Conner and I only a 15-20 minute walk to get to the train. It was leaving at 8:35am , with the next scheduled time hours later. We did not want to miss it. The 20 minute walk was actually closer to 35 minutes. We had another ”Conner amazing race” experience and ran through the streets of Yangon trying to make the train. We arrived sweating only to see an empty track. We asked a few people but nobody could explain what was going on. Finally, a nice local man did his very best to speak English. He told us the track was off and the train would be picking us up from a few tracks over. We thanked him and found our track. Our tickets by the way were only .35 cents. As we sat in some available seats I noticed many locals with their shoes off , bare feet propped up in the seats. I noticed women with supplies and crafts they were taking to town, that were larger in quantity than we could fit in a small US vehicle.

We said hello to another Westerner who also boarded. Conner was expressing to me that he wished we had a window seat for pictures. A nice local man overhead or conversation and invited us to sit in his area by the window. We graciously accepted. He was so nice and we learned so much talking-to him. He works security and had just come off of a night shift. He was headed home to his small village outside of Yangon, where he has a pregnant wife. I asked him if he was hoping for a son or a daughter and he replied, “I will love them no matter what. I just want them to be healthy”.

His friend joined us for a portion of the ride. Another very nice man who had funny memes of Obama and Trump on his cell phone. So crazy to think Burmese (Myanmar natives) know about US politics, considering half of the people in the US likely have never heard of Myanmar, let alone know where it is on a map.

We enjoyed the nice ride, passing through many villages.

women carrying food for sale on the train

Myanmar is interesting – you see a very large mansion right next to poverty ridden shacks. Christopher and Jessica found Yangon to be much more similar to India than other Southeast Asian destinations. Something else very interesting about Yangon is the vast differences in appearance of the people. In Japan, China, Thailand , Cambodia and Vietnam, the majority of the people in each country have a distinct look. In Myanmar some people look Thai, some Indian, some Cambodian.

After our new friends departed the train at their stop they excitedly kept waving goodbye, even once off the train. I invited the other westerner to come sit with us because we had a fan above us, and it was quite hot. This is the “cool season” in Myanmar, with the highs getting only up to 90 during the day – only ! The locals get very cold when the sun goes down and it is 70 degrees at night. Many kept telling us about the “cold season”.

We enjoyed chatting with Andy, the westerner from Canada, who know lives in Hong Kong for work. He has traveled all over the world. We enjoyed comparing stories and experiences.

After the train Conner and I found a nice cafe called Black Salt. It turned out to be a chain and their equivalent of Starbucks. The lattes were really delicious! Conner had a pastry treat as well. We met Jessica and Christopher back at the hotel and explored the city some more. We had a nice VERY authentic Indian lunch at a place recommended by a local. It was a loud, hectic and very busy restaurant. The owner, an Indian looking man missing his teeth was very welcoming. We all enjoyed our Indian rice, beans and chicken with naan bread. When traveling we have learned the busier the local restaurant the better and safer. It means it has turnover. It means the food isn’t sitting there for days. In southeast asian countries you will see very clean, nice looking places that are tempting – but often dead. The not as clean, not as modern, yet busy place is the way to go! Our meals In Yangon were pretty inexpensive. They ranged anywhere from $4 USD per person to $8- 10 max including beer or wine. There is no tipping in Myanmar either.

After our Indian lunch we walked around a really cool market. Jessica wanted a painting and found one she just loved! She and Christopher negotiated prices back and forth with the seller for quite some time. They finally agreed on $27 US. This is a hand made painting that would be 10 times that price in the US. I happened to have USD to pay for it- a perfect birthday gift for Jessica! She was very happy with her new painting!

All through Yangon you see men with red teeth and red splatters on the ground. It is the remnants of betel nut- a very popular plant concoction they chew like gum. It gives an energized feeling, similar to a strong caffeine. However, like tobacco, chewing it often can have adverse health issues. Jessica and Christopher had tried it in other countries, so they agreed to try it again with Conner. I wasn’t sold on it and decided to just take pictures of them trying it.

Woman making betel nut

They chewed their street -made betel nut for a minutes before spitting it out. Conner described a rush feeling- similar to after drinking an energy drink. It was short lived though and seemed to wear off fairly fast.

we have no idea what some of the stuff for sale is …

We spent the latter part of the afternoon walking around Inya Lake. A fairly unattractive lake that Christopher called “radioactive” because of the flowing oil seen on the surface. We sat along the lake and were served beer by 14 year olds. We just talked and relaxed. The bathroom was a few minute walk away and some nice young local teenagers showed me the way. When I arrived I realized I had to pay to use it. Conner had all the kyat, I had no money. The nice boys paid for me and said , “dont worry “. They were so kind!

Jessica and I chatted with two men probably in their 30’s who were wealthier Yangon locals. I watched as one flicked his used cigarette in the lake. “Oh my! You just littered!’ I said. He smiled and said,”ooh oops! Bad habit!’. Um ok….

We had dinner at a seafood place along the lake, hoping and praying the fish wasn’t caught from the lake. It was a nice dinner , and perfect for Jessica’s birthday.

We all were exhausted so we went to bed fairly early.

The next morning Conner and I went to 2 popular buddhas/ pagodas, that they had seen the previous day while rode the circular train. They were really neat- the reclining buddha was my favorite. They have a huge reclining buddha that we saw in Bangkok, but this one had its own character and charm.

Women buying flowers to give buddha

After the buddhas we had some time before we planned to meet Christopher and Jessica. That afternoon we were flying to Bagan via a small Myanmar airline- Golden Air. We had some time left before meeting them so we strolled the streets. We passed a nice looking spa that offered massages. We both were intrigued. With only 30-40 minutes we asked for two 30 minute foot/ leg massages. We were led into a beautiful spa where they washed our feet with bath salts and let us to recliners. The massages were amazing! My masseuse told me she was highly trained in reflexology and muscle energy. I believe her! She really knew when she was doing. With our eyes closed, enjoying every minute we soon realized some things were lost translation.Our 30 minute massages were closer to an hour.

Feeling incredible and relaxed we hurried back to our hotel. Jessica and Christopher were there ready to head to the airport. They had a rough morning trying to figure out how to ship the painting back home. Another “lost in translation” dilemma. $80 USD and 2 hours of running around and Christopher finally was able to get it shipped.

We took a taxi to Yangon airport, happy to leave our not so desirable hotel behind us. If you are planning travel to Yangon message me so I can tell you where NOT to stay! At Yangon airport we waited for our flight that was delayed only 15 minutes. We boarded the small propeller plane and set off for Bagan. Dragon air turned out to be quite nice. They offered us complimentary food drinks, tea, coffee, and it was only a 2 hour flight.

In no time at all we arrived at the small Bagan airport! We were caught off guard when two young girls bombarded us with a sign saying we need to pay an environmental fee of 25,000 kyat per person. Huh? Had I read about this on the travel blogs? I didn’t recall. At first we were annoyed but once it was explained to us that this fee would get us an access card for all the Bagan temples, we understood. The money would help the upkeep and maintenance of the temples. It made sense. They had an earthquake about 4 months ago which damaged some of the ancient temples, so they needed repairs.

We found a nice taxi driver who quickly got us to our hotel- Thurizza! Oh, such a nice breath of fresh air after Yangon and that last hotel. Driving though Bagan we could see how much more peaceful and calm it was compared to the crazy city of Yangon. Dirt roads and no high rise buildings- this looked nice! Temples and pagodas galore!

Thurizza was a lovely hotel with a rooftop restaurant and bar, surrounded by flowers and nice greenery. Our room was a good size and we were happy to have a nice hot shower! Bagan- I think we are going to like you—-

yahku a bhhoet nhuatsaat (goodbye for now in Burmese),

Kinz

Keeping up with Kinz

These are a few of my favorite things….Live, Love, Travel

southeast asia

The Conners Conquer Mt. Bromo

The Conners take Asia, 3.0. New places, New adventures….

Make a Bucket List & Make it Happen!

The Gibbon Experience– I survived!!

Lost in Laos….

From Rats to Riches…

Magical Mandalay to the Post-Apocalyptic Capital

No shoes, no socks, no problem! (unless there’s monkey poo and dog urine)

Yan-Gon(e) Goes My Passport…