March 17, 2006

Yangon to Inle Lake, Myanmar

            Before we ever got off the ship, just about everyone was scared to death of what they were going to meet on the other side of our safe walls of the ship.  Our pre-port lecture the night before told us everything we can’t do.  We can’t mention anything about politics, no matter who comes up to us to ask about politics, we can’t say anything (we could be thrown in jail if we say the wrong thing, or if we talk to the locals at all, the government will track them down and interrogate them on what was talked about.  So, by talking to anyone about anything, we would be putting them in danger.)  The country is under a military regime, so nobody has any power or freedom here accept the government.  We were told that if we get hurt, what ever we do, do not go to the hospital, even as a last resort.  We were to get a hold of the medical team, and they would fly us out of this country and into a country that had something better (which would be any other country), like Thailand.  This was almost tempting, I mean, who doesn’t want to go to Thailand?  We were told that if we brought anything back into the USA that was not a unique original piece of art, we would be fined.  There are no US sanctions here, no credit card use, no ATM’s, no imported products, and no exported products to the USA.  The USA is not happy with Myanmar, and wants nothing to do with them.  We were all sad that we would not be able to get souvenirs from here.  I did send post cards out, I don’t know if that was legal, but I guess if people never get them, then I will know.  We were also informed of the water that could kill you, and we were told to only drink water that was bottled in China or Thailand.  The water is fatal here (we later learned exactly why).  Before they told us we couldn’t bring anything back into the USA from here, they told us about all the great gems you can buy here for fractions of the cost in the USA, but of course, we would not be able to get them back into the states.  We were also told (lots of things, I know) that we were not allowed to take cell phones, satellite phones or laptops off the ship, as they are illegal in this country.  If we chose to go to an internet café, not only would it be expensive, but the government has blocked websites like yahoo and hotmail.  This is a very restrictive and repressive government.  There is no freedom in any form here.  This was by far to be another big culture shock.  It was very interesting to actually see people living under a military regime, so different from just reading about it.  It is sad that there is a place that is under such control, but I am glad that I got to witness it.  Ok, so needless to say, I was getting really nervous and starting to panic a little with all of this information about this country that I had never even heard of before this trip.  I was so relieved that I had signed up for a Semester At Sea trip, so I wouldn’t have to worry about traveling independently.  (The government here has a reputation of asking foreigners, particularly Americans, since our government is not on good terms right now, to see their pass ports, and then taking the passports and making the traveler pay a fee to get it back.  I made sure that I took a photocopy of my pass port with me, and kept one on the ship incase they took my passport and I couldn’t pay the fee.)  So the basic just of my whole story here is that the government here is bad, very bad.

            The port that we were located at was about a one hour shuttle ride just to get to Yangon, the closest city, also the capital of Myanmar.  The first shuttle left at 6:00 am and then on every even hour.  I wasn’t sure on how this country would be for timing. Since my trip with SAS left later on that afternoon at 1:00 pm, I didn’t want to take a chance and miss my trip because of a hold up with the government, or because of delayed shuttles, so I decided to just stay on the ship this first morning, and pack for my trip to Inle Lake.  Meghan was also on this trip with me, so we were roommates for this trip. 

            Our trip started right on time.  Our tour guide, Win, greeted each of us (there were 30 people in our group) with a bouquet of three pink roses, as well as a traditional over the shoulder bag that the kids use for their school supplies.  It has “Myanmar SAS 2006” embroider on the front of the bag, really a nice practical gift (since we didn’t buy it, hopefully I can get it back into the USA).  We rode on the bus for one hour to the airport.  The air conditioning was a weak excuse for relief from the heat.  I hate it when the heat is so intense it makes it hard to breath, there were times when I though I would literally pass out.  On the way to the airport, we passed so many pagodas; they were so bright and colorful!  On the dessert backdrop where they were located, they really looked like misplaced amusement parks.  At the airport, we were all handed a random ticket with a seat number on it.  Meghan and I got seats next to each other for our one hour plane ride.   There was absolutely no airport security.  Our ID’s were never checked; we all just walked right through.  No one ever searched our bags, or asked if we had anything dangerous on us.  It was weird just walking right through.   

We were told in advance that they use this fish paste in nearly all of their foods, and if you are allergic to shellfish you need to let the tour guide and trip leaders know, so you can get different food with out the fish paste.  On hearing this, Meghan decided to suddenly have an allergy to shellfish, as fish paste really did not sound appetizing.  Well, true to their word, our plane food consisted of wonder bread smeared with fish paste, and an éclair (really weird combination).  I was adventurous and tried the fish paste bread, and then I considered having an allergy to shellfish as well, but the éclair was good!  The airplane was stifling hot as well.  The heat would have been more manageable with a cold beverage, but that was not available to us.  I really just wanted water, but all of the water that they brought to us was bottled in Myanmar (we were told by our pre-port lecturer that it was not safe to drink water bottled in Myanmar, but we were running out of options.)  I never drink soda, but sprite was the only beverage that was even slightly cooled, and since it was in a sealed container, I was praying it was safe to drink! (I’m still alive.)  At that point, I was so thirsty that even soda tasted great.  Our flight was pretty uneventful, which was great.  I had the advantage of sitting by the window, so I could see the landscape unfold all around me, it was beautiful.  A lot of the land was not marked off in little squares like your would usually see.  I just love the aerial view of the world beneath me.  I think the take off and landings were the smoothest I have ever experienced, barely any transition at all!  

Once we were back on the ground we all went to our designated busses (there were 3 different groups flying in, so basically the whole plane was SASers) and then we had a one hour bus ride to get to Inle Lake.  At the airport and when we arrived at Inle Lake, there were women and children trying to sell us hats to protect us from the sun (you know those triangle hats that look like typical Asian hats?  Those ones!)  They are really cute hats, but I just couldn’t see myself actually ever wearing it, plus there is the whole matter of not being able to bring souvenirs back to the USA from Myanmar.   Once we were at Inle Lake we all got into our very long canoes with motors and settled in for a one hour boat ride to our hotel for the next couple of days.  I absolutely love it here!  The “roads” are really channels.  The whole city is on the lake!  Everywhere they go, they get in their canoes to get there!  The market, school, monastery, pagodas, medical clinic, gardens, everything is by canoe!  Everything is built up on stilts in the lake, so anytime you want to go fishing; you just throw your line out the window and fish from the comforts of your home!  You ride around in a boat to get everywhere, what could be better?  I saw kids as young as 2 and 3 out in their canoes taking a ride with an older sibling that was maybe 6 or 7.  It is their culture to be on the water all day that it is nothing to have these little kids out paddling around by themselves (no life jackets or anything, I really would love to know the drowning rate of kids on that lake.)  I just loved the lifestyle here, it seemed so much more relaxed, and the people were so kind and content with their life.  We even saw pig pens built on to the back of the houses with one or two pigs in it, their meat supply for the following year, I’m sure.  Our boat ride to our hotel was so fascinating!  We were even blessed with a beautiful sunset near the end of the ride.  I knew that this was the start to a beautiful experience of this suppressed country. 

Once we checked in to our hotel we rushed to see what our little cottages would be like.  They were charming!  Little cottages with little porches to fish off of, and then a bigger porch in front to sit out at late and night and chat with your neighbors.  We were right over the water.  We had two little surprises when we checked out the bathroom however.  The first was a little lizard, and the obvious passage way that he and his family used to get in and out of our cottage.  The second was that when the toilet flushed, it went directly into the water beneath us.   This is what makes the water toxic, and why we were told not to go swimming (that and the poisonous water snakes).  There is no septic system here.  The lake that everyone boats around on is a concoction of the villages’ waste products.  Oddly enough, the water seemed relatively clear; we could see the bottom of the lake relatively easily.  Also, in the evenings we saw the natives taking their baths in the lake, so it is not toxic to them, just to us.  This is our cottage.  Oh yeah, we also had mosquito nets over our bed, as the mosquitoes were really thick, but it made my bed feel like a princess bed!  Meghan and I both had fun with this!  Here is our cottage and mosquito net beds (I think I want one now!)

We had a little bit of time before dinner that night.  Meghan and I walked around the hotel and booked massages for later that week (they were $5 for one hour!  We couldn’t let this opportunity pass!)  For dinner that night we had a variety of Asian dishes of pork, beef, vegetables, soup this amazing salad.  It was a tomato and onion salad in a peanut sauce.  I could have had a whole meal of just that salad.  I ordered water with my dinner that night, and it was water bottled in Myanmar.  I noticed other people were drinking it and nobody was dead, and I was so thirsty for water, I decided to go ahead and try it.  It was alright, but defiantly room temperature, so not very refreshing from the heat (we can’t have ice in anything, since there is no way to know if it is made from bottled water).  This was the trend for the whole trip.  It was impossible to get a cold beverage anywhere we went (but we really appreciated the ice water on the ship when we got back on).   After dinner, Meghan and I were both so exhausted from the day so we headed back to our cute little cottage to relax.  We talked for a while, and I read my book (such a good book, I can’t hardly put it down!)  We were so ready for day 2! 

March 18, 2006

Inle Lake at its finest!

            We started off this day very early at 6:00 am.  After our elaborate breakfast buffet, our trusty guide Win took us all to the 5 day market (what a cruel trick to tell us we are not allowed to bring any souvenirs back to the US, and then bring us to a market where everything costs under $5).  We were told that we could use US currency here, and the venders met us in the water with their little canoes.  They would just latch on to our boat and try and sell us everything from jade objects, pearl necklaces, Buddha statues woodcarvings to traditional wear, like hats shirts and longies (long “skirts” that both men and women wear).  The venders kept saying “need lucky money, need lucky dollar” they wanted US currency because their currency changes so much that it is worthless to them and the dollar is consistent.  We spent about an hour at the market, looking around.  Some people did buy stuff; I found it entertaining to see how every vender was selling the exact same stuff as the next.  There are so many things made of jade!  They also had pearl necklaces for like $3 to $4 each!  The venders would try to light them on fire to prove that they were real and not fake.  It is such a hard position because I want to help these people out; I know they need the money way more than I do, but if I am going to have a hard time getting it into the US, what is the point in buying stuff? 

            After the market we got back on our boats and had a good one hour boat ride until we got to the land of pagodas (basically the whole country is all pagodas, but they were really concentrated here.  We walked through a village and a whole line of venders, probably a half mile long, to get to the ruins.  At the ruins, there were thousands of pagodas and Buddha statues.  It was really fun at first but after an hour of walking in the boiling heat, they really all looked the same.  At the end of our tour, we stopped at a pagoda that was being constructed in the middle of all of these ruins.  Every time we went to an active pagoda, we had to take our shoes and sometimes our socks off to walk around (the nurse in me came out, all I could think of was food disease, all these sweaty feet walking around barefoot on this marble, kind of disgusting.)  There was a massive Buddha inside, but women were “prohibited” from getting very close to it (it is the Asian culture; they consider women less human than a man, funny how that works out.) 

We next got back on our boats to head to a floating restaurant for lunch.  We were all so dehydrated from the heat, and drank our warm water and sodas without to much protest.  For lunch we had typical Burmese food of fish, pork, vegetables (mainly cabbage) and a green bean salad with the same peanut sauce as the tomato salad the night before, it was so good!  For appetizers before each meal we kept getting these deep fried crunchy things we didn’t really know what it was.  We later discovered that is was deep fried tofu.  They also serve fruit for dessert after every meal, usually papaya, watermelon and mini bananas (like 3 inches long).  The fruit was actually really refreshing from the heat! (They defiantly do not eat chocolates and cakes after meals!) 

            After lunch we piled back into our boats to go see the more “industrial” side of Inle Lake.  We saw how silk was weaved together to make bolts of fabric, and how they use lotus plants to make thread and then more fabric.  We were given the opportunity to buy any of these fine products that they were making.  We later learned that these women would work all day, and maybe make $2- $3.  We then traveled to the cigar, and canoe making shop.  These people worked so quickly and still made next to nothing for a full 10 hour day of work! 

            We retuned to our cabins for a block of 2 hours to do whatever we wanted to.  I decided to sit on my porch and relax with a good book.  A few others decided to go swimming (I don’t think they realized that their toilet dumped right in the water where they were swimming.)  Later that evening, some locals offered to take us around their lake village.  They brought us to a recreation center where boys were playing volleyball and juggling a make shift soccer ball.  We talked with the kids and some people jumped in the volleyball game.  Next, our new friend offered to show us his entire home.  This was really a special treat since it wasn’t a part of the itinerary.  We got in our little canoes and paddled over to his house.  He was considered one of the richer residents of Inle Lake.  By our standards, we probably would consider him below the poverty level, but when you work for $2- $3 a day, how can anyone be considered “rich” in a monetary sense?  Not only did he give us a tour, but his mother also fed us!  The whole family lives together until they get married, and then they move out on their own, but still close by.  This guy had 14 siblings, and he was the youngest, so he still lived at home (he looked to be about mid 20’s).  The mother looked like she had already outlived her life time; she must have been at least 85 years old, and exhausted.  I felt really bad that they were offering us snacks and tea.  We are the ones that should be offering them food or something!  She made us these giant rice pancake things, and had fried noodles and soy nuts to accompany our green tea, which I find myself liking more and more every day!

            After our visit we headed back to our cottages for dinner and the performance the staff had planned for us.  The food was once again amazing, and the performance was enlightening.  The best part was the “mystical animal” with was two guys in a dragon/unicorn/dog type outfit.  They did a very good job with their performance!  Meghan and I walked back to our cabin and spent the night talking about anything and everything under the sun.  It’s great having a friend like Meghan.

March 19, 2006

Inle Lake with Light Trekking

            We started our morning off a little bit earlier than the day before, but there was a lot planned for this day!  Our first stop was the Jumping Cat Monastery.  The monks there found that over time more and more cats were finding homes at the monastery, so they decided to put them to good use.  They taught the cats how to jump through hoops for their food.  (It really sounds way cooler than it actually was.  I think we were expecting a circus, and it was simply a cat jumping through a hoop that the monk held up).  We were only here for about 15 minutes, but we got out pictures of jumping cats, and the Buddha (actually there are about 50 Buddhas in this one building). 

            Next, we had what our itinerary said was light trekking (I really should have learned by now.  Every time they say a “light” hike or trekking, it really means bring an extra water bottle and be prepared to sweat and ready to drop to your knees.)  We walked a good mile in the boiling heat until we came to an all boys orphanage.  We went in and visited with the kids and played question and answer games.  This gave them a chance to practice their English and for both of us to learn about each other’s cultures.  We gave the kids stickers, toys, candy, clothes, books, pens, pencils, whatever we had packed to give away.   Next we visited the girls’ orphanage and made our rounds with them too.  They were so excited to see us!  They showed us all around and told us how long each of them had been there.

We next continued on our “light” trek up to the monastery where we would be feeding the monks their noon day meal.  They introduced us to the life style of a monk, and told us how most of the boys had come to be there, and what a typical day would be like.  We offered them their meal, and then we went to another room and had our own lunch.  During lunch, the head monk came and told us all about Buddhism, and what the boys were to get out of being here. 

       After lunch, our guide let us know that the “light” trek hadn’t actually begun.  We had only climbed the hill to the monastery, but we still had a 3 hour hike up and then down.  You could just hear the groan as we all thought we had just done the trek.  Everyone pretty much agreed that it was just too hot, and trekking was not a good idea.  So, instead of trekking up, he took us down an alternative route so we could trek the mile down.  This hike was beautiful and a little scary at times.  The trail was one foots width, and pretty much straight down, so we all basically crawled down for an hour.  At the bottom of the hill, we landed in the middle of a little village.  Our guide showed us a place where they make sugar syrup from the sugar cane.  The locals there showed us the whole process that a sugar cane goes through to get the syrup, and once the syrup is made then they can derive the sugar from the syrup.  We all got to munch on some raw sugar cane before it was processed so we would know what it started out as.  

Once we finally made it back to our boats, we were off to see the floating gardens.  One day, one of the residents discovered that certain mud floated, while others sank.  He collected all the mud that floated and planted a garden on it.  Amazingly, the vegetables and flowers grew so fast and full that the news spread, and soon everyone wanted to have a part in the floating gardens, making them the acres upon acres of floating gardens that they have become.  Really, these people are self sufficient.  They make all of their food that they need to live off of, and they live on the lake, providing them with all the water that they need.  To harvest the garden, they just paddle up to it in their canoes and pick what they need for market day, or what they need for their family.  Our guide said there wasn’t a problem of thievery because everyone knew everyone and relied on everyone.  So, the gardens were not locked up, and there were no locks on any of the doors on the whole lake.  I never would have imagined a community like this existed anywhere in the world, but how much less in Myanmar! 

 After the gardens, we went to a shop where the famous “giraffe neck” women worked.  They stretch their necks out by adding one brass ring to their neck each year of their life.  They view a long neck as a sign of beauty.  Our three hour trek that we all decided not to do was suppose to be up to their village in the mountains so we could see where they lived.  This was an alternate place that we could go to still see them.  It was a little weird all these people taking pictures, but they sat there and smiled, and said thank you.  They seemed like they enjoyed being photographed to be shared around the world. 

 Our last stop of the day was one more pagoda.  This pagoda was an active one, and on the water, so we rode our canoes over to it and unloaded on the dock. We had to take off our shoes and socks as we toured the facilities.  It was very obvious to me at this point that we were being followed.  There were two men who were keeping a very close eye on us.   When we got to the center alter, there was a big sign letting us know that women were prohibited from going beyond this point, the whole “men are more worthy than women.”  Some of the girls in our group got really upset and left the pagoda to go sit out in the boat.  Needless to say, the pagoda did not get very many donations from this group! 

Back at the cottages, we had an hour to relax before dinner, and another performance.  I had also signed up for a massage that night ($5 for an hour!)  Meghan had badly sun burnt her hands the day before and was in a lot of pain, so she didn’t feel like doing much of anything.  We just relaxed before dinner, showing each other any souvenirs we had acquired over the past two days.  This is Meghan, miserable with her bad sunburn.

This was our last dinner at the lodge, and everyone was a little sad that we would be leaving this beautiful area the next day.  It would be nice to be back on the ship and get a shower and actually feel clean afterwards, and to have ice cold beverages again, but it would be sad to leave this area as well.  I knew as I sat there at dinner that night that this was my favorite port, with all of its conflict and questions, this is the place I loved the most! 

Being here has really made me think about a lot, like how we try and solve problems, what we think is the right solution.  Seeing the conflict in the government and how we are dealing with it and everyone’s different views on how to save the world, it makes me wonder who it is that really needs to be saved.  I want to save these people from this horrible oppression, but I don’t even know where to start, I have no idea what a person would even do, even after seeing and experiencing all of this.  Once I realized that I didn’t know what to do, it made me realize the only real solution.  We need more education about places like these.  Education is the only way anything will change.  We need to be educated, and we do need to visit, so when we visit, we educate them, we pass on what we have learned, and we pass on hope to them.  The government was terrified that we were there, and the people were relieved that we were there.  The people need us tourist there.  That is the only way that they can ever survive.  There is so much conflict as to why we even went there, but I would encourage everyone to go, spread the news, see what it is actually like to live under a military regime, feel the warmth from these people.  This may not be our war to fight, but who will fight for Burma?  These are the nicest people and some of the happiest people I have seen, and yet, they are the worst off.  They are trapped in their country, back in time.  They don’t have technology to rely on, so they rely on each other, and for that, they are some of the most blessed people.  They know what it means to have a good neighbor and to really know your neighbor.  There is just something about this country that I want to do more.  I would come back here in a heart beat.  There are so many questions to be answered!  (read under my “stories” link for Myanmar.  It is not a story, but more questions.  I just wish there was  way to show you what I experienced.)

March 20, 2006

Leaving Inle Lake, back to Yangon

The next morning we started out early after breakfast.  We got into our canoes for the last time for our one hour commute back to our bus, back to land.  On our boat ride, the sun was just coming up, and the fishermen were all out getting their days catch (they use these cone shaped nets to catch fish in, very unique to Inle lake, just like the way they paddle with their leg).  We also saw a lot of military personnel out on boats escorting people around.  I am sure that we had been watched the whole time we were there, we really did make the government nervous, just by being there.  Once we were back on our bus, it was an hour bus ride back to the airport.  The airport was much the same as before.  No security, random seating, first come first serve, with one hour flight time.  We drank our warm Sprite as we sat their sweating, just drooling over the fact that this time tomorrow we would all be drinking water with ice cubes in it!  When we got off the plane in Yangon, it was even hotter outside.  We first went to the Shwedagon Pagoda.  Shwedagon Pagoda is 326 feet tall, and is one of the wonders of the religious world.  It is plated entirely of gold, and is the earliest pagoda of the Gautama Buddha Era, built by King Okkalapa on Singottara Hill more than 2500 years ago.  At the very top of the pagoda, it is encrusted with 4531 diamonds, and the largest one is a 76 carat diamond! 

We spent an hour here; I walked around with Natalie and Sierra (I met them on the India trip).  Meghan had decided to go right back to the ship from the airport, since she wasn’t feeling well from too much sun.  We took our pictures all over the place, who knows when we will ever be back.  Yangon really is just another big, but poor city.  I didn’t find it all that interesting.  It was neat to visit the Pagoda; it’s another wonder of the world to mark off my list!

After the Pagoda, we went to see the reclining Buddha (there are more pagodas and Buddhas in this area than I think the people know what to do with!  This Buddha is famous simply because it is huge and the only one of its kind. 

 Next we had lunch at the Trader’s hotel.  This is a very nice hotel, and where most of the SAS’ers decided to stay for the following night.  We had a huge buffet and I defiantly did not feel like I was dressed appropriately in such a nice area.  The food was some of the best that I have had in Myanmar, and there is just something about the piece of mind when you eat, knowing that the food you are eating most likely, has not been contaminated.  It makes the food all that much better. 

After lunch we went to the local market and looked at all the crafts.  I have been trying to find the right fabric for my bridesmaids dresses, so I can get them made in Vietnam.  So far, no luck, but I have one more country look in!  I did find some beautiful material to get a dress made for me for the Ambassadors Ball, which is coming up soon.  After the markets, I just headed back to the ship for the day, as it was already getting dark. 

Back on the ship, I enjoyed a nice shower, some ice water, and a clean bed in which I could sleep without fear of a lizard running up my leg!  It’s crazy the things you take for granted!

The next morning we left Myanmar, and we are now on our way to Vietnam!  We will be there on March 26^th.  All of my papers for my classes here are all going to be due in just a few days, so, I have a lot of writing to do!  Take care!