1/14/13

Going North

 Day 3
We took the train to Bogo. We were warned by the owner of the hotel in Yangon that trains are full of bed bugs and that the train is very bumpy.
He was right on the second one. It made us laugh when the train started rocking up and down in such a force that we had to hold on. Thankfully that would only last for parts and most of the ride was pleasant with nice views and the sound of ta-dan ta-dan ta-dan rocking Ken to sleep. We were on time, 2 hours later got of the old train in town of Bogo.
Bogo is not very impressive on the first sign. It has dirty main street with lot's of traffic. All the roads are paved so far, so compare to Nepal, it has less dust and it is not as noisy.
We walked around a little in the afternoon, loving the market with good selection of tropical fruit. We watched the sunset from the roof of out hotel and ate dinner at local restaurant. Beer is $1, and cold  Myanmar beer is the best thing after hot day in the sun.


Day 4
We rented bicycles for the second day. There are many temples and monasteries around and biking is the way to get to them. We had lot's of town getting on little paths trying to find the way where the town ends and fields begin. People are very friendly and smile at us a lot, waving occasionally.
We visited few temples, few monasteries and than few more temples. It was a good day.









  Women carry bowls with stuff on their heads. They can walk like that too... no hands...

                                         This snake is somebody's reincarnation... donations are more than welcome.

Day 5

We took 5 hours bus to Taungoo. We had to take a motorcycle taxi to our hotel, for sure fun with your backpack on. I just love our hotel it is exactly as it Lonely Planet said it would be. Teak tree houses with four-poster beds, with view to the rice fields. 
We decided to stay for 2 nights.
Once again, biking around the town, exploring the streets. While Ken was catching up on his Internet world I found a local fruit, vegetables and flowers market. I got lot's of attention from the locals and enjoyed their friendliness. The sunset came too fast and I had to bike the long way home in the dark. I was glad to have my head lamp with me.



Day 6
We biked to the bus station and got our tickets for tomorrow. I paid one more visit to the market and than split with Ken for the day ( more Internet time for him).
I spent the afternoon walking around the rice fields, looking for river that is supposed to be near by.  I found a little village and even tried to ask for directions to the river. My drawing of river and fish was clear, but the directions the local ladies gave me were not... so  after some time I gave up and  started back to the hotel.















1/10/13

Yangon, Myanmar

I left Kathmandu early in the morning and made it to Thailand via Delhi by 7 pm local time . I booked a hostel based on recommendation from Lonely Planet and was very pleased to find Reffil Now to be a modern and clean hostel with pool, tropical garden and amazing shower.
I had a fish for dinner at one of the local restaurants at the street and was enjoying the warm night.

I wasn't leaving for Myanmar until evening, so I had almost whole day to walk around the neighborhood and buy and eat as many varieties of fresh fruit as I could find.

Taxi took me to the new train station, where I took a airport link train to the airport. The Bangkok airport is huge, it feels more like a giant shopping mall that an airport.

The flight to Myanmar only took an hour. The airport was very small especially compare to Bangkok and Delhi.
Visa control was easy and I was soon in the taxi into the hotel to meet my friend Ken ( from California) who I will travel for some time with. Having a travel buddy seemed like a good ideal, considering that the political situation up north is still not very stable.
 We celebrated our get together with few beers.

First impression I had from the city?...Yangon is huge and modern ( 5.4 mil of people). Men are wearing tied skirts around their narrow hips, beer costs about a $1, women are using yellow powder for sunblock and often carry umbrella for shade. The food is good. People are very friendly and helpful.

We are taking train to Bogo tomorrow. I am not sure if there will be Internet in the smaller towns, but I will try to update if possible.

For now, enjoy the pictures from today and wish us luck with our next travels.
















1/6/13

Last few days in Kathmandu, Drubar Square, Baktapur


This is my last post from Kathmandu. I am packing today to fly to Bangkok early in the morning and than Myanmar the next day. I still have to pick my passport up at the Burma Embassy, hopefully with the visa in it. Kathmandu is getting colder every day, almost freezing at night, that is rather unpleasant since the rooms here have no heating. I am looking forward to Yangon's hot tropical weather.

I walked south of Thamel to on Saturday, to explore the area around Durbar Square. I came across the local shopping areas. Way different than what they sell in tourist areas. I didn't resist and picked a new bra in one of the underwear stores... not exactly Victoria Secret. Well, good spent $4.
Anyway pictures are more than words... enjoy.... ( no pics of my new bra.. .sorry)..







 I left the best for the end. I did a day trip to Bhaktapur on Sunday.  Bhaktapur is listed as a World Heritage by UNESCO.
 I spent most of the day walking around the endless narrow streets, watching locals going about their daily routine. For sure amazing architecture and it could only be better if I could go back in time to see what it  looked like in 14th century. 


                                         Samosas


                                    

                                                             Potter's Square


                                               

                                                      







 

1/4/13

Biking in Kathmandu... Patan

January3th,
I am back in Kathmandu. I decided to stay for 6 days to see if I can truly explore this town. I am staying in a private room with balcony in a nice hostel. The shower gets too hot and I am for sure not complaining about that.
I finally made plans for the next country to visit. I heard from travelers I met that Myanmar is amazing. It will be my next destination.
There is an embassy in Kathmandu and it seemed like a good idea to get my visa here instead of Bangkok as I originally intended.
So I hired a bicycle, bought a face mask ( so I would not die from all that smog) and using the directions from my Lonely Planet got on the road. The traffic was crazy, nothing like what I was used to from Pokhara. Cars and motorcycles passing me, honking and I had to get of my bike a lot in sections where the traffic got too dense to be safe. It was up the hill and it took me almost two hours to get there.
I filled up the application and gave them brand new $20 ( in Myanmar it is a big deal, they only accept new and unfolded bills). Only after all this I asked how long it will take and was to find out that unlike in Bangkok it takes 3-4 days for the visa to be processed. It being Thursday and the embassy being closed on Friday, Sat and Sunday, the chance wasn't too good. I am flying to Thailand on Tuesday. I tried my best to push on the case and they told me they will try.
So I got on my bike and took a little detour to Pathan, old part of Kathmandu, which has narrow little streets with craft stores, Durbar Square with lot's of temples and rather romantic atmosphere.
I spend few hours walking around, watching people and taking pictures. There was a movie crew filming a movie and it was fun to watch what will most likely be next Nepali movie hit.

Long way down in bad traffic, getting lost in the net of streets, to find myself in Thamel just before it got dark. The reception had a message for me from the Embassy, that my visa are ready.
I had good Indian dinner and I was spent for the day.






                                          The movie filming..


                                           My two wheels...