Burmese reflections

Greetings From Myanmar,

Abby and I have been in the country formerly known as Burma for the past week or so. Before that, we bookended a few days in the Northern Thailand town of Pai (a “Backpackers Paradise”) with a week on a farm just outside of town. We had a very positive experience while there and really enjoyed getting to know the countryside with some fellow travelers Christine and Emily. Along with getting to learn what rural organic farming in the mountains of Thailand is all about. Pai is a little strange though. Besides offering all the amenities and perks of a hippy vacation town (think if a vegan co-op was a neighborhood in a tiny Thai village). It was strange seeing more travelers than locals. That withstanding, it was a nice town surrounded by truly incredible countryside. And the food was awesome to boot.

After that, we shot back to Chiang Mai for the afternoon running some errands and hanging out in the lobby of the hostel we’d booked a week before. I can’t tell you how much we valued being welcomed to shower and clean up, then just hang out with some friendly faces before heading out to Mandalay the former Royal capital of Burma in the north of Myanmar.

We had to apply for visitor's’ visas before entering and were both awarded a month out here. When checking in to our flight the airline staff at Bangkok Airways noticed that neither of us entered the correct passport numbers. Abby was one number off, while I wrote the number on the Passport card which is different than the number on my passport. What the Passport card number is for alludes me, other than possibly making the entry/exit of foreign countries more interesting. Anyway, after the confusion, phone calls, hand-wringing, etc. we were allowed entry and hopped on a half-filled plane taking off to a country at war with itself.

Since arriving we’ve been on our toes. The luxuries we’d experienced in Thailand were not readily apparent in Mandalay. The bus fares weren’t listed online, the metro public transport was confusing if non-existent, foreigners can’t legally rent mopeds or scooters, Google translate only worked for the Burmese language when online, internet service is intermittent, we counted 2 stoplights in a town of 1.2 million, few people speak English, it smells pretty horrible, mosquitos are everywhere, and of course rolling blackouts. Suffice it to say, Abby and I have been fully engaged since arriving.

Personally, it’s been an awaking experience. I’ve been kicking off the cobwebs of all of those senses and skills that you really only need coming to a new place and finding your groove. I’ve loved and truly cherished my time in Oregon, but to be frank, it’s become really easy. It’s much harder to put it in “cruise control” here and I feel grateful to have the opportunity to be doing this.

It’s quite the treat to make new friends from place to place. Trying to find our way from point A to B realize we wanted to go to C, then be told we really wanted to end up in D, then double back to point A again (almost always wearing a helmet). Walking around wide-eyed like a total dork. Getting your photo taken with locals who’ve never seen someone who looks like you. Eating something then trying to decipher how they season it, where it comes from, what the hell it even is, it’s all so exhilarating if not exhausting.

*Abby comment below*

Hey guys! Everything above is very true and I was terribly homesick the first few days after arriving. I felt like I needed to hold in all my emotions because I had high expectations for myself. I thought of myself as an experienced traveler and blah blah blah. After cooling down (emotionally and physically cause it's hot) I was able to really value the discomfort I was feeling and let go of all my expectations. This country is truly amazing and has not been totally wiped over by western culture (it is definitely creeping in slowly though). It is an honor to be able to go somewhere that is uncomfortable beautiful and cultivate personal growth.

*peace out kittens*

Life is good. Off to Bagan tomorrow.

Love and miss you.