Going Home

Sawat Dee Kah!! I have packed my three large suitcases and am ready for the taxi. The long flight back to Mexico begins.

Goodbye until I go again!

Weekend Market Nightmare

Sawat Dee Kah!! Today is my last day in Bangkok and I know I should visit the Chatuchak Weekend Market. This market at last count has 1500 stalls and is listed in all the tour guides as “Not to be Missed.”

Reluctantly, I follow my path of the water taxi to the Sky Train. The train reaches the stop and the throng of people pile out and down the stairs. According to my map the shops I want are naturally on the opposite end of the train stop.

Oh My God, this place is unbelievable. First I am in a row that is selling exotic fish and aquariums, then to thousands of flip flops, next are bonsai trees and birds followed by rattan furniture, to buffalo skulls and snake skins, art supplies, antique Indian doors, dried fish and curried vegetables, amulets, antique Buddhas, cookie cutters, and a Muslim prayer room. I dodge in and try to regain my senses. Oh shit, there are only men in here and in the back of my mind I think I remember that women are not allowed to pray with men. I mumble my apologies and dive back into the chaos.

I come to food stalls and there are rock bands adding to the din of madness, with snake charmers and their cobras, and literally thousands of people milling about. I find the area where the shops I want are located and they are out of the burning sun. In one of the shops I buy three shirts and one pair of pants all of very light cotton. A shop with things from Afghanistan provides me with handmade tassels used for tribal costumes and a beautiful silver and beaded necklace.

At this point I am so hot I head back to the Sky Train. Back through another part of this market presents go go boots, the thieves market, which has cement mixers, guitars, trolleys, then into feather boas, spice market, gemstones, car axles and engines and finally I see the Sky Train.

Back to the hotel by the Sky Train then the water taxi and those red shirts are every where. I arrange for my taxi at 5AM and go to my room to pack and have at least one cold beer.

Out Among Them

Sawat Dee Kah! Today I am up really early, to beat the masses. Water taxi to the Sky Train off at the correct stop and I am in China Town on my way to Old Siam Market Center. The map says it is only a few blocks, but it’s just wrong! After an hour of walking I found it. This is an old shopping mall that has been converted into stalls for vendors selling everything from wedding dresses, to replacement parts for lamps with a foot massage place smack dab in the middle of the first floor.

Here I found I hit the jackpot with several great stores. At one I bought two blouses and the other carried textiles created by hill tribes, but sewn into very high end modern clothes. At this one, I bought two lonjyi skirts, two shirts with intricate silver pieces worked into the design, two necklaces made by hill tribes and two shoulder bags.

At another store I was able to buy two tie dye design dresses, two pairs of pants, and a long skirt.

As I come out of the store, I see red shirts coming my way. I am loaded down and decide on a tuk tuk for a fast escape. My reasoning is that a tuk can weave in and out of traffic easier than a cab, and the Sky Train is at least two miles from where I am.

Of course, it is a mistake, but there was really no good choice. Two hours, and more exhaust fumes than imaginable, I arrive back to the hotel.

April Fool's but this is no joke

Sawat Dee Kah! I have to venture out among the red shirts today to purchase another large suitcase for all my goodies. The newspaper suggests that tourist avoid taxis and tuks in favor of the water taxi and the Sky Train. I catch a water taxi and ride down to the connection with the train. I am going to MBK. I get off at the suggested stop and walk directly into the store. Piece of cake! I realize this is a mall with four levels and it is swarming with people. I buy the largest suitcase I can find and start back to my hotel on the Sky Train. There is a sea of people in red shirts below me. I wait for the water taxi and it is jammed with people. I squeeze in, apologizing as I go for the large damn suitcase.

Have to pull the suitcase to the hotel and there are masses of people in front of me. I pardon my way through the throng until I am to my hotel and decide to stay in for the night. Sheesh!!!

Mandaly to Yangon to Bangkok

Mingalaba! I am sorry to leave Myanmar and the wonderful people I met on the Road to Mandalay. Vow I will come back some day. I arrive in Bangkok and 6PM and am able to get a taxi, only to learn the red shirt protest had increased in numbers as well as ferocity. Traffic is jammed up for miles and my taxi driver is as frustrated as I am. Finally, we reach my hotel and the staff greets me like a lost relative returning home.

Last day on the Road to Mandalay

Mingalaba! Today is the last day on the boat and we are doing a cyclo ride through Myin Yu. We get to shore and the cyclos are lined up for our group. Another chance for locals to giggle at the procession of white people being paraded through their town. We stop at a place where local women cut their beautiful hair to sell to China, then to a place that makes replica costumes of the past royalty to be used for celebrations and on to a local market.

The market is not geared to foreigners, but we all make some great purchases. One of my friends on the boat wanted a monk’s robe and he found it there. I bought a monk’s fan and 2 little parasols that are put over little Buddha statues in one’s home. Mr Thet explained through out this trip that the two biggest temptations to a monk are money and women. The monk uses the fan to cover his face when women are around so he is not tempted.

Return to the boat to pack for a 5:30AM departure to Mandaly for our flight to Yangon.

Trip to Monwya Tour

Mingalaba!! Today we are in for a very long day and it is hotter than Hades. The ship has dropped anchor at Myin Mu, where we get off the boat and into the bus. Our first stop is a peanut factory, then lunch, where they fanned us while we ate.

We are on the way to a copper mine, which is a joint venture between the junta government of Myanmar and a company from Canada. As we are driving, we cross a bridge that was paid for by the women of this community, by way of selling their hair to China.

We visit the Peace Pagoda, with 5000 Buddha figures.

The locals do a primitive variety of mining seperate from the large mine. They use tin cans, acid and water from ponds of fetid water. One man sucked on a hose, and when the acid began to come, he then put it over the cans. He then spit, but what a way to make a living. I would think the acid would eventually destroy the tissue in his mouth. One need not worry about teeth in this part of the country, because most people chew and are addicted to the betel nut. When they chew this, the spit looks as if they are spitting blood. It destroys the gums and the teeth fall out. We give the kids in this village the peanuts we had bought earlier in the day, hoping they eat those instead of the betel nut.

We don't get back to the boat until dark and are all exhausted.