2: An Unchartered Territory - My Sojourn To Myanmar: Day 1 Story 2

Day 1 Story 2, Yangon, Myanmar

Hell Drivers and Dare-Devil Pedestrians
If you think that Bangkok traffic is scary and awful, and their drivers terrible, wait till you experience the traffic in Myanmar, and meet the hell drivers and dare-devil pedestrians here.

Oh my God, Win (the driver assigned to me for my duration of stay in Myanmar) was driving like a fiend but I reckon he's so used to it that even if he closes his eyes, he'd bring you safely to your destination.

And the pedestrians!!! Oh my!!!! They criss cross the roads at their fancies. What I realised is that in Myanmar, pedestrians, saykal riders (trishaw riders), and peddlars on carts are the Kings of the Road, unlike in Malaysia.

 

In Malaysia, if you so much as dare to zig zag to cross the road, in no time you will be a "mechanic" and a another statistic in the number of road deaths!!! 

Plaza Yuzan
My first stop was at Plaza Yuzan. This Plaza reminds me of Pratunam in Bangkok and S&M in Kuala Lumpur. Nothing much fancies me, although May and Sharon, and her mum, thought they could interest me to buy Myanmar's traditional dress (a sarong and a short blouse).

We just did a lot of window shopping. However,just before we left the Plaza, I saw this pretty twirling black and white skirt, fell in love and bought it without much hesitation. If truth be known, I have a really soft spot for anything which comes in black and white. That was my first purchase in Myanmar and the only purchase at  Plaza. 

Sayasan Plaza (Sculpture Creation From Fallen Trees By Nargis )
Next, I was taken to Sayasan Plaza, a Plaza where they house and sell Myanmar crafts and the very famous Myanmar jades and pearls. And more recently, they added wood carving stuff.

What was simply amazing about those wood carvings was the fact that the Myanmar government decided to turn a tragedy into a profit-making business. In May 2008, Nargis typhoon hit Myanmar. The cyclone made landfall in the country on May 2, 2008, causing catastrophic destruction and at least 146,000 fatalities with thousands more people missing.

However, what the government had ingeniously done was to capitalise on the fallen trees and made amazing and breathtakingly beautifulsculptures out of them.

Myanmar Jade
I'm one female shopper who's not really into decking myself with jewelleries, though I don't mind simple rings or pendants. Hence, pearls and jades are not really my cup of tea. But, Sharon and her mum thought that my trip to Myanmar would be incomplete if I don't bring back Myanmar jade so her mum bought a complete set for me, one each for ring and pendant and two for earrrings, and a big one for bracelet. 

Halal Food and Halal Hotel
I had agreed to put up at Panorama Hotel when told that food served there was halal, despite the higher hotel charges (double the price I paid elsewhere in Yangon).

I was kind of excited coz rarely did I get to savour halal food in a hotel when I'm abroad. I was planning to order room service for dinner. When I opened the menu, I had the shock of my life.

 

 

Suffice to say, I ended up eating maggi in a cup!! And for desert, I had plenty of fruits which Sharon's mum had asked Win to to buy (he actually bought so much banana that it could feed almost a household of people). I also had a slice of durian cake which I had brought from KL. Thank God.

And that night, my sleep was fitful.  The aircon had malfunctioned earlier and when they came to repair it became too cold. I was tossing here and there, and ended up falling asleep only at 5:00 a.m. And before I realised it, it was time to perform my subuh solat (in Yangon, subuh begins at 4:30 a.m) and sun rises at 6:01 a.m.! 

Points to note when you're in Myanmar
1/ US Dollars vs Kyat vs RM
Most (maybe all) budget hotels only accept US dollars. They don't even accept kyat (their own currency, which I find highly perplexing).

And when you take delivery of the US dollars at your money changer, be VERY SURE to check that the notes are in PERFECT condition.  There musn't be the slightest damage or tear, coz it'll be rejected.

However, if you look at the kyat in circulation, oh my!!! Even though it's torn and tattered and falling apart, it's still in circulation and still deemed legal tender. What an irony!!! And I left all my kyat in Myanmar (exchanged and donated almost half of them to May) as kyat is not accepted at money changers in Malaysia.

2/ Never believe everything they say
What I've learnt from the episode at Panorama Hotel, especially as a Muslim, is not to believe everything they say.  Thank God, I'm rather inquisitive, hence discovering that the food served at the hotel was not halal despite them trying to convince me otherwise.

1: An Unchartered Territory - My Sojourn To Myanmar: Day 1 Story 1

11 November 2009, Wednesday (24 Zulkaedah)

Day 1 Story 1, Yangon, Myanmar

Thank Goodness, I had arrived safely in Myanmar, without much fanfare or drama, unlike my aborted trip earlier.

28 Days in Myanmar!!
In the plane, both May (my Myanmarese student's cousin) and I were seated at the same row as a British guy by the name of Jeremy, who was going to Myanmar for 28 days as a back-packer!!! Can you imagine that?

May and Jeremy (a British)

When I told my friends back in Malaysia that I was going to be in Myanmar for 8 days, most of their jaws dropped!!! 28 days, they would probably drop dead!!!

"Pasar Borong" Airport
In any case, upon arrival, I was shocked by the sheer number of people at the airport. It was more like a 'pasar borong' (wholesale market) to me. There was chaos everywhere. I was told later that the sea of people was due to a haj flight leaving Myanmar. No wonder!!! For a moment, I thought that the throngs of people are a normal sight at the airport.

My Luggage!!!
As May was picked up by her family, I was frantically searching for Sharon (my ex student) and was deliriously happy to see her as I was feeling kind of disoriented with the horde of people, some were pleading to help carry my luggage. Of course, for a fee!!!

Sharon's Youthful Looking Mum
Sharon introduced me to her mum, who looks not a day older than her. Despite being in her mid 30's, she looks very youthful. And I was also introduced to May War, Sharon's friend, and Tun Tun (May War's cousin). OMG, it was like an entourage had come to welcome me at the airport.

Left to Right: Sharon, May War and Moh Moh Lwin (Sharon's mum)

And the driver, Win (whom Sharon's mum had hired to take me around for the duration of my stay in Myanmar) drove us straight to Panorama Hotel. I was kind of surprised as I was told earlier that I was going to put up at Eastern Hotel.

Win, on the right

May War explained that they had specifically chosen this hotel as the food served is halal. I was feeling excited at the prospect of taking breakfast at the coffee house, instead of in my room, which would be a choice of either maggi noodles, or tortilla bread with serunding or tuna.

Panorama Hotel, Yangon, Myanmar

After a little discussion, we decided that it was best for us to hit the trail right away, as most shopping complexes close at 4:00 p.m in Myanmar. And as I wasn't really feeling hungry as I had eaten a mini nasi lemak for brunch on the plane, I decided to skip lunch.  

Continued... in Story 2.

Yangon, Here I Come

11 to 18 November 2009

This is where I will be spending my next 8 days...........

I Will Miss......

10 November 2009, Tuesday (23 Zulkaedah)

No matter where I am in the world I will miss Malaysia occasionally. There are certain things that I miss most when I'm away from home.

I will mostly miss the people who fill my life. If my husband, my sons and my daughter, are not with me or close by, I can get homesick pretty quickly.

What I will miss most when I travel to Myanmar for 8 days starting tomorrow, apart from the people who fill my life, would be: (not necesssarily in this order):

1. My laptop (penning my thoughts in my blog and facebooking)
   
2. My bed (the familiar dent on my side of the bed)
   
3. Tinkering in my kitchen
4. Looking out my bedroom window and watch the day/cars/people pass by
5. And of course, who wouldn't miss Malaysian food when they are away.  In fact, I would crave like crazy curry, nasi lemak and roti canai, despite not eating these sinful food regularly
   

Note that I did not mention that I will miss my pillow. That's simply because, wherever I go, my small pillow goes with me.  My pillow is special as it is a cervical pillow, suitable for people with multiple slip discs. I've not slept on a normal pillow since I was involved in a car accident in 2003, which caused injury to my spine, specifically, my cervical discs.

In any case, I'm sure you will agree with me that no matter where we go or how happy we are in the country we visit, there will always be things we miss from our homes. SO I was just wondering, in the spirit of nostalgia, what do you miss most about your homes, what do you miss most when you away from home, sweet home?

Cry If You Must!!!

10 November 2009, Tuesday (23 Zulkaedah)

I was watching this programme "Macam-Macam Aznil", where Aznil's (the host) guest was Nagasri, a well-known dramatist on TV.  And part of the script for that programme was to ask Ngasri to demonstrate how he acts out sad scenes.

Aznil was also trying to prove that crying comes easily for some people, whereas for others, it's an uphill task. Later, he asked two audience members to cry. And his point was proven when one lady had trouble shedding tears, whilst the other one cried almost immediately.

Being an experienced actor and given that he has acted out many such scenes, Ngasri had little trouble getting into a sad character. In no time, tears was freely flowing. Hey, guys are not supposed to cry, but in acting, and in real life too, I've seen men cry.

I do not know about you, but I feel that crying is healthy. You may have heard someone saying, “Don’t be afraid to cry. It will free your mind of sorrowful thoughts.” Or, "If I need to cry, please help me to let go.“

We can opt to stow things, or we can opt to let go of things. If we opt to stow things, then we will feel a deep sorrow, or anguish, self pity, or dread. Sometimes we feel a strong urge to cry. On the other hand, sometimes we are taught it is not okay to cry, especially for men.

What most people don't realise is that God created the human being to cry. Crying is a form of release of your pent-up emotions. This release enables us to let go of thoughts that are not helping us, so we can open to new thoughts that will help. Crying is natural for women and men.”

For me, crying comes easily. As Aznil was asking Ngasri to act out the sad scene, my tears was already freely flowing. I can easily cry whenever I think of my late mum or my late dad. The tears will pool automatically. In fact, I cry as easily as I laugh.

It is okay, necessary and sometimes daunting and terrifying for both men and women to cry during grief. Personally, I reckon it's okay to cry, even publicly.  Without a shadow of a doubt, the whole world will not cry with you, but, CRY IF U MUST!!

Are We Thankful?

9 November 2009, Monday (22 Zulkaedah)

God has given us a lot of graces,
but we forget all.
The small child gives us a lot to think about ourselves.

Are we still whining?

Are we still not thankful?

Are we still not grateful?
Are we thankful for all that God has given us?

The Heavenly Boiled Tapioca: Care To Try?

9 November 2009, Monday (21 Zulkaedah)

Do you know how tasty boiled tapioca is? The taste is simply heavenly, especially if you eat it with steamed grated coconut.

In KL, it is rather hard to find stalls selling this delicacy. And two places that I know of that offer this for breakfast are Gerai Kak Long at Bandar Tun Hussein Onn, and Mayang Sari resataurant in Gombak.

For those who have never tried this delectable delicacy, you certainly do not know what you are missing in life.

Imagine, tapioca used to be food for the desolate and the poor, and was a staple diet during the Japanese Occupation (my late mum used to relate how she and her siblings would eat tapioca during the World War as food was scarce at that time).

And today, a small plate of boiled potato with grated coconut would cost you nothing less than RM4-5 a small plate!!!Time sure has changed.

I urge you to try to know what "heavenly" means.

Sunshine and Rainbow Will Emerge.......... After the Rain

8 November 2009, Sunday (20 Zulkaedah)

This picture was taken from my bedroom window

as the rain patters down the awning at my balcony

Also taken from my bedroom window, 

I love watching the peppering of rain drops against the wind chime

Rhythm of the Rain
No matter what your grief,

No matter what your anguish,

No matter what your sorrow,
Sunshine will emerge after the rain.

Conceivably, you may falter, perchance even tumble,
But The Almighty is always there
to resolve your predicament.

The Almighty feels every despair,

The Almighty feels every misery,

The Almighty hears your cry,

The Almighty sees your tear,
But do not despair,

The Almighty can soothe
your every angst
and fear.

Your grief,
your anguish,
and your heartache,

may traipse all through the night,
But swiftly peter out at the break of dawn.

The Almighty
is hovering
someplace above,
To bestow you His mercy
and shower you His love.

No matter what your grief,

No matter what your anguish,

No matter what your sorrow,

Rainbows will emerge after the rain.

WanKinsella@Lubukhatiku

All I Wanna Do Is Go Buy Groceries....

8 November, Sunday (20 Zulkaedah)

"Sayang, please don't go ," pleaded my husband.

"GO!!! Since you refused to listen to me!!", my husband roared.

And all I wanna do was go shopping for eggs, meat and vegetables.......

Can We Go Watch "The Time Traveller's Wife" movie?

6 November 2009, Friday (18 Zulkaedah)

I can't wait to devour Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveller's Wife book, which I bought recently.

I was pleasantly surprised when the purchase came with two complimentary tickets. The story has now been made into a blockbuster movie.

I'm waiting for the day when my husband is free, so we can both watch together this high-end romance rejuvenated by a clever time-travel device, a winning combination of fantasy and human drama.

Dear hubby, when can we go watch this movie before the validity of the tickets expires?