Bangkok, The Islands and Myanmar

So we had arrived in Bangkok after a crazy trip. I met up with my cousin Kian which was very nice. I also met up with my Aunt Keyvan who was in Bangkok on some kind of shopping marathon and we too did a load of shopping. It doesn't matter how much time you spend in Bangkok, you will always do more shopping. Also I took Anett to experience some of the fun things in town as she had not enjoyed Bangkok so much in the past. 3 or 4 days is usually enough in Bangkok though and after we had really had enough. We had decided to go to Koh Chiang in the gulf of Thailand and then to Myanmar formerly known as Burma via Bangkok.

After getting our 30 day visas for Myanmar we headed off from Ekammai bus station and took the bus to Trat which was a 5 hour bus ride for 200 BAHT. Then there is a ferry to Koh Chiang. Anett had not been at her best for a couple of days. Whilst she is great fun she often has moods but this time she seems to have hit a travelling wall. Her mood is awful and rather than it being water off of duck's back I've had enough. It's not a good day and in the end I have to confront her about this. Myanmar is a very difficult place and I don't think she is really up to it. After a chat though it all seems ok. I think she is missing her boyfriend very much as well so I guess we'll see how it goes. After finding a bungalow and getting a nights sleep we go looking for stuff to do the next day. To be honest I was very exhausted by Anett's changes of mood and being happy for 2 had made me so tired so my mood didn't pick up. We found a snorkel trip for the next day though and booked it and also decided to change island to Koh Wai after the trip.

In the meantime we got some snorkel gear and hired a Kayak for the afternoon. Koh Chiang was very beautiful but it had left us both quite flat as it felt as though the adventure of travelling was over and we were on a holiday island where couples sunned themselves like sausages on the beach. The kayaking was good fun though and we arsed around a lot and began to laugh again. The sea and beaches here are fantastic and the water is so perfect for swimming. That evening we went along the sea front to a bar with fires and candles and good music. The food was aso fantastic but the place was empty. The previous night we had gone to a much busier place on the beach called Porn's bungalows but it was a bit weird with wealthy tourists trying to be cool now they were out of the office. You know the kind of thing. Everyone dancing like your dad at a wedding. There were very cool looking fire dancers all dressed in black and stuff like that. But tonight the quiet place was much nicer. The food was amazing!!! And the fire dancers, whilst not being all dressed up were seriously good... I've never seen any that good before! They were just in jeans and t-shirts and were local lads. One in particular was incredible! Anett is a real piromaniac and starts a fire at any opertunity, so she loved it.....thank goodness.

Next morning we headed off for our snorkelling trip. There was a group of Thai weekenders on a corporate do on the boat and as we set off they started on the wine! 9.30 am, 36 degrees, on a boat...mmmmm someone's gonna get sick. It took about 45 minutes I think!! Ew! The tour leaders were pretty loud and have a megaphone. One of them is the gayest man I have ever seen. He's quiet tall, and then there was a tall lady boy who screamed all the time, and a short man with thick glasses and a perm that Kevin Keagen would admire. (He reminded me of Ani a bit...those of you from Brunel will know what I mean). He was also wearing cycling shorts and was so camp it's untrue. They were having a riot and the only thing I can liken it too is a Thai version of Hi Di Hi campers! Anett quietly pointed out a German woman who was baking herself on the deck to a crisp who was really quite revolting but just kept on roasting all day despite her skin falling off. It was all very bizarre.

The snorkelling however was great. In the words of Anett, 'Zee vater is piss varm ya!' (Is this 'Hi Di Hi' or 'Allo Allo'). We were out all day and the sea and reefs were very good. The food was good too. After a long day the boat headed back and half way we were summoned to the rib at the back for our transit to our new island....just us 2...it was cool. We climbed in and headed off at very high speed toward the island of Koh Wai. The water was very choppy and it was a very cool ride and a long one too. As we rounded the island the water went dead flat and clear as glass and we zoomed into the most amazing bay and beach I've ever seen and beached the boat in true James Bond fashion. We got a bamboo hut on the beach and got a rest. It had been a great day but we were absolutely shattered having not fully recovered from Laos. I've lost a hell of a lot of weight and our bodies really need some recovery time. Unfortunately the seafood from the snorkel trip has poisoned me again....OH JOY! I had a really rough night.

The beach holiday blues don't go away and we are both bored and soon on our way back. The journey back to Bangkok was a disaster too as the bus ran out of fuel and it took so long to sort out. Eventually switching buses it took 10 hours to get back to Bangkok. We are flying to Yangon in Myanmar the next day so we really needed a break. I had already rescheduled all my flights. I was due to fly to Sydney instead but the Shirdel - Brummer team was not done in Asia.

So we got cleaned up, had a sleep and headed to the airport. What will we find in Yangon? I had no idea but had read as much as I could and knew that it would be a tricky place. The government is very oppressive. We landed in the tiny airport and it was baking hot as we got off the plain. As we walked to the terminal a military fighter flew over reminding me that Myanmar has a military government. All went smoothly and as we went through an Italian man was telling us how he didn't trust the exchange in the airport. He was a total weirdo though so we didn't listen as he was off to trade on the black market. I decided to change $50 into Jet (spelt Kyat). Unfortunately my Lonely Plant was not up to date and this turned out to be a big mistake. We climbed into a taxi and were driven to a guesthouse in the centre of town. The town was very quiet and pretty to start with but got dirtier and crazier as we got near the centre. The taxi driver was mortified that we had changed money in the airport. It turns out that the government use an exchange rate of 450 Kyat to the dollar but the black market rate was 900 kyat!!! So we essentially lost half our money... NICE! I was a little shocked as I had not brought a lot of money with me and realised that to get more money into the country with a credit card I would have to use the governemt exchange rate. The driver tried very hard to sell us his services for the duration of our trip as this is often a good way to get around but we wanted to do our own thing so said goodbye at the guesthouse.

The first guesthouse was very dirty and the people running it looked dirty so we tried another and whilst ok it was not great for the price at $8 for a double room.... well compared to what we were used to anyway. We decided to not make anymore mistakes and to sort everything else out at the guesthouse. We found that we were up against a very difficult and corrupt system though. International flights are all out of Yangon now with none flying from Mandalay and this meant that we would have to come back to Yangon to leave which was a shame. So we booked our flights and the 14 hour night bus to Mandalay for the next day. Looking around the town the first thing you noticed was the strong Indian influence with many Indian people. Also the reaction of the people to a foreigner which was much stronger than we were used to. This is due to the county's internation reputation and the lack of tourism. Also much of the country is inaccessible to tourists espescially the Mon regions in the east where the terrain is too difficult for them to be governed and so the government don't want the outside world to see these areas. People stare at you in the street or in Anetts case, men stare at her breasts literally salovating.

The city is busy, hot and very very very dirty. Oh and it smells like shit too. Anett's not happy here and I have to say there's not a lot to do or see. The city has not really got any charm. Visually it's very interesting but the atmosphere is one of decay and poverty and all of this in a very rich country. Laos is much poorer but there is a great dignity to the people there and in Vietnam. The people here seem so sluvnely and down trodden. The food is pretty bad too unless you like bad Indian food served cold. We did't stay long though and the next day we took the overnight bus to Mandalay. The bus was big and comfortable and as we set off, the roads were flat. The drive was fast and there was some crazy western music sung in Burmese on the TV. As it got dark we moved across some incredible scenery with fields and palm trees and people travelling my cow and cart. The country was looking much more interesting now.

We were the only foreigners on the bus and the locals weren't sure how to take us. They looked at us shily without saying much. The bus made a food stop in the late evening and we were hearded off into the road stop. Several bus loads were there eating and again we were the only foreigners as most people fly this trip. The old man who owns the place was very happy to see us and his English was very good. He was a big like an Indian Santa Clause with lots of kids running around serving tables like little helpers. The food was cold but smelt ok and tasted good. Burmese food is the meanest and least sophisticated I've ever had. It's like slop with badly cooked rice with a plate full of roar dry vegetables and a watery curry. It always comes with a soup though and tastes ok but leaves you wondering when, rather than if, you will be sick. The journey carried on through the night and we made many more food stops which are also a chance for me to warm up from the ice cold air conditioning on the bus which has been freezing me. The journey felt fast and almost as if we are running away from something as we passed convoys of goods in trucks, changing tires by the side of the road. Punctures are very frequent it seems.

Mandalay in the morning is chilly and a blue taxi (tiny blue Mazda pick up seen all over the towns)took us to our guesthouse. We found a room and it was very clean and a nice place. Needing to change money we found a black market exchange. This felt very dodgey and the owner was very nervous about being caught. It would be big trouble for them if they were. I got a good rate and after unsuccessfully trying to access our email through an illegal proxy service we went to look around town. Things are expensive here compared to what we have become used to, especially food. Money is going to be a problem I think.

Mandalay has an amazing fort in the centre which is now also a baraks. It's where the palace was before the British came and is amazing to look at and huge. We spent a day looking round and took a trishaw after climbing Mandalay Hill. The next day we took a tour and were joined by an elderly Indian lady who was very jolly. The tour took us to a monastary where the monks have a daily ceremony collecting there food. If Myanmar has one thing it's monks. They're everywhere and the money invested by the government in temples is way of appeasing the people. There is a fantastic bridge over the river too which is a tourist spot and men working the fields with 2 cows and a wooden plough. It's like going back 500 years.

Mandalay is also very dirty and the food hadn't gotten any better. We went for a meal at a local place and were pleased that the food looked good. We ate a lot and it did taste good but some of the vegetables smelled of putrid water and the lamb was definately mutton having gone blue! I seemed to be ok but the next day Anett was having problems. We were off to Bagan by bus and being ill was not good. It's an 8 hour bus ride through the midday sun. The landscape is incredible with barron sandy desert broken by huge palm trees and with bright scorching sunshine. It's very hot but the draft through the bus was plenty to keep us cool. Bagan is a plane in the desert where for hundreds of years the rulers of the country have built stuppas and temples so now there are literally hundreds as far as the eye can see. We checked into a local guesthouse which was very basic but really nice and clean with nice people. Tourists don't stay there which was better for us. We were tired though and Anett went to sleep while I went to get some dinner and look around. At last I found a good place to eat with Indian, Nepalese, Tibetan and Myanmar food called 'Wonderful Tastey Resaurante'. It's run by a stocky happy man who says 'People come here and have a big meal and feel happy so I am happy...mmmm!' It's only a wooden hut with some tables and chairs outside but he is very proud of the fact that he has his own vegetable garden and cleans everything with purified water. Also he makes the food after you order it so it's hot and fresh and you get plenty too. He makes no appologies for it taking time as this is the only way to prepare good food and the food is excellent.

On returning to the guesthouse the owner came to me and said 'I think your friend has Malaria!'....'WHAT!'.. In Anett's room I found her curled up in agony on her bed, drenched in sweat and in tears. Turned out that she had pretty bad food poisoning. It was a long night and in the morning it was clear that she didn't want to go on and we would have to get to Bangkok ASAP so while she recovered I went off to try and make arrangements to leave Myanmar. It was not going to be as easy as I thought though. We had bought a bus ticket to Lake Inle which was not refundable and if we couldn't change the flight we would have to take a 16-18 hour bus to Yangon as we only had enough money for 1 flight and a couple of nights accomodation. We would just about manage to eat on what we had. I managed to change the flight the next day and not needing to book another flight out of the country we booked an internal flight with Yangon airways. Sounds dodgey but it's a private airline which is much better than Air Myanmar who have a quite outstanding record for letting their planes fall out of the ski. This all happened in the space of an hour and we were booked on a flight leaving in an hour and a half so we got in a taxi and waved the very helpful guesthouse owner goodbye.

The flight went well but the approach into Yangon was very hairy. It really felt like we were gonna fall out of the ski in the small ATR72 turbo prop. There were only 6 passengers in the nearly empty plane and I don't think I was the only one to grab a sick bag. We got down ok though. The guesthouse staff were a little surprised to see us and we asked for our plane tickets which they handed over. I told the woman we had changed them. We had asked her to change them when in Bagan but she said she had not been successful which is why I had rung and changed them myself. She looked very worried and hurridly called the agent. It seemed that the person I had spoken didn't know the system and had told me I had changed the flight but in truth nothing had happened and Phuket airlines had no idea about the change. This was such bad news as we had very little money left apart from some Thai Baht. Also Anett really wanted to get out and the prospect of 7 days in Bagan and the dreadful exchange rates on credit cards was too much. Our upset was very obvious and so the woman took us across town on the bus to sort a new flight in person. Thankfully an hour later the situation was resolved without the need for a 'little present' or a bribe in our language. You often pay little presents in myanmar without knowing and I'm sure that the money skimming on top of normal fees has hindered our situation more than anything.

We had a day to kill in Yangon and so I suggested that we try blagging some free luxury. We went for a coffee and snack and then crossed over to the Trader's Hotel, the poshest place in town, and went up to the pool. We looked pretty shitty next to everyone else. I was asked for my room number but just told them I had just checked out. The girls English was not so good so when she persisted I fained confusion and an inability to understand which left her flustered and so we got some ice water brought over and I dipped into the roof top pool to cool in the hot midday sun. After an hour though she was back with a clip board and paper. We'd been rumbled. I fained confusion which worked but I knew it wouldn't for long so we scarpered and had afternoon tea downstairs. We checked out the shopping mall which consisted of about 12 shops one of which had a ruby necklace for $500,000!!! with children sleeping on the street outside. so strange. We then walking past the cinema and decided to see a film. We had a little wait so we went to the coffee shop and I realised we were very short of cash and a bit more would make for a fun day so I left Anett in the shop and went to find a black market money changer on a street corner. They see you before you see them and I negotiated as I walked with a man who took me to a side street where he spoke to a man who said 'you have Baht'....'Yes'.....'Wait here'. Whilst he was gone the other man said...'You know this is illegal'....'Yes don't worry I'll be descreet'....'It's very dangerous for us', he was very nervous and understandably so. But I got my Kyat and some dollars for the exit tax at the airport and went back for a coffee and some cake after exchanging thanks. It was well worth the poor exchange rate of Baht to Kyat as we needed cheering up. Anett was much cheerier after our cheeky adventure in the hotel.

We went to the cinema and 'National Treasure' was showing in English. The cinema was really nice and had super cold air conditionijng which was welcome in the 40 degree heat. To our surprise the national anthem started and everyone stood up and we followed. Very funny! Then there was 30 minutes of millitary marching display shot on really bad super 8 with commentary. This is compulsory (I had also seen it on kids TV that day with missle displays and tank drills!!!!) and another reminder of the state of the government. The film was great!!!! Such good fun. The Myanmar people don't wait for a film to finish though and got up and started leaving. When the lights came on the place was trashed with a carpet of sunflower seed shells and the cleaning process began. Ahhh!...that was the crunching noise though the film!

In great mood we popped over to the Traders to crash the lobbies daily live piano music and then headed home for an early night along the dirty streets covered with fresh, bright red beetle nut spit. Burmese people have such bad teeth because of that stuff. Their mouths are stained bright red. Next morning we take the most smashed up falling apart car I have ever seen to the airport. The drivers anoying detour is a major annoyance and makes us nervous as the road turns out to be blocked meaning the journey is twice as long....I'm getting really fed up with this place!! But sure enough we get there and the plain goes. The relief of being in Bangkok is so great. When the plane touches down the feeling is fantastic and we were even shoved in 1st class .... never been in 1st class before! I managed to bring my flight to Sydney forward but Anett couldn't change hers and so we had another 3 days in which to relax and enjoy Bangkok before saying goodbye. Anett was very happy to be out of Myanmar and I guess I was too. I would have liked to have stayed and seen Inle but Anett has been a fantastic travel companion and there's no way I'd have left her to leave on her own. For me it had been interesting to see the place and although some people say it's wrong to go there I think it's important to come out and tell people what you have seen. Things are very bad there and something desperately needs to be done. We had been careful not use government services or hotels and the people had often been very sweet. We had seen the temples of Bagan (oooops left that bit out, we did actually get to see them) and I will remember the little dumb girl who showed us around. She was very sweet and had an amazing smile, and was a pretty good business woman too!

So anyway the asian adventure was coming to a close and I would soon be off to Sydney and Australia which I hope to tell you about soon.

I hope you're all well. I'm still not sure when I'll be home as plans keep changing.

Love Kaveh.