Life is tough. :(
- BlogPressed from my iPad. Click on pictures for larger version and gallery. Copyright 2012 TinyFrontalLobeOnVacation Inc.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
AMS-MAD: Viva Espana!
So landed in Madrid about 1030am - long enough to count it as a full day of sightseeing, the bus from the airport is only 2 bucks. Far warmer than Istanbul with highs of 19 degrees, and even more in the sun, Madrid certainly feels very pleasant.
It's an interesting town, with a raw underbelly, but some very classical looks, still trying to get some pictures up, despite Google.
The Reina Sofia museum houses the one picture I wanted to see, Guernica, and no photos were allowed, bigger than I thought, It was great to see. There were staff either side stopping any pictures being taken. In that gallery there were also many Dali, Picasso and Miro works, as well as Corbusier, a whole section on cubism. I liked it there, up the street, next to the famous Retiro Park, is the Museo del Prado, with much older works, being the national gallery it's main contributor is Goya.
My hotel was OK, but it was a long walk from the action, about 15 mins walk to the first point on the tourist route, in a slightly dodgy area next to the major railway station Atocha. Blame Priceline.
Being museum-d out, I walked the tourist loop around town, old Madrid having some lovely old ramparts as well as the royal palace. If someone was here to share, I would have gone to one of the 8 million tapas restaurants too.
All in all, Madrid was a great stop.
But there's a problem:
It's now 2:30am Monday and I have to leave for the airport again to go home. It's all over. That's about 7:30pm Sunday at home. And I won't be back home till 8pm Monday night, so I have 24 hours of flying and airport crawling to get back!
Ugh!
See you at home!
- BlogPressed from my iPad. Click on pictures for larger version and gallery. Copyright 2012 TinyFrontalLobeOnVacation Inc.
It's an interesting town, with a raw underbelly, but some very classical looks, still trying to get some pictures up, despite Google.
The Reina Sofia museum houses the one picture I wanted to see, Guernica, and no photos were allowed, bigger than I thought, It was great to see. There were staff either side stopping any pictures being taken. In that gallery there were also many Dali, Picasso and Miro works, as well as Corbusier, a whole section on cubism. I liked it there, up the street, next to the famous Retiro Park, is the Museo del Prado, with much older works, being the national gallery it's main contributor is Goya.
My hotel was OK, but it was a long walk from the action, about 15 mins walk to the first point on the tourist route, in a slightly dodgy area next to the major railway station Atocha. Blame Priceline.
Being museum-d out, I walked the tourist loop around town, old Madrid having some lovely old ramparts as well as the royal palace. If someone was here to share, I would have gone to one of the 8 million tapas restaurants too.
All in all, Madrid was a great stop.
But there's a problem:
It's now 2:30am Monday and I have to leave for the airport again to go home. It's all over. That's about 7:30pm Sunday at home. And I won't be back home till 8pm Monday night, so I have 24 hours of flying and airport crawling to get back!
Ugh!
See you at home!
- BlogPressed from my iPad. Click on pictures for larger version and gallery. Copyright 2012 TinyFrontalLobeOnVacation Inc.
CAI-IST-ZRH-AMS: Long day of flying....
The flight out of Cairo sucked, one because the 9am flight was in sunny weatherwith no clouds, previous day sightseeing started off somewhat cloudy, I also forgotto chnage about 70 bucks in Egyptian Pounds, no one at Istanbul airportwanted them, and the flight was in a creaky old 737-800 that I did not like at all... What's worse, the way we circled around the sky, I was convinced the pilot justdid not know where the airport was... Thetransferto that plane was in a bus, and the guy next to me had the most awful armpit stank.... A last gasp of Egypian Air. :(
The following flights were all on Swiss, to Amsterdam for a very sort night. I made it in time to board the flight to Zurich at 2:15 but they were not going to let me on it :( They said my ticket was very special, it was too cheap! LOL. I think it was 60 bucks or something... Anyway those flights give outsmall free chocolate bars... So they are OK by me! I would rather have hung around Zurich airport than Istanbul however...
Then 6 hours of short sleep in Amsterdam's airport pod hotel before leaving once more...
- BlogPressed from my iPad. Click on pictures for larger version and gallery. Copyright 2012 TinyFrontalLobeOnVacation Inc.
The following flights were all on Swiss, to Amsterdam for a very sort night. I made it in time to board the flight to Zurich at 2:15 but they were not going to let me on it :( They said my ticket was very special, it was too cheap! LOL. I think it was 60 bucks or something... Anyway those flights give outsmall free chocolate bars... So they are OK by me! I would rather have hung around Zurich airport than Istanbul however...
Then 6 hours of short sleep in Amsterdam's airport pod hotel before leaving once more...
- BlogPressed from my iPad. Click on pictures for larger version and gallery. Copyright 2012 TinyFrontalLobeOnVacation Inc.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
BKK-CAI: Smoking in Cairo
Well after 9hrs and 45 minutes in the air, I landed in Cairo again. The flight was OK, I was well medicated for the bumpy bits and take off, and the old Sudanese man I met on the same flight out, was in the seat next to mine on the way back - "I cannot believe it" he said, and I replied with same. Same date back, same seats: It was fate. Nice guy, very odd we hit it off really. We had our Muslim prayer before take off and away we went. Same seats on the 777 - right next to the giant engine, those are huge, just on the opposite side of the plane.
My hotel was near the airport in Cairo and I think I waited an hour for the courtesy bus, Cairo day time high was 25 and it was 14 when I arrived, and there was a little rain, which they said coincided with my arrival there. Bangkok got bombed when I arrived, this dry desert gets rain... Not sure I could recommend the hotel, a Novotel, the staff are basically chatting away in large groups and ignoring everyone, the place is clean in places less so in others, the rooms are pretty crummy. Breakfast was OK in the restaurant, but apart from that I rate it DUMP. They were spraying in the hallway - the two guys doing it had giant drums with skull and cross bones on them, and they were wearing face masks, so I asked the manager downstairs what they were spraying for... "cleaning" he kept on saying for about 5 mins then he fessed up it was bugs. Small bugs he said, normal for a place with so many people. Bed bugs is my guess, so I promptly asked to move to another floor.
After a long kerr-fuffle, I finally had a driver and guide and off we went. Downtown was ruled out beause of shootings and riots, so we took the ring road to Giza. It takes a LONG time to get around Cairo. All the cars here have scrapes down the sides from their crazy driving, no lanes really exist, they go where they please... And if you think Bangkok was nots, I have news for you - this place is several times crazier!
The magical Sphinx holds more intrigue for me than Pyramids:
Toblerone anyone?
Isn't this thing intriguing?
Those are birds on his head and I would love to show you more, but the photo problem still persists with blogger...
We also drove further out from the city to Saqqara, the stepped pyramid that was the first. It dates around 4000 years ago, so yes, older than me. Imhotep was the ruler who dominated that one.
Cairo is full of the poor, there's a few rich, and donkeys and carts pull along families and on the other side of the street there's a Mercedez Benz. This is one of the worse shape countries I have seen, we drove out along Saqqara Road which has a canal, with garbage dumped on its side for miles, much of it burning. Smoke, smoke is everywhere in Cairo, from cars that need tune ups to locals constantly puffing EVERYWHERE, there is no smoke free zone, and the piles of rotting garbage on fire here and there. The air quality I would describe as 'not premium'.
Hit the shops for a little bit, no papyrus, my home has one, no silk carpet at the carpet school I went buy, I cannot afford one, and that was about it.
Apart from stopping by the Nile for some looks, we avoided the downtown completely. The security situation was said to be stable, but there was still trouble in the centre, the locals say tourism is way down, and looking at the numbers at these sites, I would have to agree. It's better for me, because the last thing I want is gringo touristas in my pictures, but the locals here need the cash I think...
Ok, off to bed and get ready for a long day of flying across Europe tomorrow....... Hopefully the air is less smoky!
- BlogPressed from my iPad. Click on pictures for larger version and gallery. Copyright 2012 TinyFrontalLobeOnVacation Inc.
My hotel was near the airport in Cairo and I think I waited an hour for the courtesy bus, Cairo day time high was 25 and it was 14 when I arrived, and there was a little rain, which they said coincided with my arrival there. Bangkok got bombed when I arrived, this dry desert gets rain... Not sure I could recommend the hotel, a Novotel, the staff are basically chatting away in large groups and ignoring everyone, the place is clean in places less so in others, the rooms are pretty crummy. Breakfast was OK in the restaurant, but apart from that I rate it DUMP. They were spraying in the hallway - the two guys doing it had giant drums with skull and cross bones on them, and they were wearing face masks, so I asked the manager downstairs what they were spraying for... "cleaning" he kept on saying for about 5 mins then he fessed up it was bugs. Small bugs he said, normal for a place with so many people. Bed bugs is my guess, so I promptly asked to move to another floor.
After a long kerr-fuffle, I finally had a driver and guide and off we went. Downtown was ruled out beause of shootings and riots, so we took the ring road to Giza. It takes a LONG time to get around Cairo. All the cars here have scrapes down the sides from their crazy driving, no lanes really exist, they go where they please... And if you think Bangkok was nots, I have news for you - this place is several times crazier!
The magical Sphinx holds more intrigue for me than Pyramids:
Toblerone anyone?
Isn't this thing intriguing?
Those are birds on his head and I would love to show you more, but the photo problem still persists with blogger...
We also drove further out from the city to Saqqara, the stepped pyramid that was the first. It dates around 4000 years ago, so yes, older than me. Imhotep was the ruler who dominated that one.
Cairo is full of the poor, there's a few rich, and donkeys and carts pull along families and on the other side of the street there's a Mercedez Benz. This is one of the worse shape countries I have seen, we drove out along Saqqara Road which has a canal, with garbage dumped on its side for miles, much of it burning. Smoke, smoke is everywhere in Cairo, from cars that need tune ups to locals constantly puffing EVERYWHERE, there is no smoke free zone, and the piles of rotting garbage on fire here and there. The air quality I would describe as 'not premium'.
Hit the shops for a little bit, no papyrus, my home has one, no silk carpet at the carpet school I went buy, I cannot afford one, and that was about it.
Apart from stopping by the Nile for some looks, we avoided the downtown completely. The security situation was said to be stable, but there was still trouble in the centre, the locals say tourism is way down, and looking at the numbers at these sites, I would have to agree. It's better for me, because the last thing I want is gringo touristas in my pictures, but the locals here need the cash I think...
Ok, off to bed and get ready for a long day of flying across Europe tomorrow....... Hopefully the air is less smoky!
- BlogPressed from my iPad. Click on pictures for larger version and gallery. Copyright 2012 TinyFrontalLobeOnVacation Inc.
Last Night in Bangkok:
So Mana had hired someone to drive the car back from Chiang Mai to Bangkok. Unfortunately he got stopped by the police for not bringing his ID card etc. So, minutes after getting off the plane in Bangkok, Mana had to leave to go fetch his car.... He did not return until midnight. So very long day for him! I went back to the dentist, got my teeth finished and wandered around a couple of large shopping malls, one of them has a theme of airports, Terminal 21 they call it, each floor is a city, like Rome or Tokyo, and all the staff wear airline uniforms... A little weird in my book, but they had good ice cream.
Early to bed tonight, too much heat, too tired....
Next day, last day, we went to a weird restaurant called cabbages and condoms.... Yes, you read it right... Strange thing is, it's a chain, with good food for Falang (white people) and it promotes safe sex. Everyone at the table gets a condom when paying the bill - and there's various pieces of art on display... Odd art! Then a stroll through the jewel exporters on Silom Road and a trip to the Erawan Shrine, where a huge elephant statue contains heaven an hell, and lets you climb right inside and look out from its belly... What fun! I cannot do things like that from a height, terrifying!
A Thai massage followed - and not a kinky one I will add. It was at a little place in Mana's neighbourhood, they wer walking on his back at one point, and she wasn't light, so I am thinking he is into massage.
The final dinner, before running off to the airport was eating outside on a klong near the airport, so low the airplanes rumble right over head for their last 2km to the tarmac - we played a game guessing which each airline was on arrival.. :)
And that was the end of the green tropics, next stop is the dry, dry desert of Cairo...
- BlogPressed from my iPad. Click on pictures for larger version and gallery. Copyright 2012 TinyFrontalLobeOnVacation Inc.
Early to bed tonight, too much heat, too tired....
Next day, last day, we went to a weird restaurant called cabbages and condoms.... Yes, you read it right... Strange thing is, it's a chain, with good food for Falang (white people) and it promotes safe sex. Everyone at the table gets a condom when paying the bill - and there's various pieces of art on display... Odd art! Then a stroll through the jewel exporters on Silom Road and a trip to the Erawan Shrine, where a huge elephant statue contains heaven an hell, and lets you climb right inside and look out from its belly... What fun! I cannot do things like that from a height, terrifying!
A Thai massage followed - and not a kinky one I will add. It was at a little place in Mana's neighbourhood, they wer walking on his back at one point, and she wasn't light, so I am thinking he is into massage.
The final dinner, before running off to the airport was eating outside on a klong near the airport, so low the airplanes rumble right over head for their last 2km to the tarmac - we played a game guessing which each airline was on arrival.. :)
And that was the end of the green tropics, next stop is the dry, dry desert of Cairo...
- BlogPressed from my iPad. Click on pictures for larger version and gallery. Copyright 2012 TinyFrontalLobeOnVacation Inc.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
BKK-CNX: Chiang Mai stop #1
Posting this blog with less pics, then adding later, the app seems to have problems uploading, and I don't know if its the internet, the ipad or what.... So if it seems disjointed, this is why :) This is why there was a delay too...
Chiang Mai is in the north of Thailand, approaching the famed ' Golden Triangle' who's real claim to fame was the flourishing opium industry of the Victorian era in Asia.
However, teak wood hauled from the forests by elephants are also a claim to fame, and as the word triangle suggests, there's three shared borders, Thailand, Myanmar and Laos. The aim is to make a crossing into each.. Chiang Rai is the next stop by road from here, then we return one more time to Chiang Mai before flying back to Bangkok. Only an hour flight in, but bumpy enough to make me glad it was over, oh it's the same with all of them...
Chiang Mai is full of old temples of course...
Some like this one are even older than me... By hundreds of years... Hard to believe !
And even at night there's plenty glitter...
A whole neighbourhood of fruit!
This is the wholesale fruit market area, and there's literally tons of tropical fruit, from finger (monkey) bananas to huge Thai mangos - there is some elevation up here, so it's hot like Bangkok during the day, but a bit cooler at night - just right for all sorts of fruit I can never get at home...
Shopping for fruit for Dave; Mana to the rescue, because not being a tourist means...lower prices everyday!
Jackfruit tree!
I think Mana finds it amusing that I am obsessed with lovely tropical fruit.... But I ate a half kilo of mangosteens and two large thai mangoes (they are around 9" long) just as a pre bedtime snack - it's worth a trip just to gorge...
This first evening in Chiang Mai, Mana's wife and son, Farlouk, are flying out to join us...
It looks as though people here are worshipping gold - and I don't know why but most of the Buddhist shrines are covered in it...
This little Hmong girl was shy...
First time I have seen monks actually working...
They do a pretty good job though!
This hill tribe area still grows a few poppy plants, and they harvest the opium resin from the seed pods..
No sampling provided...
This is the original opium poppy... No samples...
Okay, so this one I am too lazy to turn right side up, but Mana makes a good drummer...
Mana and Farlouk at the elephant camp...
And a zillion school kids.....
If you ever think you have a bad job...
These women catch the giant elephant turds dropped in the river, and those elephants pee by the gallon too....
Oddly, they turn the turds into a type of paper.... Art paper no less... And I can think of several people who already think they have this job, but I would love to see them actually do it ;)
The elephants are also famous for paintings.... And they go for decent prices...
Below is a common sight here.... Pachyderm derrieres... Reminds me of my workmates...
Look at the picture below, a nelly the elephant painting, which I perhaps should have made an offer on....
I refuse to do elephant rides anymore after how they were treated in India, but they are interesting creatures...
Off to hike up to various levels of a waterfall...
There's not much temp change here over the year, just wet and dry season, so it's our winter - the dry season - the trees do look dry....
Below, is the crew, and some friends of Mana's wife... Nice people, they own a shop selling items to take to the temple.... And they cooked up a ton of food for lunch, which we ate in the shop. This was one of those great moments of travel - stepping into other people's lives.... Loved it... Oh and we had fresh young coconut flesh too.... Only a few will know what I mean... It's not the white coconut you know...it's a clear jelly inside an immature coconut, Mana says in Thailand people believe it makes you talk too much, so not to give it to his wife :)
This area of Chang Mai makes umbrellas.... And they had a lot!
Hand made, hand painted...
And of course a tribute to the royal family at the end of the street - Thailand has these everywhere....
The crew posing...
And for less than $2 I had a dragon painted on my iphone!
Off to a hot spring, and it's past boiling point, so very hot....
The local geysers are just like Yellowstone...
And we boiled eggs
Then boiled our feet and I am not sure why... It was not boiling here, but it was pretty darned hot... Perhaps it stops the swamp feet that seems to occur in the tropics, so I boiled my feet until bright red too....
Dinner ended day 2 at a nice little hilside place, you can see the lights of Chiang Mai in the distance...
Off to Chiang Rai tomorrow morning ! Worn out! Stuffed with food too!
:)
- BlogPressed from my iPad. Click on pictures for larger version and gallery. Copyright 2012 TinyFrontalLobeOnVacation Inc.
Chiang Mai is in the north of Thailand, approaching the famed ' Golden Triangle' who's real claim to fame was the flourishing opium industry of the Victorian era in Asia.
However, teak wood hauled from the forests by elephants are also a claim to fame, and as the word triangle suggests, there's three shared borders, Thailand, Myanmar and Laos. The aim is to make a crossing into each.. Chiang Rai is the next stop by road from here, then we return one more time to Chiang Mai before flying back to Bangkok. Only an hour flight in, but bumpy enough to make me glad it was over, oh it's the same with all of them...
Chiang Mai is full of old temples of course...
Some like this one are even older than me... By hundreds of years... Hard to believe !
And even at night there's plenty glitter...
A whole neighbourhood of fruit!
This is the wholesale fruit market area, and there's literally tons of tropical fruit, from finger (monkey) bananas to huge Thai mangos - there is some elevation up here, so it's hot like Bangkok during the day, but a bit cooler at night - just right for all sorts of fruit I can never get at home...
Shopping for fruit for Dave; Mana to the rescue, because not being a tourist means...lower prices everyday!
Jackfruit tree!
I think Mana finds it amusing that I am obsessed with lovely tropical fruit.... But I ate a half kilo of mangosteens and two large thai mangoes (they are around 9" long) just as a pre bedtime snack - it's worth a trip just to gorge...
This first evening in Chiang Mai, Mana's wife and son, Farlouk, are flying out to join us...
It looks as though people here are worshipping gold - and I don't know why but most of the Buddhist shrines are covered in it...
This little Hmong girl was shy...
First time I have seen monks actually working...
They do a pretty good job though!
This hill tribe area still grows a few poppy plants, and they harvest the opium resin from the seed pods..
No sampling provided...
This is the original opium poppy... No samples...
Okay, so this one I am too lazy to turn right side up, but Mana makes a good drummer...
Mana and Farlouk at the elephant camp...
And a zillion school kids.....
If you ever think you have a bad job...
These women catch the giant elephant turds dropped in the river, and those elephants pee by the gallon too....
Oddly, they turn the turds into a type of paper.... Art paper no less... And I can think of several people who already think they have this job, but I would love to see them actually do it ;)
The elephants are also famous for paintings.... And they go for decent prices...
Below is a common sight here.... Pachyderm derrieres... Reminds me of my workmates...
Look at the picture below, a nelly the elephant painting, which I perhaps should have made an offer on....
I refuse to do elephant rides anymore after how they were treated in India, but they are interesting creatures...
Off to hike up to various levels of a waterfall...
There's not much temp change here over the year, just wet and dry season, so it's our winter - the dry season - the trees do look dry....
Below, is the crew, and some friends of Mana's wife... Nice people, they own a shop selling items to take to the temple.... And they cooked up a ton of food for lunch, which we ate in the shop. This was one of those great moments of travel - stepping into other people's lives.... Loved it... Oh and we had fresh young coconut flesh too.... Only a few will know what I mean... It's not the white coconut you know...it's a clear jelly inside an immature coconut, Mana says in Thailand people believe it makes you talk too much, so not to give it to his wife :)
This area of Chang Mai makes umbrellas.... And they had a lot!
Hand made, hand painted...
And of course a tribute to the royal family at the end of the street - Thailand has these everywhere....
The crew posing...
And for less than $2 I had a dragon painted on my iphone!
Off to a hot spring, and it's past boiling point, so very hot....
The local geysers are just like Yellowstone...
And we boiled eggs
Then boiled our feet and I am not sure why... It was not boiling here, but it was pretty darned hot... Perhaps it stops the swamp feet that seems to occur in the tropics, so I boiled my feet until bright red too....
Dinner ended day 2 at a nice little hilside place, you can see the lights of Chiang Mai in the distance...
Off to Chiang Rai tomorrow morning ! Worn out! Stuffed with food too!
:)
- BlogPressed from my iPad. Click on pictures for larger version and gallery. Copyright 2012 TinyFrontalLobeOnVacation Inc.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Chiang Rai, Myanmar, Laos and The Golden Triangle
* I will add pics as I can to this, but the app problem persists, and before anyone says anything, it's a Google app; Blogger. :) *
So.... Chiang Rai is interesting because it's actually bordering Laos and Myanmar (Burma) - and up the river about 260 km is China. The place is unique from Chiang Mai in that ancient Siam once had a capital here, and some of the settlements and temples are well over 1,000 years old, like our canteen coffee.
But that aside, apart from the myriad temples to see, crossing the border into Myanmar was a highlight - if only because it is one of the most difficult places to enter... The border crossing was 500 baht and they hold your passport - while issuing a temporary card for use in Myanmar. We were not really there that long, and being a border town, Mae Sae on the Thai side, it was a capitalist's dream. We took a tuk tuk to a temple, then some hill tribe people, Karen, with the neck rings, and we waded our way through the stalls in the town itself. Withought any regulation, and you can see immediately crossing the border that Myanmar people are very poor, they are eager to sell and you are surrounded by beggars and people walking round selling cigarettes, pornography and Viagra/Cialis pills.... And shops with Myanmar rubies, sapphires, all kinds of knock-offs from China (they say they are from Taiwan to make the quality sound better). After trying out some knock off iphones and ipods and Tag Heuer glass frames, we bought Farlouk a Sony PSP, and I have to say in terms of market intensity, and the region is stuffed with markets, this had to be one of the best.
If I can get some pictures loaded up I will, but as I say, we seem to be having issues.
Laos we kind of entered, by boat across the Mekong River. I say kind of, because the government there has built a 'special economic zone' along the river facing Thailand, which basically means locals cannot enter and it is full of vendors and even a giant casino. Boats run from China, 260km up the river to this casino. Despite the communist ideology, Myanmar too apparently has casinos. I think I would like to go to Mandalay in Myanmar one day, now the government there is changing, I think there will be massive changes coming. So Laos was Laos, but not really Laos if you get my meaning...
There is a large visitor centre on the Thai side, and it explains all the facets of the opium industry and the attempts to block it. Massive, expensive visitor centre, interesting stories they had to tell too...
In the mean time, I intend to write to the head Monk in Myanmar, because they have vendors outside,as most temples do, but they were catching wild birds putting them in little baskets then selling them to people to set free. Since Buddhists cannot harm anything, this seems wrong, these tiny birds were panicked and terrified and I am sure in the sizzling heat, some of them end up dead.
That said, Myanmar was a little bizarre, with various signs all over pointing out what the government has done to save the people. Think of Stephen Harper's Action Plan ads, and you get the same idea, it is propaganda at its finest.
Farlouk was well entertained with his psp and the Chiang Rai hotel was pretty nice too.
All in all it was fun, the locals thought it got cool at night 22 degrees, but it hits 34 in the day, so not bad for winter....
- BlogPressed from my iPad. Click on pictures for larger version and gallery. Copyright 2012 TinyFrontalLobeOnVacation Inc.
So.... Chiang Rai is interesting because it's actually bordering Laos and Myanmar (Burma) - and up the river about 260 km is China. The place is unique from Chiang Mai in that ancient Siam once had a capital here, and some of the settlements and temples are well over 1,000 years old, like our canteen coffee.
But that aside, apart from the myriad temples to see, crossing the border into Myanmar was a highlight - if only because it is one of the most difficult places to enter... The border crossing was 500 baht and they hold your passport - while issuing a temporary card for use in Myanmar. We were not really there that long, and being a border town, Mae Sae on the Thai side, it was a capitalist's dream. We took a tuk tuk to a temple, then some hill tribe people, Karen, with the neck rings, and we waded our way through the stalls in the town itself. Withought any regulation, and you can see immediately crossing the border that Myanmar people are very poor, they are eager to sell and you are surrounded by beggars and people walking round selling cigarettes, pornography and Viagra/Cialis pills.... And shops with Myanmar rubies, sapphires, all kinds of knock-offs from China (they say they are from Taiwan to make the quality sound better). After trying out some knock off iphones and ipods and Tag Heuer glass frames, we bought Farlouk a Sony PSP, and I have to say in terms of market intensity, and the region is stuffed with markets, this had to be one of the best.
If I can get some pictures loaded up I will, but as I say, we seem to be having issues.
Laos we kind of entered, by boat across the Mekong River. I say kind of, because the government there has built a 'special economic zone' along the river facing Thailand, which basically means locals cannot enter and it is full of vendors and even a giant casino. Boats run from China, 260km up the river to this casino. Despite the communist ideology, Myanmar too apparently has casinos. I think I would like to go to Mandalay in Myanmar one day, now the government there is changing, I think there will be massive changes coming. So Laos was Laos, but not really Laos if you get my meaning...
There is a large visitor centre on the Thai side, and it explains all the facets of the opium industry and the attempts to block it. Massive, expensive visitor centre, interesting stories they had to tell too...
In the mean time, I intend to write to the head Monk in Myanmar, because they have vendors outside,as most temples do, but they were catching wild birds putting them in little baskets then selling them to people to set free. Since Buddhists cannot harm anything, this seems wrong, these tiny birds were panicked and terrified and I am sure in the sizzling heat, some of them end up dead.
That said, Myanmar was a little bizarre, with various signs all over pointing out what the government has done to save the people. Think of Stephen Harper's Action Plan ads, and you get the same idea, it is propaganda at its finest.
Farlouk was well entertained with his psp and the Chiang Rai hotel was pretty nice too.
All in all it was fun, the locals thought it got cool at night 22 degrees, but it hits 34 in the day, so not bad for winter....
- BlogPressed from my iPad. Click on pictures for larger version and gallery. Copyright 2012 TinyFrontalLobeOnVacation Inc.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)