Barefeet and Bruises In Bagan!

As I am drafting this blog, hot air balloons are flying over me heading for the sunrise in Bagan. Back to my thoughts..we left Luang Prabang with a 6am tuk tuk pick up and on our way to the airport, we spotted hundreds of monks in the midst of their call to alms ceremony. Miles of monks walking down a street, single file in the morning fog. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect way to end our time at this special place. After three back to back flights on three different airlines, we landed in NYU, the airport for Bagan. We walked out expecting throngs of folks vying for our taxi need but nope...crickets... this is different. Finally, a kind local came over and asked where we were going, we gave him the name of our hotel in Nyaung U and asked him how much. About fifteen minutes later and $k5000 (k1000 = $1 US), we arrived at the Zfreeti.

I'm not sure where to start with this place. I stood at the top of the Shwesandaw Paya Pagoda waiting for the sun to rise thinking how crazy it is that I am a small being surrounded by 4000 sacred stupas, pagodas and temples in Bagan, Myanmar. The best way to see the temples is by bike so Noreen and I shelled out $2 US each to rent a bike for the day. I named my bike Fixie, I figured fitting for not having any gears. We rode out to Old Bagan where we visited the Ananda Pahto temple and then settled down at the Be Kind To Animals The Moon (highly recommend - best guacamole and pappadoms) restaurant for lunch and this is where our Bagan adventure really began. There was a lot going on at the restaurant, notably the yellow nail polished woman with a nasty attitude sitting at the next table with her husband. Apparently, the atmosphere of Bagan did not suit her. We sat there listening to her complain about wanting to go back to Japan (she's not Japanese), rudely commanding the wait staff bring her a new candle as she's getting "eaten by flies" and complain about her pasta dish. Three things: these flies don't bite, her husband must have one heck of a mute button and who orders pasta in Bagan and expects it to be top notch? After ordering our food, we pulled out the map to figure out which temples to tackle. Enter Maung Po who works at the restaurant or so we thought. We don't really know. Anyway, he was very gracious at answering all our questions. As long as he kept answering, I kept asking! It turns out that he works as a guide on the side and after some further conversation, we decided to hire him for the afternoon. I asked him how much and he said being we are backpackers, he will charge us karma. This isn't my first rodeo and while karma as payment is a nice thought, how much would good karma cost? He said his standard rate for tourists is $40 US for the day so Noreen and I had it in our heads to give him $10 each which in hindsight, turned out to be too much. So after lunch, Maung Po led us with his scooter through the little side roads to his favorite temples with story telling to go with it. At one of the temples, he even read my palm. I'm still trying to piece together the details of my palm reading as I'm sure he is still trying to piece together the Asian American concept. "You look Asian." He said. "I am Asian." I responded. "But you sound American." He continued. "I am American." I responded. Our time ended with him leaving us at his secret sunset temple where we were intercepted by two 11 year old ninjas, Koko and Mao Mao. Koko came out ninja style with his flashlight and said, "this way!" He led is up some dark steps and scales up this ledge prompting us to follow. "Give me your bag, put your foot here then here...give me your hand." he prompts. It's a lot of trust we are putting on an 11 year old. We were later joined by a pair from France and a gal from the Netherlands. The funniest moment was when Koko was trying to get Netherlands to buy his postcards and she said she bought a set for k2000 and he gasped, "bad business! It's k5000!" We broke out in laughter. It was a private party of five travelers, a random guide who later helped us down the ledge and the two ninjas. I wouldn't have experienced a sunset any other way.

One evening, we hired a long tail boat out on the jetty to take us out for a sunset viewing on the river. We had some extra time so our boat hire took us across the river to this family farm compound built of stilts and sleeping mats. Actually, to say its built on stilts is an over statement. The little girl and her older sister were eager to show us their house. I've seen a lot of poor living conditions through my years of travel but this one struck me in a different way. It's one of the experiences I am still trying to grasp and process- the poor living conditions. These people really have nothing yet they have everything if it was only judged by the laughter of the little girl that greeted us.

Our last day here was just pure comedy. The morning started with Noreen at the ATM testing if she could withdrawal more than $20US, she pressed the option for $300US, cash started spilling out and she freaked out. She decided to reenact the whole thing for me and accidentally pressed the option again for $300US. She's my black market exchange bank now! For exploring, we decided to rent e-bikes (scooter/bike hybrid) for the day. Folks on the road made it look easy the other day and the lady I negotiated with said we'd be fine so we went for it. Well, if fine met two falls for each of us including a face plant in the side roads dirt for yours truly then we did fine! I had my first initial fall in front of the e- bike renter when I was trying to make a turn in the dirt. She insisted..it's ok! Noreen's falls included pieces of her bike on the road but leave it to the good bystander samaritans to help piece it back together with twigs and twine (no joke!) while I stood on the sidelines cracking up! We made it to our secret sunset pagoda in one piece and made some serious and memorable postcard and painting dealings prior to sunset with Zozo, Maomao and Koko. We met a fellow American by way of New York named Jeff at our sunset spot. This is his third trip to Myanmar, the first being in 2006 and says not too much has changed in Bagan. He told us he fell off a pagoda yesterday so it was fitting I invited him to join us for dinner...table for three... battered and bruised! We were relieved to return the heavy e-bikes. After all, who knew e-biking was a contact sport?! There might have been some lost in translation instructions... language barrier and all...or pure clumsiness. I imagine renters will start including insurance deposits for their bike rentals in the near future. We met a couple from Sweden who told us about another girl that fell off her e- bike twice.. maybe it's an initiation?!

Bagan has been such a beautiful experience. The people here are just so kind and gracious. Zozo thanked us for helping his family when we bought his art (best $13US I've spent), Maung Po's cousin Aye Ye gifted us some lacquer jewelry boxes from her shop, people are eager to talk to practice their English, people learn languages (English, French, etc) from interacting with travelers, people are eager to help, the feeling of just sitting among such beautiful history watching sunrises and sunsets...I just want to bottle this all up! I'm going to miss climbing pagodas and temples in my barefeet in Bagan.

Luang Prabang...Brown Rivers...Blue Waterfalls!

At last! After 27 hours of travel, I finally arrived in Luang Prabang, Laos. Noreen (who I reunited with at BKK) and I got off the propeller plane like zombies and as we were walking at a leisurely pace across the tarmac, it dawned on me that we should beat everyone else to the visa line! We picked up the pace and was able to de-plane, walk across the tarmac, secure our visas and was on our tuk tuk taxi to our guesthouse in less than 10 minutes! Shortly after, we arrived at the Manichan Guesthouse where we were greeted by the owner, Andy. "Hey One!" he says and then follows with, "did you get my email? Did you get that joke? Your Chinese name means one!" Ha ha, funny funny. Andy is from Boston who followed a woman to China many years ago and things didn't pan out so he moved to Laos for another woman. I might have just made the latter up but makes sense to me as he runs the guesthouse with his Lao wife.

Luang Prabang..such a lazy slow paced town. I would have never thought. We spent out first day walking our zombie-selves in circles, getting my photographic memory on and just exploring the streets. Day two, Andy arranged a tuk tuk to take us to the Kuang Si waterfalls about 30km away which I highly recommend for anyone coming to this part of the world. The waters while frigid was the bluest of waters I had ever seen and the most refreshing (and cold) of swims I've ever had. The pre-arranged price for our tuk tuk was $220,000 kip is which about $27 US and that is the set price. The more people you put on it, the cheaper it becomes as you split the pre-set cost. On our way back, this American guy and his South Korean wife needed a lift back so he hopped in with us. I heard our driver quote them $50.000 kip each so then I quickly hopped out and asked him to re-quote the price for Noreen and I. Technically, he wasn't supposed to accept new passengers as he is considered a private hire but I wouldn't have left the couple stranded. Travelers help other travelers out (just like the German guys that said "don't do it" as we were about to hop into a place for lunch)! After a bit of a semi comical exchange between me explaining to him that I'm not letting him over charge us and the couple making sure they still had a ride, we came to the agreement that the price for Noreen and I would come down to $150,000 kip. I get back on the tuk tuk and Noreen asks, "what just happened?!" We will not be gipped!

While having breakfast one of the mornings, Andy tells us that a guy from Germany who was traveling with a kayak stayed with him but has now been reported missing. Andy said the embassy was on it and that he has been getting inquiries from his family and the only thing Andy remembers is that the German was going to kayak down the Mekong. Whatever the slightest chance is, I hope he is alive and ok.

Aside from the morning market where locals buy their produce and the night markets where locals price gauge travelers. One of the happenings this town is known for is the monks call to alms in the early mornings. Monks go around collecting foods from the generosity of locals as a ceremony of giving. However, leave it to tourism to ruin the whole experience with companies transporting vans of tourists who go all out paparazzi in the monk's faces during this meditative ceremony. Noreen and I observed from afar with our zoom lens. We actually quietly followed their route from a respectable distance. I called it level 1 stalking.

The weather in Laos has been pleasant. It's foggy cold in the mornings until about 11am and then the welcomed warmth from the sun hits and you just want to look up at the skies and smile in content. The  the raging afternoon heat really kicks in around 1pm and that's when you duck in for $6/hour foot massage! At least that's what I've done. The streets aren't overly crowded, I would say empty at times but pretty lively over at the backpacking hot spot. Crowds here tend to be on the older side and by older I mean at least 30's..not a whole lotta 20's. Unlike my observation in Vietnam, traveling couples here actually seem like they're having a good time with eachother! I've asked Andy numerous times if he was sure this is high season that it's now become a joke. Whenever I say, "Hey Andy..." He'll say, "Yes Yi, it's high season!" Food in Luang Prabang is abundant and cheap! We've been eating well at lunch averaging $6 or $7 each and then hitting the Night Market food on a stick for dinner averaging about $2 each. Noreen offered to pay out guesthouse bill if I are a whole grilled bat on a stick but I prefer the $80 bill however tasty Mr. Bat might be. Beer Lao hits at about $1.25 a bottle..no complaints here!

Sitting outdoors overlooking the Nam Khan river enjoying some drinks on a lazy afternoon, I say to Noreen, "All we're missing is some good old slow jams from the 1980's!" Noreen says, "I feel like I'm dressed from the 80s. What was I thinking?!" When traveling in SE Asia...!

Prior to coming to Luang Prabang, I was uncharacteristically stressed about situations that had moved to an "out of my control" phase. Leave it to 4 days at this town and the monks to instill the calmness and perspective back in me. It actually also means I waited too long to take this vacation!

Our last day happened to be my birthday. Andy and the breakfast table which consisted of folks from LA and Portland serenaded me in birthday song with a chocolate crepe. Noreen and I pampered ourselves at the Burasari spa- a 2 hour massage for $75. Excessive for Laos prices but a steal compared to where we are from! Here's to another fabulous 365 days around the sun! May I strive to live each day less out of habit but more out of intent.

Tomorrow, we take a morning flight out of Luang Prabang then we're on three back to back flights with different airlines to get ourselves to Bagan, Myanmar where I will lift the shopping veto I've put on Noreen! Our bags have to make carry on for the back to back flights: Luang Prabang to Bangkok. Bangkok to Yangon. Yangon to Bagan. Wish us luck!