Author Archives: Jodi

Explore Pulau Weh: Snorkeling Delights in Sumatra

Pulau Weh, Sumatra Snorkeling

Cuttle fish. Apparently taste good in curry.

Feb 20-25th

Freddie’s cottages, Sabang, Pulau Weh

It might be just over 150 km but the drive from Lake Toba to Medan still took 5 hours and that’s not including the ferry from Samosir Island. You don’t get anywhere quickly in Indonesia. (See previous post here)

The Deli River Hotel in Medan was really nice but we didn’t have much time to enjoy it. The next morning we headed for the airport at 8:30 am as again, it takes a ridiculously long time to go a short distance.

The flight was supposed to leave at 12:20 pm. That time came and went and the board still said “scheduled”. At about 1 pm it changed to delayed to 1:15 pm. Interesting. The announcements were only in Indonesian so every time they spoke we got up and stood in line. When she looked at our boarding pass, she’d say “oh no Sabang” and we’d go sit down again. Fun stuff.

By the time we got to Sabang we were worried our pick up wouldn’t be there. We got off the plane, entered the tiny airport and could see the exit door with the man holding the sign “Jodi” on it. Cool. I’ve always wanted to be greeted with one of those signs!

Our cottage at Freddies is rustic but really cute. Two beds on either side with a bathroom kind of in the middle, complete with a very short, but definitely western toilet (YAY!) After settling in and having some dinner, we went for a walk along the road. We got lots of stares and hellos from children, definitely an oddity around here. Later we realized they follow Sharia law here and we were definitely under dressed. Oops.

Thankfully we don’t have to follow those rules at Freddie’s. I went for a nice evening swim. The ocean was so warm it wasn’t even hard to get in.

The call to prayer had me awake the next morning at 5:44 am. Sheesh. Oh well. We had a coffee on our nice porch and watched the sun come up. We’d had breakfast and were snorkeling by 8 am. I spent about 4 hours of the day in the water and burned my back and the backs of my legs. The rest was enjoyed by sitting and reading, something we’ve done very little of this trip.

Being awakened early means enjoying the sun rise while drinking coffee so it’s not so bad. We’d arranged a snorkeling trip today and Andy picked us up promptly at 9…..on his motorcycle. That ride was the scariest part of the day for me and I KNOW he took it easy on me as I’ve seen the way they drive here! Sue arrived a little later in a tuk tuk.

Andy took us to several different spots, all of which offered something different. Some it was a variety of fish, another was pretty coral and one was an underwater volcano and giant puffer fish. We waited out a thunderstorm at one point and then went back for more snorkeling. It was a great day!

Friday we spent the morning snorkeling. I’d arranged for Lumba Lumba divers to pick me up for an afternoon introduction to free diving course. I’d always wanted to try it. Jim was a fantastic instructor; very clear and patient. The other two ladies were master divers and half my age. Not intimidating at all 😉 Regardless I learned a lot and only my own anxiety held me back from going deeper than 5 or 6 metres. You know you’re with fellow ocean enthusiasts when, on your way to the dive site, you’re distracted by seeing various creatures like octopus, squid and a lion fish. Jim didn’t mind waiting as he fully understood the need to check out the octopus 😉

Saturday I was glad I got in a good snorkel in the morning as the wind came up and the waves made further outings dangerous.  Perfect weather for surfers!  We spent the afternoon chatting with new friends, reading and the odd walk on the beach. Life is rough!

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Poisonous sea snake. Thankfully doesn’t like human

Clownfish are very curious and keep checking me out
Pulau Weh, Sumatra Snorkeling
Pulau Weh, Sumatra Snorkeling
Nemo!
Pulau Weh, Sumatra Snorkeling

lion fish

Pulau Weh, Sumatra Snorkeling

Snorkeling Pulau Weh, Sumatra, Indonesia where Andaman Sea meets the Indian Ocean

Pulau Weh, Sumatra Snorkeling

Poisonous sea snake. Thankfully doesn’t like human
Blue sea star. Nobody likes them as they eat coral.
moray eel
Biggest puffer fish I ever saw. He likes the volcanic bubbles too
Needle fish
lion fish
Blurry proof that I saw a blue spotted sting ray. VERY pretty!

Swimming through volcanic bubbles!

Swimming through the bubbles spewed by the volcano
Volcano under the sea blowing bubbles. You can see the hole
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3 days on Samosir Island, Lake Toba, Sumatra

Friday, February 16

Happy New Year!

The drive to Lake Toba from Bukit Lawang was made even more difficult by the volume of traffic due to the holiday. It’s less than 300 km and we made 3 stops, none of which were very long but the drive took 11 hours. Then there’s a 45 minute (very slow) ferry to Samosir Island that nicely dropped us off right at Tabo cottages, our home for the next 3 nights. The walk through the grounds past the pool and through the dining room made us feel like we’re in an all inclusive resort that could be anywhere. Not exactly what we signed up for but we’ll take it.   It’s more luxury than we’re used to, for sure!

Inside the home. 5 “kitchens” means 10 families live here. 2 families share a fire

Cultural village visit. This house is 150 years old. The people are Animists

Waterfall that goes into Lake Toba

View from the village of Tomok on Samosir Island of Lake Toba

Kitchen of the Batak

Rice fields and Batak homes in the distance

Pretty lotus in a bay on our walk on the Ring road

rday

Annette is an interesting German lady who fell in love with Lake Toba 20 years ago, met and married her husband and raised their three kids while operating Toba Cottages. She took us on a “discover Toba” tour and even learned some new things herself. While Annette got some food, we checked out the market then she drove us up the mountain where we picked up some young men and continued on. The paved road ended. The “road” she took from them required 4 wheel drive. We had lunch with some village (Tomok) men who accepted the seedlings Annette had brought them. There was a dragon fruit, some kind of pumpkin and other fruit trees to help them get started diversifying their farming.

On the way back down the hill we stopped a couple of times to walk into the jungle and see what we could find. In one area were macadamia nut trees Annette didn’t know existed. Later we had tea with a friend of hers who lives in a genuine Batak house. She asked me if I was a man or a lady. Interesting. Nobody’s ever asked me that before. Upon leaving she told me that soon I would look like a Batak woman. Apparently I’m getting brown.

Back at the hotel we quickly changed and went for a refreshing swim in the lake. Another great day 😀

The next couple of days we spent lounging by the pool at Tabo Cottages, swimming in the lake, wandering about town and just enjoying the peaceful surroundings on Samosir Island, Lake Toba. I finally figured out that Batak is the word for tuk tuk and the name of the village is Tuk Tuk, for the Batak people of the island You can walk the Ring road in an hour and see most of the village of Tuk Tuk.

Guide to Eco-Travel: Gunung Leuser and Bukit Lawang

Jungle of Gunung Leuser National Park

February 9 -16, 2018

Medan and Bukit Luwang

After an overnight bus from Mandalay to Yangon, (See previous post) flight to Kuala Lumpur and then to Medan, we attempted to get as much cash as we could from the airport ATM’s. 3 machines and 5 million rupiahs later we got a taxi to the Kno Hotel. Simple, clean and friendly with a working air conditioner and we enjoyed a great night’s sleep before our jungle adventure.

Our driver picked us up an hour early so we scrambled to finish breakfast and last minute pack. We picked up a young couple from England in Medan and they too were told an hour later. Oh well. We had a coffee in their hotel while we waited.

The 5 hour drive was interesting as we passed plantations of palms grown for palm oil and many villages. Traffic was crazy the whole way with lots of big trucks and motorcycles everywhere. Few stretches of road were good. Most had lots of potholes and rough patches.. I was surprised at how built up Sumatra is!

Upon arrival in the village we said goodbye to our driver and a young man loaded our bags on a motorcycle while we walked. Bukit Lawang is a pretty village on the side of a river with one narrow road up the middle for motorcycles and pedestrians.

The Eco travel Bukit Lawang hotel was a pleasant surprise. It’s set on the river bank and the rooms are large, clean and very comfortable. We were greeted with a glass of cold ginger juice and a cool, scented wash cloth. Perfect on a hot, humid day!

After settling in, settling finances and trying to repack for our trek the next day, we set out to explore. Further up the path in the village we found steps to the river bank and followed the path for a while. Across the river we saw a big group of macaques and a huge monitor lizard. That bodes well for wildlife sightings!

Back at the hotel we enjoyed happy hour of more ginger juice for me. Then dinner at a restaurant up the road. Mei Goreng is the thing to eat in Indonesia. It’s still new.

February 10,11
Hiking to see the Orangutans

Harry, our guide, said we’d take it slow and easy and at first I thought it was a little too slow. The trail was well used and fairly easy to follow. After about an hour it got serious. Apparently Orangutans don’t stick to the main trail. Bummer. The deeper into the jungle we got, the tougher the trail. We climbed up hills and down, over rocks and tree roots, climbing over logs and ducking below them. I’ve never perspired so much in my life! I understood why we needed to carry 2 litres of water each.

By 10 am we’d already encountered our first orangutan. Wow!

We’d been told not to get too close to the orangutans but they’re not afraid of people at all so we had to really follow the guides directions to stay out of the way.

Throughout the two days we saw 14 different orangutans, each with it’s own personality and different looks.

I thought the trail was difficult and with my pack of just personal items, a sleeping bag and water but the guides also carried in all the food as well. They all smoked too. They’re acclimatised to the heat but still, it’s a tough walk.

The last hill going down to the camp was the worst. It’s incredibly steep and took about 45 minutes to pick our way down. I clung to liana vines, trees, roots and sometimes just crept down on my bum

It was almost 5 pm by the time we arrived and the first thing I did after being shown my tent was to strip down to my swim suit and get in the river. The water was COLD but oh, so refreshing.

Our guides from Bukit Lawang Eco Travel outdid themselves on the food. Lunch on the trail was nasi goreng in a banana leaf with cucumbers and tomatoes and a quarter pineapple each. It was delicious! Dinner at camp was a smorgasbord of dishes including pumpkin curry, chicken, potato patties, sweet potatoes, etc as well as more fruit. We enjoyed passion fruit, rambutan, pinapple, watermelon…..such an assortment and decorated with flowers too.

The next day was much more leisurely. We had the option of anther jungle walk but that involved climbing UP the hill we’d come down…..etc. I was done with mountain climbing. I went for a swim, watched some monkeys, sat and read my book for a while, watched an orangutan and enjoyed the “music” of the jungle. After a while we went up river to visit a waterfall and then back for another amazing lunch. Then it was time to pack up for our transport back to town which involved floating on tubes down river. That was great fun and certainly much easier than the trek in.

Weirdest bug I’ve ever seen
Harry and the butterfly

Hibiscus everywhere

Green pit viper

Snack on the trail

Monitor lizard that decided to defecate on top of our tent

Dinner dessert

Thomas leaf monkeys

Thomas leaf monkey
Aka funky hairdo monkey

Orangutans.  If you look closely you can see that they’re all different orangutans.

Stop looking at me stealing your rice.
Jackie holding Lena’s hand with a steel grip
Momma feeding her baby

Here’s my best side

Posing for a photo

I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine….or pick the bugs off, whatever works.

Monday, February 12

White water rafting on the Wampu River

The journey is often an adventure and today was no exception. We walked to the pick up point just outside the village and climbed into our chariot which today was a suzuki pick up with bench seats. Two of our rafting captains chose to ride on the roof. 20 minutes in we stopped at a village where they ordered food for lunch and Sue and I went for a walk. Back in the truck for the next two hours and the roads got progressively worse. The driver was quite skilled as there were mud bogs that I’m sure mired many a vehicle

After the safety demo we headed down the Wampu River over class two and the odd three rapids, through beautiful canyons, a stop at a bubbling hot waterfall, then a cold one and through lots of jungle. There was some hard paddling but it was fun and pretty easy. Then came the big one. Harry warned us that there was a good chance of capsizing so I attached my camera to my life jacket and prepared. We paddled hard over the first waterfall and then came the second. I saw Sue slip out from the corner of my eye and tried to counter balance but next thing I knew I was flying over the raft. I ended up under it for a bit eventually came to the surface, got my bearings and looked for the rest of the crew. They were all downriver, obviously looking for me so I quickly waved a “thumbs up” to show them I was fine We managed to salvage most of the stuff on the raft other than one guy’s flip flop, our hats, sunglasses and the hair ties had been ripped out of my hair. Our crew seemed very concerned. Later we found out none had them had ever capsized before. I thought it was great fun and wanted to do it again. Sue was a trooper but said once was enough. Haha!

The funniest thing was later finding the blue flip flop floating in the river. Yay! Now he had two shoes.. Unfortunately hats and sunglasses don’t float.

Lunch was amazing as usual. We stopped at a beach with a waterfall and a young man had carried everything down and set it up for us. So much delicious food!

The rest of the day seemed idyllic. The rapids were all simple with lots of rest periods between. At one point we got out and swam for a while to cool off. We passed lots of fishermen and the odd time had to dodge lines. On the dark sandy areas there was equipment set up for getting gold out of the sand. At one point in the river they were doing serious mining for gravel.

All in all it was a great day and we were good and tired by bed time.

A calm break to paddle at ease

Dragon fly coming out of it’s cocoon

Lunch spread! Talk about spoiled!

That’s our raft bobbing about on the offending rapid.

Tuesday, February 13

There was nothing on the agenda so we were going to spend the day “chilling”. After breakfast and enjoying a nice call to my grand daughter, we decided to go for a walk. On the way we stopped for a swim and ended up at the “Back to Nature” guesthouse, about 3 km up river. By the time we got back it was early afternoon and really hot so we spent some time relaxing, reading and taking the odd dip in the river.

Bukit Lawang Gunung Leuser National park

The easy walk along the river

Bukit Lawang. We stopped for a cold beverage at the butterfly hotel

Bukit Lawang, Sumatra, INdonesia

Men carry over 100 kg of supplies up river so tourists can camp there.

Wednesday

Visiting the locals and learning about their innovations

Our chariots today were two ‘bataks” or tuk tuks. They took us on a tour of the rural areas surrounding the village of Butik Lawang where we learned a lot about the people, their way of life and some of their struggles. It was interesting seeing all the canals and irrigation ditches; a remnant of the time the Dutch spent in Sumatra. They’re still being well used today.

A major problem is the oil palm plantations. Big companies have started them and local farmers got into it too as it’s easy work for good return. The trees are very hard on the environment though as they suck up so much water (40-50 litres per tree, per day!). Streams have dried up and the ecosystem is changing.

We had lunch in the home of a local family who explained what he’s doing to try to change it, offering farmers alternatives. He’s planting fruit trees in the buffer zone between the farms and the jungle.

When he moved into the country from the village after the devastating flood of 2003, he couldn’t sleep because of the mosquitoes. His home is surrounded by rice paddies which grow in standing water which breeds mosquitoes. He tried the recommended planting of lemon grass around his house among other things. Nothing worked. He decided he needed to encourage a predator so built fish ponds on three sides of his home and stocked them with various varieties of fish, all of which eat mosquito larvae. Within months his mosquito problem was seriously diminished PLUS the added benefit of a new food source. Win / win!

Fish pond, rice fields and the jungle in the distance

Making a thatch roof

Harvesting palm sap

Making palm sugar. It’s harvesting and made in a similar process to maple syrup

Government harvesting rice. Local farmers can’t afford this equipment

Canals built by the Dutch still being well used by the people living in Sumatra

Muslim school classroom

Reciting something for her teacher

Thursday

A “hot spring” and Elephants

Over rough roads, wooden bridges and some that looked like goat paths, we drove for 2.5 hours before reaching the village and river. We crossed a rickety swing bridge and down a path to the river where I swam to the other side for the “hot spring”. It was just a hole in the rocks with warm water in it. It was a nice swim anyway and good diversion.

We carried on to the Takahan Elephant park. I was sceptical as the in thing right now is to be against all elephant riding. I wanted to check it out for myself.

A couple of elephants came up the hill with the mahout leading them and two people riding. One was on the elephant’s neck and the other in a seat. It looked well designed in that it was rounded so that it doesn’t touch the elephant’s spine at all, with padding on either side to hold it up. As soon as the girls got off, the seat was removed, the elephant hosed down and led off to get something to eat.

We walked down to the river and waited for the mahouts to bring the elephants from the other side of the river where they spend most of their time in a natural jungle with lot of trees, shade and food plus access to the river.

After being given brushes we all found an elephant to scrub as they lay on their sides in the shallow water, like kings waited to be bathed. The mahout had them roll over and we did the other side. Later we were each given a bag of bananas and other food. I ended up being one of the last with food and was slightly mobbed by hungry elephants. They’d have food in their mouths and trunk and STILL be looking for food. There was one baby elephant that we were told to watch as he was very “naughty”. The little guy was everywhere, sneaking food where ever he could.

These elephants were originally used in the illegal logging of the jungle. Once that was controlled they had no job and no jungle left to release them into. A couple of them came from Northern Sumatra where they too had been worked. The only choice was to let them starve for find a job, a way for them to earn their keep. Tourism works and it seems very ethical and well run to me. Make your own choice but it looks like everyone’s making the best of the situation to me.. They aren’t asking elephants to do anything they don’t expect humans to do. I’d seen men carrying 100 kg loads strapped to their heads and shoulders for 2.5 hours up river so the tourists can stay comfortably in the jungle.

Little ones joining trunks

Mobbed by elephants!

Now THAT’s a shower!

Tangkahan Elephant park

Okay big lazy fellow, here’s your banana.

What elephant doesn’t love a good scrub?

Here they come.

Bridge across the river to the hot spring

One of many gorgeous views

Blurry shot but it’s the best I can do in a moving vehicle over these roads! That’s the bridge we just crossed.

Exploring Mandalay: A Journey Through Myanmar’s Rich Culture

Mandalay, Myanmar

February 4-7, 2018

Our driver with Stray Asia picked us up at 8:30 am on the dot and we soon found out why it would take 7 hours to drive to Mandalay from Inle Lake (See previous post). Traffic is fun with such an assortment of vehicles sharing the rough roads. Tuk tuks, electric cars, vans, buses, horse and buggies, motorcycles and even transport trucks all use their horns to communicate intentions. It’s interesting!

I thought I could spend the time editing photos but the drive through the mountains was beautiful with ever changing scenery and so much going on. That and the winding roads that switchback and forth up and down and around the mountains made anything BUT looking out the window impossible. We passed teak farms and villages still using elephants for work as well.

A flat tire held us up for an hour or so and I used the time to stretch my legs, walk a bit and watch the locals. On one side of the road some appeared to be fishing. Farther along a man was digging about preparing a field for something. Two young men were gathering watercress which they said was for the pig. We watched them load two large, dripping bags and bungy them on the motorbike then climb on themselves.

A man fell off his motorcycle and several folks stopped to help. Another young man drove our driver back with the repaired tire plus the spare….all on his motorbike. It’s amazing what they can fit on a bike in Myanmar! One woman was talking on a cell phone while holding a baby and driving the bike. Often there are entire families on a motorbike or a couple with loads of produce either on their way to or from the market. Women rarely straddle the bike but ride on the side. Scary!!

Sleeping like this takes talent

Most tailors use pedal sewing machines

“Helping” Mom at the market

Mandalay road repair

That’s a lot of sausage!

Market

Nuns gathering donations from vendors. The little girls sing a song every time someone gives them something

Mandalay drive through

 

Feb 5-7

One day was spent touring Mandalay with our guide San and a private driver. We covered a lot of ground in one day! More pagodas, the world’s largest book and many other sites. We finished the day at the U Bein bridge, (which is the longest and oldest at over 350 years teak bridge in the world), and walked the whole thing. Many locals were also walking. One young monk approached me and asked if we could talk so he could practice English. Later a couple other young men asked the same thing. They asked me questions and I did my best to help them. It’s kind of nice to be able to help out a bit in little ways.

This little girl posed for me. So cute!

Great place for wedding pictures

World’s largest book. Each pagoda holds a page carved in stone

She’s falling asleep sitting up

We said good bye to San, who was our guide for the past 10 days with our Stray Asia tour. She really is a fantastic guide and we all wished the best for her.

The next day we said goodbye to Ida and 3 of us headed off with a our tax for the day for a visit to Pyin Oo Lwin, a town about a 2 hour drive from Mandalay. There we visited another pagoda, a waterfall, a colonial house and Catholic church. The town is very different and there are several colonial homes, leftovers from the times when Myanmar was a British colony. The Botanical gardens were really nice and different from any other I’d visited. It’s a lake surrounded by various gardens, some what we’d called beds of annuals. The orchid gardens were nice and the butterfly museum interesting. I was disappointed to find not a single lotus.

We said good bye to Lena after a nice dinner at the noodle place down the road and had an early night.

View from the U Bein bridge Amarapura

U Bein bridge Amarapura

I’d trust him.

The next day we loafed about, enjoying a leisurely breakfast before packing and checking out. We visited the market which is like a huge, disorganized, crazy shopping mall. I decided to wear my longyi since it’s likely the last time. I felt people laughing at me and assumed they were saying “look at that crazy white lady thinking she can blend in just by wearing a longyi!” I came upon one group of ladies who pointed at my skirt. I stopped and asked “Is it wrong?” while pointing at my longyi. One lady stood up, undid my skirt and totally rearranged it for me. Yep, I was wearing it wrong. I’d done it up on the wrong side. I said “tersuba (thankyou)”, we all chuckled together and we left, now confident that I was properly dressed. From the then on the looks and comments I got seemed encouraging, like they were happy I’d chosen to try to look Burmese. Some even pointed and said “beautiful”. We got big smiles when we greeted folks with “Mingalabar (hello)” and everyone was friendly, some even encouraging their children to say hello. One even blew me a kiss!

Although we got totally lost it was easy to find our way back as the streets are numbered.

Botanical garden in Pyin oo Lwin

Orchid in the botanical garden

St Mary’s church

St Mary’s church in Pyin oo Lwin

Pyin oo Lwin

Merry go round powered by water

Waterfall in Pyin oo Lwin

Exploring Inle Lake: A Unique Myanmar Adventure

On our tour of Myanmar with Stray Asia, we arrived by boat after doing a two day trek near Kalaw, Shan State.

After lunch at a cafe of noodles, avocado salad (which I REALLY got to enjoy this time!) a peanut salad, assortment of fruit and a coke, we walked to the river where we caught a boat that took us up Inle lake to the Sin Yaw guesthouse in Nyaung Shwe . Along the way we say lots of water farming and fishermen, one of whom entertained us with his gymnastic ability to manipulate his net.

 

Acrobatic fisherman

Nice fish!

Floating farm

Everyone knows how to use a boat. It’s primary transportation

Navigation channels

Dinner was entertaining as we enjoyed some amazing Indian food at the Innlay Hut which is owned by a fellow obsessed with Eminem. It’s definitely different and not for those easily offended with his f*** Trump tee shirt and rapper way of speaking. At one point he got on his hands and knees and sprayed our feet with bug spray.  Interesting character to say the least!  I think his mom cooks the food which is delicious.  All 5 of us had a different dish and all were really good.  Indian food may be my new favourite.

The next day we took a boat tour of Inle Lake and a few of the 80 villages on it. It seems each village has a speciality In one they wove cloth out of lotus, silk and cotton and made longyis, scarves and a few clothes. Another is into boat building and carpentry. Silversmiths reside in another, and there are lots of floating farms. They all seem to work very hard for very little money and are very family oriented.

Later we climbed in a chariot (tuk tuk) and visited the local winery to do some wine tasting and watch the sun go down over the valley.

Floating farms on Inle Lake

Typical village home on Inle Lake

Weaving

Women from a tribe in the mountains who adorn themselves with brass rings to give the appearance of a long neck.

Making ciagrs

Inlay Lake village homes

Navigating the “streets” of a village in Inle Lake

Inle Lake market. San buying sticky rice treats

Fried ants anyone?

Market

Everyone goes to the market

How’s that for tight parking spots?

Inle Lake village home

Gathering lake weeds to use for fertilizer

Weeds make great fertilizer

Random stupa

Going out for dinner in our longyis

Village Life and Scenic Trails: Trekking in Myanmar

Previous post: Bagan. Pagodas and 1,000 years of history

February 1, 2018

Who needs an alarm clock when you can awaken to monks chanting at 5 am? After packing up and enjoying a very hearty breakfast, we met our guide Cunjo and set off on a two day trek. We walked along a dirt road, sometimes path through farmland and villages. At one village a lady weaving bags served us tea and let us use her washroom. Farmers were harvesting the winter crops of chilis, peanuts, ginger, garlic and cabbage. Ladies were busy gathering wood, carrying water, drying chili peppers and peanuts, and gathering manure for fertilizer. We stopped at a village school and watched some primary kids enthusiastically singing the alphabet in Burmese

Lunch was provided for us by a lady in her home. Noodles with a fried egg, ginger and mustard leaf soup, avocado salad and an assortment of fruit along with a can of coke. Her husband entertained us with stories and San interpreted.

I hadn’t been able to eat much lunch as I was suddenly not feeling well and kept trying to sip water to stay hydrated. By early afternoon we’d shed several layers of clothes and were down to shorts and tee shirts.

The walk was interesting and varied and all the people we met in villages along the way friendly and welcoming. Within an our of days end I was feeling so miserable I had to stop for a bit. Kindly Cunjo took my bag and San my camera so I could walk the rest unencumbered. One foot in front of the other and I made it.

Our host had made up mattresses in the upstairs of her two story home for us. After an hour rest, San took us on a tour of the village. People live VERY simply in the mountain villages of Myanmar. There’s no running water. In fact they go to the river and carry it back in big jugs. Some homes have electricity provided by batteries or solar panels. No one has heat and it gets cold at night (0 C is not unusual). Many have buffalo living in the downstairs while they live upstairs. Everyone has an outdoor squattie which I’m finally getting comfortable using in that I can now hit the hole and not pee on my shoes.

By dinner time I felt so miserable I couldn’t even eat soup. I went to bed and San covered me with blankets and gave me an electrolyte drink. It felt like altitude sickness. Nobody else suffered from it but I guess I could just be really sensitive.

I slept fitfully, worried that I wouldn’t be able to finish the trek. By morning though, the waves of nausea had passed and I was able to eat breakfast. YAY!!

Monks enjoying some free time

Winter spider

Magnificent views everywhere and a really varied path

Weaving and making the bags they all use

He’s NOT happy to have a shower. It’s cold out and the water is COLD!

Everyone goes to school

The red field behind is chili peppers

See the tree growing out of the stupa on the left?

Harvest is done so he gets a break

Gathering manure for fertizler

Making baskets used for many things (photo credit to San while carrying my camera)

Carrying hay for animals

 

The walk day two was just as interesting and very different. More of it was downhill. Villagers again were happy to see us and very welcoming, all of them fine with having strangers take their pictures. The views were again magnificent with landscapes dotted with red fields of chili peppers

Farmland changed to a rocky, red landscape not good for growing anything so there were no people. Then we started to go down some more over rough terrain of rocks through jungle and forest.

Altogether we walked about 40 km in two days.  None of us had any muscle pain or anything so we figured we’re in decent shape after all 😀

Chopping hay for feed

Babies are tightly wrapped for 7 months to strengthen their bones

Carrying water jugs to the village

Hi wife is having a baby so he’s cooking at his parents house

Typical outhouse

Our accommodations for the night. Simple, yet comfortable and LOTS of blankets!

Kids on their way to school don’t look any happier about it than ours

Women off to work

Women chatting with women. We have more in common than differences.

Drying peanuts

Taking a break

Village greeters

Banyon tree is highly esteemed as Buddha sat beneath one to meditate a lot

Jungle path going down would be really slippery in wet season

Stray Asia, Myanmar tour

Exploring Bagan: A Journey Through Mythical Pagodas

Previous Post:  3 days in Yangon, Myanmar

January 29th, 2018

Bagan

Yangon bus station is a crazy place so leave lots of time to find your bus. We took the JJ (Joyous Journeys) express which is a pretty luxurious bus ride. Seats are comfy and recline nicely. They give you snacks, drinks and a blanket. There’s a stop for dinner and a stop later for a bathroom break.

We arrived in Bagan at 5 am, dropped our bags at the guesthouse and went to climb a pagoda in the dark in bare feet. Fun stuff. Sun rise was gorgeous and watching the hot air balloons rise over the stupas and temples surreal.

The rest of the morning was spent touring various other pagodas in the area. After a delicious brunch, a quick settle in and clean up in our room, Sue and I set off to explore and people watch. Great fun. Back at our room we got chatting with our neighbours who shared an amazing story. 66 year old Cheryl escaped Burma as a small child with her parents years before and had since lost touch with an older sister. Just a few years ago her husband had visited Burma (now, Myanmar) and had managed to find her. This trip was the first time Cheryl had been back to Myanmar and was reunited with her 89 year old sister. Her daughter Jennifer is travelling with her and they’re both thrilled with the opportunity. Jennifer says she has so many questions for her aunt and feels so lucky to be able to do this. I’ve condensed the story a lot but it sure was an amazing tale!

Our chariot picked us up and we rode off to visit various assorted pagodas and then to watch the sunset. After a delicious dinner of duck and mushrooms and avocado salad, a quick shower and we were done for the night.

January 30th.

Since we enjoyed the sunrise view so much we decided to arise early and see it again from a different vantage point. Ida was hesitant to get out of bed before 5:30 am voluntarily but agreed when I suggested she can sleep when she’s dead 😉

This mornings view was even better! We’ve seen so many pagodas that I have no idea anymore which of the 2,000 in the area we’ve actually seen. Climbing inside the narrow, uneven steps in bare feet in the dark is a challenge but the view from the top is worth it. The sun rise was beautiful and the hot air balloons closer than the previous day. I took WAY too many photos but couldn’t stop as it was just so gorgeous.

After breakfast we set off to visit more pagodas, the river and a local village where we watch the process of creating wooden bowls and things as well as the lacquer process.

For the sunset view today we climbed another pagoda. My feet will be really tough by the time we’re done as you’re not allowed to wear anything on your feet in religious places so climbing is always done bare foot.

People of Bagan

She’s 84 and looking after her 2 year old great grandson
Making a wooden bowl that’s later laquered
Young monks gathering morning donations

Pagoda

Pagoda


Stray Asia Myanmar Tour

3 days in Yangon, Myanmar

January 25, 2018

Jetstar really is a no frills airline so we arrived in Yangon from Singapore, tired and hungry. After checking in to the Ocean Pearl 3 we set out to find something to eat. The eatery didn’t look impressive but we didn’t care. The lady was sweet and agreed to take US dollars as we didn’t have any Kyat yet. A paratha (flat bread), a couple of fried eggs and some interesting cole slaw with a bottle of water was perfect for our needs. We chatted for a bit as she gave us her life history and taught us to say thank you in Burmese. The total bill was $1.50. I gave her 2 and said that was fine, but no way, she had to give me change! So our introduction to Myanmar was very nice!

Friday, January 26th

We managed to get cash today after trying 3 ATM machines and purchased sim cards for our phones at the train station. At the equivalent of $2.50 we figured it would be nice to have data

There’s a “circle train” in Yangon that services all the outlying areas of metropolitan Yangon. Although it’s meant for locals to get around, it’s a great way for visitors to see the whole area. At less than 50 cents, it’s a pretty cheap 3 hour tour. The locals don’t even seem to mind a few tourists riding along with them taking photos of strange things. I sat beside a lady who appeared to be several years older than I. She sat cross legged on the bench seat. When I pointed out how impressive her flexibility was she thought I wanted her to put her feet down. No! I showed her by trying to do it myself that I didn’t have NEAR her flexibility. She just laughed.

Later I sat across from a young woman who asked me if the sun coming in the open window was hot. When I nodded she offered to change seats! Very sweet of her but I declined.

The journey was fascinating as we got to have a peek into the daily lives of the Burmese. Men were waist deep in water, harvesting some kind of water vegetable. Others were hoeing weeds. Some were sorting through plastic and bundling it. People walked around with large baskets of things on their heads. Lots of things were going on!

Saturday, January 27th

It’s another hot day. This isn’t even HOT for Yangon and it’s making me wilt.

After visiting the St Mary’s Cathedral we wandered some more, purchasing fresh watermelon and green mangoes from street vendors.  Somewhere in China town we found a street of vendors selling longyis, the traditional skirt worn by men and women. After picking our favourite pattern, the lady helped us put it on and showed us (repeatedly) how to dress ourselves. It was pretty amusing. They were cheap, everyday longyis at 3,000 kyat (less than $3) and perfect for our needs.

We continued to wander wearing our longyis and imagining that we fit in with the locals now. HA!

We happened upon a Hindu temple where something seemed to be going on so we removed our shoes and entered. It was crowded and there was lots going on involving huge trays of fruit. People were sitting on the floor. A man was chanting over very loud speakers. A woman offered me food and when I declined a man took it and passed it to me anyway. I guess you have to eat when you go to this service. The food was really tasty too! It was paratha with ghie and spicy chick peas that when you put it together were really good. A kind fellow explained to Sue that they had just finished a 9 day fast and this was the celebration. Interesting! Everyone was very gracious and welcoming and didn’t seem to mind foreigners in their midst. Maybe it was because we’re wearing the longyis? 😉

Hindu celebration at the end of a 9 day fast

The plate of food given to us as we entered the temple

St Mary’s Cathedral

St Mary’s Cathedral

View from the circle train. The smoke is from burning garbage

January 28

Today we joined our Stray Asia tour. We checked out of our guesthouse and the driver picked us up along with our guide, San and two other group members. We spent the morning touring Yangon and nicely visited all the places we’d not visited on our own. Perfect!

After a late lunch we stopped at San’s hotel room and took turns cleaning up and getting ready for our night bus adventure

 

Shwedagon pagoda
Shwedagon pagoda
Shwedagon pagoda

Sule pagoda

 

Reclining Buddha
Reclining Buddha
88 poses of Buddha

Making sticky rice

Top Attractions and Local Experiences in Malaga

Malaga

November 21 – 24, 2017

Bus #SN1 takes you from downtown Granada to the bus staion where we caught the bus to Malaga. It’s just under 2 hours and a nice trip from Granada to Malaga. At the bus station we talked to the tourist information lady about things to do in the city and decided on the hop on / hop off bus again. It’s a great way to get your bearings in a new city and see some of the sights at the same time.

We only got a little lost walking to our hostel, Casa al Sur, mostly because there’s a few of them with the same name. After getting her recommendations on places to eat, we took her advice and went to La Perergrinas for sea food. Good choice!

We spent the rest of the day wandering through the old city and walking streets. There’s a LOT to see there. The Christmas lights are all up but not yet lit. Too bad we’ll likely miss that as it looks like it will be beautiful!

Spaniards eat dinner late, go to bed late and get up late so it’s hard to find breakfast places that serve food before 9 am. We don’t sleep in well so like to get moving in the morning. At least at this hostel (Casa al Sur) we could make ourselves a pot of coffee in the morning which is awesome 😀

The hop on / hop off bus didn’t start until after 10 so when we finally found a stop to hop onto, we still had a 15 minute wait. It’s not as good as the Barcelona bus but was worth it anyway. We got a walking tour with it, entry into various museums and an hour long boat ride in the harbour which was nice. There was also a free glass of wine (actually sangria) at Roy’s cafe which we enjoyed. We tried to order something after but the waitress didn’t seem very interested in serving us. Sue finally got her attention at one point. She said “uno momento” and a good 10 minutes later still didn’t come back. When I saw her take the order of someone who just sat down, we left. Fine. We’ll take our business elsewhere. Which we did. After wandering around we found a nice bakery with a nice chocolate treat that had nuts and seeds on it too. Yum. That was after trying the roasted chestnuts on the street. We learned we aren’t fans of those.

Back at the hostel shortly before 8 pm we enjoyed a nice cup of tea in the kitchen and quit for the evening. We’re not Spaniards 😉

Our last day turned out to be the warmest since Lisbon and by mid day we had stripped several layers and were down to tee shirts. We walked the pier, harbour and beach and treated ourselves to gellato. On the way back we stopped at Casa Guardias as recommended to try the local wine. That was interesting as it’s served straight from the keg and you stand at the bar and drink it. After wandering some more through the walking streets of the historical downtown we called it a day.

The church is so big I could only capture it with a fish eye lens
Nativity scene close up

Alcazaba
Can you find Sue and Anita in this photo?

Antigua Casa de Guardia. Wine tasting bar where you can get bottles refilled as well.

The beach

Cafes on the street everywhere

El Pimpi. Found in a beautiful old 18th century mansion house, the restaurant is the oldest tapas bar in Malaga. It was named after the local young men who would help down at the dock; unloading the boats and acting as guides for the ships crews and passengers.

Narrow streets

Harbour tour is included in the hop on hop off bus

Malaga harbour

Cathedral Christmas lights

How many different kinds of coffee ARE there?

Granada’s Hidden Gems: Alhambra and Local Cuisine

Sunday, November 19, 2017

After a 20 minute walk we boarded a bus for the airport in Barcelona  by 5 am. By 10:30 we’d, dropped our bags at the hostel (Pension Olympia) had breakfast in Grenada and joined a free walking tour of the city. It was a good one. There was lots of walking, interesting tidbits and the history directly related to everything we were seeing.

Pedro had recommended trying the churros and chocolate at the Alhambra restaurant and suggested only ordering 2 for the 3 of us as you get so much. They were delicious but even just one order would have been enough. You get a LOT!

After checking into our a room and a quick break, we climbed the hill to scope out Alhambra to best optimize our tickets for the following day. Then back down the hill, wander around town for a bit and climb the hill across from the Alhambra for the sunset views. Dinner was a set menu (10 euro) at a restaurant along the way where we tried the local dish of eggplant drizzled with honey. It tasted more like molasses but was delicious.

By the time we got back to our room we were all exhausted. Our garmins said 24,000 steps and so much of it was HILL!

Monday

Spaniards aren’t in the habit of eating breakfast but we needed something before tackling the Alhambra. We finally found a place that would serve us a coffee and croissant, then climbed the hill to the heritage sight.

First was the Nasrid palace. Even in November you have to buy your tickets at least a month in advance to get the time you want. They only allow a certain number of people in at a time (I think it’s 300) so you have to book your time. We’d reserved 9 am so got there at 8:45 to get an audio guide then waited our turn to enter. Here’s a link for the place to buy tickets you can print and take along.

Click HERE to buy tickets for the Alhambra.

I had to do a lot of searching to find a way that didn’t make it complicated. Many sites have you reserve and pay for your ticket but you’ve got to pick it up when you get here. That’s a pain as you may not want to enter at the main gate. It’s quite far from the Nasrid palace.

According to the audio guide, you can follow their route and tour the whole place in 3 hours. We took 5.5 hours to do it. We REALLY saw the whole thing. The audio guide was 6 euros and definitely worth it. Amongst the heritage buildings there were lots of cats running wild. One seemed to be the pet of a security guard as he would whistle and it came.

There’s a shrub called myrtle planted everywhere as apparently they thought it smells nice. I thought it smelled like perm solution. Sue said she smelled cat pee. I guess “nice” is subjective?

By the time we left, we were starving and a young woman came out of a side street offering a nice looking set menu for 10.90 eu so we went for it. The Tavern El Taller turned out to be really good.

After wandering lots of side streets and checking out vendors, noting that a lot of the merchandise is Moroccan, we headed back to our room for a rest.

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The Alhambra. The pictures just don’t do it justice.  You have to see it for yourself!

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5 days in Barcelona and Montserrat, Spain

November 14 – 19th,.  2017   Barcelona

Our taxi arrived promptly at 7 am and we headed for the airport. The beauty of European travel is cheap flights if you book far enough in advance. We’d paid about $25 (CAN) each for a flight to Barcelona from Santiago, where we’d just finished a two week camino (part 1)   from Porto (part 2)  Ryan Air isn’t as bad as I’ve heard.  In fact, their carry on luggage policy is pretty generous.  We had no issues.

Our cab driver found our airbnb easily and a kind man rang some bell to get the lady to let us in. Our third floor apartment was nice and suited our needs just fine. It even boasted a nice kitchen which we used a few times to make a meal AND a washing machine!  The location turned out to be pretty great too. It was a 15 minute walk to the square, Las Ramblas and the old section, 5 minutes to the subway and about 20 minutes to the beach.

For lunch we happened upon a diner that made empanadas which were REALLY tasty. Then we set off to find the walking tour and only got a little lost trying to find the starting point. We toured the Gothic area. The location is great and very interesting but we could have done with a lot less of a history lesson and more about the general area and population.

We managed to get really lost trying to get back which meant we saw much more of Barcelona than intended. Getting lost is never a waste as we ended up getting bus hopper tickets for the next two days.

The next day we easily found where we were supposed to catch the bus but our sales lady neglected to give us some important information. What does the bus STOP look like? There are several different ones. WE tried to flag the bus down but the driver pointed down the street so we ran for it. That’s when we found the correct post with CITY BUS TOUR and the number on it. We took the green line all the way around before deciding which stops to get off. Getting OFF the bus is the easy part. Finding it back again? Not so much.

We decided to go round once more as some of the sites were supposed to better all lit up. There’s a red, cone-shaped, weird building, a fish and some of the Gaudi buildings that were supposed to be lit. Nope. The Sagrada Familia was nice but since no one was getting on or off, the driver sped off and we didn’t get any decent pictures.

It was late. We were tired and very hungry so just went to a restaurant close our our airbnb. Paella was on the menu so why not? Big mistake. It was edible but we’d have been better off buying a prepackaged thing at the grocery store for 1/4 of the price. We’ll have to try it again at a better restaurant.

The next day we did the hop on / hop off bus with the orange route which visits the west side of Barcelona. That went much more smoothly. Again we did the whole route from the best seat on the upper deck front which you can get when you’re the first ones on the bus. The second time around we got off at various stops and walked about visiting places that interested us.

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Casa Batillo by Gaudi

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Anoter Gaudi

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Mamoth in the park? Parc de la Ciutadella

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View of the castle Montjuic fom the city centre

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Barcelona street

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Dragons all over the place.

People of Barcelona.  Lots of characters!

Markets and FoOD!

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Stop 12 gets you close to the Estanya train station where we bought tickets for Montserrat. 20.50 euro return, including the cable car up the mountain is a much better deal than paying 55 eu for a tour AND we can stay as long as we want. This time we found someone helpful at a tourist information booth. She also gave us info on a bus to get back to the airport.

After a full day we walked down La Rambla street and checked various places for dinner. We decided on the Pita House as they had a good deal on. 2 tapas each and paella for 9.95. It was GOOD! Real paella this time, seasoned nicely (not just salty) and with lots of different seafood.

On the way home we found a market and stocked up on fruit. Pomegranate, passion fruit, mango, raspberries….we’re in heaven!!

On Friday we tackled the metro. That was fun. You can share metro tickets here so we purchased a package of 10 for 9.95, much cheaper than the 2.30 each. We took the L3 to Estanya and then found the R5 to Montserrat where we took the cable car up the mountain. The funiculars were down for maintenance, a downside to low season travel but at least we didn’t have to deal with crowds. It was busy enough. I can’t imagine what it’s like during tourist season! The boy’s choir in the Basilica was a nice treat so don’t miss it. That’s another thing that would be difficult to see when the place is packed with tourists as the church was full even now.

Our ride home was not without hitches but we made it and got off the L3 on Las Rambles so we could find a nice restaurant for dinner. It wasn’t great. I don’t know if it’s because we chose the “deal” or if the food is really not all that great.

Saturday was a free day where we just wandered the Raval section for a while, stopped for a coffee and croissant, wandered the Gothic section and the Jewish quarter and enjoyed a gelato. It was finally warm enough for ice cream!

None of us felt like taking another walking tour as the last couple had soured us on them. Too much standing and listening to lectures and not enough walking and seeing. I think we managed to see most of it on our own with a map.

Dinner was at a restaurant across the street from our room at a place called “Somewhere”. It was the best meal we’d had in Barcelona. I had an amazing salad which was awesome as I’d been missing vegetables.

Montserrat

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A view of the whole complex. Photo of a model

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Beautiful lamps and decorations in the cathedral

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View of the Cathedral from the alter

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View from the top of Montserrat

Lisbon, the city of 7 hills

Lisbon.  The beginning and end of a wonderful trip to Portugal and Spain.

The beginning of our trip starts in Lisbon.
Oct 28, 2017

We’d purchased a few groceries so had a quick breakfast before heading out on our walking tour of Alfama. We paid 21 euro for a tour with Inside Lisbon. It was okay but I’d choose a free tour if I did it again as it wasn’t worth the price. It included a free tram ride and wine and cheese tasting but the guide was hard to hear and we spent a lot of time just trying to make sure we could see her. It did give us an idea of where we were and a bit of information on the city. Our guide was going on the train after so we decided to take the train to Belem. She said it was easy and left us. Either it wasn’t that easy or I’m not very smart. I purchased 4 return tickets to Belem, assuming we could all use the same card. Nope. It didn’t work so the others ended up buying their own ticket anyway. That left me with 3 unused return tickets to Belem. We gave them to a man later and he said he’d find someone who could use them

We saw the sights in Belem but it was SO HOT, it was hard to really enjoy it. Gelado was a welcome treat.

Back in Mouraria we wandered some more, back into Alfama and ended up back at Susanna’s snack bar for dinner. Why not? The food was good and reasonably priced. Our garmins said we did about 26,000 steps. My calves were sore from all the steps. Lisbon is called the city of 7 hills for good reason.

The next day we went to Sintra which deserves it’s own post:  Sintra, Portugal in one day

More time in Lisbon a month later.  November 24, 217

Since we had to stop in Lisbon anyway, we decided to extend the stop over and spend the whole day visiting Lisbon again. There’s a luggage storage place beside the parking lot in the airport so you don’t have to carry your bag all day. Taking the train into the city from the airport is easy and takes only 15-20 minutes. A gorgeous day was spent wandering the city, enjoying lunch out doors and wandering some more before taking the train back to the airport.

City of 7 hills

#CantskipPOrtugal

Odd fellow on the waterfront

Waterfront of Alfama

Belem Tower, Lisboa

Alfama cathedral

Typical narrow street in Alfama

Cafes on the streets everywhere

The infamous tram 28

Alfama,

One way to stop men peeing on the streets?

Jelly fish in the water in Belem