This morning when visiting the old favourite Tokyo Donut, to access e-mail and look at facebook I get a signal and then every time I try to do anything the signal disappears. This is despite the fact that everyone around me seems to be picking up a signal fine. No worries, I trot down the road to an Internet cafe and access it there. E- mail, facebook etc etc. I was there an hour. Tonight, I pop in, 'no connection sir' despite the fact that the place is full. I trot back to the Tokyo Donut, same issue, pick a signal and then it drops... On the way back to the hostel I once again call into the internet cafe. 'No connection' I am politely told as I'm shown the door. ' There will be no connection all evening'. Hmmmm.
Anyway, I'm all set for tomorrow and the visit to Bagan. The manager at the guest house has not only sorted me out some accommodation at $15 per night. He has also only charged me for the nights that I have actually stayed in Yangon rather than what I booked for. I have to say he is so helpful.
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Friday 8 April 2011
A perfect day
My guide was meeting me at 8.00 am. Today I had all morning to visit the temples a little further afield and see what the local village life was like. After lunch I got a 'relax' and then at five we were going down onto the river to see sunset from a boat on the Ayewaddy or Irawaddy as it used to be known.
I have to say, after almost 8 months in South East Asia this was a perfect day. Imagine, laid in the back of a horse drawn cart, the early morning, not too hot but, like the queen of fucking sheeba. Trotting gently down sandy lanes. Beautiful flowering bushes, sweet smelling and temples on either side as far as the eye can see. Now that is perfection. It was a perfectly un-rushed morning. After a couple of impressive temple stops I suggested a hydration break. I took a coke, Pho took a 'shark' the Myanmar equivalent of 'red bull' . After this short break I was treated to a tour of the local village. It was fascinating, I got to make peanut oil, driving a bull! I got to make the Myanmar, sunscreen I also got to get dressed in the traditional garb.
My guide, a young girl showed me around the village showing me all the area of interest. At the end she got me dressed up in the Myanmar clothes which they just happened to have. Ha ha , obviously this was the Myanmar equivalent of the Thai tailors or Indian carpet shop, but at least this had some intrinsic interest with a visit around the village first. The girl was also pretty forthright in asking for a 'present'. Is the equivalent of a tip or, in governmental circles, a bribe. I obliged...
I took my guide for lunch, one again he picked the most expensive thing on the menu. And a beer too. I tried the local brew which I have to say, was quite nice..
In the afternoon I relaxed, or to be more precise, slept. My guide was due back at 5:00pm for my boat tour down the river to see Bagan from the Irrawaddy river and watch the sun set over the stupa and temples
I did get a special deal on the boat ride as it was the guides friend. It was quite a pleasant evening, balmy with a beautiful sunset. The perfect end to a perfect day. As we were about to leave my guide sat me in front of a shop and disappeared on a motorbike. He was gone about 30 minutes. I did wondered what the hell was happening, but I had his horse and cart, so he had to come back at some time. When he did finally arrive back he gave me a gift. I had only bought one of the sand paintings the day before although I had my eye in two till the vendor bumped up the price. The second one which I had taken a liking to was presented to me by the guide as a gift. So kind of him. Can't help feeling that I must have been ripped off by the vendor at the temple though!
Before I turned in for the night we went for a beer in a 'local' place. The beer was quite a lot cheaper and also the food was good. We had roast potatoes and garlic and the guide had brought along some roasted chicken. It was delicious. On the first day I had been approached by a girl from Oregon to ask about the guide and as I was Uzi gong mine for only the morning recommended him to her. Funnily enough she turned up and had a couple of beers with us at the bar. I'm really not sure where she had tipped up from. Anyway, I was in my bed for 11:00 knackered. I had a long trip back to Yangon the following day.
I had paid the guide with a decent tip. He gave me a hug and said he'd remember me forever. We had discussed my potential return to Myanmar sometime later in the year. It is a possibility, there is lots more to see and I'm pretty sure the guide would oblige.
It was a great few days, excellent value for money......
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
I have to say, after almost 8 months in South East Asia this was a perfect day. Imagine, laid in the back of a horse drawn cart, the early morning, not too hot but, like the queen of fucking sheeba. Trotting gently down sandy lanes. Beautiful flowering bushes, sweet smelling and temples on either side as far as the eye can see. Now that is perfection. It was a perfectly un-rushed morning. After a couple of impressive temple stops I suggested a hydration break. I took a coke, Pho took a 'shark' the Myanmar equivalent of 'red bull' . After this short break I was treated to a tour of the local village. It was fascinating, I got to make peanut oil, driving a bull! I got to make the Myanmar, sunscreen I also got to get dressed in the traditional garb.
My guide, a young girl showed me around the village showing me all the area of interest. At the end she got me dressed up in the Myanmar clothes which they just happened to have. Ha ha , obviously this was the Myanmar equivalent of the Thai tailors or Indian carpet shop, but at least this had some intrinsic interest with a visit around the village first. The girl was also pretty forthright in asking for a 'present'. Is the equivalent of a tip or, in governmental circles, a bribe. I obliged...
I took my guide for lunch, one again he picked the most expensive thing on the menu. And a beer too. I tried the local brew which I have to say, was quite nice..
In the afternoon I relaxed, or to be more precise, slept. My guide was due back at 5:00pm for my boat tour down the river to see Bagan from the Irrawaddy river and watch the sun set over the stupa and temples
I did get a special deal on the boat ride as it was the guides friend. It was quite a pleasant evening, balmy with a beautiful sunset. The perfect end to a perfect day. As we were about to leave my guide sat me in front of a shop and disappeared on a motorbike. He was gone about 30 minutes. I did wondered what the hell was happening, but I had his horse and cart, so he had to come back at some time. When he did finally arrive back he gave me a gift. I had only bought one of the sand paintings the day before although I had my eye in two till the vendor bumped up the price. The second one which I had taken a liking to was presented to me by the guide as a gift. So kind of him. Can't help feeling that I must have been ripped off by the vendor at the temple though!
Before I turned in for the night we went for a beer in a 'local' place. The beer was quite a lot cheaper and also the food was good. We had roast potatoes and garlic and the guide had brought along some roasted chicken. It was delicious. On the first day I had been approached by a girl from Oregon to ask about the guide and as I was Uzi gong mine for only the morning recommended him to her. Funnily enough she turned up and had a couple of beers with us at the bar. I'm really not sure where she had tipped up from. Anyway, I was in my bed for 11:00 knackered. I had a long trip back to Yangon the following day.
I had paid the guide with a decent tip. He gave me a hug and said he'd remember me forever. We had discussed my potential return to Myanmar sometime later in the year. It is a possibility, there is lots more to see and I'm pretty sure the guide would oblige.
It was a great few days, excellent value for money......
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Bagan, Myanmar
Thursday 7 April 2011
Bagan
The day started early. I had a pick up by taxi at 6.00am to take me to the airport and my short flight to Bagan. When the hostel owner had arranged the tour he had told me that the airline was new, new! This was only it's second day of operations. I was greeted at the check-in desk by around half a dozen people, all welcoming and smiley. I suspect I had paid over the odds for the ticket but that's Myanmar! We had driven past the shiney new international terminal, to the domestic terminal, no TV screens telling you which flights were going where, just a guy with a placard when your flight was ready to board.
While waiting to board I sat by a Buddhist monk who was on his way home for the holidays. Like most of Asia, that has a buddhist religion, their is a water festival. It has different names in different countries but basically involves pelting each other with water bombs for a whole week.
The KTZ flight was due to leave at 8.00am but, due to the airport in Nyaung U being fog bound it left at around 8.30. The flight time was around 1 hour 15 minutes on a reasonably new twin prop ATR72-500 series.
I had a front seat, it may even have been first class!!!!
Once again I was the only westerner on the flight, I would say the only white person but there was also a albino Burmese....
The airline is new, so new in fact that the flight attendant did not appear to know how to fasten his jump safety belt and after the safety briefing struggled as the plane taxied then accelerated down the runway, eventually settling for holding together with his hands with a particularly embarrassed look on his face..
Once airborne we were served with coffee and croissants. I had a spare seat next to me and across on the 2-2 configuration was an older monk who seemed incapable of doing much for himself. He handed the fan, the newspaper and his bag to the flight attendant to place on the seat by me. Maybe they don't do a great deal for themselves such is their position. The flight was uneventful save me amusing the older monk by deftly squishing a pesky mosquito which had been buzzing me for some time, the window.
The journey was clear most of the way so as we were coming into land I got an excellent view if the plains of Bagan (meaning Pagan) and the literally thousands of Stupa, Pagoda and temples. It was an awesome sight.
A taxi was waiting for me at the airport to take me to the accommodation that the hostel owner in Yangon had arranged for me. Once through the arrivals hall, having had my passport checked and paid the obligatory 10US$ for entry into the heritage site I collected my luggage and made my way towards the taxi driver who was holding a sign saying' Mr Stephen, UK, Welcome to Bagan.
The hostel was lovely, rather like a Butlins chalet overlooking a beautiful Pagoda, also named Swhedagon, glinting In the early morning sun. At a cost of 15US$ per night it was perfect!
As I was shown to my room I was approached by a guy who offered his services as a guide. He owned one of the many horse and carts that operate the area taking tourists around the 42 sq km site. I agreed a price if 10,000 kyat for the afternoon and 30 minutes later I was climbing into the back camera at the ready.
It turned out to be a perfect morning. Three hours of visiting the most spectacular sites. Forget Siem Reap. This is much better! The guide was very knowledgable and spoke excellent English.
At one of the temples I was sold a sand painting. It was quite surreal sitting in a 1000 year old temple looking at his artwork, smoking.
At the end of the tour I took my guide for lunch and a beer and we agreed on an itinerary for the following day. Over lunch of an exquisite chicken curry and rice and beer, he told me a little bit about his family, married with two sons, a wife he claimed was mad and who had run up debts of 90,000USD on the Thai lottery. That seems a bit excessive!
We also discussed a bit about the country. Like most, he was very aware that it is prohibited to speak to foreigners about politics. All his comments were caveated with 'top secret' and animating his hands in handcuffs.
His view on the new civilian government was it was the same people, they had just removed their uniforms!
He had one had four horses and carts but had needed to sell three plus all his gold to pay the debts. While having lunch a female traveller came over for a chat. She was in Myanmar for a month and had also just arrived in Bagan the previous day. I recommended him to the girls. They booked him for the afternoon and I got a lift back to the hostel in the back of a pick-up.
After a short rest I made my way across the road to the Shwedagon pagoda. There is a covered archway approaching the Pagoda, on either side are tourist shops. I was approached by a lady, eager to sell me something, then another, then another. I told them I would look on the way out and rather foolishly left my flip flops in their care. The Pagoda once again was fascinating, very very similar to the one by the same name in Yangon but equally as impressive. After sitting and waiting for the sun to go down, taking some photos, I decided to make my way back and prepare to be harassed. And harassed I was too. I had decided to separate 6000kyat and make sure each of the two girls got half by buying some useless trinket. The plan worked in part but I was then getting harassed by other storekeepers, one oven asking me to open my bag to check I had no money. In the end enough was enough and followed by yells of 'you'll promise to one back tomorrow' I left. Wandered down the road and had a beer.
By 7.00pm I was sitting outside my cheat and the guide joined me fir a cigarette. He invited me for beer. I suspect I would have been paying the bill and given there are no ATM's or credit cards I really do have to watch the money! Especially as the Burmese are particularly keen not to take USD that are not new!!
By 9.00 I was in my room writing my blog. To be posted once I'm out of the country, not that I have much choice. The Internet connections are too poor.....
Till tomorrow!!!
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
While waiting to board I sat by a Buddhist monk who was on his way home for the holidays. Like most of Asia, that has a buddhist religion, their is a water festival. It has different names in different countries but basically involves pelting each other with water bombs for a whole week.
The KTZ flight was due to leave at 8.00am but, due to the airport in Nyaung U being fog bound it left at around 8.30. The flight time was around 1 hour 15 minutes on a reasonably new twin prop ATR72-500 series.
I had a front seat, it may even have been first class!!!!
Once again I was the only westerner on the flight, I would say the only white person but there was also a albino Burmese....
The airline is new, so new in fact that the flight attendant did not appear to know how to fasten his jump safety belt and after the safety briefing struggled as the plane taxied then accelerated down the runway, eventually settling for holding together with his hands with a particularly embarrassed look on his face..
Once airborne we were served with coffee and croissants. I had a spare seat next to me and across on the 2-2 configuration was an older monk who seemed incapable of doing much for himself. He handed the fan, the newspaper and his bag to the flight attendant to place on the seat by me. Maybe they don't do a great deal for themselves such is their position. The flight was uneventful save me amusing the older monk by deftly squishing a pesky mosquito which had been buzzing me for some time, the window.
The journey was clear most of the way so as we were coming into land I got an excellent view if the plains of Bagan (meaning Pagan) and the literally thousands of Stupa, Pagoda and temples. It was an awesome sight.
A taxi was waiting for me at the airport to take me to the accommodation that the hostel owner in Yangon had arranged for me. Once through the arrivals hall, having had my passport checked and paid the obligatory 10US$ for entry into the heritage site I collected my luggage and made my way towards the taxi driver who was holding a sign saying' Mr Stephen, UK, Welcome to Bagan.
The hostel was lovely, rather like a Butlins chalet overlooking a beautiful Pagoda, also named Swhedagon, glinting In the early morning sun. At a cost of 15US$ per night it was perfect!
As I was shown to my room I was approached by a guy who offered his services as a guide. He owned one of the many horse and carts that operate the area taking tourists around the 42 sq km site. I agreed a price if 10,000 kyat for the afternoon and 30 minutes later I was climbing into the back camera at the ready.
It turned out to be a perfect morning. Three hours of visiting the most spectacular sites. Forget Siem Reap. This is much better! The guide was very knowledgable and spoke excellent English.
At one of the temples I was sold a sand painting. It was quite surreal sitting in a 1000 year old temple looking at his artwork, smoking.
At the end of the tour I took my guide for lunch and a beer and we agreed on an itinerary for the following day. Over lunch of an exquisite chicken curry and rice and beer, he told me a little bit about his family, married with two sons, a wife he claimed was mad and who had run up debts of 90,000USD on the Thai lottery. That seems a bit excessive!
We also discussed a bit about the country. Like most, he was very aware that it is prohibited to speak to foreigners about politics. All his comments were caveated with 'top secret' and animating his hands in handcuffs.
His view on the new civilian government was it was the same people, they had just removed their uniforms!
He had one had four horses and carts but had needed to sell three plus all his gold to pay the debts. While having lunch a female traveller came over for a chat. She was in Myanmar for a month and had also just arrived in Bagan the previous day. I recommended him to the girls. They booked him for the afternoon and I got a lift back to the hostel in the back of a pick-up.
After a short rest I made my way across the road to the Shwedagon pagoda. There is a covered archway approaching the Pagoda, on either side are tourist shops. I was approached by a lady, eager to sell me something, then another, then another. I told them I would look on the way out and rather foolishly left my flip flops in their care. The Pagoda once again was fascinating, very very similar to the one by the same name in Yangon but equally as impressive. After sitting and waiting for the sun to go down, taking some photos, I decided to make my way back and prepare to be harassed. And harassed I was too. I had decided to separate 6000kyat and make sure each of the two girls got half by buying some useless trinket. The plan worked in part but I was then getting harassed by other storekeepers, one oven asking me to open my bag to check I had no money. In the end enough was enough and followed by yells of 'you'll promise to one back tomorrow' I left. Wandered down the road and had a beer.
By 7.00pm I was sitting outside my cheat and the guide joined me fir a cigarette. He invited me for beer. I suspect I would have been paying the bill and given there are no ATM's or credit cards I really do have to watch the money! Especially as the Burmese are particularly keen not to take USD that are not new!!
By 9.00 I was in my room writing my blog. To be posted once I'm out of the country, not that I have much choice. The Internet connections are too poor.....
Till tomorrow!!!
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Bagan, Myanmar
Shwedagon Pagoda
We had passed this icon of Yangon as we flew into the old capital of Burma. The gold glinted in the setting sun and It looked quite magical. Nothing could prepare one for the visit though!
Take the Royal Palace in Bangkok, double it, then take away the scanners, rogues, thieves and tourists and you are new then close to the Shwedgon Pagoda. It is absolutely awesome. Visible right across Rangoon it is the one temple you MUST visit if you are in Asia.
I spent the whole afternoon there, wandering, sitting, chatting to the many monks, I even had a small snooze In one of the many small pagodas around the massive Stupa. The Burmese revere it, but Rudyard Kipling is perhaps responsible for the most evocative of descriptions.
' A beautiful winking wonder that blazed in the sun, of a shape that was neither Muslim dome nor Hindu temple spire..... The golden temple said, 'This is Burma, and it is quite unlike any land that one knows about'
For just $5, nice crisp, unfolded one if you please, I had two returned' another one please' you get a sticker and you are free to wander. The entrance is via a huge covered staircase, splendid and thriving with shops selling trinkets and offerings to Buddha. You need to remove your shoes as you enter the bottom of the staircase, this is the custom in most of the Pagoda's. Beware, if you are visiting in the heat you will likely amuse the locals by doing an impression of Dudley Moore
in '10' as the tiled floors throughout the complex are very very hot!!!
I saw just one westerner the whole afternoon. Without a doubt this is a 'must see' destination if you are in Yangon . I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of the afternoon...pictures to follow..
Yesterday I had inquired about a trip to Bagan' the plain of 4000 temples, if I am not temples out by now' I am soon going to be. As I was leaving for my morning walk the hostel manager gave me the options. Given my limited time I have elected to fly and stay in Bagan for two nights. He gave me a rough idea of the costs. I left him with $200 to sort it out.
Before the visit to Shwedagon Pagoda I had done a bit of walking around the Market areas. Once agin it was steaming hot, you really struggle to sightsee if you don't have regular 'fluid stops' in an effort to check on mail and facebook I stopped at the favourite 'Tokyo Donut' on my way there I passed a huge number of police vans and riot police parked outside a rather splendid building. To be fair, most of the police were asleep in the back of the vans but the ominous riot shields stuck on the outside of the vans suggested that there was a strong possibility of something kicking off. I'm not sure if the Internet was not working of I was being targeted, but every time I got a signal it dropped. Looking around, none of the locals appears to be having the same issue....
In the end I gave in, finished my refreshing drink and headed in search for an Internet cafe where I could at least people know I was alive. The fact that there is no cellphone coverage at all for foreigners is quite foreign!
I did find one, eventually and sent a few mails. 600kyat of 90 mins. That's about 60p
There are a couple of interesting things about Yangon. There are hundreds of Monks. Indeed, they have been the centre of a number of rebellions in recent years. Spitting is a national pastime, not ordinary spitting, gobbing after chewing on beetle nuts . This gives a huge red, very unattractive gob!!!
Letter boxes. In the crumbling tenement buildings, I guess to save posties legs they consist of bulldog clips on the end of pieces of string, attached to a bell. Your post is simply clipped on and pulled....
I was sorted for Bagan, leave at 6:00 in the morning. Flight with Air KBZ. Their motto is 'Flying beyond Expectations' I'm really not sure what that exactly means!!!!
In the afternoon I had a wander down town to the Shu Pagdoda. By ths time I was templed out, wandered back, had an early dinner and a couple of beers and an early night.
Yangon is sticky, busy and steamy. I will be pleased to get out into the countryside.
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Take the Royal Palace in Bangkok, double it, then take away the scanners, rogues, thieves and tourists and you are new then close to the Shwedgon Pagoda. It is absolutely awesome. Visible right across Rangoon it is the one temple you MUST visit if you are in Asia.
I spent the whole afternoon there, wandering, sitting, chatting to the many monks, I even had a small snooze In one of the many small pagodas around the massive Stupa. The Burmese revere it, but Rudyard Kipling is perhaps responsible for the most evocative of descriptions.
' A beautiful winking wonder that blazed in the sun, of a shape that was neither Muslim dome nor Hindu temple spire..... The golden temple said, 'This is Burma, and it is quite unlike any land that one knows about'
For just $5, nice crisp, unfolded one if you please, I had two returned' another one please' you get a sticker and you are free to wander. The entrance is via a huge covered staircase, splendid and thriving with shops selling trinkets and offerings to Buddha. You need to remove your shoes as you enter the bottom of the staircase, this is the custom in most of the Pagoda's. Beware, if you are visiting in the heat you will likely amuse the locals by doing an impression of Dudley Moore
in '10' as the tiled floors throughout the complex are very very hot!!!
I saw just one westerner the whole afternoon. Without a doubt this is a 'must see' destination if you are in Yangon . I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of the afternoon...pictures to follow..
Yesterday I had inquired about a trip to Bagan' the plain of 4000 temples, if I am not temples out by now' I am soon going to be. As I was leaving for my morning walk the hostel manager gave me the options. Given my limited time I have elected to fly and stay in Bagan for two nights. He gave me a rough idea of the costs. I left him with $200 to sort it out.
Before the visit to Shwedagon Pagoda I had done a bit of walking around the Market areas. Once agin it was steaming hot, you really struggle to sightsee if you don't have regular 'fluid stops' in an effort to check on mail and facebook I stopped at the favourite 'Tokyo Donut' on my way there I passed a huge number of police vans and riot police parked outside a rather splendid building. To be fair, most of the police were asleep in the back of the vans but the ominous riot shields stuck on the outside of the vans suggested that there was a strong possibility of something kicking off. I'm not sure if the Internet was not working of I was being targeted, but every time I got a signal it dropped. Looking around, none of the locals appears to be having the same issue....
In the end I gave in, finished my refreshing drink and headed in search for an Internet cafe where I could at least people know I was alive. The fact that there is no cellphone coverage at all for foreigners is quite foreign!
I did find one, eventually and sent a few mails. 600kyat of 90 mins. That's about 60p
There are a couple of interesting things about Yangon. There are hundreds of Monks. Indeed, they have been the centre of a number of rebellions in recent years. Spitting is a national pastime, not ordinary spitting, gobbing after chewing on beetle nuts . This gives a huge red, very unattractive gob!!!
Letter boxes. In the crumbling tenement buildings, I guess to save posties legs they consist of bulldog clips on the end of pieces of string, attached to a bell. Your post is simply clipped on and pulled....
I was sorted for Bagan, leave at 6:00 in the morning. Flight with Air KBZ. Their motto is 'Flying beyond Expectations' I'm really not sure what that exactly means!!!!
In the afternoon I had a wander down town to the Shu Pagdoda. By ths time I was templed out, wandered back, had an early dinner and a couple of beers and an early night.
Yangon is sticky, busy and steamy. I will be pleased to get out into the countryside.
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
I got the set!!!
The Air Asia flight from KL to Yangon, Myanmar left about 20 minutes late. I was the only westerner on the flight which was a first for me!
The plane was by no means full, indeed I had three seats right up till the last minute. Then, about a dozen people piled on, no boarding passes and were 'told' where to sit. One by the side of me. Not sure what that was all about...... Don't really want to think about it either.....
The flight is 2 hrs 40 minutes although Yangon is an odd 1:30 mins behind KL. I slept most of the way, once again missing my chance to taste Uncle Ben's chicken rice. As we came through the clouds there was a stark difference in landscape. It appeared flat and very much agricultural with almost 'english' fields. It was about 6.30 and the sun was beginning to set.
The view as we flew over the Shewdagon Stupa was just stunning as the has light of the suns rays were reflected off the massive gold structure.
I guess I'm seeing history in the making. Yesterday the military junta was resolved and a civilian government sworn in... Not sure what that means. I guess it could go one of two ways.....
Yangon international airport is a surprisingly modern airport. I'm not sure what I was expecting but this was certainly not it. Large, spacious,marble clad and looked pretty new. As we went towards the immigration control there were a group of people dressed in masks and white coats stood by a sign that said. If you have arrived from Japan please report for radioactivity testing!
At the immigration counter there were two people, one to check your passport and visa and the other to check the checker. Rather like BT. The passport stamp was rather plain and disappointing. Still, the visa was pretty!!
As promised and the email confirmation, I was met at the airport for my free transfer to the Ocean Pearl. The trip to the hostel took around 30 minutes. At first I was very surprised with the infrastructure. As you got closer to the downtown area of Yangon it steadily deteriorated.
One thing that stood out though. Not a 7-11, KFC or Starbucks in sight. Now that can't be bad.
The rough guide makes it very clear that credit cards are not accepted in Myanmar and there are no ATM's. The official currency is Kyat but dollars, albeit crisp new ones are accepted and exchanged for the local currency.The official exchange rate 4.5kyt to $1, you can get 450kyat in airport and 800 ish on the black Market.
I arrived at the hotel room. It was not bad for the price of 15 USD, checked my map, changed some dollars and went out for the normal arrival recky
I was knackered, after dinner in a restaurant next door of chicken rice and beer, I went to my bed.
Morning walk , didn't get up for breakfast really nice sleep
Wandered downtown. It is very similar to India in that there is stall after stall selling everything you can imagine. Solid state radios, nuts bolts, used books an of course, the food stalls.
I don't know the technical details but somehow your mobile phone does not work here. I suspect, such are the sanctions that there are no reciprocal agreements with other Asian providers hence, no signal. You could of course get a SIM here but I couldn't be bothered. Doubtless there would be reams of paperwork.
Downtown Yangon was hot and sticky, the weather was steaming , much hotter than KL. Still no McDonalds, KFC or Starbucks in sight. Everyone was so friendly, stares then smiles and nod, even a few 'where you come from'
The nearest thing to a star bucks was 'Tokyo Donut' it claimed to have WiFi . And you could smoke. The WiFi worked in a fashion, kept dropping out. Just enough time to leave a FB message saying I was ok.
I did a lot of walking, quite a few necessary hydration stops. I think I saw three westerners all morning.
Not a great deal to see apart from the crumbling architecture and markets so far. True there are a few temples including the Swyedagon Paya, but not a great deal more than everyday Burmese life. This city is not kitted out for tourists, there are very few travel agencies, no touts of conmen.
After a sweaty morning I headed back to the hotel. In the afternoon I wandered down towards the yang on river and visited the Botataung Paya where relics of Buddha's hair are supposed to be kept in the centre of the Stupa. Again, the temple not particularly kitted out for foreign tourists, itnis more for the Burmese pilgrims. Outside a guy came up to me and asked where I was from. Of course you are expecting to be sold something. Not this time, he shook my hand, very pleased to meet you and wandered off.
There was an entry charge of $2 plus a dollar to take photos. Very friendly. A lady invited me into her shrine to see her family Buddha. Some sort of ceremony going on. Kids being carried on shoulders dressed up. Very sweet.
Had a beer on the way back to quench my thirst. Generators everywhere. Clearly the 'national grid' can't be relied on so they provide their own.
Back at the hotel I asked if the could recommend any travel agents.
'Where do you want to go'
'I dont know.'
I had designs to go to Bagan but not sure if I had time, unless I fly, which is quite expensive. Overnight train there and fly back could be an option. The hostel owner will look into it in the morning and let me know. Not sure I could stay in Yangon for the whole week.!,
First impressions are this is a very friendly country. None of the tourist stuff you get in many of the other SE Asia destinations. Not a lot of westerners around either. Dinner and an early night again.....
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The plane was by no means full, indeed I had three seats right up till the last minute. Then, about a dozen people piled on, no boarding passes and were 'told' where to sit. One by the side of me. Not sure what that was all about...... Don't really want to think about it either.....
The flight is 2 hrs 40 minutes although Yangon is an odd 1:30 mins behind KL. I slept most of the way, once again missing my chance to taste Uncle Ben's chicken rice. As we came through the clouds there was a stark difference in landscape. It appeared flat and very much agricultural with almost 'english' fields. It was about 6.30 and the sun was beginning to set.
The view as we flew over the Shewdagon Stupa was just stunning as the has light of the suns rays were reflected off the massive gold structure.
I guess I'm seeing history in the making. Yesterday the military junta was resolved and a civilian government sworn in... Not sure what that means. I guess it could go one of two ways.....
Yangon international airport is a surprisingly modern airport. I'm not sure what I was expecting but this was certainly not it. Large, spacious,marble clad and looked pretty new. As we went towards the immigration control there were a group of people dressed in masks and white coats stood by a sign that said. If you have arrived from Japan please report for radioactivity testing!
At the immigration counter there were two people, one to check your passport and visa and the other to check the checker. Rather like BT. The passport stamp was rather plain and disappointing. Still, the visa was pretty!!
As promised and the email confirmation, I was met at the airport for my free transfer to the Ocean Pearl. The trip to the hostel took around 30 minutes. At first I was very surprised with the infrastructure. As you got closer to the downtown area of Yangon it steadily deteriorated.
One thing that stood out though. Not a 7-11, KFC or Starbucks in sight. Now that can't be bad.
The rough guide makes it very clear that credit cards are not accepted in Myanmar and there are no ATM's. The official currency is Kyat but dollars, albeit crisp new ones are accepted and exchanged for the local currency.The official exchange rate 4.5kyt to $1, you can get 450kyat in airport and 800 ish on the black Market.
I arrived at the hotel room. It was not bad for the price of 15 USD, checked my map, changed some dollars and went out for the normal arrival recky
I was knackered, after dinner in a restaurant next door of chicken rice and beer, I went to my bed.
Morning walk , didn't get up for breakfast really nice sleep
Wandered downtown. It is very similar to India in that there is stall after stall selling everything you can imagine. Solid state radios, nuts bolts, used books an of course, the food stalls.
I don't know the technical details but somehow your mobile phone does not work here. I suspect, such are the sanctions that there are no reciprocal agreements with other Asian providers hence, no signal. You could of course get a SIM here but I couldn't be bothered. Doubtless there would be reams of paperwork.
Downtown Yangon was hot and sticky, the weather was steaming , much hotter than KL. Still no McDonalds, KFC or Starbucks in sight. Everyone was so friendly, stares then smiles and nod, even a few 'where you come from'
The nearest thing to a star bucks was 'Tokyo Donut' it claimed to have WiFi . And you could smoke. The WiFi worked in a fashion, kept dropping out. Just enough time to leave a FB message saying I was ok.
I did a lot of walking, quite a few necessary hydration stops. I think I saw three westerners all morning.
Not a great deal to see apart from the crumbling architecture and markets so far. True there are a few temples including the Swyedagon Paya, but not a great deal more than everyday Burmese life. This city is not kitted out for tourists, there are very few travel agencies, no touts of conmen.
After a sweaty morning I headed back to the hotel. In the afternoon I wandered down towards the yang on river and visited the Botataung Paya where relics of Buddha's hair are supposed to be kept in the centre of the Stupa. Again, the temple not particularly kitted out for foreign tourists, itnis more for the Burmese pilgrims. Outside a guy came up to me and asked where I was from. Of course you are expecting to be sold something. Not this time, he shook my hand, very pleased to meet you and wandered off.
There was an entry charge of $2 plus a dollar to take photos. Very friendly. A lady invited me into her shrine to see her family Buddha. Some sort of ceremony going on. Kids being carried on shoulders dressed up. Very sweet.
Had a beer on the way back to quench my thirst. Generators everywhere. Clearly the 'national grid' can't be relied on so they provide their own.
Back at the hotel I asked if the could recommend any travel agents.
'Where do you want to go'
'I dont know.'
I had designs to go to Bagan but not sure if I had time, unless I fly, which is quite expensive. Overnight train there and fly back could be an option. The hostel owner will look into it in the morning and let me know. Not sure I could stay in Yangon for the whole week.!,
First impressions are this is a very friendly country. None of the tourist stuff you get in many of the other SE Asia destinations. Not a lot of westerners around either. Dinner and an early night again.....
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Location:Yangon, Myanmar.
A couple of nights in KL rather than Singapore
I was gutted, not nearly a gutted as Lesley. She had spent a considerable amount of time and a huge amount of money organising the surprise party and it wasn't going to happen. I jumped onto the cheap bus into KL and dropped Mr Nic a text to say K was in town. The excesses of last week I really wanted a quiet couple of nights. The bus trip to KL Sentral takes about an hour . For 8RM it is a bargain, compared to 35RM for the train and 100 ish for a taxi. At the bus station I was going to take a taxi to chinatown but wanted to avoid the ridiculous situation of paying hough the nose. A couple of taxi touts were outside the bus and wanted between 15 and 20RM. I finally got one for 10 RM, headed for Jalan Sultan.
I had stayed in the Swiss Inn before. I had checked the rate and the availability at KL airport. 270RM for two nights, including breakfast. When I check at reception, they wanted 170RM per night. Same deal. The receptionist refused to give me the web rate.
'Could I use your wireless please' I was provided with the code, I logged on to Booking.com and booked two nights for 274RM. I'm really not sure where the logic is there, I'm assuming that Booking.com get commission. The hotel could have had it all. Hey ho!!!
I had no plans for KL, just wander, some food and wander some more. The hotel was nit nearly as nice as I remember. Staff shortages. The cleaner waking you up at 9.00am wanting to clean the room. I won't be stay g there again.
Lesley was still having all sorts of problems in Ko Samui, we corresponded via FB. They we now running of food as no boats and no planes had been there in days. The Thai navy were sending an, aircraft carrier to rescue some of the tourists it was utter chaos.
My two nights in KL were pretty boring. I did get my bearings though and found out it is actually quite easy to get around in foot. I wandered to Bintang Walk for a coffee and a look around the shops.
I was chatting to fellow traveller Jono on FB. He was in Bangkok at the moment but meeting some friends to go to the Malaysian Grand Prix in the 6-10 of April. He needed some accommodation in Chinatown and was worried that it may get booked up because of the event. He gave me the name of the hotel (and the GPS bearings????) and I popped, literally across the road and booked it for him. Easier than the internet..
I checked outbid the hotel ad midday,I was asked if the room was OK. I told her the truth, not really. We left it at that. I defiantly won't be staying there again.
It was a chore to get a taxi to the railway station. They wanted too much because it was bus. I eventually flagged one who agreed on the 10RM going rate. Jumped on the bus and headed for the airport. An Aussie sat by me, he was on his way to Laos for the water festival celebrations. It is called various things in Asia, Sankong in Thailand and Malaysia. Thingyan in Myanmar and I'm pretty sure they also celebrate in indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia.
I was quite early but managed to get my backpack checked I, even thought it was around 3.5 hours before the flight. That made me even more cross with that Thai checking girl.... Maybe Myanmar will calm me down.
I refrained from paying 35RM for a glass of beer this time. Found. A seat and read up about the country I would be visiting. Most of the people I know were astounded I was going citing the danger, military junta lack of democracy being real reasons to avoid the place. I had heard it was beautiful and wanted to check it out. So here goes..........
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I had stayed in the Swiss Inn before. I had checked the rate and the availability at KL airport. 270RM for two nights, including breakfast. When I check at reception, they wanted 170RM per night. Same deal. The receptionist refused to give me the web rate.
'Could I use your wireless please' I was provided with the code, I logged on to Booking.com and booked two nights for 274RM. I'm really not sure where the logic is there, I'm assuming that Booking.com get commission. The hotel could have had it all. Hey ho!!!
I had no plans for KL, just wander, some food and wander some more. The hotel was nit nearly as nice as I remember. Staff shortages. The cleaner waking you up at 9.00am wanting to clean the room. I won't be stay g there again.
Lesley was still having all sorts of problems in Ko Samui, we corresponded via FB. They we now running of food as no boats and no planes had been there in days. The Thai navy were sending an, aircraft carrier to rescue some of the tourists it was utter chaos.
My two nights in KL were pretty boring. I did get my bearings though and found out it is actually quite easy to get around in foot. I wandered to Bintang Walk for a coffee and a look around the shops.
I was chatting to fellow traveller Jono on FB. He was in Bangkok at the moment but meeting some friends to go to the Malaysian Grand Prix in the 6-10 of April. He needed some accommodation in Chinatown and was worried that it may get booked up because of the event. He gave me the name of the hotel (and the GPS bearings????) and I popped, literally across the road and booked it for him. Easier than the internet..
I checked outbid the hotel ad midday,I was asked if the room was OK. I told her the truth, not really. We left it at that. I defiantly won't be staying there again.
It was a chore to get a taxi to the railway station. They wanted too much because it was bus. I eventually flagged one who agreed on the 10RM going rate. Jumped on the bus and headed for the airport. An Aussie sat by me, he was on his way to Laos for the water festival celebrations. It is called various things in Asia, Sankong in Thailand and Malaysia. Thingyan in Myanmar and I'm pretty sure they also celebrate in indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia.
I was quite early but managed to get my backpack checked I, even thought it was around 3.5 hours before the flight. That made me even more cross with that Thai checking girl.... Maybe Myanmar will calm me down.
I refrained from paying 35RM for a glass of beer this time. Found. A seat and read up about the country I would be visiting. Most of the people I know were astounded I was going citing the danger, military junta lack of democracy being real reasons to avoid the place. I had heard it was beautiful and wanted to check it out. So here goes..........
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The Best Laid Plans........ Again
I had booked a very nice (and cheap) boutique hotel near to Suvarnabhumi airport for the evening. I had an early flight to KL then a 7.00pm flight to Singapore.
One thing that is missing in KL are airport hotels. There are none that are within a reasonable distance or a reasonable price. This one was perfect. 10 mins from the airport. Lovely rooms. Rooftop bar and restaurant. Ding dong.
The taxi driver was obviously not au fait with the location. He got lost several times. And charged over the odds. To be fair, the hotel do offer a pick up free but I was too lazy to look for it.
I had a couple of beers and dinner at the rooftop terrace. 1:1 water service by a seriously smiley (verging on uncomfortably smiley) waiter. The food was good (what can you do to spoil chicken fried rice) and the beer was good. Early night as airport transfer (free this time) at 6.00am
Lesley, Billy and the kids had been on holiday in Ko Samui for a week. We had seen rain, but it had been far worse on the gulf of Thailand side,relentless.
I had followed the story on facebook and they were not having a good time. Ever optimistic, it would turn out OK, I was sure. On arriving in KL, I had a 5 hour wait before the flight to Singapore. I logged onto facebook. Ko Samui airport was closed and looker like staying close. There was no chance of them all getting out of Thailand. What should I do. I text Les. 'it's not going to happen - the first flight out us 1st April.....'
Bollocks. I had booked flights, actually two flights back as after looking at my itinerary the return flight to KL from Singapore was a bit close to catch the KL to Myamar flight on 31st. That was nothing though!!!!!
It was Billy's 60th Birthday on 30th. As a surprise she had booked them into the Mandarin Oriental, paid over £4.5k to fly Billy's two Older kids and their partners from the UK and booked a surprise lunch. All to no avail. By the ti e they got to Singapore the kids would have left. To cap it all my dad would also miss his Emirates return flight home. Disaster......
Les did offer for me to Singapore and stay in the Mandarin Oriental on their booking. I couldn't do it.....
I also missed meeting up with Martin for beer.
I cheered myself up (a bit) with KFC......
Then caught the bus to KL Sentral station..
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One thing that is missing in KL are airport hotels. There are none that are within a reasonable distance or a reasonable price. This one was perfect. 10 mins from the airport. Lovely rooms. Rooftop bar and restaurant. Ding dong.
The taxi driver was obviously not au fait with the location. He got lost several times. And charged over the odds. To be fair, the hotel do offer a pick up free but I was too lazy to look for it.
I had a couple of beers and dinner at the rooftop terrace. 1:1 water service by a seriously smiley (verging on uncomfortably smiley) waiter. The food was good (what can you do to spoil chicken fried rice) and the beer was good. Early night as airport transfer (free this time) at 6.00am
Lesley, Billy and the kids had been on holiday in Ko Samui for a week. We had seen rain, but it had been far worse on the gulf of Thailand side,relentless.
I had followed the story on facebook and they were not having a good time. Ever optimistic, it would turn out OK, I was sure. On arriving in KL, I had a 5 hour wait before the flight to Singapore. I logged onto facebook. Ko Samui airport was closed and looker like staying close. There was no chance of them all getting out of Thailand. What should I do. I text Les. 'it's not going to happen - the first flight out us 1st April.....'
Bollocks. I had booked flights, actually two flights back as after looking at my itinerary the return flight to KL from Singapore was a bit close to catch the KL to Myamar flight on 31st. That was nothing though!!!!!
It was Billy's 60th Birthday on 30th. As a surprise she had booked them into the Mandarin Oriental, paid over £4.5k to fly Billy's two Older kids and their partners from the UK and booked a surprise lunch. All to no avail. By the ti e they got to Singapore the kids would have left. To cap it all my dad would also miss his Emirates return flight home. Disaster......
Les did offer for me to Singapore and stay in the Mandarin Oriental on their booking. I couldn't do it.....
I also missed meeting up with Martin for beer.
I cheered myself up (a bit) with KFC......
Then caught the bus to KL Sentral station..
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Gayville in Phuket
Still feeling very much the worse for wear, I checkout out of the lovely Siam Heritage hotel at around midday. This was a perfect boutique hotel except for one thing, the lack of staff... Every time you needed something you had to setbaside at least an hour. Checking in, checking out, getting an internet voucher was all hard work. ( a lot of the hotels in Bangkok are now catching on to the fact that free internet costs nothing but is a big pull for the tourists. Ok, it was cheap, but still it's not free! Take heed !
After checking out I went to the lobby and the bell boy gave me an option. Meter cab or 400bht. Including tolls. Foolishly (will I ever learn) I opted for the the latter. The driver didn't speak good English and was trying to converse with me. Fuck knows what about, I was ill. Anyway, arriving at the airport he asks for 1000bht. Despite the fact that this is a non confrontational race, I lost it. In the end I gave him 500bht and basically told him to shove it !
I have to confess, I was a bit apprehensive about the weeks holiday with Nic in Phuket. It was the full term at school and Nic had broached the subject about going away atba party when I was a little worse for wear. I agreed and we agreed Phuket. Nic is a bit of a party boy. Sheltered upbringing and all that shit. His idea of a 'holiday' is sleeping all day and drinking all night. Not mine... I'm 51 years old for gods sake.
The hours flight, once again with Air Asia ( I almost work for them these days) took me too Phuket airport. I used my 'travellers' savvy and got a taxi for 450bht for the 30 minute drive to Patong. We hadn't booked any accommodation but I'd arrange to meet Nic in a bar in 'gayville' a particularly seedy part of town.
I arrived at 6 ish and he was already pissed. After a couple of beers, he went on a recky and came back having found a room at 1000bht per night. I think it used to be a massage pal our. On the ground floor with a little terrace, straight out ontonthe pedestrianised road. It was good, clean and roomy.
I have to say, the week was an absolute hoot. Not before the first night of going out on the back of a motorcycle taxi for wine. Lashings of drink and Nic being still pissed at 8.00am the following morning.
It wasn't quite as bad. As drinking all night and sleeping all day, for me at least. I did have a couple of very late nights and a couple of very big hangovers but it was fun. One evening we went to Simons Cabaret, a great night. Most evenings we went to the drag shows. Apart from a couple of nights I was in bed by 1.00am. Apart from a couple of evenings Nic stayed out all night.
The weather was appalling! It rained most days, a lot. We had one day on the beach where, despite the cloud Nic managed to get sunburnt. Apart from that it was sitting, chatting, drinking.
We did have fun chatting to the vendors, all taken in good part. The classic was.
'where are you from'
'england'
'do you speak english'
' a little'
Closely followed by they hawkers looking for you to fill I'm a questionnaire, and give money!!
'where are you from'
'que?'
Do you speak English.'
'que'
' it's OK'
We laughed like drains
We were there for earth hour, a real shame as the locals had spent so much time on it and it absolutely pissed down all day. They made the best. All the lights went off for an hour but I suspect that the big lights, big sounds etc that were the precursor for the evening more than cancelled out any savings
Opposite our 'apartment' was a gay massage parlour. We had a foot massage there one day, it was very average....
We did however 'befriend' one of the employees. Oman (made up name methinks)
Nic spent many hours helping to compose e-mails to his friend. We took him out for dinner one day and it was very sweet that we just had a face wash and he got dressed up.
Hen was keen for us to sample his massage skills. We didn't oblige! Most nights he came over and had a drink with us. On us of course! One particular night, after a few beers I though it amusing to set us up as a massage parlour.
'massage, massage, where you from' was my pitch.
Quelle surprise, I got a couple of customers, two Korean blokes wandered past, stopped carried on the. Came back. We quickly sent the. To Oman. He was chugged.... Maybe he'd get more custom if he did a bit of canvassing rather than sat on his ass swigging beer!!
All in all it was a great week. Far too much drinking. Hardly any eating and a lot of laughing. Thank you Mr Nic!
Attend the of the week I was flying back to Bangkok, then KL the. Singapore (fuck knows.... I don't, why I didn't just go Phuket to Singapore. It must have been, cheaper!
Nic was going to KL for a few days then back to Borneo.
Our flights were at similar times. I got in my queue, as the board indicated. Waited 30 mins only to behold that his was the earlier flight. There is absolutely no reason why this woman could not have checked me in but she chose not too, I've not been so angry in a long while. I did the auto check I. And went back to show her the boarding pass. So much for customer satisfaction Air Asia. Although, only one bad experience in 40 flights isn't that bad I suppose....
I got on my flight quite looking forward to seeing the kids, Les, Billy and Dad. Also catching up with Martin Godden in Singapore for a beer.
Alas, it was not to be..........
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After checking out I went to the lobby and the bell boy gave me an option. Meter cab or 400bht. Including tolls. Foolishly (will I ever learn) I opted for the the latter. The driver didn't speak good English and was trying to converse with me. Fuck knows what about, I was ill. Anyway, arriving at the airport he asks for 1000bht. Despite the fact that this is a non confrontational race, I lost it. In the end I gave him 500bht and basically told him to shove it !
I have to confess, I was a bit apprehensive about the weeks holiday with Nic in Phuket. It was the full term at school and Nic had broached the subject about going away atba party when I was a little worse for wear. I agreed and we agreed Phuket. Nic is a bit of a party boy. Sheltered upbringing and all that shit. His idea of a 'holiday' is sleeping all day and drinking all night. Not mine... I'm 51 years old for gods sake.
The hours flight, once again with Air Asia ( I almost work for them these days) took me too Phuket airport. I used my 'travellers' savvy and got a taxi for 450bht for the 30 minute drive to Patong. We hadn't booked any accommodation but I'd arrange to meet Nic in a bar in 'gayville' a particularly seedy part of town.
I arrived at 6 ish and he was already pissed. After a couple of beers, he went on a recky and came back having found a room at 1000bht per night. I think it used to be a massage pal our. On the ground floor with a little terrace, straight out ontonthe pedestrianised road. It was good, clean and roomy.
I have to say, the week was an absolute hoot. Not before the first night of going out on the back of a motorcycle taxi for wine. Lashings of drink and Nic being still pissed at 8.00am the following morning.
It wasn't quite as bad. As drinking all night and sleeping all day, for me at least. I did have a couple of very late nights and a couple of very big hangovers but it was fun. One evening we went to Simons Cabaret, a great night. Most evenings we went to the drag shows. Apart from a couple of nights I was in bed by 1.00am. Apart from a couple of evenings Nic stayed out all night.
The weather was appalling! It rained most days, a lot. We had one day on the beach where, despite the cloud Nic managed to get sunburnt. Apart from that it was sitting, chatting, drinking.
We did have fun chatting to the vendors, all taken in good part. The classic was.
'where are you from'
'england'
'do you speak english'
' a little'
Closely followed by they hawkers looking for you to fill I'm a questionnaire, and give money!!
'where are you from'
'que?'
Do you speak English.'
'que'
' it's OK'
We laughed like drains
We were there for earth hour, a real shame as the locals had spent so much time on it and it absolutely pissed down all day. They made the best. All the lights went off for an hour but I suspect that the big lights, big sounds etc that were the precursor for the evening more than cancelled out any savings
Opposite our 'apartment' was a gay massage parlour. We had a foot massage there one day, it was very average....
We did however 'befriend' one of the employees. Oman (made up name methinks)
Nic spent many hours helping to compose e-mails to his friend. We took him out for dinner one day and it was very sweet that we just had a face wash and he got dressed up.
Hen was keen for us to sample his massage skills. We didn't oblige! Most nights he came over and had a drink with us. On us of course! One particular night, after a few beers I though it amusing to set us up as a massage parlour.
'massage, massage, where you from' was my pitch.
Quelle surprise, I got a couple of customers, two Korean blokes wandered past, stopped carried on the. Came back. We quickly sent the. To Oman. He was chugged.... Maybe he'd get more custom if he did a bit of canvassing rather than sat on his ass swigging beer!!
All in all it was a great week. Far too much drinking. Hardly any eating and a lot of laughing. Thank you Mr Nic!
Attend the of the week I was flying back to Bangkok, then KL the. Singapore (fuck knows.... I don't, why I didn't just go Phuket to Singapore. It must have been, cheaper!
Nic was going to KL for a few days then back to Borneo.
Our flights were at similar times. I got in my queue, as the board indicated. Waited 30 mins only to behold that his was the earlier flight. There is absolutely no reason why this woman could not have checked me in but she chose not too, I've not been so angry in a long while. I did the auto check I. And went back to show her the boarding pass. So much for customer satisfaction Air Asia. Although, only one bad experience in 40 flights isn't that bad I suppose....
I got on my flight quite looking forward to seeing the kids, Les, Billy and Dad. Also catching up with Martin Godden in Singapore for a beer.
Alas, it was not to be..........
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Location:Phuket. Thailand
A visit to the embassy
I left the cold of Hong Kong for the flight via Air Asia to KL and then onwards to Bangok. I needed to go to Bangkok to arrange a visa for Myanmar but was planning to nip across to Ko Tao to see Kipp, one of my fellow travellers in the Philippines. This (thankfully as it turned out) was not to happen.
I'm not sure who but I flew via KL. I can only imagine it was cheaper, I do tend to do my travel planning when I have had a couple of glasses of wine so it could well be that after a couple of glasses of wine I could not get my head around the complications beyond A to B and back. Looking at it now it seems ludicrous that I did not go from Hong Kong to Bangkok and miss out KL altogether, or was I being subconsciously being drawn towards that KFC restaurant I knew so well!
Anyway, after Baltic temperatures of HK it was a pleasant change to get off the Air Asia flight and enjoy a few hours of tropical heat once again.
I did have a couple of hours to kill so aside enjoying the temperature I also enjoyed a KFC.
The flight to Bangkok left around 6 ish and although a couple of hours you gain an hour, so I landed at 7 o'clock. I wandered to the bus stop intending to get a bus into town. I had once again booked into a Silom hotel and the bus went straight there. There was an hour wait for the next bus so undecided ton take a cab. It wasn't that much more 150 T Baht versus 400. In no time I was at the hotel.
The room was OK though after a week in HK and my rabbit hutch of a room, I was quite looking forward to a window. There was not a window in sight. I was a bit tired, but that did not stop me from wandering down to Patpong for a drink and a bite to eat. I was entertained for an hour by a very camp guy who was working for Balcony, one of the bars. He had secreted a bag full of skewered meat, obviously his supper, on the chair next to me and every so often was grabbing a mouthful. He then had the idea that if he put them on my table, he could pretend they were mine. He did this and also proceeded to feed me from time to time by coming to sit me and doing a cleopatra impression....
The first evening and the first day in Bangkok were warm and sunny. Early the next morning, map in hand I set off for the Myanmar embassy. It was not far and I arrived there at around 8.45. I have never been to an embassy abroad before, indeed I have only ever been to one embassy which was the Australian one in Portland street, Manchester.
My plan for the following day was to go to the
Myanmar embassy and apply for my visa. The lonely planet had recommended doing it yourself, even though it was possible to pay a travel agency to do it and just fill in the paperwork. It did cost you for the service obviously, around 6000 Bht. This was compared to the 800Bht do it yourself version.
The were a few people in there, quite a lot of Thai people but not that may westerners. You took a form, completed it, attached one photo ( a prit stick was provided) and the took t to a counter. A chappie checked it the , if everything was in order gave you a ticket which had a number on it. You then just wait for your number to be called out. Within 30 minutes I was at the counter being 'processed'
One of the questions on the form is about your occupation . For the purpose of this exercise I had decided I would adopt the baking profession, this is not dishonest, I had worked for Paula for quite a few months. I thought it was much easier than stating I was retired and going throughout the 'you are not old enough' routine.
I was asked what I did (even though it was on the form, I was asked why I was wanting to go to Myanmar, (even though it was on the form) I was asked if I had been to Myanmar before, (even though it was on the form) and I was asked when I was going . That wasn't on the form.
" Are you a journalist."
" No" was my answer, a baker!
" come back Friday afternoon"
It was Monday...
" can I have it any earlier please"
" no, we have things to check"
This was one of those "no's" you know not to challenge so I bobbed off leaving my passport and forms with this charmer and taking my receipt.
This sort of fucked up my plans. I had hoped to get the passport back by Wednesday and then go over to see Kipp in Ko Tao. Never mind, I would stay in Bangkok and do a few touristy things. I would also meet my dad at Suvarnabhumi Airport on Friday as he transits to meet Lesley and the kids in Ko Samui.
That was decided although the trip things didn't happen. I spend the next few days in bed with a shocking bout of flu. I did meet dad and collect my Visa but other than that I was confined to my bed. I did change hotels moving from backpacker to flash packer. I was feeling so sorry for myself I needed some creature comforts and the Siam Heritage was just the place, plus it had a window, hooking right into another building, right enough but that isn't the point!
Aside from the fact that i was not at all well, the weather in Bangkok was not at all nice. Cold and Wet, really not normal for that time of year. Plus, we had a small earthquake, I thought t was one of my sneezes but it was in fact a 6 ish with an epicentre in Myanmar, my next destination !!
Meeting dad was nice, a surprise, he actually surprised me. My attention must have been wandering and I heard a 'what are you doing here' it was fairly obvious dad, I'm here to meet you.....
We had breakfast and a chat for a couple of hours. He was leaving for Ko Samui early evening, to coincide with Lesley arriving there. I needed to go to the embassy to get my visa so I left him around midday after he had checked his baggage in. I admire him. At 74 he has some energy. He had travelled by overnight bus to Gatwick to fly to BKK via Dubai. He would not have slept for at least two days.... I would have been knackered and he said he wasn't tired.
Collection of the visa was straightforward, apart from getting soaked. I spend the weekend in bed......
I was flying to Phuket on Monday to meet Mr Nic and it promised to be pretty heavy........
As an aside, if I had got my visa earlier and had managed to get to Ko Tao I would probably have missed my Phuket holiday and Myanmar as torrential rain cut the island off for nearly two weeks. It caused a change of plans for Lesley too!!!
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I'm not sure who but I flew via KL. I can only imagine it was cheaper, I do tend to do my travel planning when I have had a couple of glasses of wine so it could well be that after a couple of glasses of wine I could not get my head around the complications beyond A to B and back. Looking at it now it seems ludicrous that I did not go from Hong Kong to Bangkok and miss out KL altogether, or was I being subconsciously being drawn towards that KFC restaurant I knew so well!
Anyway, after Baltic temperatures of HK it was a pleasant change to get off the Air Asia flight and enjoy a few hours of tropical heat once again.
I did have a couple of hours to kill so aside enjoying the temperature I also enjoyed a KFC.
The flight to Bangkok left around 6 ish and although a couple of hours you gain an hour, so I landed at 7 o'clock. I wandered to the bus stop intending to get a bus into town. I had once again booked into a Silom hotel and the bus went straight there. There was an hour wait for the next bus so undecided ton take a cab. It wasn't that much more 150 T Baht versus 400. In no time I was at the hotel.
The room was OK though after a week in HK and my rabbit hutch of a room, I was quite looking forward to a window. There was not a window in sight. I was a bit tired, but that did not stop me from wandering down to Patpong for a drink and a bite to eat. I was entertained for an hour by a very camp guy who was working for Balcony, one of the bars. He had secreted a bag full of skewered meat, obviously his supper, on the chair next to me and every so often was grabbing a mouthful. He then had the idea that if he put them on my table, he could pretend they were mine. He did this and also proceeded to feed me from time to time by coming to sit me and doing a cleopatra impression....
The first evening and the first day in Bangkok were warm and sunny. Early the next morning, map in hand I set off for the Myanmar embassy. It was not far and I arrived there at around 8.45. I have never been to an embassy abroad before, indeed I have only ever been to one embassy which was the Australian one in Portland street, Manchester.
My plan for the following day was to go to the
Myanmar embassy and apply for my visa. The lonely planet had recommended doing it yourself, even though it was possible to pay a travel agency to do it and just fill in the paperwork. It did cost you for the service obviously, around 6000 Bht. This was compared to the 800Bht do it yourself version.
The were a few people in there, quite a lot of Thai people but not that may westerners. You took a form, completed it, attached one photo ( a prit stick was provided) and the took t to a counter. A chappie checked it the , if everything was in order gave you a ticket which had a number on it. You then just wait for your number to be called out. Within 30 minutes I was at the counter being 'processed'
One of the questions on the form is about your occupation . For the purpose of this exercise I had decided I would adopt the baking profession, this is not dishonest, I had worked for Paula for quite a few months. I thought it was much easier than stating I was retired and going throughout the 'you are not old enough' routine.
I was asked what I did (even though it was on the form, I was asked why I was wanting to go to Myanmar, (even though it was on the form) I was asked if I had been to Myanmar before, (even though it was on the form) and I was asked when I was going . That wasn't on the form.
" Are you a journalist."
" No" was my answer, a baker!
" come back Friday afternoon"
It was Monday...
" can I have it any earlier please"
" no, we have things to check"
This was one of those "no's" you know not to challenge so I bobbed off leaving my passport and forms with this charmer and taking my receipt.
This sort of fucked up my plans. I had hoped to get the passport back by Wednesday and then go over to see Kipp in Ko Tao. Never mind, I would stay in Bangkok and do a few touristy things. I would also meet my dad at Suvarnabhumi Airport on Friday as he transits to meet Lesley and the kids in Ko Samui.
That was decided although the trip things didn't happen. I spend the next few days in bed with a shocking bout of flu. I did meet dad and collect my Visa but other than that I was confined to my bed. I did change hotels moving from backpacker to flash packer. I was feeling so sorry for myself I needed some creature comforts and the Siam Heritage was just the place, plus it had a window, hooking right into another building, right enough but that isn't the point!
Aside from the fact that i was not at all well, the weather in Bangkok was not at all nice. Cold and Wet, really not normal for that time of year. Plus, we had a small earthquake, I thought t was one of my sneezes but it was in fact a 6 ish with an epicentre in Myanmar, my next destination !!
Meeting dad was nice, a surprise, he actually surprised me. My attention must have been wandering and I heard a 'what are you doing here' it was fairly obvious dad, I'm here to meet you.....
We had breakfast and a chat for a couple of hours. He was leaving for Ko Samui early evening, to coincide with Lesley arriving there. I needed to go to the embassy to get my visa so I left him around midday after he had checked his baggage in. I admire him. At 74 he has some energy. He had travelled by overnight bus to Gatwick to fly to BKK via Dubai. He would not have slept for at least two days.... I would have been knackered and he said he wasn't tired.
Collection of the visa was straightforward, apart from getting soaked. I spend the weekend in bed......
I was flying to Phuket on Monday to meet Mr Nic and it promised to be pretty heavy........
As an aside, if I had got my visa earlier and had managed to get to Ko Tao I would probably have missed my Phuket holiday and Myanmar as torrential rain cut the island off for nearly two weeks. It caused a change of plans for Lesley too!!!
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Location:Silom Road, Bangkok,Thailand
Big Buddha via a crystal cabin.....
Today I will be having another touristy day, actually, unless you have a lot of money and enjoy shopping there is not a great deal more to do in Hong Kong unless of course Disney Land takes your fancy.
As you fly into the 'newish' airport, if the weather is kind you get a nice view of 'Big Buddha' or 'Big Bugger' as Finlay calls it, he has a problem, with his 'G's'
This was a. Train journey fro. Kowloon, in fact it is pretty much the same train as goes to the airport so the day sorry of doubles up as a dry run as I need to be up quite early to or row to get to Bangkok via KL
Once at the destination train station you have a number of options to get to the 'Big Bugger' one is walking, another is by bus and a third is o. The rather spectacular cable car ride. From then square outside the railway station you can't actually see the end of it. I immediately dismissed the walking, it's a four hour hike with quite a few hills. I would go for the cable car. But first, I spotted a Subway, I wasn't greedy. Just a 6 inch Italian today .... Hmmm
Once I'd devoured my 6 inch Italian I joined the queue for the cable car. I was a long one. About an hours wait. That said, it was worth the wait. I was feeling a bit flush and went for the 'crystal cabin ' option. Only one in fournof the cabins were crystal. And they had a glass floor so you could see how far you would fall if it crashed. All for only 10HKD extra. But there were additional benefits..
Once at the 'Big Bugger' it was a little disappointing, I'm not sure what I was expecting but it was rather like a theme park. The ride on the cable car was actually quite spectacular, if only to reinforce what a foolish decision it would have been to walk. The height gave spectacular views of the Hong Kong airport and really put into some perspective what an engineering feat it was to claim the land from the sea.
I did the 'walk up and walk round the Buddha' the sun was I. The wrong direction so the pictures were crap. I also went to the nearby monastery and saw more massive joysticks and women gardeners manhandling HUGE pots on there own. After a couple of hours I had seen enough and wandered back. I had booked a return trip on the 'crystal cabin' and thank the lord I had. The queue to get here was over an hour but this queue was at least twice as long. But, the second benefit of the crystal cabin!!! Separate queue, and much shorter queue. Love it, felt like first class.
Thank god for the crystal cabin!
It's my last night in Hong Kong. I enjoyed it better than Singapore. There is more to see and it's not as 'clinical'
I celebrated the fact that I quite liked Hong Kong with another Indian at the New Deli Mess.
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As you fly into the 'newish' airport, if the weather is kind you get a nice view of 'Big Buddha' or 'Big Bugger' as Finlay calls it, he has a problem, with his 'G's'
This was a. Train journey fro. Kowloon, in fact it is pretty much the same train as goes to the airport so the day sorry of doubles up as a dry run as I need to be up quite early to or row to get to Bangkok via KL
Once at the destination train station you have a number of options to get to the 'Big Bugger' one is walking, another is by bus and a third is o. The rather spectacular cable car ride. From then square outside the railway station you can't actually see the end of it. I immediately dismissed the walking, it's a four hour hike with quite a few hills. I would go for the cable car. But first, I spotted a Subway, I wasn't greedy. Just a 6 inch Italian today .... Hmmm
Once I'd devoured my 6 inch Italian I joined the queue for the cable car. I was a long one. About an hours wait. That said, it was worth the wait. I was feeling a bit flush and went for the 'crystal cabin ' option. Only one in fournof the cabins were crystal. And they had a glass floor so you could see how far you would fall if it crashed. All for only 10HKD extra. But there were additional benefits..
Once at the 'Big Bugger' it was a little disappointing, I'm not sure what I was expecting but it was rather like a theme park. The ride on the cable car was actually quite spectacular, if only to reinforce what a foolish decision it would have been to walk. The height gave spectacular views of the Hong Kong airport and really put into some perspective what an engineering feat it was to claim the land from the sea.
I did the 'walk up and walk round the Buddha' the sun was I. The wrong direction so the pictures were crap. I also went to the nearby monastery and saw more massive joysticks and women gardeners manhandling HUGE pots on there own. After a couple of hours I had seen enough and wandered back. I had booked a return trip on the 'crystal cabin' and thank the lord I had. The queue to get here was over an hour but this queue was at least twice as long. But, the second benefit of the crystal cabin!!! Separate queue, and much shorter queue. Love it, felt like first class.
Thank god for the crystal cabin!
It's my last night in Hong Kong. I enjoyed it better than Singapore. There is more to see and it's not as 'clinical'
I celebrated the fact that I quite liked Hong Kong with another Indian at the New Deli Mess.
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Location:Lantu, Hong Kong, China
Another long day of walking, and walking, and walking.........
12 March 2011
Today, once again, I was mostly sightseeing...
From my little 'lonely planet' book I had mapped out a few places I wanted to see in Kowloon.
First though, I really did need to get something a bit warmer to wear. The weather was still chilly, especially at night and whe the sun was in during the day. A couple of long sleeved jumpers/sweatshirts would be just fine. Hong Kong is nothing if it's not good for shopping. I actually killed two birds with one stone my finding a MUJI store. This is Japanese stuff, quite reasonably priced so. It also sells stationary so I picked up a couple of notebooks to record my trip before putting it the blog.
Now for my tour. I started off by getting the MRT to Chi Lin Nunnery, this was quite close to the high rises yet an amazing serene feel about it. A beautiful pagoda and coy carp ponds. Despite t being nippy it was a really nice place to just sit and reflect. The next stop on the tour was the Sik Sik Yuen Tai Sin Temple - what a mouthful!. This was quite to opposite, An explosion of colours with quite the biggest joysticks I have ever seen I. My life. It is a very popular place with the locals for praying and also divining the future with ' chim', bamboo prediction sticks that are shaken to the ground then read.
Behind the temple are the Good Wish Gardens, so close to the noise yet really peaceful. Again, somewhere to sit down and reflect. I seem to be doing a lot of referring today!!
My last stop for the day was some walk, I followed my map and finally made it, hot and sticky despite the chill in the air, to the Kowloon Walled City. This is now a really pretty park but the walls that enclose the park were once the perimeter of a notorious village that was technically part of China through the British rule.
It seemed that anything went on there, prostitution, drug dealing, illegal dentists and. Gambling. It is well worth a visit and the story is provided in a brochure and via photographs on a covered walkway. It is only as recently as 1984 when The Hong Kong government acquired the seas and bulldozed the tenements.
It was a long day, very adequately finished off with a nice Indian meal. It is quite some time since I have enjoyed such good food in such an unusual location (and so cheap)
Chungking Mansions is a real mix, but aside the shops and the 'hotels' there are a number of very good Indian 'Mess' restaurants. I had spotted a couple of signs and saw trip advisor recommending one called the 'New Deli Mess'
Brilliant food, for the first time in Hong Kong I went to bed replete. Now their's a nice word!!!!!
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Today, once again, I was mostly sightseeing...
From my little 'lonely planet' book I had mapped out a few places I wanted to see in Kowloon.
First though, I really did need to get something a bit warmer to wear. The weather was still chilly, especially at night and whe the sun was in during the day. A couple of long sleeved jumpers/sweatshirts would be just fine. Hong Kong is nothing if it's not good for shopping. I actually killed two birds with one stone my finding a MUJI store. This is Japanese stuff, quite reasonably priced so. It also sells stationary so I picked up a couple of notebooks to record my trip before putting it the blog.
Now for my tour. I started off by getting the MRT to Chi Lin Nunnery, this was quite close to the high rises yet an amazing serene feel about it. A beautiful pagoda and coy carp ponds. Despite t being nippy it was a really nice place to just sit and reflect. The next stop on the tour was the Sik Sik Yuen Tai Sin Temple - what a mouthful!. This was quite to opposite, An explosion of colours with quite the biggest joysticks I have ever seen I. My life. It is a very popular place with the locals for praying and also divining the future with ' chim', bamboo prediction sticks that are shaken to the ground then read.
Behind the temple are the Good Wish Gardens, so close to the noise yet really peaceful. Again, somewhere to sit down and reflect. I seem to be doing a lot of referring today!!
My last stop for the day was some walk, I followed my map and finally made it, hot and sticky despite the chill in the air, to the Kowloon Walled City. This is now a really pretty park but the walls that enclose the park were once the perimeter of a notorious village that was technically part of China through the British rule.
It seemed that anything went on there, prostitution, drug dealing, illegal dentists and. Gambling. It is well worth a visit and the story is provided in a brochure and via photographs on a covered walkway. It is only as recently as 1984 when The Hong Kong government acquired the seas and bulldozed the tenements.
It was a long day, very adequately finished off with a nice Indian meal. It is quite some time since I have enjoyed such good food in such an unusual location (and so cheap)
Chungking Mansions is a real mix, but aside the shops and the 'hotels' there are a number of very good Indian 'Mess' restaurants. I had spotted a couple of signs and saw trip advisor recommending one called the 'New Deli Mess'
Brilliant food, for the first time in Hong Kong I went to bed replete. Now their's a nice word!!!!!
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Austin Rd West, Hong Kong
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