Category: Uncategorized

Day 1 – April 9th

We left the Triumph Hotel in Mandalay, Myanmar on Friday, April 8th at 11am, got to the airport at 12pm, boarded our flight at 2:30pm, landed in Bangkok, Thailand around 4:30pm, took an hour and fifteen minute Uber ride (which was a male driver with Hello Kitty head rests and seat belt covers, love it) to the city center, arrived at the Lomprayah head office where we picked up our transportation tickets around 6pm, grabbed a quick bite to eat at 7pm, sat down on our overnight bus at 9pm, pulled up to Chumphon Pier at 5:30am, walked onto our ferry at 7am and finally stepped foot on Koh Tao Island at 9:30am, which is located on the western shore of the Gulf of Thailand.  Are you as exhausted reading this as we were living it?  Almost 24 hours of travel between cars, flights, boats and buses.  But I’m sure it will all be worth it for some much appreciated relaxation and endless fun in the sun.

Dinner in Bangkok…

Vinny getting a workout…

Our overnight bus…

Our high speed ferry to Koh Tao…

Zombie Vinny at 5:30am…

When we got off the ferry, we hopped into the hotels complimentary topless truck and made our way to The Aminjirah around 10am.  Unfortunately, we couldn’t check in until 2pm.  Bummer! We’ve been so spoiled in the past that we almost didn’t think twice about it this time around.  Kind of annoying since they weren’t sold out but that’s their policy so be it.  At least we can lay by the pool for now.  Not a bad alternative plan given it overlooked the ocean with million dollar views.

Around 2pm, we were able to finally check into our room only to be greeted by disappointment.  This was definitely not what was shown online.  The photos and description were completely different.  One may call this false advertising.  Not cool.  When I said something to the front desk, they blamed it on Hotels.com for having the wrong information. Whoever’s fault it is, I don’t care.  I just want what we were promised and what we paid for.  After a few minutes of going back and forth, they finally apologized (somewhat) and said they would happily upgrade us tomorrow.  I know they are not completely full tonight so I’m confused why we have to wait.  It seems like everything is pulling teeth with them for some reason.  However, my inner thoughts were saying to me  “don’t dwell on the small things, Kim.  You are in paradise.  Relax, enjoy and move on”.  Okay, I’m easily convinced.

Before we left for our big adventure in January, I had about 11 months left on my Toyota Prius lease.  Although I absolutely loved my car (Betty White was her name), I didn’t really feel the need to pay $334 a month to have it just sit in my Dad’s garage.  Plus $70 for the limited insurance.  I discovered a website called SwapALease.com and was able to have someone take over my lease 2 days before we boarded our flight to India. Talk about in the nick of time.  Phewwwwwwwww.  Long story long, the guy who took it over suggested that we get scuba certified in Koh Tao (diving capital of Thailand) and then use that certification in Indonesia and Philippines.  So we are doing just that.  The main reason why we are here on this tiny Gilligan’s like island is to learn how to be one with the underworld.  After doing a ton of research about various companies, we decided to go with Roctopus.  For one, the name is awesome.  But really the reviews were extremely positive.  Our 3.5 day course starts today.  Probably not the smartest idea given we are still brain dead from our insane travel day but since it’s only for a few hours I think we can manage (well I can, let’s see how Vinny holds up).

We had cappuccinos at Morning View (right next door to Roctopus) at 3pm to give us a much needed energy boost…

And then walked to Roctopus at 4pm for orientation.  Blah, blah, blah.  Always boring the first day.  Videos, paperwork, introductions, etc.

Since The Aminjirah is about a 25 minute walk into town, we decided to rent motorbikes for the 6 nights we will be here.  Knowing the next 3 mornings will require an early start time, we didn’t think planning for an extra half hour was necessary.  Plus, for only 150 THB ($4.20) a day, it’s a win-win.  However, I had to let them keep my passport.  Ummm that’s scary.  I can’t go anywhere if they lose it.  Oh geez.  Trust, Kim, trust.  That night, we grabbed a bite to eat at Thaita Italian Restaurant, which was super duper authentic and yummy.  It is owned by a husband and wife from Turino, Italy, who opened the place 12 years ago.  It’s #1 on TripAdvisor,  they make their own pasta everyday and only offer a few options on the menu – all handwritten.  We were there around 7:30pm and they had just opened.  We felt like the senior citizens who go to Denny’s for the early bird special.

Our 32 year old scuba instructor, Martijn (from the Netherlands), gave us homework that needed to be completed by tomorrow morning.  HOMEWORK????  I haven’t heard that word in over 10 years.  One and a half hours later, we finished it and couldn’t wait to close our eyes for some much needed sleep.

Day 2 – April 10th

Rise and shine.  It’s your first full day of scuba school.  We were so excited.  Our alarm went off at 6am, we were on our motorbike by 6:40am and at Roctopus by 7am.  We spent the first hour learning everything we needed to know about our equipment. It’s crazy how just a few things can change us from being a land-dweller to somewhat of an aquatic being. A mask lets you see clearly. A scuba regulator and tank provide the air you need. Fins allow you to swim efficiently.  A wetsuit helps you stay warm. And a buoyancy control device (BCD) gives you the control you need to hover, weightless underwater – eye to eye with a fish (hopefully never a shark).  You inflate the BCD when you want to float up and deflate it when you want to float down.  Pretty neat.  Do you know that S.C.U.B.A is actually an acronym for Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus?  I didn’t but now I do.  After we mastered the terminology and purpose of all the various devices, we made our way to the pool where we spent the next two hours learning new techniques and going through a series of tests including treading water for 12 minutes (thanks to the Slade boys – Jesse, Tyler and Dustin – for torturing me growing up on waterskiing trips I mastered this task.  In a playful little sister way, not in a malicious fashion, I promise), swimming with our fins in a graceful figure 8 form, holding our breath underwater for a minute, clearing the snorkel when its filled with water, etc.  All of those were easy breezy.  The one I had the most difficulty with and the one that could prevent me from getting certified is breathing underwater through my nose.  I know it sounds like riding a bike to some but I’ve never been able to to do this.  At the age of 31, pathetic, I know.  Whether it’s falling while waterskiing or jumping into a pool or diving under an ocean wave, plugging my nose is the first thing I do, before anything else. I just can’t seem to figure it out.  And today was no exception, although it’s more important than ever that I learn how.  Better luck tomorrow or else I can kiss scuba diving goodbye.  To top this frustration off, as i was exiting the pool, full of our diving equipment and the ever so heavy oxygen tank weighing me down, I stepped on a bumble bee.  OUCH!!!  The stinger went right into the bottom of my foot.  Oh wow, that hurts.  I had to carefully sit down as quickly as possible without letting the oxygen tank knock me over first.  Not fun.  Martijn was able to get the stinger out fairly quickly which hopefully will help decrease whatever reaction I might have.  Speaking of which, why did the bee got to the barbershop?  To get a buzz-cut.  HA HA HA!

That afternoon, we had lunch at Wind Beach with John, who is getting his scuba certification as well.  It’s just the 3 of us in a group.  John is 40 years young and originally from Washington DC but has been traveling the world for the last 3 years on an abundance of different sailboats across various oceans.  Such a unique, inspiring story.  The restaurant views were pretty impeccable as well.  The ocean was fifty shades of blue.  The weather was warm not hot.  The breeze was refreshing not annoying.  With my Pad Thai noodles, red chicken curry and mango smoothie, I couldn’t help but love life at this very moment (despite my foot swelling up more and more with every hour that passed from the bee sting).

Class finished around 4pm, we grabbed some cappuccino’s at Morning View again, went back to The Aminjirah, did some more homework for our test tomorrow (ahhhhh) and switched into our new “upgraded” room (although it’s what we should have had from the beginning).  Despite the initial impression being okay and the views from the balcony being spectacular, after about a minute and a half we both screamed YUCK!  This room was even worse.  I don’t think it had been cleaned in at least a month.

I know you are thinking we are extremely high maintenance, over dramatic and never satisfied, which is completely fair.  But here is why we were so grossed out at the moment.

Gecko poop on the ground (not just one pile but two)…

Dead mosquito smashed on the wall…

Moth nest growing on the curtains…

And piles of someone else’s hair all over the floor (couldn’t capture this on camera).  Wouldn’t you be appalled too?  I can’t complain twice though, can I?  After much back and forth thanks to the angel on one shoulder and devil on the other, I decided to suck it up and just deal with it.  I’ll just spend as little time inside as possible, which won’t be hard in such a beautiful place like Koh Tao.  So I immediately went to the pool and watched the sunset, which turned my frown upside down real quick.  I sure hope keeping my mouth shut doesn’t bite me in the butt in the long run.

That night, we rode our motorbike to Mint Kitchen for a very authentic, hole in the wall, delicious, inexpensive, spicy as a Latin female dancer, kind of dinner.

Day 3 – April 11th

6:45am wake up call, 7:45am call time.  We had more academics in the morning with videos, review and then our 50 question multiple choice (which always makes it a bit easier) test.  We needed to get at least 40 right to pass.  I hate tests.  No matter how challenging or common sense they may be, they are never fun.  My palms become sweaty, my heart races rapidly and my head starts to spin.  For this reason, I was never a straight A student.  However, I got 43 out 50 correct so that’s that.  Yipppeeee!!

Today we actually go out into the ocean.  The salt water.  The deep blue sea.  And I can’t wait.  We boarded a massive boat with around 20 other Roctopus students and headed out.  The front of the boat was blessed by Buddhist monks to ensure a safe and pleasant journey, which made me feel complete inside.  Time to get all of our gear set up, which definitely takes a while.

Our first real dive was at the Japanese Gardens, which was only 5.5 meters (about 18 feet) for 15 minutes.  Our second real dive was at Twins, which was 10.1 meters (about 33 feet) for 41 minutes.  These dives unfortunately weren’t for pure pleasure.  We continued to learn new skills and were tested on them afterwards.  Most of them were easy except for the breathing out of my nose, on the ocean floor, without a mask on.  First attempt, fail.  Second attempt, fail.  Come on, you need to master this to move on.  Don’t give up.  Take a deep breath, calm down and make it happen.  Third attempt, fail.  Ugh,  Fourth attempt, SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I knew I could do it.  Yay!!!!!  The next thing we had to do was take our regulator (that simple plastic piece that provides you the oxygen to breath from your tank), throw it behind your shoulder, breath bubbles out of your mouth, then swipe your arm backwards to retrieve the regulator and put it properly back in your mouth.  Wow, panic attack.  But manageable.  Go us.  We all passed the days tests.  Some easier than others but we all survived.  It is a pretty magical moment when you stop to look around and realize how deep you are.  It’s a whole new world down under.  So mesmerizing.  You feel as though you are living inside a massive fish tank with beautiful coral, colorful fish and various sea creatures.  But in reality, nothing is in captivity.  This is all the wild.  Anything is possible.

What a long yet wonderful and successful 10 hour day we just had.  The 4 of us (Vinny, me, John and Martijn) went to grab some smoothies after class and enjoyed another stunning sunset.  Unfortunately, around 7pm, Vinny and I both started feeling nauseous.  Maybe because we were in the sun all day?  Maybe because we were on a boat in the middle of the choppy ocean?  Maybe we because we went 33 feet underwater?  Who knows but we decided to call it a night and head back to our hotel for some rest.  As soon as we opened the door, I ran to the bathroom and threw up.  Hmmmmmm, this is odd.  Then Vinny followed.  For the next 3 hours, we were like a ping pong ball going back and forth.  Still not sure what it was from but luckily it didn’t last throughout the night.  Hopefully we have enough strength to complete our scuba diving course tomorrow because that would suck if not.  Cheers to a good night sleep…

Day 4 – April 12th

Our alarms were scheduled to go off at 4:30am because we had to be at Roctopus at 6am; however, I woke up at 3:45am to the awful feeling that my body was on fire.  Not fire that could be related to throwing up last night but stinging, burning, itching fire all over.  Without thinking about it, I just starting scratching anywhere and everywhere under the assumption that I got a few mosquito bites in the last few days.  Nothing abnormal as insects for some reason love me way more than I love them.  As I was digging my nails into my skin in hopes of receiving some kind of relief, a lightbulb went off in my head.  I don’t think these are mosquito bites in fact.  Given the rather disgusted mindset we have from this hotel I freaked out thinking they might be bed bugs.  Holy shit.  No.  This can’t be happening.  After being a host to fleas in 2014 and a host to mites in 2015 (yes I am a person not an animal, I promise), this would be my worst nightmare come true.  I instantly became a crazy person.  Detective Cantor.  Keep in mind Vinny is still sleeping so I have to remain somewhat quiet.  I turned on my iPhone flashlight and started inspecting the bed.  Without any effort, I found a little red bug casually and calmly crawling along.  Oh no.  Please don’t tell me my theory is true.  A few seconds go by and I found another one, a little baby.  Ahhhhhhh.  I frantically strip the sheets on my side to find the mattress is covered in what looks like little black dots.  Is that a sign of bed bugs?  What does that mean?  So of course I obsessively googled anything and everything I could and long behold, it’s all pointing to bed bugs. Eeeewwwwwwwwwwwwww.  This is the last thing I want to do deal with so close to getting scuba certified this morning. I couldn’t let the bugs escape or else the hotel would never believe me so I grabbed a few drinking glasses and captured three of them for proof.  I then threw my pajamas in a ziplock bag and moved all of my stuff as far away from the bed as possible.   I’m just hoping that they haven’t already entered our backpacks uninvited and created a home for themselves.  Oh please no.  Let this not get any worse.  We did everything we could for the time being but will have to handle it when we get back later today after our final scuba diving class.

I am doing everything in my power to not let the unbearable discomfort I’m currently in effect my experience today.  What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger is what I am replaying in my head over and over and over again right now.  The three of us (Vinny, me and John) hired a photographer to document our last day of scuba diving, both on the surface and underwater.  And although Vinny and I both look a little pale, tired and distressed from the past 24 hours, I promise, we are loving every minute.

First up is to prepare our gear, making sure it all works…

Next up, is to jump in the ocean off the boat – one hand holding your weight belt and the other hand holding your mask.  As soon as my body touched the ocean, I instantly felt a sense of relief to my bites thanks to the salt water.  Okay, this is manageable right now.

Our first dive, which was at Chumphon Pinnacle for a total time of 33 minutes and a depth of 17.7 meters (about 58 feet), was beyond incredible.  The visibility was so clear and there was so much sea life happening all around us.  Thousands of fish swimming together, an eel observing us as we observed him (or her), coral beyond belief and so much more.  We were literally living a Finding Nemo reality.  Completely indescribable.

Our second dive, which was at White Rock North for a total time of 35 minutes and a depth of  14.6 meters down (about 48 feet) was pretty stunning as well but not as breathtaking as our first dive.  We had a few series of skill set tests and wham bam, thank you ma’am we are officially certified!!!!!  Woohooo!!!! Given how the last three days have panned out with a bee sting, some kind of stomach situation and bed bugs, accomplishing this bucket list item means so much more to me.  It wasn’t easy and it didn’t come naturally but boy was it fun.  I can’t wait to go on some fun dives in the future.

Now that we were on a complete high from our morning, we had to quickly come back to reality and deal with our bed bug infestation.  Ugh.  Talk about a bi-polar day so far.  Down then up and now back down.  When I respectfully and calmly told the manager about my situation and showed her the handful of bites that decorated my body, her first reaction was “how do you know it’s from here?”.  Oh no you didn’t.  Don’t you dare put this on another hotel.  “How do I know?  Come with me and I will show you”.  Her face was genuinely surprised when I pointed to the trapped bed bugs and revealed the nasty mattress stains.  She apologized a few times and offered us another upgrade to the best room they have with a private pool.  Unfortunately, it’s too late.  We need to get out of here as soon as possible.  We politely declined and asked for a full refund for all 6 nights.  She without hesitation agreed and we parted ways civilly.  This will haunt me for a while, I know it.  Vinny and I had to scramble to find another hotel for the remaining 3 nights we have on Koh Tao.  That’s when we ended up at The Tarna Align Resort, a little fancier than usual but much needed after this horror story come true.

What a hectic last 4 days we’ve had.  But I truly believe our vacation from our vacation will begin right now.  We headed to dinner around 6pm at Fizz, which was directly on the beach.  The chairs were neon green bean bags and the views were priceless.  I literally and figuratively took a deep breath, put my feet up and enjoyed the rest of the evening as much as I could.  We watched an epic sunset, indulged in a tasty Thai meal and then headed to Victor’s Bar where Roctopus threw all of us “graduates” a fun little celebratory party.  It was so great spending more time with our dive teacher Martijn and our new friend John.  Reggae music loudly blasting in the background, drinks loosely flowing, and a Peter Pan like vibe where no one wants to grow up was exactly what I needed to keep my mind of the eighty or so bites all over my body from my head to my toes.  They sure don’t discriminate when it comes to their breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Blood is blood.

Day 5 – April 13th

Today is Songkran, or Thai New Year, which is a Buddhist festival and the country’s most important public holiday. The word Songkran is derived from Sanskrit and means “Astrological Passage”.  Songkran marks the end of the dry season (April is Thailand’s hottest month) and the beginning of the annual rains in the fifth month of the Thai lunar year. While this holiday has a significant importance to most locals, it has adopted a whole new meaning for others.  Nowadays, the throwing of water is the festival’s highlight. In fact, the entire country turns into a celebratory war zone. Children with huge water guns roam the streets or sit in the back of their parents’ pick-up trucks, which are loaded with buckets of water that is dispensed on anyone who happens to be within reach.  In some parts of the country, it is a one day celebration.  Others, it’s a few days.  While places like Chiang Mai in the north, celebrate for as long as a week. Local versions of Songkran are also observed in Cambodia, Laos, Burma and amongst ethnic minorities in Yunnan, southern China and Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in India.  It’s basically a massive water fight.  You can’t step foot outside without getting drenched.  We had to see what all the hype was about so we made our way down to the main street on our motorbike.  Within seconds, we were wet.  A few kids squirted us.  Within minutes, we were soaked.  A few adults poured water buckets on us.  It didn’t matter if you were 7 or 70, local or foreign, participating or not participating – water was all around.  We stood on a corner and observed for a while.  What an awesome tradition.

Unfortunately, I just wanted to be indoors with the air conditioning for most the of the day as my bite count was now over 100 and the heat doesn’t help the burning sensation.  I wanted to crawl out of my skin, shed the first layer I have and pull my hair out.  No words can ever describe the amount of discomfort I am currently in.  But I will manage as long as I know they didn’t follow me here.  Only time will time.  The saying “goodnight, sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite” sure has a whole new meaning now…

Day 6 – April 14th

Today was our last full day in Koh Tao and we certainly wanted to enjoy it to the fullest.  Our first mission was to find somewhere to get our entire wardrobe washed and dried.  Not hung dry like everyone usually does in Asia but dried in an actual machine.  At the highest possible temperature we could. That is the only way to kill the bed bugs and its cycle of reproduction.  We tried to do it yesterday but everything was respectfully closed due to the holiday.  Great timing, huh?  Thanks to the Yellow House, we were able to do every piece of clothing we both had (which really isn’t that much in the big picture) for $14 USD.  AMAZING.  Our second mission of the day was to plop our butts on some sand and do absolutely nothing.  We took a 20 minute ride on our motorbike to Freedom Beach, which was recommended by Martijn, and it was stunning.  Picture perfect.  Endless shade from overgrown trees, hardly anyone else there, clear blue water and peacefully quiet surroundings.  All we could hear were the tiny, almost nonexistent waves crashing along the shore.  The only thing missing was Wilson from Cast Away.  I couldn’t be happier right now.  We frolicked in the water, rested our minds and soaked up every last inch of relaxation we could.  What a lovely way to end such a rollercoaster of emotions over these past 6 days.

That night, we had dinner at The Gallery, “A Complete Sensory Experience”.  It is a local Thai restaurant that is also a photo gallery, wine bar and spa.

Despite all the hardships that occurred this past week on Koh Tao, we still managed to thoroughly enjoy our time here, mainly in part because of our thrilling scuba diving experience. The island is very small and remote with a cute town existing of restaurants, bars, beaches and viewpoints.  It’s a bummer we had so many road bumps along the way but that’s the price you pay when traveling like we are.  It’s not always going to be margaritas and sunsets.  Sometimes things don’t go your way and sometimes you are thrown a curve ball when you are least expecting it.  But just like in life, it’s how you respond that makes all the difference.  I decided not to let the bed bugs rain on my parade and although they sure did beat me down, I managed to get right back up again.

Day 1 – April 4th 

Thanks to the never ending snoring Monk (who put my mom, dad and sister to shame), we barely got any sleep on our overnight bus ride.  Plus, just as our eyes were about to shut down around 3am, we ended up arriving into Mandalay at 3:45am, which was two hours earlier than expected.  Usually this would be much appreciated but when most hotels don’t let you check in until 2pm, it wasn’t necessarily ideal in our case.  What are we going to do for the next ten hours?  We were walking zombies with half of a brain scrambling to not fall down the stairs while exiting the bus so coming up with a plan was most likely not going to happen.  As we got in a cab and headed towards Triumph Hotel, our home for the next four nights, we figured we would test our luck and see if our room was available (after all, it worked in our favor in Bagan).  If it wasn’t, we were willing to pay for a fifth night.  All we wanted at this point was a shower, a sink to brush our teeth and a bed to sleep on, even if it cost us a pretty penny.  Thank Buddha though because when we showed up at the front desk, eyes half open, bodies struggling with each step, they were so kind to let us check in, at no additional cost.  Absolutely amazing.  Good night, good morning and most likely, good afternoon.

Let me give you a little bit of background about this fourth and final stop.  Established in 1857, Mandalay is the second largest city in Myanmar (first largest is Yangon). It is located in the upper part of the country, on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River.  Mandalay is where the Royal Palace of the Konbaung Dynasty is located, which was the last monarchy and independent kingdom of Burma. In 1886, present day Myanmar was conquered by British colonial forces. Ratanapunja was the ancient name of the city. It was given the name Mandalay based on the 236-meter high Mandalay Hill, which is currently one of the most popular tourist destinations in the city (we will be visiting this hill so stay tuned for photos.  I know you are hanging on the edge of your seat with excitement but try not to fall off).  Today, Mandalay serves as the cultural center of Myanmar and is home to several Buddhist monasteries. While the city is historically relevant, it has definitely become more developed in the last handful of years.  Many people we’ve met along the way have said we should skip Mandalay if time is limited but since we’ve got nothing but time, we decided to check it out.

Okay, back to me now.  After waking up at 10am, which still only gave us five hours of sleep, we walked to SP Bakery for some much needed coffee and breakfast.  Holy guacamole it’s hot out.  With every step I took, the sweat on my back literally dripped down my body as heavily as rain drops fall down your windshield in Seattle.  I needed wipers to monitor the intense wetness that was happening underneath my clothes.  So gross. I never knew my body was capable of sweating this much until now.  I feel bad for whoever is around me while I go through menopause.

The rest of the day we spent inside the hotel.  I know, how boring of us.  This happened for two reasons.  Well maybe three.  1) It was stupid hot outside – about 110 degrees.  2) We needed a break from pagodas and temples.  When you see and do too much at once, the excitement around it starts to fade.  It’s hard to explain on my end and probably hard to grasp on your end but it’s true.  Sometimes you need to slam on the breaks, turn the engine off and chill out in order to fully appreciate what your experiencing.  3) Thailand was in four days but we hadn’t planned anything yet – no flight, no agenda, no hotels, no activities.  We didn’t know where we wanted to go, what we wanted to do, how long we would be there for, etc.  And this for sure caused about seven grey hairs for me.   Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.  In a nutshell, we took today to plan our next country and after about six hours of researching, I am proud to say I feel much better now.  That night, we had dinner at our hotel, outside by the pool and watched a traditional Burmese cultural performance that consisted of song and dance.

Day 2 – April 5th

Okay, back to sightseeing and exploration.  Taking one day off was really all we needed to hit the restart button.  I feel charged up now.  Full battery power.  The first stop of the day was Mandalay Hill, which is a 790 foot hill and has been a major pilgrimage site for Burmese Buddhists for nearly two centuries. At the top of the hill is the Sutaungpyei (literally wish-fulfilling) Pagoda.

The views of the city were amazing.  We got a panoramic glimpse into all of Mandalay.  However, the views of myself staring back at me a thousand times over again from all the stained glass mirrors was not so amazing.  I’m the definition of a hot mess right now.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the most colorful of them all?

Next up was lunch.  It’s always lunch o’clock in our minds.  That’s the beauty of traveling.  We can eat whenever, wherever (well almost) and whatever (well almost again).  Today we chose Ko’s Kitchen, which was Thai food.  This was to get us in the mood for our next country.  I loved the outside, I loved the door handles (red hot chili peppers – the spice not the music band), I loved the toothpick holder (an animated happy little muscle man) but the food was just eh.  Nothing special.  It came out quicker than I could say Pad Thai Noodles which is never really a good thing.

Our third stop of the day was the Shwe In Bin, which is acclaimed as one of the most attractive monasteries in all of Mandalay.  Lonely Planet wrote “if you want a place for quiet meditation, you couldn’t find a better spot than this beautifully carved teak monastery”.  That won Vinny’s heart over quicker than I did five years ago.  So of course, we had to check it out.  Built in 1895 by a pair of wealthy Chinese jade merchants, the main Monastery stands on tree-trunk poles and is home to over thirty monks.  The design and architecture of this establishment was astonishing.  All wood and all from various types of trees.  The minute we arrived we felt at peace.  It was so quiet.

Last on our list was the U Bein Bridge.  Have you been to the U Bein Bridge before?  HA!  I just had to, sorry.  Built in 1850, this is believed to be the oldest and longest teakwood bridge in the world.  I just think that is so cool when we can visit something that claims it is the X in the world.  Not the city, not the state, not the country but the WORLD.  The bridge stretches across the Taungthaman Lake, leading the way to the former Burmese capital city of Amarapura and is about 1.2 kilometers from one side to the other.  Mayor U Bein is credited for the creation of the bridge, using scavenged teak pilings from the discarded palace of Amarapura when they moved the capital to Mandalay.  During the dry season, the water level drops dramatically, allowing you to meander under the bridge and through small crop fields planted by farmers. During the wet season, the water level can reach the top of the bridge, and in some years has even covered the walkway.

Rush hour traffic…

Locals doing their normal day to day business…

Anyone hungry?

Friendship is universal…

I scream, you scream, we all SCREAM for ice cream!!!!

I mean, she’s pretty cute…

One of Vinny’s many foreign admirers.  He’s got bros in different area codes.

Noodle party for one…

When your baby is bigger than you are…

We read the best time to visit the U Bein Bridge was at sunset and I must agree…

A colorful burst of sweaty emotions happening right here.  My face is as red as a Shirley Temple cherry but the picturesque background makes up for it.

Vinny trying to prove he still has muscles…

That night we had dinner at Cafe City, which was their “A for effort” attempt at recreating an American Gastropub. The menu consisted of burgers, fries, pizzas, BBQ, etc.  The walls were decorated with USA state license plates (including one for the Dodgers!) as well as freedom posters while the music playing in the background was Bob Marley.  One love.

Since our time in Mandalay is quickly running out, our cash is quickly running out too.  Every time we go to the ATM, there is an automatic 5% fee that is incorporated between the local banks as well as our USA bank so we are trying to not spend more than we have to.  That said, we decided to take the forty five minute walk back to our hotel vs. getting a taxi.  Luckily it was only 95 degrees at this point since it was nighttime and the sun wasn’t shining.  What a relief, hahaha.

Day 3 – April 6th

Today we hired a driver for $58 (not cheap but nothing in Myanmar is) to take us an hour and a half away to Pyin Oo Lwin, otherwise known as the “City of Flowers”.  Founded by the British in 1896, the town was designed as a place to escape the Mandalay heat (which is exactly what won us over – sign me up). Following the Indian-raj terminology for such places, it has been known ever since as a ‘hill station’, although in fact it’s fairly flat (just at a raised elevation). After the construction of the railway from Mandalay, Pyin Oo Lwin became the summer capital for the British colonial administration, a role it held until the end of British rule in 1948. Numerous colonial structures, ranging from impressive mansions to churches, still remain.

Our first stop was the National Kandawgyi Gardens, which is an area of 382.46 acres including natural forest, tiers of lakes and recreational lawns plus alluring landscapes and scenic views.    There are 589 species of local and foreign trees, 75 species of bamboo, 75 species of croton and 300 species of orchids.  Walking around this bright, colorful botanical garden was a wonderful change to the hustle and bustle of the city.  Not to mention, the weather was about 20 degrees cooler over here.  Amen.

Look Mom(s), we found the lake…

A rainbow bright kind of playground…

What they call Pagoda Island…

How to take a proper selfie…

Here is a Black Swan but I couldn’t find Mila Kunis or Natalie Portman…

Girls just want to have fun…

Pre-wedding photos…

Keep in mind it is about 12pm on a Wednesday and these young local boys are already getting their party started…

Inside the botanical gardens, there was an area with just birds…

Next we had lunch at The Club Terrace, which was an adorable little restaurant with great food and can’t beat prices.

Last on our list was the famous Candacraig Hotel, which was originally built in 1904 as a British Country Club.  During the colonial era and hot summer months, the Brits tended to migrate to the cooler hills stations.  The Country Clubs were the center of activities and where people would meet for drinks and party.  However, during the last few decades, the Candacraig Hotel served as a government house.  It is now closed down and currently going through renovations to become a luxury hotel in 2018.  There’s a slightly spooky air to the place as many locals believe it’s haunted.  However, I felt it had a lot of charm to it.

On our way back, our driver randomly stopped to get strawberries from a local farmer since its cheaper than the city and then stopped again for some bread.  Glad we could come along for your errands.

That wraps up our time in Mandalay as well as our 18 days in Myanmar. We thoroughly enjoyed our experience here, although we certainly could have gotten away with about 6 less nights if time was an issue.  Just like Nepal, I fell in love with the people. And since tourism hasn’t fully taken over quite yet, I truly believe we got a good sense of what life is really like.  That’s not to say that tourism doesn’t exist or that you won’t run into any other travelers. But compared to the rest of this region of the world, you could call Myanmar undiscovered. Uncharted territory.  There aren’t any chain establishments like Starbucks or McDonalds. The Internet is basically nonexistent, even when you do connect. The roads are barely paved. Signage is minimal. And nightlife is unheard of (which was totally fine with us).  Sometimes this absence of infrastructure can make travel a bit inconvenient but after embracing Myanmar’s lack of development, we found it to be quite charming, actually.  The entire country just felt real. Truly authentic.

Many of Myanmar’s traditions are unique and specific to this country alone.  Men often have teeth stained crimson from chewing betel nuts (a habit somewhat like chewing tobacco). The faces of women and children are painted yellow with a paste made from the thanaka tree to make themselves beautiful and protect their skin from the sun. And both men and women wear the traditional longyi – a sheet of cloth worn around the waist like a skirt. Myanmar is the only country in Southeast Asia where it’s common to see females who have entered the monastic life as nuns.

When Southeast Asia can sometimes blend together, Myanmar stands out. It may not be the first country people think of when planning a holiday, but I certainly recommend it.  At the very least, put Bagan and Inle Lake at the top of your list.  Two very unique, beautiful, surreal places.  I can only hope that as more tourism and development comes to this country, that the traditions hold strong and the people keep smiling.

From my friends to yours, see you in Thailand…

 

On Thursday, March 31st, we arrived in the town of Nyaung Shwe (located in the Shan State of Myanmar) around 4pm after a 7.5 hour bus ride from Bagan on JJ Express.  Once we got to the bus station, it was another 25 minutes until we reached our hotel for the next four nights, Inle Lake View Resort & Spa.  Sounds luxurious, huh?  We definitely splurged a little on this city ($120 a night).  Since Inle Lake is such a small, remote, quiet town, we figured it was well worth it.  And there didn’t seem to be any “average” priced hotels.  It was either backpacker hostels or 4-5 star resorts.  We chose the latter, which did not disappoint.  The grounds were gorgeous.  Very tranquil.  And, we were upgraded for free to a suite.  Jackpot!

Once we unpacked, settled in and checked out the various areas of our hotel (pool, restaurant, bar, spa, etc.), we took a casual stroll around Kaung Daing, the tiny little village we were staying in.  Not a whole lot happening here, which kind of made it so awesome.  This is what life in a small town is like.  No tall buildings, no traffic lights, no hustle and bustle.  While out and about, we saw a few good men having happy hour on the same child like plastic chairs Yangon and Bagan seemed to have as well…

Simple yet adorable…

A different mode of transportation than what we are used to…

A pick up game of foot volley…

When I say there is nothing really near us, I truly mean it.  Everything seems to close around 6pm and the only restaurants to eat at are back in Nyaung Shwe, which is a twenty five minute car ride away and taxis don’t exist here.  We are literally stranded but that’s not always a bad thing.  Luckily our hotel’s restaurant was super nice, with a great variety of food options so we just had dinner here and enjoyed a low key evening.

Day 2 – April 1st 

Happy April Fools Day!  One of my favorite holidays but I feel as though my friends and family almost expect me to play a trick so sometimes I need to take a year off.  That way I can then fool them the next time.  Oh how I love playing games with people.  Life is too short to take seriously.

Today we went on a 5 hour, 16 mile bike ride through the Khaung Daing village, which was very rural, to Nyaung Shwe and back.  I felt like Lance Armstrong but the only performance enhancing substance I was feeding off of was the pure determination to make it back in one piece.  No scrapped knees, no ripped pants, no flat tire.  Is it really that hard, Kim?

We rode past a man walking his buffalo…

Which direction would you choose?

We saw young kids playing in not so clean water.  But hey, whatever floats your boat (literally)…

Beautiful, shady, tree filled roads…

Houses all on stilts…

When we finally made it to the town of Nyuang Shwe, we grabbed a bite to eat at Linn Htet, which served traditional Myanmar/Burmese food (I never know which name to use).  It is a family owned restaurant and even their eight(ish) year old son worked there.  Starting them young I guess.  What’s that you say?  You want to know what we ordered?  Well, I hope this doesn’t make you hungry because it was a TON of food.  And surprisingly quite delicious as well.  The main dishes were potato curry and eggplant curry but each came with a wide variety of sides including soup, fried peanuts (Dad, you would have LOVED these!), fried baby dried fish (definitely did not eat them), fried soya beans, fish paste sauce and seasonal vegetables – all for 3000 kyats ($2.50) each.  Talk about a bargain and I didn’t even have to whip out my negotiation skills.

Along the way, Vinny and I both bought hats because the sun was shining real bright and real strong.  That’s me below.  Don’t I look like a local?  Vinny kind of looks like a cuter version of Indian Jones, haha.

Let’s see how many people we can fit on top of our truck…

“Oh when the Monks, go marching in.  When the Monks go marching in.  O Buddha, I want to be in that number.  When the Monks go marching in.”  Yes, I revised the lyrics.

Row, row, row your boat…

Coffee break…

When we got back to our hotel around 5pm, we were drenched in sweat and extremely exhausted from the heat as well as the exercise so we headed straight to the pool.  Do not pass go, do not collect $200.  Pure magic what some cold water can do to you sometimes.

Day 3 – April 2nd

This morning we woke up at 6am, had breakfast at 6:45am and then departed for a full day boat tour on Inle Lake at 7:30am.

Say hello to one of the many infamous fishermen of Inle Lake.  They have a very unique technique that involves standing on one leg while rowing with the other leg, allowing both hands to be free for catching fish.  Talk about a true balancing act.   Quite impressive.

Our first stop of the day was the “5 Day Market”, which rotates between 5 different locations over a 5 day period.  Creative name, huh?  Let me put this market in American terminology.  It was a Bed, Bath & Beyond meets Target meets Walgreens meets Farmers Market meets Best Buy meets Kay Jewelers meets Whole Foods meets Blockbuster (when they still existed of course) meets 99 Cent Store meets Swap Meet meets Payless meets your local mall’s food court.  Anything and everything you could ever need was here.  One stop shopping.  Come one, come all.

Next up was Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda, which is the most highly revered monastery in the Inle Lake area.  The pagoda houses five small gilded images of Buddha believed to have been brought to the area in the 12th century.  They are covered in gold leaf to the point that their original forms cannot be seen.  Like other pagodas, only men can approach the inner areas.  Gender equality is such a norm these day that it’s a little awkward when the women are forced to stay back and the men are allowed to go up.   I took at least 20 photos with random locals at this pagoda.  My mouth was quite tired afterwards from smiling.  I felt like I just finished five packs of Big League chewing gum.  Hopefully TMZ doesn’t get ahold of those images, I’m sure they would be worth a lot.

Here are a few photos of what life on Inle Lake looks like.  The only way to get to these houses or restaurants or shops is by boat.  Pretty unique living.

After the pagoda, we visited the Inn Paw Khon Village, where almost all the people in this area are related to weaving work of some kind or another including silk, lotus, cotton, hue coloration, design and production.  I learned something new today.  There is only one place in the world where the fibers of the lotus plant are woven into scarves and shawls. It is a form of weaving that is entirely unique to Myanmar (Burma) and specifically to Inle Lake.  And the fibers of the lotus flower costs 7x more than silk because it’s so rare and considered holy.  Now if that is a question on Jeopardy, just don’t forget where you heard it first.  We walked through a tiny workshop where women sat at their machines and created beautiful objects such as scarves, dresses, pants and scrunchies.  Yes, scrunchies.  Blast from the past.  Some of the scarves were selling for $250 USD – ouch!

Ywama village, one of the few craft villages, is famous for its goldsmith and silversmith.

Men working hard while building wooden boats starting only with a tree trunk and a saw…

A cheroot is a cigar special to Myanmar (Burma), so distinctive in fact that they have been nicknamed a “Burmese facial feature.”  The world “cheroot” is derived from the French word cheroute, which comes from a Tamil word meaning “roll of tobacco.” The cheroot has both ends clipped and is made with a blend of tobacco and fragrant wood chips, then rolled up with the dried and flattened “tha nat phet” leaf. A filter is added made of dry corn husks or sugar cane fibers for a stronger smoke. It is not unusual to see Burmese ladies puffing away on these cheroots in the morning, afternoon and/or evening.

The women of Inle Lake are famous for hand-rolling the cheroots very quickly.  Some can roll over 500 cheroots a day.  We sat and watched about 16 women perform this act live and in person.  They can do it with their eyes closed if they had to.  Pretty incredible.

Following the talented and hand savvy cigar rolling ladies, we hopped back in our boat and rode past the Floating Gardens, where locals grow vegetables and fruit (tomatoes, eggplants, chilies, flowers, etc.) that float on the surface of the lake. The floating garden beds are formed by extensive manual labor.  The farmers gather up lake-bottom weeds from the deeper parts of the lake, bring them back in boats and make them into floating beds in their garden areas, anchored by bamboo poles. These gardens rise and fall with changes in the water level, and so are resistant to flooding. The constant availability of nutrient-laden water results in these gardens being incredibly fertile. Rice cultivation is also significant.  Producing these items all year round is what allows the Shan State of Inle Lake to be called “The Garden of Myanmar”.

Last on our spectacular day tour of Inle Lake was Nge Phe Chaung Monastery, otherwise known as “Jumping Cat Monastery”.  This nickname came from the idea that cats were trained to jump through hoops but when the head monk died, so did most of the cats.  The new head monk didn’t think it was proper to have cats entertain tourists in that fashion so they are very limited today – which was totally fine with me because I don’t really get along with them.  They make me sneeze, itch and have trouble breathing.  Not a pleasant experience.  However, the monastery itself was a beautiful wooden building built on stilts around 200 years ago and is considered the oldest and largest monastery in the Inle Lake region.  Inside, there was an impressive collection of Buddha images respectively in Shan, Tibetan, Bagan and Inwa style.

For the rest of the day, we gladly hung by the pool, watched the sunset, listened to nature and enjoyed yet another delicious dinner at the hotel’s restaurant.  What an awesome day!

Day 4 – April 3rd 

Our day started with a two hour drive out to Pindaya, which is famous for its limestone caves, its attractive lakeside setting, and the traditional Shan paper umbrellas that are manufactured here. Set deep in the hillsides, the caves (some of which serve as meditation chambers) contain some 8000 Buddhas of various sizes, which are made of white marble, bronze or plaster, and coated with gold leaf.  New ones are constantly being added as people continuously donate them from all over the world.  It’s a very rare site to see and was a great way to escape the heat.

Uh oh, should I be worried?

Good thing they have this sign because I was just about to wash my leg there…

Great views of the city from high on top of the hillside…

After we explored the caves, we visited a family-run business (4 generations so far) that makes the famous Shan paper. Stemming from the fiber of the mulberry tree, very wide-spread shrub in the mountains of the region, this paper is very well-known in Myanmar. The manufacturing process is rather long. During a day, the fibers of the mulberry tree are dipped into the water then get plastered in the wood fire during more than 5 hours with a mixture of wood ash or clay.  The paper dough, displayed on top of a trunk wood piece, is then beaten with a wooden mallet for several minutes. Later, a bamboo frame covered with a very fine cotton fabric is settled at the bottom of a tank filled with water. With their hands, the pulp of paper is diluted in the water and then distributed in a equal way on the canvas. After having removed air bubbles and lumps of paper, the frame is pulled out from the water tank, while the pulp of paper stays on the cotton canvas. The frame and the pulp of paper will dry for hours in the sun and finally the pulp will be transformed into a paper sheet. Delicately, the sheet will be removed from the bamboo frame.

This was extremely neat to watch.  The mom and daughter here are working together as a team, hand in hand.  They are diligently creating beautiful designs on the Shan paper that will eventually be turned into umbrellas, fans, paper, envelopes, photo frames, lamp shades, etc.  They make about 20 of these a day.  A very detailed oriented line of work, one that requires hand/eye coordination and patience.  Something I would not succeed at.

In addition to the Shan paper, the famous Burmese parasols are made here as well. They are completely done, step by step, by hand starting from the bamboo handle and the pawl, which allows the parasol to stay opened, to the umbrella frame on which the paper sheets will be stuck to the artwork that is painted on the final product.

Our wonderful day trip ended with lunch at Green Tea Restaurant…

We got back to the hotel around 5:30pm, chilled at the pool and chatted it up with the General Manager, Eric, who is from France.  Throughout our travels, we’ve certainly noticed a pretty significant difference between Western hospitality and Eastern hospitality and from the moment we entered this hotel, we could tell it was run by a Westerner.  And that’s a good thing (in my biased opinion at least).

Day 5 – April 4th

Although we loved Inle Lake, we had way too much time here.  Three nights is plenty.  Not only did we have four nights but we also had four full days because we are taking another overnight bus tonight, which doesn’t depart until 10pm.  Luckily, Eric let us keep our room all day at no extra charge.  This was a HUGE help.  We didn’t really do much though, which was actually nice.  However, it wasn’t as quiet as I would have hoped given we were in the middle of nowhere.  This unexpected noise was due to the large population of cicadas.  Have you heard of these?  I sure hadn’t but now that I’ve done research, it all makes sense why I was about to pull my hair out.  Here are few random facts on cicadas just in case you were as interested as I was.

• Cicada comes from the Latin word meaning “tree cricket”
• Cicadas are among the loudest insects known to man, and a swarm of them can produce sounds up to 120 decibels. That’s louder than a rock concert (about 115 decibels), and comparable to the noise from a chainsaw (humans start to experience pain from sound at the 110 to 120 decibel level).
• Only male cicadas sing. They do this in an attempt to find a mate.
• Different species have different songs to attract only their own kind.
• Adult cicadas have short lives, usually only a few weeks.
• Most of their lives are spent as nymphs underground. For some species this can be up to several years.
• Cicadas feed only on plant sap using their piercing, sucking mouthparts.
• Birds, bats, spiders, wasps, ants and mantids all prey on cicadas.

Tonight we are headed to Mandalay.  As we were sitting at the bus station, I started talking with some random folks because hey, why not. Sometimes I need more than just Vinny. One girl was from Germany and the other guy was from China.  I just love meeting people from all over the world, learning about where they come from and where they are headed (geographically not figuratively).

As we boarded the bus, we were quite impressed yet again with JJ Express.  Leather reclining seats, personal TV’s, blankets, pillows, air conditioning – not bad for $12 per person.  This is going to be an easy, breezy 9 hour ride.  That was, until the monk behind us started snoring as if every breath he took was going to be his last.  Oh geez, this is will be a super duper long night after all…

 

After a long, bumpy, semi freezing, ten hour overnight bus ride with JJ Express, we finally arrived in Bagan around 5am (it was still pitch black outside).  Luckily, neither of us needed to hug the porcelain god along the way, which is always a positive, especially given there wasn’t a bathroom on board.  Hopefully this means whatever was wrong with us in Yangon is now in the past.  I’m yearning to get out there and start exploring again.  This girl wasn’t meant to be confined to a tiny hotel room with only one window, no one to talk to and very little natural sunlight.  Since we knew it was going to be so early in the morning, we arranged for someone from our hotel to pick us up.  The last thing we wanted to do after not really sleeping on a chaotic bus ride was negotiate a taxi price (assuming cab drivers were even here that early) so for $10 USD, this was a win for us.

Day 1 – March 27

Bagan is an ancient city in central Myanmar, standing on the eastern banks of the Ayeyarwady River.  It is known as the Bagan Archaeological Area, where more than 2,000 Buddhist monuments tower over what seems like endless plains.  Given we most likely couldn’t check into our hotel yet, we had our driver take us to the famous Shwesandaw Pagoda to catch the sunrise.  I figured not very many people would be awake knowing it was before 6am but I was totally wrong.  An abundance of tourists from all over the world decorated the graceful white pyramid-style pagoda with the same hopes as us, to see a fresh start to a beautiful new day.   Shwesandaw means ‘golden holy hair’ because legend has it that the stupa enshrines a Buddha hair relic (just like the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon).  For a few seconds here and there, it would be extremely quiet.  Not a single noise would cross my ear drum.  I would quickly get lost in my own thoughts while staring out into the wide opens spaces.  But then for the rest of the time, it was a collaboration of sounds consisting of roosters crowing, cameras flickering and people chatting.  About an hour later, the sun fought really hard to rise although it seemed to struggle a little (I get it, I have mornings like that too).  It wasn’t the epic, colorful burst of emotions Bagan is so infamous for but it was still the perfect way to start our chapter in this very unique city.

Now that it was light out, we got back in the car and drove to The Areindmar, our hotel for the next four nights.  It was 7am so we crossed our fingers, toes and eyes that we would be able to check in (talk about multi-tasking, huh?).   Thankfully, luck was on our side and our room was ready for us.  Woohoo!  We were so discombobulated from the overnight bus ride and being sick so we took showers, brushed our teeth and headed off into lala land for a much needed nap.

It is ridiculously hot during the day, averaging 105+ degrees, so most people tend to have the same itinerary.  Wake up early to chase the sunrise and explore pagodas, rest during the day or relax at your hotel’s pool and then head out again for the sunset.  This sounded like the perfect plan so just to warn you, our next four days will sound a little repetitive (in a good way), almost like Groundhog Day the movie with Bill Murray.  Sunrises, temple hopping, eating, sunsets, temple hopping, eating – and repeat again tomorrow.

Neither one of us have really eaten a legit meal in a few days so after we caught up on some Zzzzzz’s, we took our umbrellas and walked to Starbeam Bistro, a restaurant we had read about for lunch.  But after fifteen minutes of intense sweating and a slight case of heat exhaustion, we arrived to a place that was closed.  Ugh, you’ve got to be kidding me.  Why did the internet say it was open but it isn’t?   I was so annoyed.  Now what?  I know it’s such a minor problem but this isn’t New York City where there are food options on every corner.  This is Bagan, a small town with very few places, which is what makes it so special.  As we headed back towards our hotel, we came across LA Pizza.  Not very cultured but not a horrible Plan B either.

Around 5pm, we had our hotel arrange for a taxi to take us to a few temples at sunset. The first was Thisa Wadi, which we climbed up to the top through a very dark, narrow stairway and watched as the sun began to glisten on the sprawled out temples.

The second was Thabeik Hmauk, which we couldn’t walk up since it was locked and apparently the gate key was lost but the family that guards this temple was super friendly.  I believe they live right there onsite.  An older gentleman took us on a quick tour around the temple which was very nice of him.  And whom I believe to be his grandson was so adorable.  You could tell they were extremely poor and didn’t have a lot.  The young boy was playing with a plastic bag as if it was the newest electric toy helicopter.  He would throw into the wind, watch it fly for a second and then chase after it once it landed.  This would be repeated at least ten times while we were there.  It makes you sad at first to see him entertaining himself this way but then you realize, he’s happy.  When you don’t know any different, the little things in life go a long way.  Sometimes I wish we weren’t so influenced by the world around us and we too could live this simple.

Last but not least, we visited the The Sulamani Temple. This temple is known as the Crowning Jewel and was built in 1181. It is one of Bagan’s most attractive temples, mainly due to the brickwork.  It has five doorways, carved stucco on mouldings, glazed plaques around the base and terraces and Buddha images that face the four directions from the ground floor.  Definitely way more crowded then our first two stops but we figured that would be the case since it was one of the top sights to see.

Our hotel restaurant overlooks the pool and is surrounded by welcoming trees, wrapped around ivy, fruitful flowers, romantic lighting, brightly shining candles and peaceful music so we decided to just have dinner here.  Why go anywhere else?

Day 2 – March 28th 

There was no way we were waking up for sunrise (talk about being lazy) so we slept in, had breakfast by the pool and laid low.  Around 4pm, we rented an eBike, which is a very popular mode of transportation here in Bagan.  They are basically electric scooters or motorbikes that run on a charge vs. on gas.  I wish every city had these!  For half of a day, it cost us 4,000 Kyat or $3.42.  Yes please.

We started our pagoda chasing evening with a thirty minute drive through some small, quaint, quiet, traditional villages…

Our first temple for today was Pya-Tha-Da Paya.  I loved this one.  It had beautiful views once you climbed to the top and the bricks were still pretty much in tack for the most part.  As with all of the other temples, every corner you turn there is another Buddha statue silently welcoming you to its home.  Instead of Bubba Sparxxx’s “Booty, Booty, Booty rockin’ everywhere” song, I changed the lyrics to “Buddha, Buddha, Buddha rockin’ everywhere” – HA!

Our second stop was the Dhammayangyi Temple, which is the largest in Bagan.  It was constructed in the 12th-century and is infamous for its mysterious, bricked-up inner passageways and cruel history. It’s said that King Narathu built the temple to atone for his sins – he supposedly smothered his father and brother to death and executed one of his wives, an Indian princess, for practising Hindu rituals. It is also said that Narathu mandated that the mortarless brickwork fit together so tightly that even a pin couldn’t pass between any two bricks. Workers who failed in this task had their arms chopped off.  Just inside the west entrance, there are apparently stones with arm sized grooves where these amputations happened.  After Narathu was assassinated in 1170, the inner encircling ambulatory was filled with brick rubble, as ‘payback’. Others quietly argue the temple dates from the earlier reign of Alaungsithu, which would refute all this fun legend behind it. It’s also likely that this bricking up of the passages was a crude way of ensuring the massive structure didn’t collapse.  Who knows what to believe but if the stories of Narathu are true, ouch.  Not a very nice man.  This temple was extremely busy, with tons of buses piling in as many tourists as they could possibly fit.  Great people watching but kind of killed the vibe so we didn’t stay long.

Our third and final stop of the evening was the Myauk Guni Phaya, otherwise known as North Guni.  We got here just in time to catch the sunset. This specific temple was recommended to us from an awesome Dutch couple we met in Bhutan.  And they didn’t stir us wrong.  Wonderful views and far less people than the other few pagodas.  It was so wonderful to sit on top, high above Bagan, and look out as far as you possibly could (good thing I have 20/20 vision so I could see real far).  There are just so many magical pagodas almost smiling back at you, horse carriages that are gracefully transporting tourists from one place to the next and the sun slowly making its grand exit for the day. I felt like I was living thousands of years ago, not in the present of 2016.  One literally travels to the past when in Bagan and it is quite surreal.  Not to mention a perfect break from chaotic cities.

That night we walked to Green Elephant for dinner.   Decent food but nothing to write home about.  It’s a small chain with locations in Yangon, Mandalay and Bagan.  But it did the trick for us so we went to bed feeling happy, full and ready for some positive dreams.

Day 3 – March 29th 

Today we woke up at 5am, left the hotel at 5:30am and arrived at Shwe Gu Gyi Temple at 5:50am to catch the sunrise.  We are obsessed with our eBikes.  They are so easy to maneuver and really makes pagoda chasing convenient.

Next up was the Thatbyinnyu Temple, meaning Omniscience, which is the one of the tallest temples of Bagan.  You can’t climb it so we did a quick walk around and moved on.

Last on our morning ride was the Ananda Phaya, one of Bagan’s most well known and beautiful temples.  It was one of the first to be built and is located near the Tharabar gate, the only gate remaining of the original twelve in the Old Bagan city walls.  The architectural style resembles that of North Indian influence.  I definitely liked this one from the outside the best.  It shimmered in a reddish tint with gold reflections.  Plus, locals asked to take photos with me which made me happy.  It had been awhile since I felt like a celebrity in a foreign country.  Even young nuns (female monks) approached me.  So I have course, had Vinny capture the moment as well.

We chilled in our room for the rest of the morning and then rode our eBikes to Be Kind To Animals The Moon for lunch.  Absolutely loved this place.  It was an all vegetarian restaurant with a cool outdoor vibe consisting of Asian style umbrellas and a flower garden as your roof.  Great food, great prices, great choice.  Thanks Kari and Lonely Planet.

Then we drove to the Black Bamboo for mid-day coffees and something to fulfill this sweet tooth of mine.  I got a scoop of chocolate and a scoop of banana ice cream (homemade, of course) and Vinny got a banana split.  It was the perfect remedy to this incredibly hot day.

That night, we took a break from temples and embarked on a sunset boat ride along the Irrawaddy River.  It was a nice change of atmosphere but unfortunately, there was no setting of the sun due to the clouds.  Definitely a disappointment but oh well.  It’s always nice to be on the water with a cool breeze to lighten up the intense heat.

Day 4 – March 30th

Yet again, we woke up at 5am, left the hotel at 5:30am and arrived at Law-ka-ou-shaung around 5:50am to catch the sunrise.  This too was recommended by the Dutch couple and I had read online it was one of the more “unknown” temples.  But when we arrived, there were definitely more people than we had been lead to believe.  However, how could I know about something that’s on the internet and not have the rest of the world know too? Duh, Kim.  Regardless, it was a wonderful location with awesome views.  One of the highlight activities to do in this town is a sunrise hot air balloon ride.  We looked into it but for $380 per person, we quickly changed our minds.  As breathtaking as it would have been, we thoroughly enjoyed watching the balloons soar from the ground, at no additional cost.

I had a hot date to catch up with my mom and sister this morning so we headed back to the hotel for our mid-morning relaxation.  Unfortunately, they had some extremely heartbreaking news to report that instantly brought a dark stormy cloud over my head.  I was an absolute mess for the rest of the day.  Completely dazed and confused.  Why do bad things happen to such good people?  So many questions were running through my mind and I had no answers.  Moments like this make being on the road really difficult yet remind me how precious life is so live it to the fullest.  If you are reading this and you know who you are, I love you more than our Mac n Cheese holidays, more than the infamous Christmas wreath cookies and even more than TripAdvisor – and that’s a lot.  Keep smiling, keep shining and I know you’ll get through this.

Since the Starbeam Bistro near our hotel was currently going through renovations, we rode our eBikes to the original location in Old Bagan, about 15 minutes away.  They make their own French baguettes and it was mouthwateringly delicious. It was so nice to have a yummy piece of bread since all we’ve been having is rice, rice, rice and more rice.  Plus, Starbeam had amazingly refreshing Lassi’s as well.  I got a strawberry one and Vinny got a mango one.  So fruity of us.

That evening, we went back to Thisa Wadi for sunset and chatted it up with an awesome young boy who was so curious to learn more about Obama and of course, Trump.  Since Vinny and I know nothing about politics, I think we disappointed him a little.

That basically wraps up our incredible 4 days in Bagan.  This place is like nowhere else in the world.  It is a city consisting of thousands of Buddhists temples and that’s about it.  It is surreal, mystical, magical, charming and absolutely breathtaking. Life is lived at a much slower pace and the locals are just so friendly.  While cruising on our eBikes, they would drive past us and wave.  So happy to have us in their country which in turn, makes me so happy to be here.  Happiness is contagious and I wish it spread easier than it does.  If you are thinking of visiting Myanmar, Bagan is a good reason to make that happen.

On a random side note, I want to tell you a little bit about Maps.Me, which is a genius app.  Getting from one pagoda to the next can be difficult since there are no street names or real landmarks.  It’s basically dirt roads with random trees and sporadic directional signage.  I had heard about an app called Maps.Me so we decided to try it out.  If it can work in Bagan, it can work anywhere.  And oh my Buddha, what a life saver it was.  It is basically Google Maps but offline so it doesn’t use any of your data.  You download what city or country you are in over WiFi and when you leave, it will take your wherever you want to go.  This made our lives so much easier.  I’m sure it took away some of the fun of getting lost but given how strong the sun was, we were fine with that.  I highly recommend you start using this app, whether you are a traveler or not.  That’s my secret tip of the day – shhhhh.

Now that we have spent nearly ten days in Mysterious Myanmar, there are a few random observations I would love to share with you.

1. Most everything in Myanmar so far has been quoted in USD including hotels, restaurants, activities and transportation.  That’s fine for us Americans but could you imagine being German or Australian or Brazilian or Chinese and having to pay in a currency that isn’t your own nor is it the currency of the country you are actually in.  A little odd, don’t you think?
2. When you decide to pay with a credit card, almost everywhere will charge you an extra 3% – 3.5%.  However, when you try to use the local Kyat currency, they make it so it is not in your favor with the exchange rate.  It’s kind of a lose-lose.
3. When cabs or young kids or random locals ask where we are from and we answer with USA, they always respond with “Obama!” and “can I have an American dollar?”.
4. The driver seat is on the right hand side of the vehicle (just like the United Kingdom, India, Hong Kong, Ireland, Australia, etc.) but the vehicle drives on the right side of the road (just like America, Canada, Costa Rica, Peru, Switzerland, etc.).  Quite an interesting mixture.
5. I’m assuming you have noticed that a lot of the women and children in some of my photos have some sort paint on their face, neck, arms and legs.  This is called thanaka, a yellow-white cosmetic paste produced by grinding the bard of the thanaka tree on a flat, smooth stone with water. The milky yellow liquid dries quickly when it is applied to the skin. The main purpose for this product is to keep the skin cool, stop oiliness, tighten pores, improve the complexion and add a pleasant, soft fragrance. Thanaka is also used as a medicinal product to treat acne, fungus, skin sores, measles, epilepsy, poisoning and fever.  Nowhere else in the world is thanaka so widely used.  Some people put it all over with no real technique while others create patterns and designs such as circles, squares and various lines.

From dry lands to water, see you in Inle Lake!

On Monday, March 21, we arrived in Myanmar around 10:30pm after a long yet smooth eleven hour travel day.  Although Bhutan is pretty much next door, there are only a few cities that Druk Air will fly in and out of so we had a four hour flight from Paro to Bangkok, a five hour layover and then a two hour flight to Yangon.  As we exited the plane, we immediately felt such a drastic change in weather.  It was roughly 55 degrees in Paro when we left and at least 95 degrees now – at night, after the sun as been fast asleep for hours.  With every step we took on the tarmac, we were shedding layers of clothing the way snakes shed skin.  Less is definitely more.  Once we went through immigration and got our passports stamped, we were greeted by two guys from our hotel, which I pre-arranged for at a hefty fee of $20 USD. Given how late it was, we felt it was definitely worth the convenience.  Plus, they were rolling deep in a black leather, tinted windows, fully air conditioned SUV.  The minute the blast of a cold breeze tickled my face, I instantly felt a relief from the tiny bubbles of sweat quickly developing on my upper lip.  If you’re sexy and you know it clap your hands.  So attractive, I know.

After a thirty minute drive, we pulled up to our hotel, Merchant Art Boutique, at 11:15pm.  Very modern, new and clean.  Our room was $70 a night.

In order to fully appreciate this country, we felt we needed to fully understand this country.  And since Myanmar was such a mystery to us, we decided to do some research on where it has been, where it currently stands and where it hopes to go.  It is not a place that is widely talked about (at least not in the conversations I have) nor is it a place that Westerners are relatively familiar with (correct me if I’m wrong, although that’s very rare, wink wink).  It is not as black and white as some of the other areas we’ve visited or will be visiting either.  And since I’m such a good friend, I’ll give you the very vague cliff notes version from what I learned so you too can be better educated.

Some people have heard of Myanmar while others haven’t.  Some people have heard of Burma while others haven’t.  Either way you spin it, Myanmar and Burma are actually the same thing.  It’s like all the other countries or cities out there that have changed names within the last century – Bombay to Mumbai, Persia to Iran, Peking to Beijing, Saigon to Ho Chi Minh City, Kampuchea to Cambodia, Siam to Thailand, Russia to Soviet Union then back to Russia (wonder why they were Russian for a change -HA).    Myanmar shares a border with five countries including India, Bangladesh, China, Laos and Thailand.  As wild as this sounds, there are more than 135 different ethnic groups, each with its own history, culture and language. Myanmar became an independent state in 1948, after gaining its sovereignty from The United Kingdom. Then the ruling military junta changed its name from Burma to Myanmar in 1989, a year after thousands were killed in the suppression of a popular uprising. At this same time, Rangoon, the largest and most commercially important city,  received a new name as well – Yangon.  These changes were recognized by the United Nations as well as France and Japan; however, many English speaking countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada still referred to it as Burma.  As both names are currently used by the locals, Burma is considered more popular while Myanmar is viewed more literary.  The decision to continue using Burma was rooted in a desire to show disapproval for the noxious regime.

A big reason why Myanmar is so mysterious to the outside world (in my humble opinion at least) is because its doors were closed to tourism for nearly 50 years due to the army-imposed isolation that turned the country somewhat upside down.  It wasn’t until 2010 that they started allowing foreigners to enter their home again.  Due to this closure, Myanmar is not like its neighboring countries.  It is quite untouched, undiscovered and unchartered territory compared to the rest of the region.  It isn’t part of the typical “backpackers” route of Southeast Asia but since Vinny and I dare to be different, we added this to our list anyways.  Plus, my friend Kari visited in 2013 and our family friends Mark and Dorith visited in 2014 – both coming back with rave reviews.  It is nearly impossible in this day and age to experience a country not heavily impacted by tourism so this was our one opportunity to see the real Myanmar.

Day 1 – March 22nd

Today is our 69th day on this wild and crazy adventure (yes, I’m counting).  Surprisingly, its has all gone ridiculously well.  Flights have been relatively on time, trains never broke down, hotels on average were all up to par and never once did we get sick (well I had a weird fever for two days while in Jaipur but that doesn’t really count).  I continued to rub my lucky crystals (thanks Carole!) because it is a miracle nothing happened while in India, Nepal or Bhutan given how underdeveloped those three countries are.  I kept pinching myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.  But unfortunately, that pinch soon became too real.  Vinny woke up this morning feeling a little nauseous.  We thought it was maybe because of the heat, maybe because we were drained from the past 2+ months of constantly being on the go or maybe because he was hungry.  We were leaning more towards the latter so we went downstairs to the complimentary breakfast and put some nutrients in our bodies.  But that only made things worse.  Around 1pm, he started throwing up.  And throwing up.  And throwing up.  Uh oh, could this be food poisoning?  I’ve never had it so I can’t diagnose him but he kept saying it was a different feeling than when he had it a few years back.  Either way, he was super sick which totally sucked.  Every time he would drink water, his body would reject it so he had no liquids and no food to give him any sort of strength.  As he continued to move from the bathroom to the bed and vice versa (sorry for the nasty visual), I twiddled my thumbs in a 25 square meter room with no one to talk to and nothing to do.  I was somewhat going crazy so I ended up taking a walk around our hotel neighborhood in hopes of finding saltine crackers and some sort of sports drink with electrolytes.  But we aren’t in the USA.  And we aren’t in Europe.  Nor are we in South America even.  Brands like Gatorade don’t really exist here.  Starbucks and McDonalds don’t even exist here.  Right when I was about to give up hope (mainly because I couldn’t really handle the massive drops of sweat creeping down my back anymore), I came across a tiny convenient store called Grab & Go.  And wallah, they had some kind of drink with electrolytes AND fairly plain crackers.  Just like that, I quickly became a hero.  Hopefully Vinny can keep them both down…

Day 2 – March 23rd

Even after a restful night sleep, Vinny woke up feeling weak, tired and nauseous still.  He stopped throwing up around 11pm and thankfully didn’t wake up in the middle of the night.  This made us question whether or not it was in fact food poisoning.  Let the unknown remain but let’s just hope he feels better tomorrow.  Although it completely sucks to be in his position right now, the timing couldn’t have been any more perfect (easy for me to say).  The reason for this is because we have absolutely nothing planned for the first time on this trip.  We paid for three nights at this hotel but we don’t know where we are going next, how we are getting there or how long we’ll be there.  Worse case, we extend our Yangon stay a few more nights to actually see the city, once the V is feeling like Superman again.

Day 3 – March 24th

A new day, a new you!  After resting to regain his energy yesterday, Vinny is finally feeling somewhat like himself.  Hip hip hooray!  I’m first and foremost happy for him but selfishly, I’m yearning to get outside and explore.  Since it is about 105 degrees (yuck), we decided to take things a little slower than usual to make sure he doesn’t relapse.  We held hands over a casual stroll, passing by rainbow colored apartment buildings and an abundance of street stalls serving local food.  It seems to be normal for adults to sit on what looks like plastic chairs and tables made for children.  Not just at one or two or three different places but at every single location we passed by.  Very interesting.

We then stopped by a decently sized department store for some more toiletries and ended up getting two umbrellas as well.  You’re probably thinking “oh, is rain in the forecast?”.  Which is a totally legit question.  But no, it’s not.  We got them to cover ourselves from the sun because it’s ridiculously strong and somewhat miserable.  The UV Index is 11.  I’ve never seen it that high in my life.  Usually it’s below 7 but not today, not in Myanmar.  Plus, all the locals have an umbrella so why not try to fit in.  It’s a win-win.  In the famous words of Rihanna, “When the sun shines, we’ll shine together.  Told you I’d be here forever.  Said I’ll always be a friend.  Took an oath I’ma stick it out ’til the end.  You can stand under my umbrella.  Ella ella eh eh eh”.  If you imagine me singing that song, it sounds way better, I promise.

Now that we had permanent shade to protect our delicate skin (mine is an absolute mess at the current moment, P.S.), we walked to lunch at the Rangoon Tea House, a place recommended by our hotel, TripAdvisor and Lonely Planet.  It had a very westernized look and feel but the air conditioning was much appreciated.  And we needed food that was on the simpler, lighter side so Vinny could stomach it (literally).

Next up, we went on The Circle Train.  This was a three hour journey allowing us to get a realistic glimpse into rural Yangon for a whopping 400 Kyat or $.33 (that is cents, not dollars).  Outside of the city, miles aways from the touristy areas, we witnessed locals living their normal everyday lives.  The Circle Train is a commuter transportation outlet that brings people to the city as well as out of the city.  Some are using it to get from home to work and vice versa while others actually work on the train, trying to make every last Kyat they possibly can – whether it’s selling various fruits, vegetables, water, rice crackers, hats, newspapers, etc.  You name it, it’s sold here.

The carriage rocks and rumbles as you slowly make your way through 45.9 kilometres of track via 39 stations which forms a loop around Yangon. Stopping at each and every station for only a minute or two, people clamber on with only seconds to spare, lugging more belongings than they can usually handle. The train returns back to Yangon’s city station before making the same journey over and over again throughout the day.  The more stations you pass, the more the landscape changes from city concrete to paddy fields and rustic villages, and the more passengers the train picks up.  This is, after all, one of the main and cheapest forms of transportation for the populace.

There was no air conditioning on the train but there was a slight breeze coming through the open windows, although the maximum speed is 17 mph so it’s fairly slow.  By the end of our journey, my legs produced enough sweat on the plastic seat to fill a kiddy pool.  And with every stroke of wind that made its way past my nose, I couldn’t help but smell so many different scents – food, trash, body odors, vegetation, etc.  Your senses are on overload, while your eyes just want to divert to the tranquil countryside.  Before you know it, the train pulls into its next stop, folks exit and a whole new set of characters enter for the next leg of the journey.

About halfway into the ride, an older local gentleman sat next to me.  He kept to himself at first but then he kindly asked where we were from.  When I said the USA, he quickly replied, in a high pitch voice and with a Broadway like expression, “YOLO!”.  It was impossible not to burst into laughter (in a respectful manner of course) simply because of the way he said it and because that’s what he thinks of when he hears America.  Wow, we have such a great reputation out there.  Since the Circle Train is his commute everyday, he has taken it upon himself to learn English now that tourism is booming.  He takes advantage of being on the train with foreigners and tries to learn new phrases all the time.  He actually keeps a little journal and has people from all over the world sign it. What an awesome concept.  When he asked me to sign it, I taught him FOMO.  For those of you who don’t know what either acronym stands for, let me know teach you too.  YOLO is “You Only Live Once”, meaning go skydiving or book that one way ticket or try frog legs or finally enroll in that photography class you’ve been wanting to take.  FOMO is “Fear Of Missing Out”, meaning you feel the need to be everywhere all the time because you are afraid something will happen if you’re not there.  Both are not educated sayings but they are frequently used by my generation.

Once we returned to the main train station after a stimulating three hour ride, we made our way to the Shwedagon Pagoda, one of the most famous pagodas in the world.  Gleaming in gold and decorated with diamonds, the huge Shwedagon Pagoda is a spectacular work of Burmese temple architecture and is the holiest Buddhist monument in all of Myanmar.   It is believed to enshrine eight hairs of the Gautama Buddha as well as relics of three former buddhas.  The original height of the pagoda was 66 feet.  From the 14th century onward, successive monarchs in Myanmar rebuilt or regarded it until Shwedagon reached its present height of 326 feet.  It is decorated with 3,154 gold bells, 79,569 diamonds as well as other precious stones.

We were told it was best to visit at sunset so that’s what we did and it sure didn’t disappoint.  The pagoda colors transformed from a flaming crimson, to a burnt orange until it finished with an ever so splendid golden shine.  It was pretty pretty pretty perfect, stupendously stunning, impeccably impressive.  There was just so much gold everywhere you looked.  Thanks to Kanye West, all I kept singing was “I ain’t sayin’ she a gold digger”…

We ended this epic day with a delicious dinner at Monsoon (thanks Mark for the recommendation!).  Great food, great vibe and great cheesy American music playing on a very short loop in the background.

Day 4 – March 25th 

Unfortunately, Vinny woke up feeling sick again so we laid low for most of the morning.  I think we might have overdone it yesterday.  Oops, I’m not that good of a nurse apparently.
Around 5pm, we hailed a cab and headed to The Strand Hotel for some high tea.  Pinkies up always.  The Strand Hotel is one of the oldest hotels in Yangon, built in 1901, and remains one of Southeast Asia’s few grand colonial and most awe inspiring architectures.

After we sipped on tea and enjoyed the beautiful decor of The Strand Hotel, we decided to have an earlier dinner since we didn’t have lunch.  But as soon as we walked outside, I got this not so pleasant feeling in my stomach.  In a snap of a finger, I was utterly nauseous.  That’s weird.  I felt totally fine when I sat down and now an hour later, I feel not so fine.  Maybe I’m just hot and hungry?  The Union Grill was a quick ten minute walk so in no time I will shove my face with some yummy food and be 125% again (why settle for average).

However, that wasn’t the case.  About fifteen minutes after sitting down, I abruptly rushed to the bathroom to throw up, twice.  Ummm, what is going on with us?  I couldn’t fathom eating a meal so Vinny finished his as quickly as possible and we unwillingly went back to our hotel room.  For the next few hours, I set up shop in the bathroom.  As you can imagine, both of us were obsessively trying to determine what this could be.  We both had the same sickness yet two days apart.  I guess we will never know but the unanimous decision was some kind of stomach bug.  Not fun.

Day 5 – March 26th

I woke up not feeling horrible but not feeling like my energetic self either.  We were scheduled to take an overnight bus tonight to Bagan so we had the entire day to explore but I couldn’t get out of bed.  Since we weren’t leaving until 8pm, we paid $15 USD to keep the room past 4pm so I could rest in the air conditioning.  We ended up in Yangon for five nights (originally planned for three nights) and five full days but could only really enjoy one and a half of them.  Such a bummer.  Oh well, moving on.

Around 7:45pm, we boarded our overnight bus with JJ Express from Yangon to Bagan, which cost $19 USD per person.  There was no bathroom, which terrified me in case I got sick again but they did have reclining chairs, a blanket and a pillow.  Hopefully I will just shut my eyes and wake up in a new city, feeling like a new me…

 

 

 

On Friday, March 18th, we arrived at Bhutan Mandala Resort in Paro around 5:30pm after a four hour drive from Punakha.  The past few days have been absolutely incredible but they have also been intensely nonstop.  Our eyelids weigh more than a Japanese sumo wrestler right now and our bodies feel like a melted container of jello, all over the place with no substance.  Since tomorrow is the big Tiger’s Nest hike, we treated ourselves to some much needed down time in our room, grabbed some dinner at the hotel and called it a night by 10:30pm.  We wanted our mind, legs and stamina to be 110% by morning.

Today, March 19th, we met Kezang and Tenzin in the hotel lobby around 9am and drove about twenty minutes to the base of the Taktsang Monastery, otherwise known as Tiger’s Nest.  This monastery is one of the most important cultural icons of Bhutan, the granddaddy of them all and what we’ve been “training” for over the last few days.  Now that I have explained a few of Bhutan’s out-of-this-world mythological beliefs such as the phallus warding off evil and the Temple of Fertility allowing those challenged to conceive, let me now tell you the history behind this specific establishment.  According to legend, Guru Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) reached the temple site of Paro Taktsang in the 8th century by flying on the back of a tigress from Tibet. Guru Padmasambhava was a Brahmin royal who spread Tantric Buddhism throughout Bhutan in the 700’s.  The name “Taktsang” literally means Tiger’s Lair and was derived when the people in the locality came across a tigress residing in one of the caves. Rinpoche meditated in thirteen small monasteries or ‘tiger nest’ caves, of which Paro Taktsang is the best known. It is said he meditated in the cave on the mountain for three years, three months, three weeks, three days and three hours. After completing his meditation, Guru Padmasambhava subjugated the eight categories of evil spirits and converted the Bhutanese to Buddhism. Today, he is viewed as holy as the Buddha himself, regarded as the Second Buddha, and a guardian spirit of Bhutan. His followers are convinced he is still alive and active but in another form, as Rainbow Body.  So there you have it.  Another wild concept strongly believed throughout this fascinating country.  Of course a tigress flew up there, how else would one have arrived back then?  At least now they have paths for us tourists because riding a tiger probably isn’t considered humane anymore.  Duh.

 

This is where we started. Down on the ground, with only two tiny white dots playing peek-a-boo with you high in the mountains yelling catch me if you can.  From this point, I kept thinking “there’s no way you can walk to that”.  It seemed as though the monastery was floating at an unobtainable level.  But after a little while, you slowly realize it is obtainable and I can’t wait to add this to my collection of memories.

The path wasn’t paved nor was it flat.  It was rocky, dusty, and all uphill but without sounding cheesy or cliche (although that is my speciality), it really added to the overall experience.

Since Monks live at The Tiger’s Nest and there is a cafeteria mid-way through the hike, various supplies such as food, water, etc. need to make its way up somehow.  Us humans aren’t really equipped for that sort of weight so they use donkeys.  And, for those folks that are a little older or not in that great of shape or just plain lazy, they can pay a pretty penny to ride a donkey half way but after that, it gets a little too steep and a little too narrow to depend on an animal you can’t fully communicate with.  What an ass.

Breathtaking (literally because of the altitude) scenery every next level you reached…

And with every turn, you could see the Tiger’s Nest getting closer and closer, bigger and bigger, brighter and brighter…

Prayer flags and prayer wheels were everywhere along the way…

There was also a guard dog, making sure everyone is safe…

After about an hour and forty five minutes of huffing and puffing uphill, we came to an official photo opp of the Tiger’s Nest.  This was the closest we’ve seen it and oh boy was it absolutely stunning.  It literally hugs the side of the cliff over 10,000 feet above sea level.  The green forest trees mixed with the brown mountains mixed with the red, white and gold architecture leaves you in complete and utter awe.  I could have stayed at this point all day and just stared.  One of the most beautiful creations I’ve ever witnessed in person.

Now that we’ve snapped almost a hundred photos, we then had to slowly and carefully go up and down over 850 steps before arriving at the entrance.  If you are afraid of heights, this probably isn’t for you.  One trip on your shoe lace and your done.  There isn’t much room for a careless mistake and unfortunately, a 54 year old woman from Thailand learned that the hard way.  In January 2015, she was taking a photo, lost her balance and fell over the side.  I think then there weren’t any railings but now they have added them to avoid the same situation from occurring again.  Very tragic.

To hike the Tiger’s Nest is a challenge in itself, I couldn’t imagine doing it with a baby on my back, only being supported by a piece of cloth and still managing to smile for a random tourists photo…

I was pretty hot and sweaty the entire way up but once we reached the top, the weather drastically changed.  It was absolutely freezing and fairly windy.  My nose was as red as Rudolph’s, my toes and fingers quickly became numb and with every heavy breath I let out, it was as if I was exhaling smoke from a cigarette.  From this point on, we couldn’t take any photos.  In fact, we had to check all of our belongings before entering.  For the next hour, we visited eight different temples, all holding such a significant importance.  Kezang was mentioning that this is one of the holiest Buddhist monasteries in the world and that every Buddhist dreams of being right where we are standing at this very moment.

One the way back down, we stopped at the cafeteria and had some tea and biscuits.  Going up was much easier for Vinny and going down was much easier for me, although my left knee cap was still bruised from my bike fall in Mumbai.  We always seem to be on opposite levels but somehow it works (or at least I think it does).

 

Here is our guide, Kezang, in his traditional Bhutanese attire.  He did manage to swap out his nice black dress shoes for some more Tiger’s Nest appropriate footwear.

We were on such a high after this experience.  It would have been totally okay with us to call it a day at this point because nothing could really ever match, or even come close, to what we just saw.  However, with limited time in Bhutan, there’s no rest for the wicked.

Next on our agenda was Kyichu Lhaknang, one of the oldest temples in Bhutan.  It is widely believed to have been built in 659 by King Songtsen Gampo of Tibet, to pin down the left foot of a giant ogress who was thwarting the establishment of Buddhism into Tibet.  As you enter the intimate inner courtyard you’ll see a mural to the right of the doorway of King Gesar of Ling, the popular Tibetan warrior-king, whose epic poem is said to be the world’s longest.  The inside of the temple, which we couldn’t take photos of, supposedly still has its original floors, made from real wood (would love these in whatever house I might or might not own down the road) and original paintings on the walls, which are very much faded now.

Then we walked around the actual town of Paro.  Since the annual Paro Tsechu Festival began today, there were a ton of activities happening.  There was a flea like market that had at least twenty tents selling random stuff, including a balloon man – you can’t have a festival without a balloon man.  And various craft stores along the main street had decorated phalluses in their windows for sale.  Fascinating.

Last but certainly not least, Bhutan Swallowtail treated us to a very special evening at a traditional farmhouse.  This farmhouse has been with the same family for over 300 years.

To help our bodies recover from the Tiger’s Nest hike (not that it was that strenuous at all), they set up a traditional hot stone bath for us, which is widely practiced in Bhutan and is also a method to overcome various complications and illnesses.  This consisted of heating the river rocks with fire then moving them into the water of the wooden made bath, which essentially is supposed to release key minerals and relieve deep-set aches of the body.  It was just Vinny and I in the room.  We closed our eyes and enjoyed this somewhat pampering, extremely relaxing feeling for about forty five minutes.  Whenever we felt the water was getting cold, they would bring us more stones.  Every time the hot stones would enter the bath, it sizzled dramatically as if they were serving chicken fajitas (or beef fajitas or shrimp fajitas, you get the point).  And when we came out, our bodies had so much steam escaping them.  What a neat concept.

The farmhouse family hosted a handful of us for a traditional Bhutanese dinner after our hot stone baths. We all sat on the floor, in a semi circle and ate a home cooked meal.  People were representing countries from all over the world including Japan, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, London, USA, and obviously Bhutan.  The woman in the middle of this photo pouring the butter tea is part of the family who owns this farmhouse.  She is the eighth generation to live there and her kids are the ninth generation.

What an incredible, authentic, memorable day and night we had.  I literally feel like a flying tigress, I’m that high on life right now.

The next day, March 20th, was our last day in Bhutan and what better way to celebrate it than with the Paro Tshechu Festival. Featuring dances performed by trained monks and laymen in amazing masks and costumes, we were told by Bhutan Swallowtail that Tsechus (festivals) are one of the best ways to experience the ancient living culture of Bhutan.  A Tsechu is a Buddhist festival in honour of Guru Rimpoche, the saint who brought Buddhism to Bhutan and the one who mediated at The Tiger’s Nest (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, you obviously didn’t read the history I explained in great detail earlier.  Shame on you). Thousands of locals and tourists come from all over the country to witness this festival.  The overall vibe was nothing like we’ve ever seen before.  People were so calm, captivated, happy and of course, dressed in their very best Bhutanese attire.

These adorable girls came up to talk to us because they wanted to practice their English.  They asked if we loved our King as much as they loved their King and when I tried to explain we have Presidents that are elected, not Royalty that is inherited, they didn’t quite understand that concept.  But they were real sweet and I was quite impressed with their vocabulary.  Easterners love to give the peace sign so I played along.

That night, Bhutan Swallowtail hosted nineteen of us for dinner outside by the river.  There was a bon fire (it was sooooo cold!) and all the guides taught us some local songs and dances.  The alcohol was flowing (the Bhutanese love to drink!) and everyone was slowly loosening up with every sip.  It felt like sleep away camp almost.  What a fun night and a wonderful way to end such an unbelievable week in such an unbelievable country.

Bhutan is as close to heaven as you can get while still being alive.  Every day for seven days, we experienced the natural charm of the first country where Gross National Happiness is deemed more important than Gross National Product.  It’s a fairytale kind of land sprinkled with the perfect amount of joy, contentment, respect, happiness and an overall genuine appreciation for life.   Everywhere else in the world should strive to have the same vision and values as the Bhutanese.  It’s hard to believe a place like this exists but it does and we were lucky enough to experience it first hand.

As the locals say, Log jay gay, meaning goodbye and we will meet again!

 

On Thursday, March 17th (St. Patrick’s Day but that means nothing here in Bhutan – they are basically leprechauns dancing on a rainbow everyday of their life) we slowly made our way to the Punakha Valley.  The road was unpaved, dusty and extremely bumpy, much like Nepal, which was kind of refreshing to know Bhutan isn’t always perfect.  Our first stop on this three hour road trip was the Dochula Pass, high on top of a mountain offering a stunning 360 degree panoramic view of the Himalayas. The snowcapped mountain peaks formed a majestic backdrop to the tranquility of the 108 chortens (stupas), built in memory of the Bhutanese soldiers killed in the 2003 war against insurgents from India.  We actually met a man from India who has been visiting Bhutan since 2005 and mentioned this was the clearest day he’s ever seen. Luck was definitely on our side. We could effortlessly point to Gangkhar Puensum, the highest mountain in Bhutan and a strong candidate for the highest unclimbed mountain in the world with an elevation of 7,570 meters or nearly 24,835 feet.  The air was so cool, so clear, so clean and so crisp.  It was what I kept referring to as the quadruple C.  And if you add me in there, it would be the quintuple C (because my last name is Cantor, get it?).

After we took in the scenery, we piled back in the car and continued on our journey.  About fifteen minutes later, Kezang and Tenzin spotted some yaks on the side of the road so I of course asked to stop and capture these unique animals in action.  I don’t know about you, but I’ve never seen one up close and personal.   Maybe that’s because yaks cannot survive below 3,500 meters (10,500 feet), so they are found at higher altitudes, usually above 4,500 meters (12,500 feet) and sometimes, as high as 6,100 meters (18,300 feet).  Yaks are multipurpose animals, providing food in terms of milk, milk products and meat.  Herder’s garments and tents for shelter are made from yak fiber.  And, their tails are often made into brooms for sweeping and their fur is made into clothes for warmth.   Right when they said yak, it instantly reminded me of The Coasters song “Yakety yak, don’t talk back”.

Next up we visited the Royal Botanical Park, covering an area of 125 acres and is Bhutan’s first botanical park.  The park was formally declared open in June 2008 to mark the anniversary of the Coronation of King Jigme Kesar Namgyel Wangchuk and centenary of Bhutan’s monarchic rule.  Of course.  Because a simple statue or plaque isn’t good enough they had to go and create a botanical park, hahaha.  It is situated on the Sinchula-Dochula-Helela Range, which stretches from Tibet in the North to India in the South.  The park is home to more than 28 different species of Rhododendron and more than 300 different species of medicinal plants. On the other hand, mammals such as musk deer, red panda, leopard, pheasants and tigers have been spotted here but for good or for bad, we didn’t see them with our own two eyes.  We did, however, walk around the park for about 45 minutes enjoying the various nature like scenes such as a Baritsho Lake, an orchid conservation area, a children’s play ground, camping grounds, not so bloomed yet flowers and a dog that followed us the entire time.  He was kind of like our spiritual bodyguard just in case that leopard decided to make a surprise appearance.

Now that it was lunch time, we headed to a nearby restaurant.  As I mentioned earlier, everything about this trip was pre-planned by our tour group, Bhutan Swallowtail.  And for the most part, they’ve done a stellar job.  The hotels are all up to par and the activities are all engaging.  We can’t say that about the food yet though.  It’s been below average which is more of a bummer for Vinny than me.  Today was no exception.  We showed up to this place, the parking lot full of buses and the inside packed with at least a hundred Asian tourists.  It was a buffet with the same blah food we’ve had for the past two days nearly gone and relatively cold from sitting out. This was such a letdown.  If we went somewhere else, we would have to pay out of pocket for it and that wasn’t ideal given how much we already spent to just step foot in this country.  Oh well, one strike against Bhutan but many home runs to make up for it.  If you don’t ever step up to the plate, you never know how you’ll swing.

Even though lunch was a disappointment, we knew the next stop would pick us right back up.  As we approached the Chime Lhakhang Monastery, also known as the “Temple of Fertility”, it’s hard not to notice the phalluses everywhere you look. They’re painted on nearby houses, restaurants, hotels and like the monastery, they are there to honor one of Bhutan’s most revered saints, Drukpa Kunley.  Drukpa Kunley was not your typical BudDivine Bhutan. He was a womanizer and a liberal drinker. People call him the “Divine Madman” for his crazy antics and unique approach to Buddhism.  Buddha advocated the “middle way,” encouraging others not to pursue extremes. The Divine Madman believed these constraints were too restrictive. He discouraged the pursuit of Buddha’s teachings to common people. To gain attention and spread his message that these strict conventions were absurd, he took on a meditation practice indulging in song and dance, alcohol and women, hunting and feasting,  using outrageous behavior to show there was more to Buddhism than the middle way.  The phalluses that hang from the eves of Bhutanese homes are reminders of this unusual brand of Buddhism. As the legend goes, the Madman would subdue demons by clunking them on the head with his penis, or what he called a “flaming thunderbolt”, a symbol the Bhutanese have adopted to protect their homes from evil.  If you are wondering whether or not you read that paragraph correctly, you did.  Some of the mythological ideas that the Bhutanese believe in are so out of this world you almost want to laugh.  But that’s what makes this place so special.  They all believe, no matter how ridiculous it sounds to an outsider, and their traditions are what help them maintain the happiest country in the world status.

Once we became comfortable with penises all around us, we started our two hour excursion through a traditional village, up a narrow dirt path, through fields of rice, wheat and wild marijuana plants. In the distance, we can see the monastery.  Built in 1499, it sits on top of a hill that locals compare to a woman’s breast.  Yes, another amazingly entertaining concept.  According to the Bhutanese, Chime Lhakhang Monastery is a very sacred place.  It is widely known today that most of the people who visit the temple do so to pray for children – either to ask for children by those who are childless or to seek protection for children by those who already have them. There are many people in Bhutan, and indeed in other parts of the world, who will vouch on the success of their prayers.  Men and women having difficulties conceiving come to this temple, spend the night and historically, have given birth to a healthy child a year later.  Hence the name, Temple of Fertility.  Kezang welcomed Vinny and I back here should we face those same problems in the future.  Hopefully we won’t need the temple’s help but it would be interesting to see just how magical this monastery truly is.

Last on our road trip itinerary was the Sangchen Dorji Lhundrup Choeling Buddhist College for Nuns, inaugurated on April 25, 2015.  Bhutanese nuns are basically women monks but this institution was established to teach a new way of learning focused solely on nunnery and not resembling that of monks.   The college had great views of the valley, a few Nepalese style stupas and is home to over 170 nuns.

Around 6:30pm, after a very long yet fulfilling day, we checked into Punatsangchhu Cottages, our hotel for one night.  Tomorrow’s call time is 7am (ahhhhh) so we settled in, grabbed a quick bite to eat and then studied the back of our eyelids.

Our wonderful next day, March 18th, started with a two hour hike up to the Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten, which sits on top of a hill, almost resembling a tiny gold pointed hat on a big round head.

First we had to cross an iron suspension bridge, decorated with colorful prayer flags, that brought you from one side of the river to the next.

Then we walked through rice fields and farm land that cultivates chiles, mango, wheat, guavas, eggplant, beans and much more.

I guess we were a lot quicker than Kezang expected, probably because we live in LA and hiking is the thing to do so we were well prepared.  Go us.  At the top there’s a stupa, with 360 degree views of the entire countryside.  It took eight years to build and was consecrated during a three day ceremony in December 1999. The three-level chorten is topped by a dome and a stack of 12 circular rings, then an umbrella, the sun, moon and finally a jeweled pinnacle.

Punakha Dzong, otherwise known as the Fortress of Great Bliss, was our final stop in the Punakha area.  Punakha Dzong has been inextricably linked with momentous occasions in Bhutanese history.  It served as the capital of the country from 1637 to 1907 and the first national assembly was hosted here in 1953.  It is the second oldest and second largest dzong in Bhutan and one of the most majestic structures in the country.  On October 13, 2011, the wedding of the current King, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and his finance, Jetson Pema, was held here.  Currently, there are over 200 monks that call this home.  We are never allowed to take photos inside the various temples within the Dzong’s and although it’s understood why, it’s still such a bummer not to capture it.  Every temple has gigantic, extravagant, intricate, colorful statues of various Buddha’s and Deities.  I have never ever seen anything like it.  In my not-so-art world-educated-opinion, I personally feel that these monuments are the most beautiful, captivating, enlightening pieces of expression I’ve ever seen.  Absolutely stunning.  But you have no idea what I’m talking about so I’ll stop now.  I hope you enjoy the outside though.

Check out these natural beehives.  They almost look like a super sized oreo (and deep down inside, I was really hoping they were.  That sounds so good right about now).

To complete our day, we had lunch (which was much better than yesterday, phewww) and then drove back to Paro via Thimpu, which was a four hour journey.  Until we meet again in Paro, watch out for that odd shaped doorknob…

On Tuesday, March 15, we flew from Kathmandu, Nepal to Paro, Bhutan on Druk Air.  Bhutan Swallowtail, our tour group, recommended we arrive extra early to the airport in order to reserve window seats on the left hand side of the plane.  Very precise, right?  The reason for this is because we will be passing by the Himalayan Ranges and the views are supposedly breathtaking.  So we did just that.  We got to the airport at 6am and were able to pick the most perfect seats, which in turn, provided us with the most perfect views.   White capped mountain peaks pierced your eyes with beauty.  We flew right by eight of the ten highest mountains on EARTH.  No big deal.  I felt like they were going to eat us alive.  They were that powerful.  But the most exciting sight of all was Mount Everest.  Yes, Mount Everest.  Have you heard of it?  The highest peak in the center of this photo below is the infamous Mount Everest.  Why hello.  It’s such a pleasure to meet you.  Unlike Tom Cruise, this mission was possible.

When we landed at the Paro airport around 11am and walked off the plane, there was this sense of tranquillity that overtook my mind and body.  The sky was the brightest blue we’ve seen in a while, the sporadic chunks of clouds were marshmallow white, the mountain ranges were intimating yet welcoming and the air was so fresh you could feel your lungs going through an instant detox.  It was by the far the prettiest, calmest, cleanest, most simple airport I’ve ever stepped foot in. Their buildings resembled that of the traditional Buddhist architecture with colorful paintings, intricate designs and mesmerizing aesthetics. Something is telling me I’m going to really, really like it here.

After we went through customs, added yet another stamp to our passports and gathered our bags, we met up with Kezang, our twenty eight year old Bhutanese guide, and Tenzin, our twenty four year old Bhutanese driver.  Both of them will be with us for the next seven days – all day, every day (except for sleeping, duh).  Good thing we all seem to be easy going and fun or else that much time spent together is the perfect recipe for disaster.  When we got in the car and drove away, we almost had reverse culture shock.  Being in India and Nepal for the past nine weeks, we became so numb to insane traffic, intense pollution, crazy driving and endless honking.  But here, it’s the polar opposite (at least so far).  I don’t think they even know what the word traffic means.  While cruising down the “highway”, we were constantly noticing signs on the side of the road such as “Life is a journey, complete it”, “Speed thrills but kills”, and “Live for today, drive for tomorrow”.  Optimism at its best.  Glass is always half full.

Random side note(s).  Bhutan is fifteen minutes ahead of Nepal, thirty minutes ahead of India and now thirteen hours ahead of Los Angeles (would have been fourteen but daylight savings happened for the USA).  And, since Bhutan’s currency is pegged from the Indian Rupee, we can use our left over money here.  Yippee.  Our itinerary is as follows: we will be spending two nights in Thimphu, one night in Punakha and three nights in Paro.

Okay, back to my story.  The drive from Paro to Thimpu is about one hour.  Since we didn’t fly across the world to get here like most people do and we weren’t overwhelmed with jet lag, Kezang wanted to take us to a few sites in Paro now versus when we come back at the end of our trip.  The thought process behind this is because the annual Paro Tshechu Festival will be taking place starting March 19, which is partly why we chose these dates, so most of the area will be congested with people from all over the country.  That being said,  our first stop was the National Museum of Bhutan, which opened to the public in 1968.  However, the cylindrical or conch shaped building was originally constructed in 1649 C.E. and served as a watchtower to protect the Paro Rinpung Dzong below from invasions in all directions.  Here we learned some key facts about their culture, their beliefs and their history. A visit through the galleries showed the country’s transition from the Stone Age to a modern Mahayanist Buddhist and multicultural kingdom.  Definitely informative and a perfect way to introduce us to the very unknown Bhutan.  While we were walking up the steps towards the entrance, I couldn’t help but notice some pretty flowers bursting like a pink Starburst so cheerfully from the trees.  They resembled that of the cherry blossoms in Japan.  When I asked Kezang what type of flower they were, he confirmed they were in fact cherry blossoms.  Oh my god (maybe I should say oh my Buddha here instead).  This is the best surprise party anyone could give me.  I’ve always wanted to see cherry blossoms well blossom.  Absolutely incredible.  What a lovely site.

Our second stop in Paro before heading to Thimphu was the Paro Rinpung Dzong, which means “Fortress of the Heaped Jewels”.   Built in 1644, the Paro Dzong is one of Bhutan’s most impressive and well-known dzongs (fortress), and perhaps the finest example of Bhutanese architecture in the country. The massive buttressed walls that tower over the town are visible throughout the valley.  The fort was used on numerous occasions to defend the Paro valley from invasions by Tibet.  Today, it houses about two hundred monks and when I saw a handful of young monks walking around, I became curious about the process.  Who can become a monk?  Are you forced or is it voluntary?  Is there a minimum age?  Kezang basically explained to us that there used to be a “monk tax” where families had to give one of their sons to the monastery.  However, now that there are so many, it is more of a personal decision.  Some start as young as two years old.  Kids don’t even know their name or their favorite color at two years old let alone knowing they want to dedicate to their entire life to Buddhism.  Such a different upbringing than what we are used to.  On the opposite spectrum, some start as old as sixty.  That’s the cool thing about Buddhism.  There is no judgement and no discrimination.  Come one, come all.

It was around 1pm so we headed to lunch, which consisted of traditional Bhutanese food such as butter tea, chiles and cheese, red rice, steamed vegetables and egg noodles.  I didn’t love the butter tea (tasted almost like sipping on a melted stick of butter) but the chiles and cheese had me at hello.  Absolutely delicious.  For a lack of a better comparison, the cheese resembled that of fake nacho cheese you get at the movies or a sporting event but instead of chips, it was slices of chiles that were so spicy.  My lips were tingling dramatically out of control as if I used a pound of ghost peppers as chapstick.  One of those hurts so good feelings.

Now that we refueled our bodies, we continued along the way to Thimphu.  The next stop was Tachogang Lhakhang, which is an iron suspension bridge made out of chains.  It was built in the early 15th century by Yogi Thangtong Gyalpo.  While slowly and carefully walking across the bridge, you couldn’t help but notice the clearer than clear eyes water flowing below.

Then we came across a fork in the river, where the Paro and Thimphu Rivers meet which flows down to India. At the crossroads, there were three different stupa styles.  One was from Nepal, one was from Tibet and one was from Bhutan.  Oh and there was a massive billboard that had a photo of the King and Queen.  Seems to be typical.

When we finally arrived in Thimphu, we got out of the car and strolled down what they refer to as Main Street.  It totally reminded me of the Main Street at Disneyland.  Very clean, quiet, happy, and nearly perfect.  Almost fake looking.  Thimphu is one of the only capital cities in the world, if not the only, where there are no traffic lights so the few cars that do pass by are orchestrated by a man in a legit uniform with white gloves stationed outside a festive booth.  And everyone actually follows directions of when it’s their turn to go and their turn to stop.  Well trained individuals.

Around 4:30pm, we arrived at Peaceful Resort, our hotel for the next two nights.  It was a ten minute drive from town, located higher in the hills than in the city center.  Since Bhutan Swallowtail booked all of our accommodations for us, we had no idea what to expect.  And because I’m such a control freak (admitting it is the first step to recovery), this was really hard to accept.  Nevertheless, the Peaceful Resort was definitely a decent place so I felt a little more comfortable now.  Our room was made of all wood, giving off that wintery cabin vibe.  For the remainder of the evening, we laid low, had dinner and got a good night’s sleep since tomorrow will be yet another full day of sightseeing, learning and of course, smiling.

Wednesday, March 16, started off with a visit to the Takins, which were declared Bhutan’s National Animal on November 25, 1985.  A Takin is one of the larger and stockier goat antelopes, generally weighing around 770 pounds. It is a very unique looking animal that is believed to have the head of a goat and the body of a cow.  They are usually found in the Himalayas and western China.   Just like everything in Bhutan, there is a mythological story behind the creation of this animal but since it does sound rather crazy, I will spare you the details.

Next, we went for a short hike through a park high above the city of Thimphu.  Everyday for the next four days we will slowly prepare ourselves for the Tiger’s Nest, which is an intense climb up a steep mountain over 10,000 feet above sea level.  With the drastic change in altitude here, Kezang wants us to get acclimated before he throws us to the wolves.  And I thanked him kindly for that.  Throughout this walk, there were an abundance of prayer flags hanging from every tree possible.  They add so much life and color to the atmosphere and obviously have such a strong spiritual meaning behind them as well.  Not to mention, the views were spectacular.  Everywhere you looked there were mountains and mountains and mountains and trees and trees and trees.  I just love how underdeveloped this country is.  More land doesn’t equal to more buildings, at least for now.  And, people get fined for littering which is how it should be.  There was so much trash all over India and Nepal that to see a clean environment is refreshing on so many levels.

The end of our hike was rewarded with the Buddha Dordenma, which is a gigantic 169 foot tall statue, making it one of the biggest of Lord Buddha’s in the world.  Made of bronze and gilded in gold, it symbolizes indestructibility in addition to peerless virility to bestow blessings, peace, and happiness on the world.  Completed in 2015, the goal is for this monument to become a major pilgrimage center for Buddhists all over the world to practice, meditate and retreat. It was ridiculously stunning.  Your mouth instantly dropped to the ground in awe.  The detail was impressive from the nail buds to the chest to the face.  Beautifully created.  Inside there was a Buddhist temple that consisted of 100,000 eight inch Buddha statues.  Unfortunately, we couldn’t take photos of the inside.  Sorry.  You’ll just have to go there and see it for yourself.  I promise it will be worth it.

Next up was the National Memorial Chosen Stupa, which was built in 1974 by the Queen in memory of her royal son, the third King who died in 1972 at the age of 44.  Locals come here at all hours of the day for their daily worship.  They always walk around the stupa clockwise three times.  It was packed with quite a few elderly folks, almost as it if it was an outdoor assisted living center.  Made for intriguing people watching.  And there was the most adorable little boy who was so proud to show off his traditional Bhutanese attire.

Simply Bhutan, a living museum and photo studio, is aimed at the preservation and promotion of the Bhutanese culture.  Vinny and I had the privilege to dress up in local clothing, see a traditional song and dance be performed, enjoy some authentic food, learn more about their fascination with the phallus, play some archery since it is their national sport (Vinny almost hit the bullseye!) and the most inspiring of all, meet Pema Tshering, a talented 30 year old craftsman, who was born with cerebral palsy and congenital deformities in his spinal column.  With limited mobility, Pema is only able to use his feet to carry out his daily routines. He now supports himself through the sales of his woodwork at the museum gift shop.  Pema’s unwavering belief in himself and his sheer optimism continues to inspire many people living with disabilities. His story tells us that with self-determination, anything is possible.

Bhutan has a very unique interest in postal stamps so we visited the Postal Museum to learn more about this borderline obsession.  While bare-footed couriers still deliver the mail in many remote regions of this Himalayan kingdom, Bhutan’s postage stamps remain world-renowned in the philatelic community. Colorful, creative and collectible, Bhutan’s stamp launch in the 1960s of the world’s most innovative stamps not only caused a sensation each time they were released, but more importantly were valued by Bhutan as its chief revenue producer for many years.  Prior to the 1960s, Bhutan had remained closed to the outside world. Then in 1962, Bhutan released its first international postal stamps and began its postal program. This came about through the partnership and innovation with an old friend to Bhutan, an energetic and pioneering entrepreneur, Burt Todd, who was also the first American to enter Bhutan. Postage stamps became the vehicle through which Bhutan could begin to open its doors and be internationally recognized as a sovereign nation amidst two huge superpowers – China to the north and India to the south.  The most infamous of them all were the Bhutan record stamps. These stamps played the Royal Bhutan Anthem, folk-songs and a short history of Bhutan.  Pretty serious, huh?  Vinny and I had our own stamps made and mailed postcards back home to our families.  When in Bhutan, I guess…

After we put our faces on stamps, we visited The Authentic Bhutanese Crafts Bazaar situated in the centre of Thimphu town.  It is a mile-long row of shops made of bamboo and other eco-friendly material. There are about eighty four stalls in total and almost all shopkeepers are women with the men folk helping them with the more strenuous duties. The beauty of the products lies in their original craftsmanship and in their indigenousness. The shops were allotted to these womenfolk on the condition that they would only sell products which were produced in Bhutan and not import products from other countries.  The ladies are helpful, courteous and very obliging while you browse through their wares. A very pleasant experience for those just window shopping.

 

Even their library was incredibly beautiful from the outside, exemplifying the traditional Buddhist architecture like the rest of the city.  As we slowly walked up and down the aisles of books and books and books, you can’t help but notice that about 95% of them are on Buddhism with the other 5% sharing the social sciences and history categories.  The library is also home to the world’s largest published book (certified by Guinness World Records) about one of the world’s smallest countries.  This book, titled Bhutan, is over five by seven feet, includes 114 pages and weighs about 133 pounds. It is a visual odyssey across the kingdom that took over 40,000 photographs throughout four extensive expeditions by helicopter, mountain ponies, trekking with packhorses and yaks, and journeys by caravan on far-flung roads.  Only 500 copies were printed and in order to obtain this book, you had to make a $15,000 donation where proceeds fund Bhutanese schools.

Last on our Thimphu tour, was Tashichho Dzong  or the “Fortress of Splendid Religion”.  It was first constructed in 1216 A.D but after a fire in 1771 and an earthquake in 1897, it was rebuilt in 1902.  Then, when the capital of Bhutan was moved to Thimphu in 1961, it was renovated and enlarged using neither nails nor written plans.  Tashichho Dzong has been the seat of the government since 1962 and presently houses the throne room and offices of the king, the secretariat and the ministries of home affairs and finance. Other government departments are housed in buildings nearby.  We couldn’t enter until after 5:30pm because all of the government officials were still conducting business.  At night, it lit up with red lights and it was oh so beautiful.

The next morning we checked out of the Peaceful Hotel around 8:30am and headed to the Punakha Valley, which is about a three hour drive.  See you there!

 

 

 

Before I go into great detail about what we did each day while in Bhutan, I wanted to provide you with some background on this fascinating country since most people have never even heard of it.  In my bias opinion, there truly is nowhere else in the world like Bhutan.  Not because of their landscape or their food or their people or their history but solely because of their values.  Marketing campaigns read “Happiness is a Place”, ”Almost Heaven” and ”Where Happiness Matters the Most”.  After spending seven days here, I can honestly say these slogans aren’t just a way to lure foreigners to visit.  The Bhutanese practice what they preach and what they preach, we should all start to practice.

In the age when not even a secretive communist state is spared from the Internet, Bhutan remains one of the most mysterious lands in the world.  However, since allowing their first tourist to enter in 1974, it is slowly opening itself up, one smile at a time.  Unlike other countries who have lost their culture and traditions to mass tourism, Bhutan is doing everything in their power to preserve what they are so proud of while still providing a glimpse into what their everyday lives entail.  One has to experience Bhutan first-hand in order to fully understand how they have managed to turn a fairytale dream into a living reality.  In the end, what’s the point of having pockets full of money, houses full of stuff and garages full of cars if you are not happy?  And happiness is all that matters in this magical place known as Bhutan.

Here are some educational facts for you to understand just how special and unique this place is:

• Bhutan is reputed for pioneering a concept, known as Gross National Happiness, that places people (and not material wealth) at the center of its developmental values.
• Only 750,000 people have the privilege to call Bhutan home.
• Surrounded by the Himalayas and sandwiched between China and India, Bhutan is a landlocked country.
• Bhutan’s Royal Family is a bit different than other Royal Families.  Princes don’t need to wait for their fathers to pass on to become King.  Princes become Kings whenever their fathers feel like handing over the throne.
• Bhutan is currently on their fifth King, who is about thirty six and is married to a woman who is only twenty six.  They just gave birth to a baby son, Bhutan’s new prince, in February 2016.
• The fourth King married four sisters and had ten children in total.
• The third King became King at the age of seventeen when his father, the second King, suddenly died of a heart attack while on business in India at the age of forty four.
• The Kings are worshipped as if they are Gods.  Photos of them are in every house, at every restaurant, in every hotel, on roadside billboards and so forth.
• Thimphu (population 100,000) is the economic, religious and government center of the country, residence of the Royal family and one of the only capital cities in the world with no traffic lights.
• The entire country is served by only one international airport, which is located in the city of Paro.
• There only two airlines that fly to Bhutan, which are Druk Air and Royal Bhutan.
• Only eight pilots in the world are certified to fly into Bhutan, as the runway is small and the airplane cuts pretty close to the mountains during landing.
• Buddhism is the official religion with Hinduism the second popular faith.
• In order to visit Bhutan, you have to go with a tour group that has been approved by the Bhutanese Tourism Board.  The tour group will apply for your visa on your behalf.  You cannot do this on your own.
• There is a minimum tariff per day per person of $200 during low season and $250 in high season.  This tariff includes lodging, three meals a day, entrance to most sites in addition to a private guide, driver and vehicle for your entire duration.
• In 1974, the United Nations recognized Bhutan as a country.
• In 1999, Bhutan became one of the last countries in the world to introduce internet services and lift the ban of television.  Even today, there is only one state owned televised channel.
• In 2006, the fourth King declared his intentions of making Bhutan into a parliamentary democracy.
• In 2008, the first democratic elections took place.
• Today, as a constitutional monarchy, the King is the head of the State and as a parliamentary democracy, the Prime Minister runs the Country as the head of the government.
• In 2010, it became the first country in the world to ban tobacco and tobacco products.
• In 2014, the first major global hotel group to start in Bhutan was Starwood.
• To this day, there are still no chain establishments such as McDonalds, Starbucks, 7-11, Baskin Robbins, Subway, etc.  It remains undeveloped from the outside world.
• Education is completely free from elementary school up to continued education.
• Medical services are completely free. When the doctors in Bhutan can’t perform a specific procedure, they will pay for that patient to fly to India to get the appropriate attention they need.
• The phallus, or penis, is seen as a precious treasure that gives life and wards off evil. It is a cultural, spiritual and religious symbol.  Therefore, big wooden red phalluses are typically hung at the entrance of traditional houses.
• Polygamy and polyandry (when a woman has more than one husband) are surprisingly legal in Bhutan, although they are not common these days.
• There are twenty different districts throughout Bhutan and twenty four different dialects.
• Bhutan is the world’s only carbon sink, meaning it absorbs more CO2 than it gives out. It sells hydro-electrical power, making it the only country whose largest export is renewable energy.
• 72% of the country is forested. In fact, it is in the country’s constitution to keep 60% of its land forested. Respect for the environment, the eco system and all species is a serious matter in Bhutan. Anyone caught killing an endangered species, faces the harsh sentence of life in prison.
• Thimpu, Bhutan’s capital, has been drastically growing over the last decade with a lot of new modern buildings.  However, all buildings are mandated to maintain the same aesthetic traditional look of the Buddhist architecture and can be no taller than six stories high.

Here are some random facts as well:

• Dzongkha, the national language (a derivation of the Tibetan language, Choikd)
• Kuzuzangpola, meaning hello and well wishes
• Log Jay Gay, meaning goodbye and we will meet again
• Men wear a gho, which is a long gown belted at the waist
• Women wear an ankle-length dress called kira, which is mostly hand woven with rich traditional patterns
• Drinking age is 18
• The average life expectancy in Bhutan is 66 years for men and 70 years for women
• Raven is the national bird
• Takin is the national animal
• Swallowtail is the national butterfly
• Blue Poppy is the national flower
• Cypress is the national tree
• Archery is the national sport
• Butter tea is the national tea/drink
• Ngultrum is the national currency (introduced in 1974 it is pegged with the Indian rupee)
• There is only one escalator in the entire country and it is in a Thimpu shopping mall.
• There is only one double lane road in the entire country and it is in Thimpu.
• In 2015, Bhutan set a Guinness World Record by planting almost 50,000 trees in just one hour. Tree planting is popular in the country because they are seen as a symbol of long life, beauty and compassion.
• In 2016, the first and only helicopter in the entire country made its debut.
• Agriculture is its major industry with rice, fruit and dairy industry (yaks).
• Plastic bags have been banned in Bhutan since 1999.
• Bhutan has the world’s highest unclimbed peak, Gangkhar Puensum, a mountain so sacred by the Bhutanese that the government has banned mountaineering on any peak above 19,685 feet.

“Here in this tiny kingdom where luxuries like television and Internet were only recently introduced, where villages and communities still live in a time warp of the old age and where smiling people walk down the streets leisurely”, you can’t help but have a warm fuzzy feeling inside. “A country where mysticism meets reality, where legend is history, magic is science and reincarnation a fact of life”.  Bhutan is not perfect, nothing is, but it sure has its core values in order and for that, I fell in love.

*Most of this information has been provided by Bhutan Swallowtail, the tour group we went with. 

Saturday, March 12, was a day I had been looking forward to for quite some time.  When I started doing research for this trip back in October, I kept reading over and over again that Pokhara was one of the best places in the world to go paragliding.  The main reason for this is because of the incredible mountain views with supporting factors being stable thermals, convenient take-off and landing zones and the safety of a large lake below you.  It didn’t take much convincing for me to be convinced I absolutely had to do this.  Luckily, Jennifer and Vinny were both on board as well.  You only live once, right?  When I turned twenty five, I went sky diving with my friend Lindsey down in San Diego as a way to celebrate making it a quarter of a century.  It sure was an exhilarating experience and I always knew I wanted to do it again. For now, paragliding will fill that craving.

In the morning, it was pretty overcast. We all had high hopes the clouds would soon burn off and the sun would start to brightly shine, welcoming us to its sky with open arms (or open rays I guess).  Every hour I was doing my “come out to play sunshine dance” because how could something l’d been so excited about for so long not go perfectly?

Around 11am, Phoenix Paragliding (owned by an Austrian husband and a Nepalese wife) came to pick us up at Hotel Middle Path.  We swung by their offices about ten minutes away, filled out some paperwork, signed our lives away and then drove up a steep hill, higher and higher and higher and higher above ground, until we finally reached Sarangkot Mountain, which is where we will be jumping off from.  Literally, jumping off.  Jumping off a cliff that is.  Are we crazy?  The owner, Jochen, wanted to wait a little while until the wind picked up a bit and with the optimistic thought that it would get a tad bit clearer with every passing minute.  Unfortunately, unlike that morning we went to the Taj Mahal, it never really cleared up. I was so bummed I wasn’t going to get the full experience of seeing the various Himalayan ranges.  I wanted to scream to the weather gods, “why are you doing this to me!!!!!!!!!” but then I took a step back (luckily not a step forward or else I wouldn’t be writing this right now), observed everything around me and realized who cares if the weather isn’t perfect.  You are about to go paragliding, in Nepal, with two very important people in your life by your side.  What else can one need?  I’m a lucky girl to be here and if I have to provide my own sunshine, so be it.

My pilot was the Austrian owner while Vinny’s pilot was French and Jennifer’s was Japanese (you can slightly seem them in the photo above to the right).  Very ethnically diverse staff they have.  It was a United Nations party thousands of feet above sea level.  Once we got the green light to begin the pre-flight preparations, it was go time.  No turning back now.  The three of us were carefully dressed in helmets and harnesses and were given very simple directions.  When they say hit it, you walk, run, run, run and once you no longer have the ground underneath (ahhhhhhhh), keep your legs in running position until they say relax.  At that moment, it was smooth sailing.  I just sat back, let my legs loosely dangle in mid-air like spaghetti noodles off of a fork, observed all the incredible sights from high in the sky, smiled for the GoPro camera and absolutely loved every minute I was gracefully soaring like a bird.  If there was a theme song for this experience it would be Tom Petty’s, Free Falling.  “And I’m freeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, freeeeeee falling”!

The whole flight was only twenty minutes due to the lack of wind to keep us up but it sure was fun while it lasted.  As we glided over the lake, we did some crazy spins (on purpose, don’t worry) and my stomach dropped it liked it was hot.  It’s that feeling you get when you go on a rollercoaster and it suddenly dips faster than you can handle.  Such an adrenaline rush.  But in a good way.  The landing was pretty easy as well.  There was a large open grass field that you basically run for a few steps on then your mission is successfully complete.  Just a typical Saturday, no big deal.

After we celebrated with our two feet proudly on the ground and patted ourselves on the back for surviving, we headed to lunch at Cafe 17 French Bakery, which was in town and recommended by the folks at Phoenix Paragliding.  It was a very small, simple, sweet little place that only had a few menu options.  We sat outside, enjoyed some of their fresh homemade bread and then asked for the check.  Usually when this step in the process happens, the waiter brings a printed or written piece of paper that lists out what you ordered, how much it was, then adds in tax and sometimes service charge.  Well, not here.  The waiter came back with a calculator that read 675.  HA!  This was priceless.  Definitely a first.  I just love the simplicity and they are saving a tree so go them.

For the rest of the afternoon, Jennifer and I walked along the lake while Vinny chilled back at the hotel.  We ended up at a place called Bamboo Cafe, which was right on the water, and ordered fancy “mocktails” (cocktails without the alcohol, don’t judge) and a butterscotch cake with ice cream.  Such a random combination,  but who cares, we can have our cake and eat it too.  We sat outside reminiscing on countless childhood memories that would sporadically pop into our minds.  And there sure were some classic ones indeed.  When you have literally known someone your entire life it’s so incredible to remember the good old days when life was so much simpler than it is now.  Almost every birthday, every holiday (Easter, Fourth of July, Halloween, Christmas Eve, etc.) and any other excuse our parents could think of was spent together ever since we were born.

That night, we all had dinner at Busy Bee Cafe, which considers themselves “a place like nowhere else”.  When we first got there, it was pretty quiet, just a few other people.  But by 9pm, it was packed.  People were smoking hookah, drinking beer and there were random sports being televised on big screens such as cricket, badminton and European soccer.  But the best thing about this night was the live Nepalese cover band of about four guys.  They sang everything and anything including a reggae version of Adele’s “Someone Like You”, Maroon 5, Oasis, Pearl Jam, 4 Non Blondes, Kings of Leon, Red Hot Chili Peppers and so many others.  The three of us just sat there for a few hours and sang along, out loud, as if we were the only ones in the restaurant.  So much fun.  Definitely a night to remember.

Today, March 13, was our last day in Pokhara.  We hired a driver to take us to two fairly random sights a bit further away.  Sundari hilltop, which was real life, no tourism influence.  Unkept roads,  tiny villages and locals going about their everyday routines.

Begnas Lake, which was a very rural non-touristic area that resembled life back in the 1800’s.  Not that I was alive then but what I’ve at least read about in books and seen in photos.

When we got back to town, we walked to Boomerang for lunch, wandered around the other side of Pokhara (which seemed a little more upscale and less backpacker-ish), found a nice park where locals were playing soccer and as we were heading back to our hotel, it started to downpour. Raining cats and dogs.  We took cover in a nice mans jewelry shop hoping it would stop in a few minutes.  The guy didn’t even ask us to buy anything in return, he just wanted to help.  I just love everyone in this country.  Some people hid under trees and in random shops while others weren’t phased by getting drenched so they continued on with their day.  After about thirty minutes it calmed down a bit so we hopped in a cab and made our way home.

Our last supper was back at Cafe Concerto because we all loved it so much.  And Vinny wore his new Nepali hat, which at least three local GUYS told him he looked very handsome.  I have to agree.

Pokhara was such a chill, calming, almost detoxing place.  You can’t help but feel relaxed here.  Maybe too relaxed at times.  Four nights was a little long but it provided us all with a chance to go slow.  It was fairly touristy in certain areas but there was plenty of things to do and see that allowed us to escape those massive crowds from time to time.  If I could do it all over again, I would most likely do one less night in Pokhara and add one night to Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha himself.  But if we always knew then what we know now, life wouldn’t be half as exciting.  You live and you learn and if you don’t learn, you aren’t really living.

Tomorrow we will be heading back to Kathmandu, which is about six hours by car, on the same narrow canyon like road we took to Chitwan and Pokhara.  Oh geez, here goes nothing.  From there, Jennifer will head back to LA that night and we will head to Bhutan the next morning.  The one thing I am going to miss the most is picking up Jennifer on our walks through Patan or yelling from across the balcony in Chitwan or calling her in her room in Pokhara.  We sure had an incredible eleven days of sightseeing, adventure, eating, laughing and enjoying the simple things in life.   Miss your face already, Jaye!

Overall, I loved Nepal.  Just like India, it can be dirty, crowded, polluted and sadly very poverty stricken but it definitely has its adoring charm, its scenic beauty, its calm demeanor and its incredible history.  I think we had a perfect balance of city life, rural life and nature life.  It will continue to boggle my mind that electricity is so hard to find on a consistent basis.  It goes on and off, day or night and you never know when it will happen or how long it will be for.  It’s just crazy how something you never had to think twice about at home has become such a rare commodity, almost a luxury, here in Nepal.

In the end, it was the people that really won my heart over.  They are genuinely and unconditionally nice, welcoming, accommodating, happy and overall, good spirited.  Whether it was the managers at our hotels/AirBnB’s, our cab drivers, waiters at restaurants or random locals we met on the streets, everyone was just amazing.  And to think they are still like this despite their hardships is beyond inspiring.  Less is more and they are the perfect examples of that.

Until next time, Namaste Nepal…