For years I have wanted to visit the faraway land of Myanmar. The borders opened in 2011 and tourism has grown little by little. We checked off another country of my long bucket list when we landed in Yangon, Myanmar. Our guide, Zaw Zaw greeted us with a smile and took us to our hotel. For 9 days we are on a private tour. Yes, it’s a bit over our budget but not knowing what to expect we opted for a guide and driver. It was worth every penny!
We have seen so much and learned so many things about Myanmar culture. Here are some of the highlights from the first of the three cities we visited, Yangon.
The first thing we picked up on was that Myanmar is pronounced by the local people as Me-a-mar. They do not want to be referred to as Burma as that is the name the military used as well as the British that occupied their country. Now that they are “free” they only refer to the country as Myanmar. They are very proud to no longer be under military rule.
People are selling food everywhere; on the streets, in the trains, in markets big and small. Basically anywhere they can find a place, they just set up and start selling. Many sidewalks have makeshift restaurants that are set up every day.
The very first pagoda we went to in Myanmar is one of the most famous. Shwedagon Pagoda is thought to be 2,600 years old making it the oldest in the world but no official documentation can prove that. Most Buddhists from Myanmar will make a pilgrimage to Yangon at least once in their life to visit this pagoda. The main building is completely covered in 24k gold leaf. The top umbrella is decorated with over 7,000 diamonds, rubies, topaz and sapphires.
A short distance from Shwedagon Pagoda
is Chaukhtatgyi or the Reclining Buddha Temple. It houses the one of the largest Buddha images in all of Myanmar. From head to toe is measures 66 meters long (217 feet).
Karaweik Hall Barge is a restaurant built to resemble 
a royal barge. It is floating on Kandawgui Lake. It is quite famous and offers nightly cultural shows with a dinner buffet. We did not partake but went to see this awesome structure. Many logos and signs in the country have a depiction of this “Royal Barge” on them, including Myanmar Beer.
Our visit to Yangon ended with an 18-hour overnight train ride to Bagan that left the station at 4:00pm. The train has three classes; Ordinary class, Second class and First Class with sleeper beds. None of the seats offered air conditioning. Our first class ticket cost approximately $13 per person. The train had one car for first class with three cabins. Each cabin was split into two sides with a private “toilet” for four people. We shared our cabin with a Myanmar couple that spoke very little English but we quite nice. The bottom was split into two chairs with a flip up table in the middle. The chairs pull out into a bed at night. The top had a bunk bed as well. A clean sheet, pillow and blanket were offered.
While the facilities were minimal (a tin can with a hole exposed to the tracks) and the dust was fierce, we really enjoyed the experience. We were able to see the country side and how people live outside the city. As you can imagine the people have very little money and live in palm leaf huts. Many of the country people are farmers growing corn, rice and peanuts. Each town we went through the people lined the sides of the train waving at the passengers.
Our train arrived in Bagan just before 11:00am. We were greeted again by our guide, Oo. After short dusty and bumpy ride we arrived at our hotel.
Our next post will be of Bagan. A beautiful place that dreams really are made of.
sky train to the end of the line (Mo Chit). A very short walk south from the station is the Chatuchak Weekend Market. The market is huge covering an area of 32 acres with more than 15,000 stalls. Vendors are selling everything from clothes, plants, electronics, ceramics, furniture, dried snacks and of course, fresh food/snacks. Robert absolutely had to have one of their specialties – a mango smoothie.
On our last day in Bangkok we set out to explore the area along the river. The metro and sky train do not run along the river but there are two different options of boats that can be taken to piers up and down the river. Tickets for a single ride is 50 THB. The orange line or the Chao Phraya Express Boat are both at the
pier just off the sky train. The Chao Phraya Express Boat offers a unlimited one day pass for 180 THB (approx. $6.00). We opted for the day pass and set out down the river to the pier at Pak Klong Taladd. From there we made a 1/2 mile walk to Wat Pho. The complex contains the Temple of the Reclining Buddha.
The temple was amazing, so foreign from what have seen anywhere else in the world. The construction of the current Wat Pho complex was started in 1782 by King Rama I. It is home to more than 1,000 Buddha statues. We wandered through the complex taking in all the spires, Buddha statues and temples. Each building and spire is comprised of thousands of colored ceramic pieces. The array of colors added a beauty to the buildings. We had a chance to go inside of the temples. Before entering the we were required to remove our shoes. We were happy to do so out of respect for their custom.
The Temple of the Reclining Buddha is in the back of the complex. It was easy to find as that is where the most people were gathered. The Buddha is huge measuring 46 meters long and is completely covered in gold leaf. There are pillars holding the temple up every 3 meters so it is not possible to get a picture on the Reclining Buddha in one shot.
Robert had a very special moment in one of the temples at Wat Arun. There was a monk offering blessings to visitors. The blessing is done by sprinkling water over the head, chanting and tying a white string on the wrist. Robert was one of the few who received a personal blessing which is meant to give him good luck and happiness.
83.2% – good, then bad, then good again. I think it may be a while before we are completely free from this bug.
Chengdu is best known for the Chengdu Giant Panda Research and Breeding Center. The Giant Panda has come to symbolize vulnerable species world-wide with only approximately 1,864 Giant Pandas left in the wild and only 266 living in captivity. Of these 266 in captivity – over half are at the Panda Breeding Center in Chengdu.
of the Temple Fairs on the last day of the New Year. Talk about crowds!!! The fair had wonderful lanterns, lights and great people watching. We were very happy to join in a bit of the New Year’s celebrations after all.
We were fortunate enough to be able to attend a Chinese Sichuan Opera. The Sichuan Opera is a composite performance of many art forms, music, dance, comedy and drama.
I will begin with the end. We have spent the last four days in the hotel because one or the other or both of us have had the flu. It was bound to happen and we are actually lucky it happened in Beijing because this was not our first time here. I, of course, got the flu first- Missy stood strong for the first 48 hours and then she succumbed. Now I am at 95% and she is sleeping trying to get rid of this thing. Makes you really miss home when you are sick. Chinese noodle bowls are not the same as chicken noodle soup and are a poor replacement when you aren’t at 100%. At least the hotel had Olympics (in Chinese) and HBO (in English).
The year of the dog started on February 16. There are parades and fairs in all of the cities and towns in China. The Temple Fairs, as they are called, have traditional dragon and lion dances, acrobatics, storytelling and more. We, as you read in 
paragraph one, did not partake in any. We did see the decorations all over the country for the last 24 days. Many Chinese will travel during this time to see their families. If fact, It is the largest human migration on earth – over 1.3 Billion people travel during the week of the New Year.
We enjoyed some low air Quality Index days before we got sick and had a great time exploring the city. We took a tour which highlights included the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace, the Forbidden City, the Ming Tombs and the Great Wall of China.
There is a small wharf that offers a short boat ride to the other side of the river. A “scenic route” has been constructed along the opposite side of the river for people to enjoy. It is much like a Chinese garden. Although the day was quite foggy were able to capture some photos of the beautiful scenery (and some of us too!).
It was very peaceful along the river walking the scenic route. The weather is a bit warmer but it is still low season and there are very few tourists. We took our time and enjoyed being off the beaten track.
bus was on time and uneventful. We arrived and took a cab to Tunxi, the old town area where our hotel was located. The cab dropped us off at the edge of the pedestrian area and pointed which way to walk. We wandered around pulling our bags for approximately 45 minutes looking for the hotel. Luckily, Missy saw a sign in Chinese that had pictures that resembled the online pictures of the hotel.
bathroom with a 4 foot high ceiling were unique, the squeaky stairs to get to the room brought you back in time. Unfortunately, going back in time included no heat. It was 2 degrees Celsius (35F). You literally could see your breath. Needless to say, we only lasted one night before checking out and getting a new hotel that was not quite so . . . Retro.
streets and wonderful restaurants serving traditional food from the region. Our 
favorite restaurant was Mei Shi Ren Jia Restaurant, a famous restaurant located at the end of Tunxi Old Street. At the restaurant you walked a buffet line and wrote down the numbers of the food items you wanted, sat down and the food would be cooked fresh and served for you. It was excellent – we ate there twice!
The highlight of our trip to Huangshan was our trip to the town’s namesake, Huangshan Mountain also known as Yellow Mountain. The trip to the 
mountain was half of the adventure. It started with a bus ride for a little over an hour from the town of Huangshan to what they refer to as the scenic area. Then we took another shuttle bus for about 20 to 25 minutes to the base of the 
mountain. Finally we took a cable car up to the top. The trails were cut into the sides of cliffs and were covered in ice. Missy bought crampons to attach to her shoes to keep from sliding around.
Of all the notable mountains in China, the Yellow Mountain is probably the most famous. Together with the Yellow River, the Yangtze River and the Great Wall, it has become one of the great symbols of China. We enjoyed the walk, the climb, but most of all the views, they were breathtaking.
pent more time getting our tickets than actually riding the train. We took a quick taxi ride to our hotel located right in the middle of the tourist center. Hotel Soul Suzhou was very nice and a great find for $60 per night including breakfast. We had a relaxing evening enjoying our nice hotel, happy hour at the bar and really comfy room.
offered free entry so we took advantage and quietly made our way in. There were people in the temple worshiping and performing a traditional ceremony. Men played music and a family made an offering of a paper goose. We all stood and watched as the smoke started and the flames consumed it until there was nothing left but ash. It was a very unique experience that we were lucky to have.
After our time at the gardens we started to make our way back toward our hotel. Since we were quite a way from that area, we decided to take the public bus. Bus #1 makes a route that stops near most tourist locations. The older folks on the bus were fascinated that we were riding along with them.
Day two we decided to take the metro to the north side of Old Town. Our first stop was at the Bao’em Temple. Parts of the temple complex date back to construction between 1131 and 1162 AD. The pagoda is nine stories high. While pagoda is closed we explored the temple complex including walking around the pagoda in a clockwise route in order to keep the “spirits” happy with us. It’s part of the local beliefs.
A short walk from the Bao’em Temple is the Humble Administrator’s Garden. The original part of the garden was built in 1509. It covers a very large area and takes a minimum of two hours to walk and enjoy all the different sections the garden offers. Humble Administrator’s Garden is much busier that the others we visited so far and also more expensive. The low season price is 70 RMB ($11.00) and 90 RMB in high season. The gardens have many pavilions, ponds and rockeries to explore. On warmer days it would be a great place for a picnic.
We couldn’t believe the amount of animals that they had in such small cages. It was very sad to see them so crammed together. The good things was all the animals were very clean and seemed to be well fed. The market is where locals come to buy fresh flowers and also find a pet. There many different animals for sale including puppies, bunnies, kittens, turtles, birds, guinea pigs, gerbils and many kinds of fish.
without a meal of our favorite new Chinese food… fried dumplings. We found a local restaurant near the famous shopping street, Guan Qian Street. The menu was only in Chinese, so we did our best to point at pictures to order our food. The small shop did not disappoint. It was another great meal of pork fried dumplings and white rice for approximately $3.00 for two people.
Our hotel is a four block walk from Westside Lake the main attraction of Hangzhou. It is a man-made lake covering 2.5 square miles. There are a lot of things to do along the waters edge as well take a boat ride to the island in the middle. During our two day visit we spent two afternoons strolling the boardwalk, watching the locals play cards in the park and following the cormorant birds as they fished along the shallow water.
We also took the boat ride to the island in middle containing 
There are many different kinds of boats that will take you to the island. Of course they all have different prices ranging from 55 RMB to 120 RMB. We opted for the cheaper option and found out that on the way back you can take which ever boat you want. We took the smaller covered boat there and the decorated own on the way back.
a historic pedestrian shopping street lined with shops and food stalls. In present day, it’s quite touristy but fun to see all the Chinese tourists on vacation. Everything is geared toward Chinese tourists. Robert just had to try one of the local treats, sugar glazed strawberries. So good!
As we did in Suzhou, we had to find some great local food to try in Hangzhou. We are lucky that to be staying only one block from the very famous Kui Yuan Guan Noodle Restaurant. It was founded in 1867 and serves Anhui-style noodles. Yummy!
This morning (yes, 7:30am Monday) we woke up to watch the Super Bowl Live. Robert had his coffee in hand and was yelling at the iPad. We had fun enjoying a little piece of home. Hope everyone had an amazing Super Bowl Sunday.
Fourteen hours after leaving the US, we arrived in Shanghai, China. We grabbed our bags and made our way to the Maglev (bullet train). Even though this option is more expensive than taking the metro into the city, we wanted the experience of the ver
y fast train. During our eight minute ride, the train speed reached 430 kilometers per hour. Surprisingly the ride was very smooth. It felt as though we were gliding past the traffic outside.
The next morning we woke up extremely early as we hadn’t quite adjusted to the tremendous time difference. We set out to explore the Bund area. It was still rainy and so the views along the Bund and Pudong across the Huangpu River were not crisp. We enjoyed taking in the sights and beautiful architecture.
Another wonderful place to visit is the Yu Garden in the Old City which contains a Chinese garden dating back to the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644). The Old City is fully decorated for Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) which will begin on February 15th. We walked the zig-zag bridge and started in the Yu Garden. Snow is still on the roof tops and flowers are just starting bud. The garden is beautiful even in the winter. It covers a large area with several different pavilions that were once used by Chinese poets to gather their thoughts and get inspiration.
ating some of the local food is a must. We opted for a very famous steamed bun restaurant. Nanxiang is located outside the Yu Garden on the opposite side of the zig-zag bridge. It has three floors. Street level is the take out window, that has a line of people 30+ deep at all times. The second floor offers only one type of steamed bun – Pork and crab mixed. We chose the third floor which offers a full service dining experience with a large menu. The cost is more for each floor you go up, but we were excited to try a few different items. An order of six buns will cost approximately 35 RMB on the top floor compared to 15 RMB at the take out window. We started with a cold beef appetizer and one order of pork steamed buns. We loved them so much we ordered the vegetable ones too!
Iguazu means “big water” in their language. Iguazu Falls is one of the Natural Wonders of the World and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the second largest of all waterfalls in the world behind Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. More water flows through Iguazu Falls in a year than any other waterfall in the world.
Seeing the falls is possible on both the Argentina and Brazilian side. United State citizens need a visa to visit Brazil but not Argentina so during our trip we did a complete tour of the Argentina side. After entering the park and paying the $500 pesos admission, we started by taking the train to the upper part of the falls. From there we walked over one kilometer long metal bridge to get to the “devils throat.” Our first siting of the falls was from the platform in the middle of mist. As we stood and took in the thunderous sounds of the falls and the amazing view of water pouring over the cliffs, we were soaked by the continuous heavy mist. Even though I was soaked through, I couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear.
After taking the train back down from the top of the falls, we took the “Upper Circuit” walking trail. The 1.5 kilometer walk offers the best panoramic views of the falls. It is breathtaking. From the trail you can see all the falls that make up Iguazu and the multiple levels the water hits on its way down. Another interesting experience is standing at the very top of one of the falls and watching the water rush over the cliff and fall down hundreds of feet with a constant loud thunder.
npour of rain started. It was time for us to set out on the last part of our tour, the boat ride. So without hesitation we walked out into the rain. Our guide took us to the safari trucks for our trip down the Iguazu River where we would meet up with our boat captain. The rain was not letting up. The trucks were open air offering no protection from the rain. It made for a wild and very wet ride through the rainforest.
of what was going to happen. Our captain took us up the river to where Iguazu Falls crashes over the cliffs. Our boat continued to get closer and closer until we were under the falling water. The huge amount of water crashing all around us made it very hard to see but it was amazing! I snapped pictures blindly trying to capture some of what it was like to be under the falls. Click the link below to see the video from under the falls (sometimes it loads a bit slow).
Our day at Iguazu Falls was at an end, so happy and completely soaked we went back to our hotel. We enjoyed a relaxing evening at NaMaRa Hotel with our awesome hosts Matias and Nancy. They were gracious and made our stay in their hotel wonderful.
We arrived on a hot sunny day in the capital city of Montevideo. the weather had changed dramatically since our last stop in Puerto Madryn. It was going to be a hot one! We met up with our friends, the Davis family (Jeff, Diane and Grace), in the morning and headed out to explore the city on foot. Since none of the Holland organized tours looked like what we wanted to do, we wandered the streets in the direction of Plaza de Independencia to join the 11:00am free wa
lking tour.
At the end of our two hour tour, Geraldo, offered all of us a taste of a famous Uruguayan liquor, Grappamil. It is like Italian Grappa sweetened with honey. He poured us all a taste. It was much better than my recent taste of Grappa.
made our way back to the ship.
ining. We were able to walk for about one hour before the rain started. We began our exploration at the clock tower, Torre Monumental and then up to Calle Florida. The pedestrian street of Calle Florida continues for several blocks. It is filled with shops selling just about anything you can think of. However, one thing you cannot miss are all the people yelling “Cambio, Cambio” over and over. There are dozens of them along the streets trying to get people to change currency with them. While it is illegal, there is a strong desire for people to get US Dollars rather than Argentinian Pesos. While it may be easy to do a currency exchange with one of them, it is not a good idea as they can give you fake bills. 
We laughed at all of their different ways of saying the same thing. Some fast, some slow, some aggressively and some like they are half asleep. It’s part of the atmosphere of shopping along Calle Florida.
On Sunday we met up with the Davis family in the Plaza Dorrego for the weekly market. The streets all around the plaza were filled with street vendors selling everything from antiques to crafts to souvenirs. The market happens every Sunday from approximately 10:00am to 4:00pm in the neighborhood of San Telmo.
On Monday, we joined another free walking tour at 11:00am. The one in Buenos Aires must have reservations in advance because they limit the number of people on each tour. Our guide, Vicky, took us through the main downtown area giving us a tremendous amount of information about the city as we walked. The tour was 2.5 hours starting in Plaza Congresso and ending at the Obelisk. It was a great way to learn about the city.
Pizzeria Guerrin twice. They are known for having the best empanadas in the city and their pizza is great too! At both lunch and dinner time the place is packed. They only except cash. The walls are full of photos of South American celebrities that have eaten there. It has a fun atmosphere and the food is great! The restaurant is located 2 blocks from the Obelisk.
