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Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Email to Friends: One Night in Bangkok and Now Burma‏

The trip over was actually pretty painless. Empty flight from Seattle to Tokyo, so I got all three seats to myself and got some much needed sleep. Short layover in Tokyo (I should have gotten a picture of the airport bathroom choices of stalls... squatty potty, regular toilets, spray-your butt toilets, and some kind of family toilet where you can strap your baby in to face you while you pee). Then Tokyo to Bangkok. Spent the night in the Floral Shire "Resort" which was basic but close and clean and had a free shuttle to and from the airport with breakfast for $20 when booked over the Internet. Woke up and wandered the neighborhood in the morning. Slowly slipped into vacation mode by watching butterflies on tropical flowers, checking out the hotel neighbor's random caged animal menagerie (chipmunks and different kinds of birds), and eating street food with a bunch of taxi drivers on the curbside (chicken grilled between a split piece of lemongrass). Found a 7-11 and went to see what flavor of Slurpees they had, but alas, no Slurpees. Headed back to the big airport to catch the shuttle to the little airport across town for my flight to Yangon, Burma.

Burma is beautiful. The people are friendly, welcoming, and helpful. Yangon is an interesting mix of old and new architecture, with people of all different cultures. I have met local people from India, other areas of SE Asia, and Pakistan. It feels very safe. My hotel, Beautyland II, has great staff and it is clean and centrally located near lots of yummy street food stands, Sule Paya, and several markets. I spent the day wandering the city streets and markets and chatting with the money changers and vendors, taking in all the sights and sounds (and food) that I possibly can. My jet lag isn't too bad, but could just be travel excitement.

In the afternoon, I headed over to see the amazing Shwedagon Pagoda. I have always been in awe at pictures of this Pagoda and it is even more impressive in person. It actually took my breath away when I first walked in from the entrance. The Pagoda is huge and gilded in gold with Buddhas of all shapes and sizes. It made for a very relaxing afternoon, watching monks of all ages in prayer and listening to all of the chimes and bells. One man said to me "You must like it here because you are smiling so big!" He was right. And not shockingly, I get the "where are you from?" question here even more than at home. And I seem to confuse people with how I am Vietnamese and American.

Yangon has been fun, but after seeing Shwedagon, I am ready to move on. I am not a big fan of cities when traveling, Yangon is expensive, and it is pouring buckets (people are very concerned that I don't use an umbrella and some have even offered to walk with me so I can stay under theirs). Anyhoo, after talking with others, I have changed up my itinerary a bit. I am on an overnight bus tomorrow to Inle Lake. I will stay around there for a few days and then try to bus to Bagan to see the temples and then boat to Mandalay, if possible. Not sure how the Internet will be outside of the city, so don't worry if I don't check in for a little bit.

Hopefully, by the next time I talk with you, I will have learned how to take a shower in the typical SE Asia all-functioning in one space bathroom without getting the toilet paper wet. At least there IS toilet paper... so far.

Love,
Betsy

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