Saturday, May 31, 2014

A Day in Rangoon

When I woke on Tuesday morning, I had all of these grand plans to make the most of my day - I would be on my own until 2:00 pm, when I would meet up with my guide from the previous day, Grace, for a tour about local Traditions and Culture. 

I planned to go to the huge city market that is just down the road from my hotel - the Bogyoke Aung San Market, and from there to explore some parts of the city that I had not yet been to.

First of all I was looking forward to having a bit of a lie in, as this would be the first day that I wouldn't really need to get up very early. I knew that I would wake up quite early, thanks to my body clock not having adjusted yet, but it would be great to try to go back to sleep.

I slept until about 6:30, and after breakfast I headed off for the market, around 8:30. Apparently the market doesn't open until 9:30 or 10, so when I arrived there wasn't anyone else there. I decided to just walk around the city some. I stumbled upon a Hindu temple, so spent some time there and then just walked with no destination in mind. 

I have felt so safe in Yangon. Not once have I felt in danger or compromised - I wasn't expecting that! People look, but mostly because I look so foreign, not in any kind of malicious way. By the time I walked back to the hotel on Sunday night, I felt almost the same as I would walking in any other city, possibly even safer. The only problem that I encountered was the heat! By about 10:30, the temp had risen to 38 degrees, which is the equivalent of about 101 Farenheit. Add the humidity in, and it's absolutely murderous being outside during the high point of the day. I decided to return to my hotel for a while to cool off. At about 12:00 I decided to go back out, as I only had until 2:00 before I was meeting Grace, my guide from Monday, again. 

I walked to the Botataung Pagoda, which was probably about a mile and a half from my hotel. Not far in distance, but soooooo hot and humid to be walking! I also had to cross some fairly busy roads that didn't have crosswalks, so that was kind of exciting! It was well worth it once I arrived. The pagoda itself was beautiful, and I was excited to learn that I could actually go into the stupa and see the relics within. In this case, they were hairs of Buddha. This is very rare to be able to do - I've probably been to 6-8 pagodas so far and this was the first one that the public were allowed to enter the stupa. I walked into the reliquary room and was amazed! All of the walls were covered entirely in gold leaf, and with the lights shining on them the room seemed to be glowing. I spent a bit of time walking around the inside, then headed out to see the temples around the pagoda. 

This happened to be right by the jetty where a lot of local ferries were coming and going, so I walked down to the edge and enjoyed the cool breeze blowing off the river. After this I was going to take a taxi back to the main downtown area, but there weren't any around. So, I began hoofing it back to the hotel. 

I stopped in for a quick bite of lunch at a Japanese restaurant, then finished the walk back to the hotel. 
Grace and I met up at 2:00, and headed out on our Traditions and Culture tour. Grace is 20 years old and speaks amazing English! She took such good care of Dan and me on Monday's tour, and I was really looking forward to learning more from her. 

First we went to the Bogyoke Aung San Museum, which is the house that General Aung San and his family lived in when he was assassinated in 1947. After being closed by the military government for many years, it re-opened in 2011 and I was really glad to be able to go there. If you don't know much about what Burma has been through in the last 100 years, you should really read up on it. The country was colonized by the British in the late 1800's, and General Aung San was working on an agreement with the British crown to grant Burma independence right before he was killed. With his death there was no clear leader of the people, and once independence was granted the country was plunged in chaos, with different military factions grappling for control. 

I will try to post a link to a good site that talks about the history of Burma in a little while, right now the internet is very dodgy and I can't upload webpages. So stay tuned for more information. 

The museum was very interesting, I felt that I learned a lot about who the General was and the principles that he stood for. Grace and I agreed that it is very sad that so many good leaders are killed before they can reach their full potential. Our prime example other than the General was President Lincoln.

After this I asked Grace if we could drive by Aung San Suu Kyi's house (known as "The Lady"). She is the daughter of the General and has been heavily involved in politics in Burma. She was such a threat to the Military Regime that they had her under house arrest for 14 years. She is revered by the Burmese and much of the world, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. She is now able to be part of parliament, but when the regime wrote the current constitution they included a section that banned her from ever being able to become president. This is terrible, because she is really the best thing that could happen to the country. Right now she is working, along with her party - The National Leauge for Democracy - to amend the constitution and calling on the military leaders to step down even more than they have. The election is in 2015 - we'll see what happens. I highly recommend that you all read her books, especially "Freedom From Fear."

Grace and the driver kindly drove me past both her office and the entrance to her house, which I felt very honored to see.

Our next stop was the Shwedagon Pagoda. This is the pagoda that I posted pictures of on my first night, I could see the illuminated spires from my hotel room. It is huge! Shwedagon contains relics from all four Buddha's. The staff of Kakusanda Buddha, the water filter of Kawnagamana Buddha, the nether robe of Kassapa Buddha, and eight hairs of Gautama Buddha. Shwedagon translates as "the reliquary of the four."  The pagoda was initially built in 600 BC. It is 326 feet high and has a 76 carat diamond at the top of the main spire. The number of gold and jewels on this stupa is just staggering!

The Diamond Orb is 22 inches high and has 4, 351 diamonds with a total carat weight of 1,800. This is where the 76 carat diamond is. The Umbrella is 43 feet high and has a 1/2 TON (that's right, TON) of gold! It has 83,850 jewellery items and 4, 016 small gold bells. Amazing!

The temple compound is huge, and we spent a long time walking around soaking it all in. Grace filled me in on lots of history and details about the pagoda, then we sat on the base of one of the smaller temples and watched the world go by. It was really relaxing and nice to cool off in the shade!

After this we headed back to my hotel, as I was meeting my tour group at 6:00 pm. I was excited to meet everyone! There are only 7 of us, as well as our great guide, Joseph. Sanjay is from England, Marilyn is from Australia (and my roomie), Tom is originally from Scotland but has lived in Australia for 10 years, Barbara is from Belgium, Eleonore is from Switzerland, and Phil is from Florida. Phil said that I am the first other American that he has ever met on an Intrepid trip, and he has been on quite a few! We all went to dinner at a traditional Burmese noodle house near our hotel, then headed back to turn in as we had an early day on Wednesday.


The Hindu Temple


Entrance to the Botataung Reliquary


Botataung Pagoda


Locals playing a game on the jetty


Bogyoke Aung San Museum


Grace showing me the grounds of the Museum


Aung San Suu Kyi's Office (Above) and house entrance (below)

I took pictures of Shwedagon, but they didn't turn out very well. We went back on Wednesday, so I'll put some of those up on my post about Wednesday!


Monday, May 26, 2014

All Monks Have Smart Phones, and Other Anecdotes

I want and need to write about yesterday and today, but I am so tired and I just don't know if words could do justice to all of the things that I've seen. I'm going to share a few short pieces and then post a lot of photos with small descriptions. Sorry for the abbreviated post!

Seriously, all monks have smart phones here. I've seen more monks with the Samsung Galaxy Note and S4 than people in the US. When you come around a corner in a park - monk on a smart phone. Watching monks take a break from praying - smart phone. Getting on a train - monk on smart phone. Conclusion: if you need help with your smart phone, find a monk.

Yesterday we left Golden Rock at 8 am. I woke up at 4 thanks to my body having absolutely no idea what time it was, and was so blessed to watch the sunrise, both from the hotel and from the temple square of Golden Rock. It was STUNNING and probably the most special morning and sun rise of my life. I literally felt like I was watching the earth from above.





We rode the chicken truck back down the mountain, which was possibly more exciting than riding it up. It really did feel like a rollercoaster. Here's a picture of the chicken truck fully loaded, as well as the monks walking the village in the early morning asking for donations (their smart phones were probably in their pockets). 



We went to Bago, which is the royal seat of ancient Burmese kings. We saw replicas of their palaces, as well as a huge and beautiful pagoda. We also visited some statues of Reclining Buddha's, but the pictures are on my back up camera and I'm too tired to upload them! I'll try to do so tomorrow.




I was sad to say goodbye to my two lovely new friends, Emma and Heather. Emma and I did have a great dinner together in Rangoon at a restaurant that serves cuisine from all of South East Asia. 

Today I went on a Rangoon tour where we rode the train about 20 miles out of the city and visited a market - it was only locals, the other man, Dan, on the tour and I were the only tourists, and it was really special to be there. The people are so friendly and charming. We spent a long time wandering around the market before coming to Rangoon.



In the afternoon we spent time exploring a local park which was built in the colonial period - it was beautiful and had lovely views of City Hall as well as the building that was the High Court when Rangoon was the capital. 


Dan and I then walked about 20 minutes to Kandawgyi Lake, which is a beautiful park on a large lake. We spent a long time walking and then sat at a lake side terrace cafe for a beer. After that we were so lucky to watch an amazing sunset that illuminated the Shwedagon Pagoda and the Karaweik, which is a replica of an ancient Burmese palace. 



Another perfect day in Burma. Each day is better than the last and I've only been here for 3 days. 

Blessings to you all, my friends. 

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Take the Chicken Truck to Golden Rock



As I sit here preparing to write about Saturday, my first real day here, I feel at a loss to know where to begin. The entire day was just amazing and so beautiful that I think it is still hard for me to take in. I'll bore you with some mundane details and then get to the really good stuff.

Breakfast began at 6:30, and I got there not really knowing what to expect for my first Burmese breakfast. The breakfast area is on the 14th floor of the hotel, so right as I walked off the elevator there were some pretty amazing views of the city. The sky was a bit overcast, but didn't look as if it would rain right away. The variety of food that the hotel had for breakfast was quite impressive. They had some Western standards - hard boiled eggs, fried eggs, toast, cereal, as well as more traditional Burmese options. I decided to go for it and try some of the Burmese, guessing as to what things were. The two winners that I chose were a type of fried rice with large chunks of garlic and baby corn and snow peas and egg, and a vermicelli dish that had hard boiled egg and some veggies. I also had some very fresh, sweet watermelon as well as strong black tea and the most amazing pineapple juice believable. I threw in a slice of toast for good measure - right before breakfast I realized that I hadn't eaten anything other than 2 granola bars since getting off of the plane in Toyko. It felt good to be eating! While I was eating, the rain rolled in. It's quite amazing how quickly it comes in - and it is so heavy when it falls, just sheets and sheets of it pouring out of the sky. Quite impressive to watch from such a high venue, I literally watched it move across the city. I sat for a bit, drinking more tea and juice, before heading back to my room to grab my things. The trip to Golden Rock was just for one night, so I packed a change of clothes into my small backpack and stored my bigger bag with the hotel. 

Our group was asked to meet in the lobby at 8, and I was excited to meet my fellow travelers and our guide. The guide, Zaw, was in the lobby when I got there - we met and talked a bit while waiting for the others. He is from Yangon and has worked as a guide for about 10 years. He works for Intrepid, the company I am traveling with, as well as another company called Exodus. His English is excellent and he's really informative and nice. I asked him about the journey to Golden Rock, and he said that it would be about a 4 hour drive to the base of the mountain, and then we would take a "Chicken Truck" to the summit. "A chicken truck?" I asked. "Yes," he said " an open truck that you would normally put chickens and animals in the back of." This was going to be an exciting day!

Two other ladies joined us, Emma from London and Heather from Sidney - they had both just finished the 16 day tour that I will be beginning on Tuesday. They are both really nice and we're getting along really well - I have a feeling that I am making new friends for life on this trip. 

Off we went out the front door and into our van. Zaw told us that we would be visiting the Htauk Kyant War Cemetary on the way out of Yangon. Built by Burma after the Second World War, this cemetary honors 27,000 Allied soldiers who died fighting in Burma. Many of these soldiers died building the Burma Railway under the Japanese. It was about a 30 minute drive out of the city to the cemetary. The grounds of the cemetary are huge, and immaculately maintained. We spent about 20 minutes walking around, reading the tombstones and enjoying the peace of the place. Many of the men (boys, really) died around the age of 19-22. We all remarked that we were not only grateful for their sacrifice, but were so glad that they had such a peaceful resting place. 

While Emma and I were walking along the columns, a group of Burmese approached us and asked to take our photo. We said yes, and all the girls came up and posed with us. It's really sweet, they want to take your hand or put their arm around you - this contact is only gender to gender, not intermixed. I expected them to want to take 1 photo, so when they each wanted to take one (there were about 15 of them) I was really surprised! We took a few more, then excused ourselves. I asked them if I could take their photo, and they shyly agreed. I asked Emma if that had been typical of the rest of the trip, and she said that a little bit, but not too often. They spoke a few words of English, and by gesturing and lots of smiling we all made ourselves understood fairly well.

Back into the van we went to drive for about 3 more hours to Kyaiktiyo. When we arrived at the base of the mountain we ate lunch at a Chinese restaurant. Zaw explained that in this region the Burmese food is cooked at the beginning of the day and then left sitting out, so that it was better to eat Chinese food which was cooked to order to avoid the risk of getting ill. We had some really good food. I had a rice dish - rice fried with chicken and veggies and these amazing spicy little chiles. Yum! After this we had a quick visit to the loo (squat toilets only, no surprise there) and made our way to the chicken truck! When we walked around the corner to the "Chicken Loading Bay" (chicken being synonymous for tourist or pilgrim, at this point) we were amazed at how many people they packed into these trucks! Zaw said "That's why I call it the chicken truck, everyone is packed in like chickens!" We 4 chickens piled into the front row of the one of the trucks and were ready to go. We had to wait about 10 minutes for the truck to finish filling up and it was absolutely sweltering while sitting still. No breeze, no moving air, and sweat just pouring down us. It was quite a relief when we started to go! In our particular truck there were some Chinese tourists, Burmese pilgrims, and lots of monks. Our chicken truck rolled out of  the garage, and we were on our way up the 12 km road to the summit and Golden Rock. 

The ride up the hill was so beatiful. As we climbed we began to get spectacular views of the valley and the mountains rising around us. Since we were in the front it was a little hard to see and almost impossible to take pictures of the views. Up and down this very steep and windy road - switchback after switchback taking us right up into the clouds. I was watching the other chickens in the reflection of the rear window, and the Chinese tourists in particular were having a great time on the ride - raising their arms into the air, rollercoaster style, when we would go down a steep hill! The older monks looked almost like they were sleeping, but the young novice monks had huge smiles on their faces. We got to the top after a bumpy and beautiful ride. It is about a 5 minute walk from the unloading area to the entrance of Golden Rock, and Zaw informed us that our hotel was on the way and we would check in and then go to the rock. Our hotel is called the Mountain Top Hotel, and that is an incredibly accurate name as it is perched right on the top and side of the mountain. The view from our rooms is spectacular! The windows look right out over the mountains and the valley - as I write this early Sunday morning the sun is just barely beginning to paint the clouds with hints of color. Sunrise itself is in about 45 minutes. I can see a crescent moon and star floating right above the cloud bank. It feels ethereal.

After dropping off our backpacks we headed towards the temple square itself. We all remarked that we weren't quite sure what to expect, even though we'd seen photos. Once you approach the entrance to the square, it's off with the shoes. We headed up the staircase and had our first glimpse of the rock. Precariously perched on the edge of a larger boulder, the small Golden Rock looks as if the slightest gust of wind would send it tumbling down the mountain side. However, it has been there for the last 2,500 years, according to Buddhist lore. If you are interested in learning more about the history of Golden Rock, click on this link. http://www.sacred-destinations.com/burma/golden-rock-kyaiktiyo

We had expected it to be quite crowded, but it was not. We seemed to be the only Western tourists there. Hours flew by as we watched pilgrims approach the rock, give offerings, and meditate. The men are allowed to place gold leaf on the rock, and most of them do so. 

I really can't describe this part to you adequately. All that I can say is that it was unbelievably powerful being in such a spiritual place. Regardless of what or who you believe in, you would feel close to it in this place. It was an experience that filled the senses. Feeling the cool mountain breeze, smelling the incense wafting, hearing the chanting of the monks and gongs ringing and bells tinkling - absolute magic. The mountains around us were covered in this fine layer of mist, and the river in the distance seemed to be floating in mid air. Once the sun began to sink beneath the hills the air seemed to glow with this vibrant gold color, illuminating everything and making the already bright colors pop.

While walking around, so many people (mainly girls) came up and asked to take a picture with me! I think my blonde self is quite the anomaly to them. At one point this lady with a giant video camera came up and asked in broken English if she could film me for Korean tv. I was REALLY flustered and managed to stammer out "um, ok, I guess so....." She asked me why I came to Burma, where I was from, what I liked about the country. I guess that I'm now going to be on Korean tv! Interesting. Everyone was so polite and so interested - when we walked by they would all smile and take our picture. This is such a welcoming country. Finally at the end of one of these giant photo ops I asked someone to take a picture with my camera. You can see this "family photo" below! I asked Zaw about this later, and he said that it was very likely that most people in the rural areas had never seen a blonde person before. 

We walked around the huge temple square and found a bell maker, who was selling the prayer bells. Emma and I each bought one. We sat on a bench under a tree and watched barefoot children running and playing together, laughing and smiling. We watched a group of about 10 novice monks (approximately ages 6-10) come down a staircase. Our attempt to take their picture turned into the most endearing game of hide and seek ever, with them running down the stairs and ducking their heads before popping up to reward us with absolutely huge smiles. We watched monks prostrate themselves before the rock, chanting and working their prayer beads. We saw women bring offerings of food and tea to Buddha, before kneeling and chanting their own prayers. Most of all we saw a beautiful people who are so moved by their devotion, and so willing to share their happiness. We saw humanity at its purest. 

We stayed up and watched the sunset, before finally tearing ourselves away. At this point Emma and I had been at the rock for almost 4 hours - it went by so very fast! We had dinner at our hotel, perched on the edge of the mountain. 

When I went to bed, I thought of a conversation that I had with my Aunt Jean recently. We were talking and she said "Find what feeds your soul, and then do that as much as you can." 

My soul is full.       


The war memorial




The view out my window at the Mountain Top Hotel



Emma, Heather, and Me








Friday, May 23, 2014

First Impressions

As we began the approach to land in Rangoon, I was so eager to see what was out the window. From my high vantage point the land looked green and lush, and I could see lots of small rivers and lakes as well as fields dotted with small towns. Once we got lower to the ground I could see the gleam of sunlight on the gold leaf painted stupas and pagodas dotting the land - I was really here!

I exchanged money, went through Immigration and Customs, and made my way to the taxi stand. Here I decided to try my fledgling Burmese! I really only know 3 phrases so far - hello, thank you, and please. Mingalaba, I said to the ladies at the taxi stand. I must have pronounced it at least mostly correctly, because they rewarded me with huge smiles! In English I gave them the name of the hotel I was going to and they got me to a taxi. I think that the company that I am traveling with, Intrepid, has great pricing, but sometimes you automatically pay an inflated price when using a company. Here's an example - the transport that they offer to and from the hotel was $20 one way. My taxi rate was $8. Much better!

Walking outside to the taxi I immediately felt my senses soaking in the tropics. Warm, damp air, birds calling, woodsmoke in the air - there aren't the words to describe it. The taxi ride was about 30 minutes into the heart of the city. Some of the images that I saw that remain in my mind like a photo include seeing monks walking down a path between tall, large leafed trees. Watching a little boy sitting on a bicycle seat behind his brother and seeing him flex his arm muscles and smile. Passing a soccer pitch with barefoot boys running and playing. Coming into the city and seeing the spires of the Shwedagon Paya, going around a corner and seeing it at the end of a wide avenue. I must have inhaled sharply when I saw it, because the driver said "yes, beautiful, yes?" Oh my goodness yes! 

The Shwedagon Paya is the most religious site within Myanmar, said to contain 8 hairs of the Buddha, it is covered with gold, 5,500 diamonds, and hundreds of other precious gems. It sits on a hill overlooking the city. I'll be spending time there on Monday.

Pulling up to the hotel, I unloaded my bag and went inside. Once I got into my room I realized just how tired I was. I've also been fighting a cold, so I decided it was time to rest. 

Now it is Saturday morning and I'm getting ready to head to breakfast, then on to Kyaikhtyio. It is a 4 hour drive and once we arrive we will be visiting the holy Golden Rock. This is a huge boulder completely painted with gold leaf and delicately balanced on the edge of a cliff, and it is a major site of pilgrimage for Buddhists. We drive to the base of the mountain, then are hiking to the top to enjoy the sunset and visit the pagoda. We'll be spending the night in Kyaikhtyio, then going to Bago tomorrow.


We drove under this gate on the way into the city



The night view from my room - the golden glow in the distance is the Shwedagon Paya


Close up of the Shwedagon Paya - so beautiful!



The views from my room this morning

Until later, my friends!

Denver to Rangoon

When I left Denver on Wednesday, I was still in the frame of mind that people often get before a big trip, when you know that you're going somewhere but it doesn't really seem real. Once I was in my seat for the flight from Denver to Tokyo, it became so real and I got SO excited! The Denver to Tokyo flight was pretty fabulous.

I was so excited to be on the 787 Dreamliner, Boeing's newest airplane. My mom had been on one and said it was amazing. Thanks to her large amount of miles with United, I ended up in first class! Now, let me say this first: I never mind flying economy (can't miss what you don't know, right? the only time I've ever flown first class is by a random upgrade), but now that I have flown first class on the Dreamliner I am absolutely ruined for life. RUINED! My seat was its own little pod that relcined completely flat. I had a big pillow and soft down comforter. I ate some delicious sushi and steak, drank some lovely wine, and watched two movies. Then the flight attendant's brought around the cheese tray - oh my gosh! Goat cheese and brie and grapes oh my.... I seriously considered refusing to get off the place once we landed in Tokyo. :) Unfortunately I didn't sleep on that 12 hour flight - it left Denver at 12:30 pm and even though I took 5 mg of Ambien after dinner (probably 5:30 my body time) sleep did not visit me. When we landed in Tokyo I thought I was really fine without having slept and was grateful to be feeling so relaxed and spoiled! Ruined, I tell you.

Once I got to Narita, the airport I went through in Tokyo, I had to change planes to get my flight to Chengdu, China. I dreamily floated away from my king size airplane bed (or so it felt) and headed into the airport. Farewell, Dreamliner! I love you. 

I found my gate in Tokyo and got my boarding pass for Chengdu. Now, when I got to Chengdu I was going to have some serious maneuvering to do and I was nervous about it. I had a 10 hour layover there, and after doing some research I learned that select airports in China have a 72 hour visa free transit time. This lets you enter the country for 72 hours without a visa, as long as you arrive into China from a foreign country and depart to a different country. So I had booked a hotel right outside the airport for the night. When I checked in in Denver, I asked the United counter to help me verify that I could in fact use this transit pass and go to the hotel. They looked it up and said that I should be good to go in Chengdu. So when I got my boarding pass in Tokyo I asked the ladies at the ANA check in counter what I needed to do once I arrived in Chengdu. They looked up some things and told me that I couldn't use this transit pass, but to hold on and they would double check. Off I went to the bathroom and to sit down. After about 30 minutes one of the ladies came up to me and said that she was sorry, but that I was not able to use the pass and would have to stay in the airport. I was disappointed, but understood and figured that it could be worse! So after she went back to the counter I got online and cancelled my booking.

Of course, about 5 minutes after I cancelled she called me to the counter and said that not only would I need to do the transit pass, I would have to as the Chengdu airport was not open 24 hours a day. I told her that I had just cancelled the reservation and asked her to help me contact the hotel. She called  the hotel for me, explained the situation, and they re-booked my reservation. Whew! At this point I realized how exhausted I was! I think it was probably about 3:00 am Thursday my body time, and about 5:00 pm Thursday afternoon in Tokyo.

Once I got on that plane to Chengdu (back in good old economy class) I pulled on my eye mask and slept for almost the entire 6 hour flight. When we landed in Chengdu I was feeling pretty well, although completely confused about what time it was! Better not to know, in this instance. :) I got off the plane and followed the signs towards immigration.

After waiting in line at passport control, I got up to the counter. After looking at my passport, the man said "No China visa!" I told him that I had the 72 hour pass and presented him with my air ticket to Rangoon and my hotel confirmation. Thus ensued about 25 minutes of total confusion. First he didn't know anything about the transit pass, then he called his supervisor and neither did she. Not only did she not know anything about the 72 hour pass, she said that there were no flights from Chengdu to Rangoon ever. I'm a pretty calm person and don't usually panic, but when she said that I ALMOST freaked out!!!! Fortunately a lady from ANA, the airline I took from Tokyo to Chengdu, saw this going on and ran over to us. She explained to the immigration official what was going on and then reassured me - she said that ANA in Toyko had called her and explained about me. She also verified that I was, in fact, booked on the flight from Chengdu to Rangoon on Friday morning. Wow, amazing customer service! So about 10 more minutes passed while the immigration official tried to find this special pass stamp for my passport. She came back and gave me my passport and my documents, and I went off to claim my bag. 

Right as I arrived at the baggage claim all the people from my flight were leaving with their luggage - there were no more bags on the carousel and it was not moving any longer. I thought to myself "ok, seeing as how things have gone so far I'm just going to wait a few minutes to see if comes out before asking anyone!" 5 minutes later, the carousel started turning and out came my bag. RELIEF! I went to Customs and presented my newly stamped passport and documents - the customs man told me that the hotel I was booked in was RIGHT outside the airport, that I would be able to see it once I walked outside. He told me where the shuttle was and out I went. Hello China! It was humid and rainy and I was thrilled to be there and ready for bed! All of the signs in the airport were in Chinese and English. I followed the sign to the shuttle area and proceeded to wait. And wait. While waiting, I read my confirmation info. It said that it was a 5 minute walk to the hotel. I decided to wait and see if the shuttle showed up and decided that if it didn't I would try to figure out the walking route. After waiting and waiting and waiting I decided to go for it and walk. I'm so glad I did! It only took about 5 minutes and it felt great to move after all of the sitting. I checked in with no problems and got into my room. I was so happy to be there! The room was amazing - I was sad that I only had 6 hours in it! I skyped with my parents and took a shower, then it was straight into bed for me. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to sleep, but I slept for about 4 1/2 hours and felt pretty rested. 

My flight to Rangoon was scheduled to depart at 8:15 am. I decided to get to the airport at 6:00 am - in light of the confusion from the day before I figured I would need all the time I could get. When I checked out I asked the receptionist which terminal I needed to go to for my Air China flight - she said Terminal 2. Once the shuttle got to the airport we pulled into Terminal 1 first. I saw several signs that said "Air China International" and asked the driver if I should get off there. He said no and drove on down to Terminal 2. Once I got inside I found a directory and made my way down a really long walkway to the Air China check in. After waiting in line for about 5 minutes, it was my turn. I handed my passport and ticket information to the attendant and was dismayed when they didn't know where Rangoon was or that Air China flew there. Hoping for the best but fearing the worst I used both names for both Burma and Myanmar as well as Rangoon (Yangon) and pointed out the flight number. Still nothing... after 10 more minutes of conferring with colleauges I was told to go to a different counter. I trooped over there and tried again. This time was marginally more successful, as the manager knew where Rangoon was and that Air China flew there, but they said that they were unable to find my reservation. Oh man!! Finally after what seemed like forever but was probably not actually very long they told me that I needed to go to Terminal 1. Yikes!!!

I grabbed my bag and began to hustle down to Terminal 1 - it was about 6:45 by now and I was getting nervous!! It took me about 10 minutes to walk back to Terminal 1. Once I got there I found the correct check in counter pretty easily and waited in a long line. I got to the counter and handed over my passport and ticket info once again. Once again.... unable to find my reservation. I was asked to wait to the side while another person went into another office and made another phone call. To my great relief they quickly found my reservation and I was given my boarding pass. I was all ready to head to Security and Immigration when the attendant decided to bless me with one last bombshell. "Your plane makes a stop in Kunming, where you will get off the plane and go through Immigration, then get back on the same plane." This made me really nervous, as I was uncertain of the procedures, but oh well - I had to go with it! I made it to my gate without any further issues and got there right before they started boarding, at about 8:00 am. WHEW! For a little while I didn't think I was going to make it!

We flew approximately 2 hours to Kunming, and off the plane we all went. I was a little nervous, having no idea what I really had to do or where I had to go. I was crossing my fingers that it would be fairly straight forward! Fortunately, it was. It was a little confusing as there were hardly any signs, but I did finally find a sign that said "Transit to International Flights" and followed it. I was given a new boarding pass at the transit counter and sent off to Immigration. I made it through and hurried back down to the same gate. WHEW! Saying that I was relieved when that plane took off and I knew that I was finally going to be in Rangoon soon is an understatement! 

On another note, Air China was quite nice and friendly. I noticed that they fly at a lower altitude for longer before landing, which was excellent as I could really see some of the landscape below. It is quite thrilling to look out the window and see pagodas dotting the landscape. The countryside was so diverse - in Chengdu it was so green and hilly, and then in Kunming it turned mountainous with lots of red earth. Beautiful! I hope to come back to China for a trip someday. Chengdu is where the panda sanctuary is, and I would love to visit it! 


Here is the view out of the Dreamliner window - the windows don't have the shades that you pull down, they have buttons that you push that darken the window but still let you see outside. Pretty amazing!



Here is my room in Chengdu - it was listed and priced as a budget hotel and turned out to be really fancy! The bottom photo is the view from the room.


This is a pretty terrible photo, but from the runway at Kunming you could see miles of half built building towers that looked to be apartments. From take off I could see hundreds more similar buildings that looked abandoned. 

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

I've been brainstorming for a name for my new travel blog for several weeks now, and I turned to (no surprise here) Pinterest for some inspiration. When I saw this quote by Leonardo da Vinci, it really stood out to me. I thought "that's it, that's what travel is REALLY all about!" Once you have traveled to a new place, and feasted upon all that it has to offer, you are never the same and you are always dreaming of capturing that experience again.

I'm so fortunate in that I have many of these moments. Reaching summits of mountains and seeing the world spread out below. Gliding through fresh powder on a bluebird day. Floating down the Amazon with my parents at the age of 8 and having a rain forest butterfly land on my knee. Watching lions stroll on the Masai Mara in Kenya. Viewing Paris at night from the top of the Eiffel Tower. Snorkeling in the crystal waters of the South Pacific. Hiking into Machu Picchu on a beautiful blue sky day. Viewing the majesty of the ruins in ancient Rome. Watching the sun set on the famous Blue Gate in Fez. Riding dromedaries in the Sahara. Hiking cliff walks on the Irish coast that are so staggeringly beautiful that you actually have to remind yourself to breathe - that's what it's all about to me. 

Longing to return doesn't necessarily mean that you actually want to return to the physical location where you experienced that moment, but rather return to the emotion and the feelings that you lived. Longing to return to a place where you felt so ALIVE, and so blessed to be part of this great big diverse world that we live in.

I'm leaving on a trip to Burma (Myanmar) tomorrow, and I hope that you will follow along on here while I journey. I can't wait to experience my first moment like this - feeling like I'm coming home to a place I've never been simply because of having that emotional response. What a thrill and a luxury!

The moments like these are the reason that I want to journey this earth with my eyes turned skyward.