Familiar Faces and Places: VIETNAM

Before I get into Vietnam, I forgot to mention a really nice escape I had while in Hsipaw, where the girls and I rented bicycles to seek refuse in a beautiful waterfall. It is (still) the only time I went swimming during this trip so far, and it was so serene and beautiful, with leaves falling from the tall trees and the water gliding down the smooth rock wall. This day was so hot and the majority of the journey there was uphill on bikes that were stuck on the highest resistance - not to mention that the only path to get there included biking through a horrendous cloud of smoke while passing through a burning trash dumping ground field (trying desperately to hold my breath, as a lot of plastic was burning too) -  so the cool dip in the lagoon water was the perfect ending to a tiresome and physically taxing journey there.

My friend Annie enjoying the waterfall :)

After Hsipaw, Pyin Oo Lwin, Mandalay and back to Yangon, I flew over to a familiar place I hadn't seen in 5 years, Hanoi Vietnam...

Vietnam

I checked in late at night to meet Lizzy and Charlie right away before we headed to Ninh Binh the following morning. It was a beautiful few days with them but I do have some thoughts about the future of backpacking in this country.

Old vs. New: 
The future culture of foreigner backpacking in Vietnam

This was probably the most disheartening aspect of my trip back to Vietnam. Five years ago, I had stayed in a lovely and popular hostel called Hanoi Backpackers on Ma May street. I wanted to book the same lodging, and was frighteningly alarmed to have my taxi pull in to a spillage of backpackers on the street, oozing out of this hostel's entrance. This place had a different name now, "Vietnam Backpackers" - it was about 10PM when I checked in and I had to walk through a sea of people holding a bottle of Bia Hoi Hanoi beer, dancing on top of the lobby's tables and benches. The music was so loud, the receptionist was yelling all of the check-in information to me. I couldn't hear anything besides the drunken voices singing along to popular party songs. Also, everyone looked about 21 years old.

"This place was not like this at all five years ago. What happened!?!" I yelled at the receptionist.
"Yes, five years ago, very different. We changed about two years ago," he yelled back.

I would soon learn later at the end of my Vietnam stint that another new trend that did not exist 5 years ago is NITROGEN BALLOONS - where backpackers inhale up to 5 balloons a night, in and out without renewed oxygen, to experience an embarrassing "high" and fall on the floor while many locals look at them with total contempt, judging them to their core but also reluctantly giving more knowing that, in the end, it is good money.

Yes, I am judging you...

But on this first night, all I could do was shake my head in shock as I scurried to my dorm room, on the 3rd floor, where I could still hear the voices of yelling dancers at the same volume as the music's bass. Suddenly I felt very old too, and like I just did not belong here at all. I hurried to drop off my things and find the REAL reason why I came to Vietnam, to see my dear friends Lizzy and Charlie!

It is always such a great feeling when seeing a familiar face in a completely new context different than where you normally see them. I spotted them across the street from my crazy hostel-turned-sloppy-nightclub, sitting on the cute pink plastic stools very popular in Vietnam's outdoor seating options, enjoying a cool beer in the summer's wet heat.

oops can't rotate... but a pic from Lizzy's Instagram slideshow!

After some girly screaming and disbelief (and a couple of initial tears of mixed joy, surprise, familiarity, comfort, love), the three of us strolled through some streets and caught each other up on our respective trips for about 2 hours. We also caught a glimpse of drunken backpackers spill out of my hostel to go on a pub crawl together.... 75 people deep. Loudly walking through the quiet Hanoi streets.

Lizzy, Charlie and I caught a very early bus the following morning to Ninh Binh, a beautiful place I had missed out on during my first time in Vietnam... I was pleasantly surprised to go down to my hostel's lobby area to see that despite the late-night partying, backpackers were bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 7AM sharp, full of energy to start their day. But that's when one of the foreign backpackers volunteer-working at the hostel announced "ROLL CALL" for "Castaways" - the biggest and most expensive booze party boat for backpackers to experience Halong Bay. Suddenly all the respect and surprise I had for these early morning risers had disappeared. Of course they woke up for more partying. It made me sad for the future of what it means to backpack through Vietnam.

Ninh Binh

What a breathtaking place this was. I would say it is like the Halong Bay of the land? Looks just like Halong Bay, but instead of water it is these beautiful jetting rocks spread out across flat grass lands, rice plantations, and a few narrow river streams.

We stayed at an eco-lodge homestay, in the middle of a rice field where we had to sort of walk through mud to get to our homestay. It felt very rural, and sometimes I reminded myself to look up and around me to admire the giant rock boulders surrounding us instead of down at my muddy feet, in fear of stepping on snails.

Walking to our homestay guesthouse

Our first day we rented out bicycles (for free!) and rode around to see several temples scattered on a hilltop - it was nice and reminded me a lot of parts of China that I had visited in 2013. we ended the day biking to a cute/chic bar called Chookies, had some amazing French fries, cold beers, and I got eaten alive by some mosquitos.

Back at our homestay we had dinner and my night ended with one of the most (if not the worst) disgusting shower experiences ever. Cold, and tons of dead and alive mosquitos. I was killing them left and right, attacking bum gun in one hand, shower head in the other. Dead ones everywhere, in a loofah that looked like it had been hanging in the communal shower for months - so many died in that loofah it began to look like a deliberate pattern in the loofah's design. Geckos in the rooms as well (not terrible though), and my mosquito net for my bed had giant holes in it.

The following morning wound up being an epic day on many levels. But to end my thoughts about the homestay - the homestay family also had zero regard for respecting guests and their sleep at 5am (they used my dorm room as a partial storage and spoke to each other as though they were the only ones in the room, constantly waking us up). For dinner, they often gave sliced fruit as a dessert - a plate that had already been sitting out at a table for some time. We did not want to touch...

But this day wound up being unforgettable. we decided to rent motorbikes for the day. REAL gas-running, engine-running, fast motorbikes! No more battery-operated e-bikes/vespas/scooters for me. I was graduating to the real deal this time, for the first time ever and I was kind of terrified. But holy crap, I did it!!!! A full day of riding one of these, on the highway, around giant and busy round-abouts, zipping past cars, traffic, huge TRUCKS, honks... and I survived.

Honestly for a brief moment in my life I felt mildly BADASS - I did not think I'd muster the courage to ride one of these but I'm so happy I did, it was exhilarating, so freeing, and marks a true highlight of my entire trip so far that I have gained this new skillset and confidence.

We made it to the boats, where in Ninh Binh, the rowers are known for actually rowing with their two feet instead of their hands. It was truly amazing... Prehistoric was one word Charlie used to describe it, tropical "Indiana Jones" was another - paired with nature's symphony of sounds - tropical leaves rustling, cicadas, the oars swishing through the stream, the light rain hitting the water in ripples, the tops of lily pads, pooling in the pink lotus flower leaves... dewy smells, and the feeling of peace.  It was so serene. And we felt so small as the humans that we are, boating through and in-between these soaring, majestic rocks... passing by other boats of foot-rowers, some wearing the Vietnamese cone hat while holding an umbrella. It was a truly special experience to share this with Lizzy and Charlie.

We also rode into the town of Ninh Binh, which oddly seemed rather deserted, but we got a delicious lunch out of it. This lunch would serve as our fuel before hiking up Hang Mua peak, over 500 steps up to the top of this look-out point where the views are spectacular.

What we had to climb... it doesn't look like much from the pic

It was interesting to me, how I wound up seeing Ninh Binh's peaks just how I had seen Halong Bay - in the cloudy mist and light rain rather than in perfect postcard sunlight - but again, atmospheric in its own right... The humidity was heavy, we were all dripping sweat without moving. So you can imagine, walking 500+ steps more, our clothes were sopping and heavy with sweat. The view was spectacular, and something I felt so grateful to have had the chance to see. Such an unusual natural wonder - how these giant rocks would jet out across a flat land.

Unbelievable view!!

Hello from the other siiiiiiiiiiide

So the day was completely epic - the boat ride through Ninh Binh's peaks, learning how to ride a motorbike and do so on popular highways, and hike 500+ steps to a hilltop with rewarding landscapes. We ended the night at the hostel having celebratory drinks and playing several rounds of pool!! And made a few new friends who told us all about their travels, how they quit their jobs and are unsure of their next venture... A very fun night and end to our stay in Ninh Binh. I said bye to Lizzy and Charlie to head back to Hanoi while they had a long train journey south to Hoi An.

After my return to Hanoi from Ninh Binh, I immediately switched hostels to a more chill one that does not have the night club college party reputation that my previous one had. It was Central Backpackers Hostel, just two blocks away with a fun rooftop bar and its own, smaller pub crawl. Sadly I could not escape the sight of balloons - which were everywhere. I did however have a great time going on a pub crawl with some new friends I made, but was not interesting in getting drunk and walk home late in poorly lit streets by myself. When I was 23, I had nights where I walked home alone in terribly lit circumstances - I am grateful that nothing ever happened to me and that I trusted my safety that much back then, but I am not so naïve now. It is always better to stick it out and wait for a buddy to walk home with.

A Day of Luck

UNIS - Hanoi?!


I had one more day in Hanoi. This was a unique and unreal last-minute excursion - to go and visit the only other UNIS location in the world besides my K-12 school in Manhattan, UNIS Hanoi! The neighborhood was completely different - like a posh Beverly Hills gated area. At the front gate, the guards told me I was not allowed in. I told them about me traveling from New York, being a UNIS alum, paying a lot for the taxi, and they were not having it. They had closed for the day and for the summer, and I arrived too late. After trying to convince them for 5-10 minutes, a former parent passes by and asked about me. "Oh! Well, as a parent, we are allowed a guest - can I take her in as my guest?" What are the chances that I waited long enough for a parent to show up and offer this opportunity. She showed me around and WOW, this feels like a college campus!!! I couldn't believe the facilities, it is enormous, there is a PRODUCT DESIGN STUDIO with amazing carpentry/woodworking tables, fully equipped with all sorts of supplies, and they had their very own art building, just like a college campus. Art everywhere on construction walls, outdoor gardens and seating areas, lounges... I was blown away and would feel 100% happy teaching at a place like this. I read a review that said this might be the best international school in all of Vietnam, and I believe it. It is far more impressive than UNIS Manhattan.

Product Design studio... omg!!!

Plants along walks to class

Outdoor hangout spots

 This parent was so kind to give me a free tour. Then I had to get a ride back to my hostel, which I knew would cost me about 100,000 VND ($4.40). But the guard suddenly became more cheerful, and offered to help me get an Uber motorbike for 45,000 VND. I thanked her and explained that I was headed out for dinner and looking for some Bun Cha, my favorite Vietnamese meal. Her eyes lit up and she showed me where the tastiest Bun Cha in all of Hanoi is. To my luck, on the map it was about a 5 minute walk from my hostel. WOW AGAIN! Then the Uber driver showed up, and because of the change of location, the price dropped to 35,000 VND for my ride ($1.50) - "more bun cha for you!" smiled the guard. Then the driver takes me on the MOST scenic route - one I really was not expecting but went constantly along the Ho Tay Lake, passing cute cafes, palm trees, beautiful views, outdoor seating areas, and a more developed scene of Hanoi overall. Then I arrived at the bun cha place where, truly, it was the best I had ever had (e-v-e-r). Mouth-watering. It truly felt like this day was just one of those days where everything fell into place. One stroke of luck and gratitude after the other. And then the last one occurred...

The best Bun Cha I've ever had, at a place called Bun Cha Dac Kim - Hang Manh no 1

After my dinner, I walked home to the hostel and stumbled across probably the biggest night market in Hanoi!! So huge, I did not have time to see it all. But I bought myself a cute culotte jumpsuit to wear for work. I felt immense gratitude for how everything fell into place, counting my lucky stars that aligned in those past few hours... and my time in Vietnam was suddenly over by morning.

Where I am Now

I am in Hong Kong for the week!! Spending time with family - my twin uncles mostly, who I am related to through my mom's mom's side of the family. It has already been a stay of incredible dining, overly stuffing my face with dim sum, Xiao long bao, and "beggar's chicken"... more to come next week.

There is something to be said about long journeys on your own, after parting ways with friends. Traveling is a time of transition from point A to point B, and the moment you find yourself truly alone again in-transit, your mind can wander too far into the past, into life problems, concerns, hopes, dreams, life's unpredictability. On one of my overnight bus rides this week I thought deeply about how life very often takes its own course and you have no choice but be in the passenger's seat. That's the unpredictable beauty about it, even though to me, in most recent months and years, the changes in my life were ones I didn't want. I cried thinking about my father, while looking out the window at the stars...  I thought about how lucky the universe and its stars are to have taken him back. I wondered what he would have thought about my decision to scrap India, why I hadn't seen his special numbers pop up since the first few days of my trip. I wondered about past romantic relationships of mine and why they had to end... I thought about emails circulating within the family about the death of my dad's brother, my dear uncle who passed away just a few months ago. But I try to remind myself: these moments to reflect, these journeys from point A to point B, are another added reason why we choose to embark on these types of trips... that with every flight or long bus ride we take, the tears we shed is the release of love we carry for ourselves, as we courageously press forward to embrace the unknown once more.

Last 10 Days in Myanmar

There has been little wifi in these areas, making it difficult for me to post these at the right time throughout this week. In the past 10 days I went over to the Shan State of Myanmar, the eastern side of the country closer to Thailand. It is known for Inle Lake and its famous one-legged rowing fishermen, and further up north in Hsipaw for its treks and little villages.

Inle Lake

I spent 5 days here, it was such an easy place to lounge around in after the trek from Kalaw - here are a few noteworthy things:

My hostel: Song Of Travel

This place was so cool, only $7 a night and it looks like a boombox. Beds were little pods, with free traditional snacks every day served at 4pm, free bike rental, a rooftop bar, I can't say enough good things about this place.

After checking in, we took it easy and rested before celebrating the end of our trek at a bar called Pub Asiatico, perhaps the only developed place tailored to tourists/expats in the entire area.

On our first day, 3 other girls and I took a boat ride throughout most of Inle lake and got to see several things, the most impressive being the floating village - where the only mode of transport (anywhere) is by boat. Even if you wanted to go to your neighbors house. It made me think could it be the Venice of Asia?

Another very cool stopover was a full area of weavers and weaving warehouses - These weaving machines are truly from another era and are ingenious in the way they work and how they are used. It felt like we were transported back in time. The weavers were actually weaving with the fibers found inside a lotus flower's stem. WOW! Never even knew that was possible, but they make full scarves out of this stuff. It is incredible. Another cool thing we passed by was a floating garden in the middle of Inle lake, just tons of tomatoes being grown on stilts. It's no wonder this area has such an abundance of tomatoes...

Other things we saw included a pagoda, silversmiths at work, a long-neck lady (although it felt more like a museum display than anything authentic), and lots and lots of people napping. Truly, everyone naps on their boats or on boardwalks throughout the day here.

On a different day I took one of the free bicycles to go and visit Htet Eain Gu Cave with one of the girls, Verena from Germany, and we ended the day at a winery! I was so surprised to see that they had a winery here. The cave was very cool, and quite eerie - one part reminded me of a cave that my dad went into in Bolivia, where the air was thin and there was a sculpture of the devil in some corner - the air got so thin the deeper into the cave we went, with corners that turned and you had no idea if it continued or was a dead end. We did not have the courage to crawl through and find out.

Suddenly, we found ourselves in a very peaceful moment - a part of the cave had an opening that was partly outdoors, but you were still sheltered - almost like you were under an ocean wave. And it rained. So rain surrounded us, it pitter-pattered on the rocks, the stupa,  the landscdpe, and we were underneath the cave-wave surrounded by buddhas, listening to nature's sounds.

We headed to the winery afterwards, 5,000 kyats to try samples of 4 different wines (ahem, that total is a whopping $3.65). We upgraded that amazing deal with a cheese platter, an additional $3 (don't mind if I do!)

The "Eminem" Restaurant

This place deserves its own mention on this blog... This is a ridiculous place, serving Indian food, and I say ridiculous because the entire decor is inspired by the rap artist, Eminem. The owner thinks he is Eminem - acts and talks and dresses like Eminem as well, has a tattoo of Detroit (where Eminem is from) on his arm even though he has never been, he has Eminem mannerisms and swag, he has photos of Eminem all over the walls, lyrics as wall decals, the "reserved" note placed on the tables is in the font from Eminem's albums, and the music that constantly plays at the restaurant are every single song Eminem either has on an album or is featured in on another artist's album. IT. IS. A. SIGHT. TO. BE. SEEN. I didn't even know how to react because it was so funny. Also, this man is going to Detroit for the very first time this year... unreal. Oh, and the Indian food was good.

Hsipaw

I truly lucked out in my journey to Hsipaw - it is about a 7 hour car ride there, and I booked an 11-person van to go. But no one else showed up, so it was someone's personal car and my driver was a 16 year old. I sat in the front seat which was amazing considering it was a very bumpy ride. Hsipaw is known for its treks, but I didn't do any - it is far removed from the usual circuit that tourists do while in Myanmar, but it was really lovely as a result. I was only here for a day but a highlight was definitely waking up at 4am to catch a morning market meant only for the locals, which lasts until 6am only. This is when people from nearby villages come in to sell their produce. Since it's still dark outside, many of them lit their stands with a candle.

Life on the Train:
From Hsipaw to Pyin Oo Lwin

This was unforgettable. Many of us left Hsipaw to slowly make our way to Mandalay, but the train there takes 13 hours. Thus it was suggested to take the train to Pyin Oo Lwin, and then take a bus from there to Mandalay which would only take 2 hours. But this train ride, whether by the long or short route, is nothing short of spectacular. A 7 hour train ride, ordinary seat with no air con and all windows open, and it only cost me... 1,200 kyats (that's $0.88 cents).

The scene inside

An old train made by a Pennsylvania stell company, it's old and rickety, but amazing engineering. So much lush green around the window, constantly changing in an ebb and flow from vast, open landscapes to tight forestry and vegatation, so thick that you have to wisely choose when you stick your head out of the window to prevent yourself from getting smacked in the face by extended branches and bushery. So many leaves fall in because of the repetitive hits of the open windows - except that it looks and acts exactly like a paper shredder would. The leaves literally went through the window shredders before the bits fell into my lap (or all over my face).

The locals who were on the train were so nice, they even shared freshly cut pineapple with us as a gift free of charge. The people here are so nice.

At one of our first stops, we stopped wedged between a corn field and a local guy on the train took the opportunity to reach his arm out of his window and attempt to steal a corn from the crop!

And then, the highlight of the trip... This is one reason why everyone takes this train route. This was when we made it to the Gotheik Viaduct, a huuuge suspended bridge (the 2nd highest suspended bridge in the world), where the train had to travel extra slowly to not exasperate the beams and trusses any more considering how old (and high) it is. We were 335 feet from the ground below us, absent by the sea of trees. It was completely unforgettable.

Pyin Oo Lwin

This place was without a doubt a hidden gem of Myanmar. It is not a place often visited by tourists, even though it is a more developed "city" than other places. And yet despite it being a more developed city, it was the cheapest place we had all come across. There were no "tourist" prices, the price was the same for everybody. And that meant 500 kyats for 5 mangos (100 kyats each, also $0.07 cents each). I bought 2 new pairs of pants (since one of mine got lost/swapped in the laundry with someone else's in Bagan) for a total of $5 USD.

A cute little clocktower was in the heart of the city, and the most impressive market I've seen thus far with absolutely everything you can imagine. I did not have my camera on this day as we stumbled across the market right after our breakfast. Not only could we feel the charm of this developing city through its slight colonial architecture, but also through a common mode of transport: horses with VERY cute almost Disney-like horse carriages.

The absolute highlight of Pyin Oo Lwin was that it was the best Indian food I have ever had. There is a huge Indian population here and every single bite of every little thing I had was not delicious but exquisite. I had Dhosas for breakfast which were made to perfection, before heading to my final stop, Mandalay...

Unreal Indian food. At this restaurant an entire Indian family was fixated on an Indian soap opera. These soaps are very very dramatic!!
Dhosas for breakfast were even better and only cost 400 kyats each (29 cents)

Mandalay

I only spent a day and a half here, but that was all I really needed. It was sooooooooo hot, I could barely get myself anywhere. I also did not like the vibes of my hostel, which made me want to get out of here a little bit faster. The city of Mandalay is not much to write about, it is nothing too special - but the surrounding areas of Mandalay are beautiful. On my first day I only had the energy to take myself to a padoga surrounded by hundreds of white stupas, it was absolutely beautiful and reminded me of the white temple I had seen in Thailand's Chiang Rai.

overpacked public van. Funny because on my way to see that white temple in Thailand, this was exactly how I had traveled and I was one of those people standing and holding on for dear life!

On my last day before heading to an overnight bus, 2 girls and I hired a taxi to drive us around a ton of archaeological areas surrounding Mandalay. Some of these places were quite impressive, reminding me of Indiana Jones landscapes...

The only thing I did not enjoy about this tour was that it felt significantly more touristy than other things I had done - and this was the first time I had really seen vendors trying very hard to get you to buy something, other people trying to get more money out of you, it had reminded me too much of certain places in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia...

We had to ride by horse carriage as the distances between archaeological sites was too far

Where I am Now

Back in Yangon! I am catching a flight tonight to my next destination, Hanoi, Vietnam to meet my wonderful college friend Lizzy and her equally wonderful boyfriend Charlie, who are on vacation together in Vietnam for the next 3 weeks. We figured we had to say hello since we would all be on the opposite side of the world together.

A brief reflection

So this is the end of the Myanmar chapter, and I also have some news. I thought long and hard about, but I have decided to completely scrap India all together and replace it with the Philippines. Myanmar is such a fascinating country, it has some landscapes I have never seen before, some parts of its culture that no one else in the world practices, the way people dress, what they eat, how cheap everything is, it is truly a gem. But it is also very quiet and still very undiscovered - this is actually a good thing, but I initially chose Myanmar thinking that this would be the livelier, more backpacker-y half of my trip while India would be the very introspective, difficult, challenging and eye-opening half. But the truth is it's already been the introspective half of my trip. If I were to do India after Myanmar, I feel that my whole summer would be too heavy, too emotionally exhausting at times, and more overwhelming than all-around enjoyable. It would ask for too much perseverance and grit when I have already had a good dose of that so far, and now I am ready to treat myself to perhaps more nightlife, more relaxing and lazing on a beach, sipping some kind of tropical drink before getting back to the work grind...

Beautiful Bagan, and the Journey to Inle Lake

Wow! What a long week it has been. From the 1,400+ temples of Bagan, to the 14+ hours (60 km) of trekking from Kalaw to Inle Lake, it has surely been a memorable (and difficult) week...

Bus to Bagan...

I took an overnight bus from Yangon to Bagan - which was "VIP" and put Megabus and Greyhound buses to shame. For $16 USD, this bus gave me a reclining seat, a really warm blanket, free water, a toothbrush, toothpaste and washcloth during a pit stop, and a canned iced coffee with a box of pastries for breakfast. You would never find this luxury on an overnight Megabus in the States!!! I was and am still completely amazed by the services in Myanmar.

Side note: I have also gotten the currency wrong. Everything I've mentioned so far has actually been CHEAPER than what I thought, because I initially said $1 USD is 1,000 Kyats. No, $1 USD is actually 1,350 Kyats (pronounced "chat").

So there you have it. Myanmar is officially the cheapest country I have ever been to so far. Cheaper than Vietnam!

Bagan

This place is amazing. There are over 1,400 temples scattered throughout Bagan - it really should be a UNESCO world heritage site, but is denied that title due to one building that was built within the area that obstructs the natural/historical views. What a shame!

I arrived at 6:30AM at my hostel, Ostello Bello - definitely the most expensive place I've stayed in so far (about $15 USD a night). But worth it - they host different trips every day. I battled with whether to go to sleep and do a tour a different day. But a scooter/motorbike tour around the temples was about to start at 9AM... the problem was, I never learned how to ride a scooter and it would be my first time ever being at the front of the wheel.

I just said - screw it - at the bike shop and a local taught me how to ride a scooter. I only went a short distance (about 30 feet to be exact) - was I really ready to do a several-MILE-long tour around the main roads, the back streets, the dirt roads? AND keep up with a big group? The tour was about to start in 10 minutes...

We were a group of about 20 people from the hostel. It was only two other girls and I who were driving a scooter for the first time. The guide signaled throughout the crowd of motorbikers and scooters, "everyone ready??" BEEP BEEP. Beep beep. Everyone honked their horn as a signal that they were ready. I felt like I was the only one left who hadn't beeped mine. Am I really doing this right now? My first time riding a vespa barely 30 feet and now I'm doing a 5-hour vespa tour on the main roads, narrow dirt paths, with traffic, etc?

Then one by one, people started to drive off - I was at the back of the pack. I snapped my helmet on, turned the bike on, beeped, held my breath and thought - here goes nothing. And suddenly, I was off with the crowd.

Pic of me with the yellow powder on my cheeks and nose,
placed on me by a local. It is made from tree bark

This was an amazing experience, I will always remember now that I can ride one of these and that I learned how to do this, here in Bagan, Myanmar, scootering my way around 11th century temples and open terrain. I did not fall once (at least not on my first day). It is so freeing to be in control of this bike and feel the wind on your face! I couldn't stop smiling. Not only that, but as we arrived to the temples, we would hike up to the tops of some, and were rewarded with some spectacular views of the landscape.

Girl selling her pencil drawings

Along the way, we stopped at many temples, including a monastery of monks-in-training, and caught them right at their prayer before lunch. It was a pretty spectacular sight. What was sad though was that every single one of these young boys is an orphan. We also passed by some women weaving and smoking some Burmese cigars (our hostel actually gave Burmese cigars out for free - but no thanks).

The gong rang, heard across the entire area, signaling it was time to make their way into the dining hall

The day ended with an awesome group of people, all scootering our way to a secluded temple to hike up and watch the sunset, which was even more spectacular. All of these 20-somethings, foreigners this country, eager to experience all that it has to offer. It was amazing to see how we all had each others backs - "no backpacker left behind", so to speak - we kept a head count, took a group picture, and sat mostly in silence as we watched the sun go to sleep. No one else showed up to this temple but us.

To reach the top of any temple, one has to walk up the narrowest staircase, with walls and ceilings so narrow it rivals Vietnam's Cuchi tunnels.

Pic of the extremely narrow and tiny entrance to go through to reach the top

When night fell, we still looked after each other - someone's bike ran out of battery and people stayed behind to help - a girl fell, people made sure she was OK. It was very dark, and the leaders of the pack made every effort to go slowly so that no one would get lost on the way home. Backpacking often feels this way, where you've only known people for 24 hours or less, yet somehow, in knowing that you are all aliens in a certain place, far away from home, you stick with each other like you are siblings. My statement from 5 years ago also still stands, that days spent with other travelers feels like you've known them for weeks. And I will remember this day for a long time.

The following 2 days were more days of exploring - I saw the sunset, I woke up at 4am and scootered my way to a new temple to watch dawn turn into sunrise, I scootered alone, got lost, stumbled into villages, scootered with 5 girl friends, fell down (tons of bruises and scrapes), I even got plant poison in my toe from walking barefoot all over the temple grounds (which is mandatory to do but the plant poison is still bothering my toe). I went to a clinic and saw a doctor about it, fearful that I had a hookworm in my foot - but he insisted it was some kind of plant poison (that made my toe move and change shape...). He also used the word "shit" nonchalantly instead of the more expected, scientific "stool" or "feces". I couldn't stop laughing.

It has been a 3-day journey through truly magical landscapes, there is no other place in the world like this. Ended my stay in Bagan with the 4am sunrise and scootering solo through the backroads, and then packed my bags for another overnight bus to Kalaw.

Kalaw

This is a place meant to be the starting point for trekking. I only stayed one night here to regroup and get my bearings before waking up to begin a 3-day-2-night trek to Inle Lake. One notable place in Kalaw was a VERY local market with minimal stands for tourists -  some impressive displays of their daily items for purchase...

tons of dried fish for sale

The 3-day-2-night Trek 

Day 1: 22 km/13.6 miles

This was quite a journey. Ana, my new friend from Brazil who I met in Bagan, joined me in Kalaw for a trek to make our way to Inle Lake and meet with other girls from our previous hostel. We met our guide for the net 3 days - Sanjae, 20 years old from Nepal. He was sooo great! He knew so much, loved speaking english, and was excited to start University in the Fall.

Day 1 included a lot of uphill walking and breathtaking views of rice paddy fields and small villages hundreds of feet below us. It rained, although the atmosphere the mist and spritz of rain created was memorable in its own way, paired with the constant passing of buffalo and farmers out in the fields. Our cheeks were cold and dewy from the mist, and all we could hear in this high hilltops were light raindrops on our crinkling plastic ponchos, and the cowbells around the buffalos' necks ringing with every fresh bite they took out of the endlessly green grass. Farmers would see us, sometimes waving or saying a friendly "mingalaba" (hello).

amazing view

At one point we stopped at a local school to use the restroom - that's when Sanjae noticed a net and a ball and then told us all about this popular sport in Myanmar, the "cella" (like "cello") and the ball is made out of woven bamboo - it is just like volleyball except you have to use your feet, chest or head like soccer. He loved this game so much! He taught us how to play and then after a few minutes, our playing attracted a small crowd of locals eager to play next. I have to say, I actually prefer this game over volleyball! Just before making it to our homestay, we also passed by monks playing soccer on a hilltop. It was pretty picturesque with the mountains in the far background fading into the low clouds and mist.

At night we stayed with a homestay family of the Pa-oh people. The women wear these extraordinarily bright scarves around their heads, with usually a stark black dress or other. I wanted to photograph them all. But the biggest highlight of our homestay was the food that they cooked us for dinner. This was by far the best meal I have had in all of Myanmar so far, and is for sure a huge highlight of my entire trip.

Pictured is only half of what we were given as more came later: Eggplant salad, tea leaf salad, a green fruit type salad, fresh cucumber salad, ginger and chili soups, and some other curry vegetarian dish. Also what came later was fish curry, watercress, tofu curry with bean sprout, mustard curry.

The chef herself! Wearing the traditional Pa-oh head scarf

The night ended with a glorious 10 hour sleep under the warmest, softest blankets. Usually in cases like these I would use my silk sleep sack liner but everything seemed fine here. I had been hearing a rumbling noise in my lungs everytime I breathed in deeply - I was worried that I had pneumonia because it really felt like I had water in my lungs. But it turns out, I inhaled a lot of dust while I was in Bagan and have mostly recovered from that. I am still also recovering from the plant poison I walked on! These have been bizarre occurrences, but to be expected in the more rural areas of a developing country.

our no-frills bed, surprisingly comfortable and very warm

Day 2: 20km/12.4 miles

We woke up on day 2 with an equally amazing breakfast of chapatis and fresh mango. Day 2 became a bit more adventurous, a bit hotter and drier. Sanjae showed us every single natural fruit and nut growing in the wild throughout our journey, and we were able to try special plants, wild berries and even fig growing from some trees!

wild fig !!

There were also many, many nerve-racking bamboo bridges to cross today - and if we fell in the water, that meant getting eaten alive by leeches probably. Some bridges were so wobbly and WITHOUT HAND RAILS that I walked over them at a glacial pace, fearful of slipping into either leech-infested waters or muddy dirt filled with buffalo dung.

Stopped to say hi to a few Paoh women along the way - Sanjae translated the whole time. The standard of beauty is interesting here, none of them want their photos taken - not because they don't like the foreigners, but because they think they are too ugly. They proceeded to tell all of us how beautiful we all are with our light skin and white teeth. They, given that they work out in the field their entire lives, grow the darker skin and poor teeth health much faster.

Passing by...

After walking 20km on day 2, we stopped for a long break where we ran into other backpackers who did the 3 day trek but with another company. It was a nice moment to chat with other travelers about their trek, and listen to some laid-back tunes on the guitar... Some people were able to shower here. We asked Sanjae if there were showers at the monastery and he said yes. I could not wait!!!!

We mustered up the courage to walk another 40 minutes to our last resting place of the trek, a monastery. Little monks everywhere. We did not get to interact with them all that much because it was late and we were all so tired. Another person joined our group today as well, Chan Yong, 28  from Korea. I rushed to the showers to finally get rid of the mud, sweat, sunscreen and bug spray all over my body - but to my disappointment, the large barrel of water was filled with freezing, brown water. So I opted for one final night of feeling gross about my personal hygiene.

The monastery we stayed at

We all fell asleep right after dinner which was another fantastic meal - because we knew we would be woken up by the sounds of the Full Moon celebration which starts at 4AM...

Day 3: 16km/10 miles

This was something that Sanjae said happens every full moon and new moon, where the monks wake up at 4am and offer food to the buddha as well as food offerings on the steps of every building to offer (and not neglect) the demons. The loud sound of the generator began (which brings electricity to the buildings) and loud prayer music played. This went on for about an hour and a half, and I did not sleep at all. I had every intention of getting out of bed to take photographs, but I could not move from all of the walking. This made for a very tired, sweaty, dirty final day...

me under an amazing 200+ year old tree

Today felt more like walking through a jungle - more cacti, huge bugs, jetting rocks coming out of the grassy hills. We were all quieter today, eager to feel that sense of accomplishment (and shower). We could see our destination, miles away at a microscopic size...

This is how thick the forest was, obstructing our path. We walked through trails like this for 2 hours

Making it into the village near Inle Lake, we were welcomed to palm trees, houses on stilts, and amazing crops framed by tall mountains in the far landscape (including the ones we came from!). It felt so much like Indonesia, mixed with a little bit of Fiji - like suddenly we had made it to the tropics of Myanmar.

Before we knew it, we had arrived to our lunch spot which was where Sanjae would leave us and where our boat would pick us up. Before taking the hour-long boat ride through Inle Lake to our final destination, we had our well-deserved lunch, cheered for ourselves and what we had just accomplished, and I cracked open a cold one - an ice cold Dagon beer.

3 days of no showering - Me, Sanjae, Ana, and ChanYong

Where I am Now

Inle Lake! This place is so beautiful, and there is so much to do here. I have already stayed one night, had the most glorious shower of my life and gave away a full bag of laundry after our trek - and plan to stay here for a handful of days. Something that I've reflected a lot on on this trip so far is the age difference between me and the average traveler - about 22 years old. It's made me feel sort of like an odd duckling in certain social situations, and that 28+ are few and far between (though we still do exist). I've sat in on conversations that 22 year olds are discovering about themselves during these types of journeys - things that I myself realized and went through those 5 years ago in my first trip. All of their revelations, their discoveries and excitement - it made me aware of how amazing that time in their life is, and how much I wish I could have that again and be there again - but that I already had that time. I had some interesting conversations about being a backpacker with early-20 somethings to a 40 year old backpacker, which gave me confirmation on all of the deep reflective things I was feeling about where I am in my life and what I have been through.

Looking forward to an exciting several days in Inle Lake...

:)