Quickie Post...

We have arrived in India at Cochin Port where we will be taken by bus to the airport. From there we fly to Mumbai and then on to Kathmandu arriving early evening. A full day of airports is not my idea of fun but I can't wait to get to Nepal.
We have just had three days at sea that I spent mostly in bed as my head cold turned into bronchitis. I visited the on board doctor who has given me enough medication to kill any bugs in my body!
I have mostly found a shady spot poolside to recuperate and most days at sea have been like this.

No posts now for a few days as our trip to Nepal is"full on". I'll be sure to update you once we back on board the ship in four days.
This is our arrival into Cochin

Experiencing Local Life in Thanlyin, Myanmar

Our third tour in Myanmar was our favourite.  It was a three and a half hour tour that was the perfect amount of time.  We drove to Thanlyin that should have taken about 30 minutes but with all the road work construction taking place it was probably an hour.
 Just talking about the roadwork for a minute, the thing we have noticed in Myanmar is the amount of  new infrastructure taking place around Yangon.  The port where we docked has four brand new container unloading facilities that have not yet been opened. Not far from the port is an area set aside as industrial.  It is many, many hectares and companies like Ryobi have set up distribution centres. The road construction is everywhere but it is a slow process without the machinery to build roads that we see in Australia.  Everything is done by hand, even the pouring of bitumen.  Concreting is laborious with the framework built, once again by hand, before the cement is poured.  No such thing as mass produced concrete slabs.

The minimum rate of pay for workers in Myanmar is $3US per day so it is probably cheaper to employ locals to do the jobs than to bring in expensive heavy machinery. Philip and I have both commented that we would like to come back in about ten years to see the progress. Oh, by the way, there are no fast food outlets anywhere in Myanmar. I guess that will also change....
Back to the tour. Once we arrived in Thanlyin we walked through the fruit and vegetable market that was packed with both tourists and locals.  I loved this walk.  There was such a variety of vegetables, and many that I could not name.

After the market we stopped at a local school where I guide asked the teacher to bring the kids out to the verandah so we could all practice the Burmese greeting “Minglabar”.  We were greeted with “Hello’s” and “Hi’s” from the children who wanted to practice their english on us!  By the way, one of the guides suggested to us the best way to remember the greeting is “Mingle In The Bar” - Minglabar....

Once we had walked through the markets we took a horse cart ride to the Bon Pyan Teak Monastery.  The young monks gave us a demonstration of how to wear their robes in different ways.  It is really very complicated they way they twist the robes to cover different parts of their bodies.  We wandered around inside the stark teak monastery where meals are eaten, lessons are learnt and meditation takes place.

After the monastery we were taken on a trishaw bike ride to visit Thanlyin Village that seemed to us a much more affluent part of Myanmar.  The guide informed us that to purchase a home in Myanmar is well over $1million US.  As you can imagine not many own their own home.  It is much cheaper to rent.  On our ride we passed a group of female “monks” in their pink robes.  It is sometimes hard to distinguish male from female with their shaved heads.

And so we say goodbye to Myanmar with hopes of one day returning to this country of beautiful smiling people.

Bago - Ancient Mon Capital

Our second tour in Myanmar was the longest, taking 10.5 hours most of which was sitting in the bus.  We boarded the bus at 7.30am for the 2 hour journey to Htauk Kyant War Memorial (WW11). Along the way we passed rice paddies where cattle were grazing.

We were both moved and impressed by the lovely war memorial remembering the brave soldiers who lost their lives in the fight against the Japanese on the Burmese border.  I think the guide said 30,000 lives were lost, but I stand to be corrected.  The memorial is well maintained with lovely lawn areas that the locals come to for picnics or simply to rest.  From what I have seen so far there are not many grassed areas for them to do this.

Next stop was an hour away to Bago and the Kyakhatwaing Monastery.  This monastery houses 1,000 monks and we were there in time to watch the procession of monks heading to their second and last meal for the day at midday. It was impressive but the monks must certainly feel that they are “on display”.  It is customary to make a donation for the privilege of watching them eat their midday meal.

Next stop was lunch at Micheal Kitchen Restaurant.  We feasted on vegetable Soup followed by dishes of sweet and sour pork, beef curry, vegetable curry, mini spring rolls and a delicious seaweed salad. Dessert was a variety of melons.
After lunch we drove to the very impressive Shwemadaw Pagoda that was not just one Pagoda but about ten structures.  Many of the pagodas were places where people could lay down in the cool and take an afternoon nap.

Back on the bus to head to Shwethalyaung Reclining Buddha.  This Buddha is the second largest in the world and is 55 metres long and 16 metres high and was believed to have been built in 994. It was lost for over 120 years and found by a British railway engineer completely overgrown with jungle in 1880.

Our last stop was at a Mon Village.  We strolled easily through the village and watched both men and women weaving material in the traditional way on giant looms.  Both the women and men paint their faces with a creamy coloured mix that is made from the bark of a certain type of tree. It is for sun protection.
Philip bought a silk sarong for lazy days by the pool!

Myanmar Cultural Dinner and Show

The first tour we had booked in Myanmar was a dinner and show in Yangon.  The drive itself took an hour and a half through very heavy traffic but it was well worth it as we arrived at the Padonmar Restaurant where the colourful Chinese lanterns waved about in the open air dining area.  We were greeted with the gentle sound of music being played on instruments that I have never seen before.  

We were quickly seated at our long table and before you could say “I’m hungry” the food and drinks started arriving at our table. The menu was my favourite cuisine, Thai although to my taste it could have been a little spicier but I guess that they have to cater to all western tastes.

The Burmese (they have not come up with an “ese” word yet for Myanmar) compere entered the stage and introduced himself in his best American accent and asked us all “to give it up” for the performers. 

The dancers performed about seven different stories that were explained to us before they commenced.  It was enthralling to watch the females dance with their long trains.  They just keep flicking it around them and I imagine it would take a fair amount of practice.  The show and meal took about 2 hours and it was worth every bit of the long drive in and out of Yangon to get there.  I just know that I am going to love Myanmar.

41st Anniversary

Just a quick post “on the run” to let you know that we are safe and well in Myanmar.  The three days here are full on with the tours we chose, and I will give a thorough update over the next three days at sea en route to India.
We celebrated our wedding anniversary tonight at Prime 7.  It is a lovely intimate restaurant that is our favourite.  Pratish, our butler, came to our room just as we were leaving and insisted that he take a photo of us and then insisted on walking us to the restaurant?  It turns out that he had set-up a surprise for us at the end of the meal when we were presented with champagne and chocolate cake complete with candle.  A round of “happy anniversary” was sung to us by the waiters that was a little embarassing both for us and them, however it was a lovely thought.
Breakfast has just been delivered to our room and our next tour begins at 8.15am so gotta run.
xx Judi

Phang Nga Bay, Thailand

I’m going to be lazy and describe today's tour from the guide book.....

“Phang Nga Bay National Marine Park is located 87 kilometres by road from Phuket Town. This scenic bay was declared a national park in 1981.  It covers an area of 400 sq kilometres and is one of the most photographed spots in Thailand.  Famous for its emerald green water, limestone cliffs, rock formations and over 40 islands, the unique bay can only be visited by boat.  James Bond Island, originally known as Ko Tapu, is the most visited island in the bay.  The popular Bond film, The Man With The Golden Gun, was partly filmed here in 1974 and made the bay a major tourist attraction. Koh Panyee is another popular stop on most tours of the bay.  Built over 200 years ago, Koy Panyee is a Muslim fishing village constructed on stilts at the foot of a giant limestone cliff.”

Our tour bus departed from the cruise ship terminal at 8.30am and it took us about an hour and a half to reach Phang Nga Bay.  From here we boarded the long boat and wove in and out of the mangroves to reach open water.  The bay really is huge and although the day was hazy the scenery was spectacular.  Photographs really don’t do justice to the size of the soaring limestone cliffs.

 We sailed amongst the islands, through limestone caves with their magnificent stalagmites, for well over an hour with James Bond Island being the last.  We didn’t get off the boat to explore and I am slightly relieved because it was very crowded.

After James Bond Island we went to Koh Panyee where the locals await the tourists to sell their wares.  There was a lot of stalls selling pearl jewellery and others selling food.  The rest were selling clothes that probably came straight out of China....

The kids follow you around trying to sell you their trinkets and I have found the best thing is to give them a dollar and ask them to pose for a photo.  They are enthusiastic and we are both winners.

After our long boat trip we went back to the mainland for lunch at a local hotel where a delicious Thai smorgasbord was laid out for us.  It looked and tasted very appealing.

We have a day at sea tomorrow.  I have booked myself into a stretch and relaxation class tomorrow morning and intend spending the rest of the day listening to my audio book by the pool.  It was very hot today - I think about 39 degrees Celsius and humidity about 90%, so if it is the same tomorrow we won’t want to do much at all.
My next post will be from Rangoon, Myanmar.
xx