We Are Not Our Government

I’m reviving my old writing blog and just wrote a new entry in it after two years.

I have not written for two years.

Guilty as charged.

There is only one reason bloggers just stop writing and seemed to disappear from the face of the earth.

REAL LIFE

In my case it was a cocktail mix of lack of life management, social gatherings of red wine, conferences, mountains of marking papers, one miserable relationship and …. [continue]

to get the full article, click here. It’ll take you to my writing blog.

This week I felt a little bit paranoid towards my students as Philippine-China relations tensed due to an incident where a Chinese fishing boat got stranded near islands being disputed to be owned by either China, the Philippines and many other Asian countries in the South China Sea.

The Mainland Chinese are a fiercely proud race yet I worry that their tunnel vision tendencies would result in becoming hostile towards me just because our government’s’ relationships are on rocky waters, so to speak. I’m relieved though that so far my students have still acted normal towards me and have not displayed any animosity. This is part of a life of an Expat, where there may be incidents that would occur between the governments of your country of birth and the country you’re temporarily residing in.

On  that note, I do wish that many could separate government and citizens. We are not the same as our government. Many countries have the worst brutal governments but its people are some of the nicest and friendliest in the world. Take Burma, for example, its government has one of the world’s most brutal human rights records. Does that mean its people are a bunch of murderers? Of course not. Likewise, not all North Koreans are like Kim Jung-il.

Sadly, still some people think government and people are alike. Upon meeting my American travel buddy Dbau, a Burmese exclaimed, “You know I used to so hate fucking Bush. But your country is okay now. I love Obama.”

When You See Naked Monks in Burma

Of nude holy men, holes and Nazis

The thing about stories is that they lead you to places which is why Dbau and I found ourselves on a bumpy road, our bus kicking up clouds of dust and cutting through thick foliage of jungle and monasteries of Northern Burma last spring. Stories lured us here, whispered promises of a “country unlike any other”, “frozen in time,” “remote and isolated”, “What Thailand and Cambodia were like twenty years ago”. The blogs and experiences I heard often spoke well of Myanmar and I wonder why. We were about to find out.

This is my story about Burma.

First stop:Yangon

I thumbed through the pages of the backpacker’s bible- The Lonely Planet. It was January 2012. I had bought the latest edition of Dec 2011 and already some of its info was wrong.

According to LP, airports and banks give the worst exchange rate, 7 kyat to 1 US Dollar while in the black market,, it’s supposed to be 700 kyat to 1 USD. But as of 19^th January 2012, theYangon airport and the banks give the best rate – 823 kyat to the dollar! Also, we had initially read Facebook and Youtube were blocked, buses were shit and bicycles were illegal inYangon. But when we came here, we could access those sites – no problem- bicycles were everywhere and the buses were one of the most comfortable ones we had in Asia complete with reclining seats, toothbrush, bottled water, pillows and flat screen T.V.s that played Burmese soaps and karaoke.

Interesting.

Burma’s gonna be fun.

Yangon is no Tokyo,Bangkok or Shanghai. But it’s a city wrapped in romantic nostalgia– narrow alleys lined with street foods, ancient bookshops and stands (Burmese are huge readers), a mix of Burmese, Chinese and Indians are all jostling in their traditional longjis going about their own business that hasn’t changed much in centuries. Coming here gives you an experience of going back through time—very few cities are like this anymore. Now and then the street clatter would be pierced by sounds of prayer from the monasteries, mosques, synagogues and churches.

Due to poor infrastructure, Yangon is littered with man size holes. On one of the many frequent blackouts, I almost fell into one the city. During my whole trip, these holes would haunt me and would soon catch up with me. But more about that later…

BAGAN

Bagan is an ancient capital of 2,600 temple.s. It rivals Cambodia’s Angkor Wat because one can see all the temples in a sweeping panoramic landscape lending a feel of being Lara Croft or Indiana Jones. Spin around, point your finger anywhere, chances are it will always land on a temple.

Here in Bagan, we met another attraction. Audrey is this spunky woman who was going back to backpack her way to Istanbul,Turkey (where she is right now looking for work). She told us this story of meeting this Burmese guy up in Mandalay who upon meeting her just fell in love in three days and decided to tattoo her name on his arm.

I can understand a year but geez, three days? What if it doesn’t work out?

Inle Lake

Our boat cut through the swathes of wet marsh, the mist parted and we saw floating villages and gardens, farmers, rural houses on stilts, animals and school children. Here we swam in a pool ofhot springswith smiling Burmese women. Pretty soon we were all laughing –God knows why. It’s one of those magical moments where you don’t need a reason to laugh, when you share something unspoken that breaks through the language barrier, where two different cultures share a bond of womanhood.

When you see naked Monks -Monk Shower time

All I had wanted was to donate money, seriously. But walking into the monastery in Nwaung Shwe at Inle Lake, Dbau and I had no inkling on what I awaited us. A glorified vision of a dozen monks in their full bronzed nudity scrubbing themselves and pouring buckets of water over their heads. We immediately ran outside, giggling and hoping we had just not committed some cardinal sin.

Holes in Burma

So back to the holes. As I had mentioned, Burma was just littered with them like someone decided to drop mini bombs on the road for fun. One night there was a blackout. I literally jumped and grabbed Dbau’s hand, fearing that I’d dropped into a hole and it would just be reassuring if I could  a) have someone to hold on to or b) at least drag someone along with me. Most of all, I just wanted the comforting thought that my friend wouldn’t walk back into our hostel whistling a merry tune not knowing that she had left me behind to sleep in a man size hole for the night.

That and I wouldn’t have rats as my bed buddies.

The next few times I was wary of these booby traps. I made sure I kept my headlights with me and we were often careful to be back in our hostel before the sun went down. The irony was that one fateful day I would unknowingly step into a hole in broad daylight.

We were about to leave Inle Lake. Waiting for our bus, we were about to enter a teahouse when my foot slipped into one unsteady plank that covered a pit. Before I knew it, I was in hip deep in a hole. An American we met, Dan helped me up and felt sorry for me covered in dirt. Then was deeply puzzled at the sight of me and Dbau laughing our asses off because it finally happened- I fell into a hole.

Later when we got back toYangon, I committed the most horrifying faux pas ever. We had our last dinner- Dbau, me, Dan and his friend, Anna. I was recounting a sight I had seen during our overnight bus ride from Inle to Yangon- that of a huge Buddha with his hand stretched upwards like the Hitler salute when I remembered two things that –

1)      Dan’s a Jew

2)      Anna is a German

I tell you my arm whipped back into its socket so fast like it was a bullet ricocheting backwards. What remained of my attempt to show Buddha’s gesture was a pitiful endeavor at waving my elbow back and forth. It ended up looking like Buddha lost an arm and had a brand new stump instead.

Good thing I didn’t mention the ‘reversed’ Nazi insignia on his forehead.

Ah, Dan why did you pick a German?

An Overview

All in all, it was one of the most memorable trips I’ve ever had. It wouldn’t be as unforgettable if I wasn’t traveling with my best friend Dbau who shares my spatially challenged skills. We just had so many laughs and misadventures. Also, she puts up with my poor stab in Burmese rap song writing.

The people in Burma are so kind, friendly and they can converse with you in English (sometimes sounding it came from a 19^th century George Orwell novel. As one Burmese tea keeper told us, “Once you’ve had a taste of my tea, your appetite shall therefore be insatiable!”). It is the people that makes Burma worthwhile going. And since Aung San Suu Kyi got elected into parliament, all the more reason it is to go before tourism inevitably changes it into another Thailand. Go before it becomes too commercial.

GREAT FRIEND + AMAZING PLACE + KIND PEOPLE = A TRIP FULL OF AWESOMENESS

And dare I mention the sunsets?

You might like to read:

• Lessons I Learned from Travel (and Pics!)
• How To Make an Easy Travel Itinerary
• Sample Travel Itinerary 
• The Real Travel Itinerary- What Really Happened
• Kidnapped in Indonesia
• Spirit Possession in Cambodia
• Banned in the Mainland

Lessons I Learned From Travel (and Pics!)

I had not written in this blog for two years. Let me explain why there was a long period of not writing. Besides getting in and out of a relationship, I suddenly had an explosion of traveling to many different places. It was more of experiencing so many things and not taking the time to sit down and write about them.

And that is a shame. So below is a summary, an attempt to encapsulate what I had seen these past 2 years and hoping, here’s hoping it inspires you.

1. Travel is not just a dream. It can be reality.

There is no excuse for you to just continue sitting on your couch and moaning how boring life is. We live in an awesome world. Think how many things you could be experiencing right now if you just go out and get it.

I have a Philippine passport. That restricts me to traveling to a 100 or so countries. I need a visa to travel to most of Europe, US, Australia, Korea, Japan, New Zealand and other places. I need to do a lot of paperwork and they make it difficult for us to apply for a visa to travel to those places. I also don’t have a very high monthly income.  Did that stop me?

Nope.

I’ve now been to those countries except for Europe and New Zealand (coming soon!). What drives me to visit as many places as I can is seeing my grandparents unable to climb the Great Wall of China because of their age. Sure you can save money and finally get to visit your dream place when you retire – that is the safest option and that’s what everyone tells you- and it might happen. But what is inevitable is that you won’t be able to enjoy it fully with your 70 year old bones. Heck, my 40 year old office mate keeps complaining about climbing the stairs to our office—and yes, she did skip the Great Wall in China and bungee jumping in New Zealand.

Achieving my dream of seeing Taj Mahal, India

Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo, Japan. This is where I got the best sushi ever!

2. Travel can open up your mind. You think you know the world? Think again.

A Hindu community lives in this chilly part of Bromo, Indonesia. 

I took a photo of these lovely kids in Xinjiang Province, China. They look Central Asian but no, they’re Chinese.

Cowboy culture in Moron, Mongolia. One of the last and few places that totally captures the free spirit of the Wild Wild West.

Strolling aimlessly by the road, I found this Che Guevara establishment in where else but in Yangon, Burma.

Seeing and touching snow for the first time in Minnesota, USA. I had no idea it would look like shaved ice. 

3. Experience over buying things. Iphones come and go, computer models go obsolete but memories? They last forever. Would you rather stay in your house and watch your brand new plasma T.V. and play your Xbox or would you rather –

-  scuba dive the world’s largest coral reef system a.k.a.  Great Barrier Reef of Australia?

-         paraglide amidst the Himalayan Mountains in Nepal? (My guide and I took this photo of my friend Shirley while we were riding the air currents from above.  Terrifying!)

-   go on a camel ride on the sand dunes of Mongolia? (here’s my friend David with the prettiest camel of the bunch).

-   catch a beautiful sunrise amidst 2,600 temples in Burma?

4. It’s about meeting new friends and spending time with the old. It’s about forming memories and friendships that would last a lifetime.

my best friend, Dbau and I in one of our best trips in Burma

This is our tour group shivering in front of our Russian van in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia. Spending all those days in the desert without mobile phones, T.V. or internet gave us more chances to talk about our lives and spend time with each other. 

5.  And finally, just live life.  We live in a beautiful world.

Whitsundays in Australia

Swim with the biggest fish in the world- the whale shark in the Philippines (photo from Lovely Adventures)

Marvel in the glitziest area in the world- Times Square, New York City. 

Be awestruck in one of the most beautiful monuments in the world- Hagia Sofia in Turkey (Bucket list!).  Photo from Istanbul Tours

Skydive in New Zealand (photo courtesy of  Scoop)

See the glaciers in the Roof the World, Tibet

See the world’s largest mirror in the Salt Marsh of Bolivia (photo from Beautiful Places).  I so badly want to see this. 

For “the World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.” – Saint Augustine

Free your wanderlust. Happy Travels!

Except for pictures I provided a link to, all photos are from my album.  Please kindly link to this site if you want to use them. Thanks!

You might like to read:

How to Make an Easy Travel Itinerary

Sample Travel Itinerary 

The Quick Pack List

How to Prepare for your Trip the Lazy Way