It's late November again, and in Bangkok that means it's time for Loi Krathong. This year, Pinky and I went to River Festival 2015, organized along the Chao Phraya River by the Ministry of Tourism. Loi Krathong was on Wednesday the 25th, but we went out on the 24th to avoid the crowd like the one I got caught in last year!
We arrived at Ta Tien Pier, which was the headquarters for this year's celebration. This was not only the best place to watch the river parade, but also where you could try Thai snacks, watch a Thai dance show, and learn how to make a krathong, all for free!
Everything at the festival was presented in three languages - Thai, English, and Chinese, making it easy for everyone in attendance to learn about and understand about a little bit of Thai culture. Loi Krathong is a family event, and there were lots of families, both Thai and Farang, at the festival.
Last year I bought a krathong, but this year I got to make my own! One of the stations set up at Ta Tien Pier had lots of supplies (banana stalks, banana leaves, flowers, candles, incense) for making a traditional krathong. There was even a staff member on hand to teach you what to do.
Handmade krathong
The festival took place at seven piers along the river, including Wat Pho and Wat Arun. We went to a few of the other stations, but the main celebration at Ta Tien was the most impressive. Check out my video (below) to see some of the Loi Krathong festivities!
Angkok Wat... the Eighth Wonder of the World, the 12th century Khmer ruin which has captivated the imagination for centuries. It's a massive, sprawling temple complex located just outside the Cambodian city of Siem Reap.
Angkor Wat at dawn
Most people believe that Angkor Wat is best viewed at dawn, as the pale orange Cambodian sun gradually illuminates the misty sky. It's a surreal experience as the magnificent legendary temple complex slowly comes into view.
the spectacular Angkor Wat
Yes, this is the best way to see Angkor Wat. Unfortunately hundreds of tourists agree, and it's almost impossible to get a good view due to the crowds, even at five in the morning. Nevertheless, I was out there in the dark waiting to see the famous sight from across the temple's lotus pond. It's still a sight worth seeing.
Angkor Thom temple
Angkor Historical Park is huge. While Angkor Wat is definitely is definitely the most famous of the temples, the Bayon Temple at Angkor Thom is unmissable too. Angkor Thom was the grand walled capital city of the great Angkor Empire. The most iconic feature are the many carved faces that look out from every wall and tower at Angkor Thom.
Bayon heads at Angkok Thom
The centerpiece of Angkor Thom is the Bayon Temple, with its many carved "Bayon Faces". There are something like two-hundred of these serene, smiling faces looking out over Angkor Thom.
the gates at Angkor Thom
It can get very hot in Cambodia, even in October. There's not much shade out at Angkor Thom. It was midmorning by the time we left Angkor Wat, stopped for breakfast at Angkor Café, and finished exploring Angkor Thom. The sun was high in the sky and beating down over the historical park.
afternoon in Cambodia
The last time I visited Angkor Wat two years ago, I had gotten a three-day pass, which gave me time to explore places like a sacred waterfall with Khmer carvings and the jungle temple, Bang Melia. This visit, we just got a one-day pass, and only planned on doing the "small circuit" tour of the three most famous temples.
the Angkor temples are Hindu in origin
Our host, Sovong, drove us to and around Angkor, and gave us an insider view on the importance of this great ancient kingdom in Cambodian history. It was really cool to be shown around by a local, and I really think it helped me get more out of the experience. I knew Angkor Wat would be crowded, and I almost wondered if it was worth the effort for me to go again. I'm glad I did though, because this visit was different than the one I had done before.
monks at Angkor Thom
The third and final temple we visited was Ta Phrom. Ta Phrom Temple is still partially overgrown by the jungle. It can get really crowded, as it's one of the park's most photogenic spots, but it looks really cool. I've been told that this temple was featured in one of the Tomb Raider movies starring Angelina Jolie.
Ta Phrom Temple
We spent several hours at the three temples, and I was hot and exhausted by the time we left Ta Phrom and drove back into Siem Reap. I didn't really enjoy the crowds, and since we visited the park's three most famous temples, it was impossible to escape from the hoards of tourists. Given more time, I would have chosen to get off the main tourist trail and see some of the temples further afield, like I did two years ago at Bang Melia.
For now, I don't have any more big trips planned until April when the school year ends and I'll fly back to visit the US. Who knows where my next big adventure will take me though? Sometimes you can't plan these short-notice trips, and they just happen. Sometimes, that's the best way,
I always end up in Siem Reap. I'm not sure why. It's not like it's my favorite place I've ever traveled. Whenever I go there I think something like, "ok, Siem Reap is an ok city. Pub Street is ok during the daytime. Angkor Wat is cool, I guess... but I'll really have to go somewhere else next time, or see another part of Cambodia."
Siem Reap is nothing like Bangkok. It's fairly rural, and in a way, I suppose, it still has the feelings of East Asian romanticism written about in pre-1960-70's travelogues. In any case, I never really plan on returning, but somehow I end up in Siem Reap at least once a year. Maybe it's just its proximity to Bangkok (45-minutes by air) and the ease, convenience, and cheapness of going there. In any case, this October, I once again found myself sweltering in a dusty outdoor café on Pub Street in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
colonial French neighborhood, Siem Reap
Ok, that's maybe a little dramatic. My friend Brenna had never been to Cambodia, and didn't feel comfortable traveling there alone, so I offered to go along for a short three-day visit. We arrived late at night, just two days after my return from Myanmar, so I had hardly had time to wash my laundry before packing it all up again. We were met at the airport by our host, Sovong. On this trip, we had booked rooms through Airbnb, a website that allows locals to host visitors in their own home bed and breakfast guesthouses. Sovong was a very talented artist, and had painted the rooms of his guesthouse with murals depicting the temples of Angkor Wat. As he drove us to the guesthouse, Sovong told us that he would be willing to take us around for some local food one night, and suggested that October was the perfect time of year to go out on Tonle Sap Lake to visit the floating villages.
Pub Street, Siem Reap
We spent the first morning relaxing at a cafe on Pub Street, and in the afternoon, Sovong drove us about half an hour out of town to the river, where we boarded a small boat with an Argentinian couple also staying at the guesthouse.
houses in the floating village
church in the floating village
Sailing through the floating village was a very interesting experience. The village had homes, a police station, a small school, and even a church, all built up on stilts. There was a small temple on the riverbank. The village was built along the river, but we soon passed through it and came to a wetland. Suddenly, we were in the biggest lake I had ever seen! I guess I need to review my Southeast Asian geography. I had no idea that there was such a large lake in Cambodia, but when I looked at a map, sure enough. Tonle Sap Lake is massive, the largest in Southeast Asia!
Tonle Sap Lake
We stayed on the lake for a few hours to watch the sunset. After a while, we returned back down the river to Siem Reap.
One of the reasons that we had for going to Cambodia was to see Phare, the Cambodian circus. To be honest, I almost didn't feel like going to Cambodia again this year, especially after still being exhausted from my trip to Burma, just two days before. Brenna convinced me to go, however, by suggesting that we go see one of the world's most famous shows. In the end, I was very glad that I went, because I got to do a lot of things I hadn't seen before.
Pub Street at night - I really prefer it during its quiet daytime hours
The circus was really amazing! It was unlike any other circus I had seen before. The performance, which incorporated a number of traditional Cambodian acrobatic moves, told a mythical story with a contemporary twist. Although the single tent setup was really small, they showed a number of the feats which were completely amazing. The circus originated from a small school. It operates in the very poor rural areas of Cambodia, teaching children performance arts for free, helping them to break out of the cycle of poverty. Many of the performers have gone on to be famous throughout the world, and the troupe we saw had just returned from a tour in France. The proceeds from the show go to keep the school running. It's really cool.
the Cambodian Circus
We would spend the next full day at Angkor Wat Historical Park. I had been there once before, but I was glad to have the chance to visit again. In the evening, Sovong took us to a market to try some local Cambodian food. One of the big benefits of staying at a local guesthouse is getting the chance to interact a bit more with people and participate in the local culture.
Sovong teaches me how to eat a fresh lotus pod
I'm sure I'll go back to Cambodia again sometime. Siem Reap holds its own charm for me. Something about its proximity to where I live in Thailand, and the visa-on-arrival available to most visitors makes it fairly easy destination to visit for two or three days from Bangkok. Although the culture is similar to that of Thailand, the country is much more rural and traditional, and the modern history of the two countries are vastly different. Maybe one reason I like Siem Reap is that it has a more "authentic" feel than Bangkok does. I think I still prefer living in Bangkok though, by a large margin. Nevertheless, I like Cambodia more and more each time I travel there.
After a fairly exhausting first half of the week, I could think of no better way to spend my fifth day in Myanmar than by riding a slow steamer down the Irawaddy River from Mandalay to Bagan.
The boat departed from Mandalay pier on a cold and drizzly October morning. Within minutes Mandalay was behind us, and the boat was slowly chugging through the muddy, brown waters past rural villages and green hills dotted with hundreds of golden pagodas. The small onboard bar offered toast with jam for breakfast, and free-flowing hot tea throughout the day. The first half of the cruise was cold and rainy, so the passengers relaxed on the two indoor decks on comfortable padded seats. After not too long though, the rain slacked off a bit, and I ventured out onto the upper decks to better watch the countryside roll past. This part of Myanmar was incredibly rural. During the entire voyage, I think we passed only two bridges spanning the great river.
Though it was still cold and windy, the rain eventually passed, and the crew began setting up comfortable rattan deck chairs. Many of the passengers stayed inside, working on their laptops, reading, or napping. One group of excited Australian ladies were playing an exciting game of cards. I preferred to be outside though. After that cramped and horrendously uncomfortable night train, the slow, smooth ride of the leisurely boat and the cool wind in my face was a welcome change. I've always said that rail was my favorite way to travel, but now I think I quite like boats!
We docked in Bagan in the late afternoon. It was a far cry from the bustling city of Yangon, or even the quiet town Mandalay. Bagan is really just a small village. What makes it special, though, are the thousands of ancient temples built just meters from one another all over the area. It's impossible to look out across Bagan and not see at least a dozen of these ancient ruins; the entire region is now a protected historical area.
Though each of these stone pagodas is different, they all looked quite similar, due to being built very rapidly in a relatively short period of time (something like 3000 temples in 200 years). I'm not sure there is anyone who knows the name of every one. The main temples attract hundreds of tourists and visitors each year, but some of the smaller, quieter ones stand semi-forgotten in the fields of Bagan.
You can hire a taxi, but by far the most iconic and fun way to get around the dirt streets of Bagan is by horse cart. We hired a driver named Mr. Bobo and his horse, Nanda.
Some of the caretakers at the smaller pagodas even let you clime up to the top for stunning views of the surrounding countryside. Most of these pagodas are manned by a warden, usually a young local person with access to the key. They will guide you around with a flashlight and offer you a tour in exchange for buying a souvenir from their shop.
I don't remember the names of the dozen or so temples that we visited that day, although Mr. Bobo told me them. By far though, my favorite was the first one that we visited. The caretaker, a young local artist, gave a fascinating tour with lots of historical detail. He told us how during the Second World War, the local Burmese people hid from the invading Japanese army inside these temples, and that the inside murals had been blackened from the soot of their cooking fires. At the end of the tour, I bought a sand painting from him. He gave me a good deal, because I was the first customer in several days, due to the rain, and he even showed me how he makes the paintings. First, he cuts a tree to collect the sap, which he paints into the design he wants, before sprinkling the canvas with sand. He does three or four layers of this.
After a delicious local lunch of sweet chicken curry, Pinky and I explored New Bagan Town on foot for a while. That afternoon, by some miracle, the sun finally broke through the clouds that had covered the sky for the entire week. For the first time since arriving in Myanmar, we actually had a sunny day! It quickly began to get a little bit hot.
Optimistic about the weather, we were determined to see a sunset. The Burmese sunsets are famous, and we had planned to see one in each of our destinations (Shwedagon Pagoda, Mandalay Hill...) but due to the heavy rain all week, we had missed every one. As the sky cleared, we searched through our guidebook for information about the best riverfront restaurants, and decided to eat at the Green Elephant.
Unfortunately, the Green Elephant has two branches, and we went to the wrong one, in town and far from the river. The sun was starting to fall in the sky, but the waiters at the restaurant offered to give us a lift on their motorbikes to their other riverside location, and we made it just in time!
The sunset was stunning; one of the most beautiful I have ever seen! There was a small white sand beach on the banks of the Irawaddy just out front of the restaurant, and we sat and watched the crimson sun sink below the purple mountains on the other side of the river.
The next day, it was time to go home. We flew a small turboprop plane into Yangon in the morning, and spent the day visiting the National Museum and browsing at the market. We couldn't buy anything though- we had budgeted perfectly, and ended up at the airport with 1000 kyat to spare (about $1).
I'm so glad that I got the chance to return to Myanmar. Already, the country has begun to transform since my first visit. While I was there, the country was preparing for its first "free" election in a quarter century (or something like that). It seem very likely that the NLD party of Aung San Suu Kyi will win, although the true results of the election remain to be seen. At the time of writing, it seems that her party has indeed won, but has yet to take power. Only time will tell how the ruling military junta will handle a change in government, but I am optimistic about the future of this beautiful, golden land.
We were in a hurry on the way back to Yangon from Mt. Kyaiktyo. Not realizing how bad the roads would be, what we thought would be a three or four-hour trip took around six, and by the time we got to the Yangon bus station and up the mountain to the Golden Rock, it had been over nine hours since leaving the hotel.
We left the Golden Rock early, because we had train tickets departing Yangon at 5pm. Our travel would be tight from here on out, and if we missed even one leg of the trip, it would mean we might loose all the tickets we had booked. (Everything was scheduled with little room for delay).
It was cold, rainy, and foggy that morning at the peak of Mt. Kyaiktyo. As rain drizzled from the early morning sky, novice monks in crimson robes walked, barefooted, on their alms rounds. We boarded the truck for another terrifying hour back down the slick, winding roads to Kinpun, the base camp of Mt. Kyaiktyo.
We arrived at the station in Yangon in time. The bus from Kinpun was not air-conditioned, but with the window open, it wasn't bad at all. We made much better time heading back to Yangon. By the time we got to the station, we were already tired and looking forward to our private first-class carriage. Little did we know what was ahead of us that night.
The train was ancient and dirty- far from the photos we had seen online. Now, I had read reviews that talked about how bumpy the Burmese rail system was, but I had absolutely no idea it would be that bad! The ride started decently enough, slowly chugging along through the countryside. But when it got dark and the outside view was no longer interesting, it was time to try and get some sleep. The train still runs on the 60+ year-old rail system built during the colonial period by the British. As such, they are in a state of disrepair. Things started bumpy, but not horrible, but as the night wore on and we got further from Yangon, things got steadily worse.
Sleep was basically impossible. There were moments in the middle of the night when I was bouncing literally a foot in the air off the rock-hard mattress of my bunk, while luggage and things flew around the train. I probably got less than two hours of sleep on and off throughout the night, trying to sleep during the times when the train reached a smooth stretch. There were no bedsheets, and it got a little cold. We got the windows open halfway, because it was too stuffy with them closed, and the fan in the carriage was broken. There were mosquitoes and some rain came in, but I wrapped up in my longyi and rain poncho, and tried to sleep as best as I could.
Finally, at 8:00 the next morning, the train slowly creaked into Mandalay station. After checking in at the hotel, I had never been so happy to have a hot shower!
There was no time to rest, though, as the boat to Bagan would depart early the next morning. We only had one day to see Mandalay, and we had to make it count by seeing all the big sites, starting at Mandalay Palace.
The current Mandalay Palace complex is a 1990's reconstruction built on the site of the old Mandalay Palace. Mandalay was the last Burmese kingdom to resist British occupation through much of the 19th century. The palace sits inside a moat on a piece of land several miles (Burma, like the United States, uses the Imperial system of measures, and not the metric system) square. When we got to the palace, cold rain was pouring from the grey sky turning all the fields around the compound into flooded muddy puddles. The palace itself was impressive from the outside, but other than the throne hall, the dozens of buildings around the compound were empty.
Next, we went to the Golden Palace Monastery. Unlike Mandalay Palace, this is an original building. The only surviving building, in fact, from the original Mandalay Palace complex. During my time in Mandalay, this was one of my favorite places that I saw. The building is very different from the other golden and gaudy temples throughout Burma. This one, made of hand-carved teakwood, was dark, quiet, and peaceful inside. Not many people were there, just a handful of European tourists taking some photos, and it was a good escape from the heavy rain outside.
Moving on, we came to the site of the world's largest book, Kutodaw Pagoda. The temple contains numerous white stone stupas. Inside each is a tablet with words from the Buddhist canon. The entire canon (all Buddhist scripture in the Theravada School) is contained in these grounds. I'm not Buddhist, but I do appreciate books, and I was very impressed by the scale and scope of this place. The grey sky and rain made the entire complex nearly deserted and quiet, and with the marble stupas there was a mausoleum-like atmosphere about the place. Still, it was definitely very interesting to see and worth stopping by for a time. The scriptures are all written in Palin, an old Sanskrit-derived language which is the ecclesiastical language of Theravada Buddhism, so of course I couldn't read anything (not that I could had it been in Burmese either). Nevertheless, quite impressive!
Cold, wet, and exhausted, our last stop of the day was Mandalay Hill. You could walk up it, but it was steep, and we were tired. Besides, we had hired a driver for the day, so he took us to the top. There's a temple at the top. It was a lot like the other ones I had seen in Myanmar. I'll be honest, by this point in my trip I was starting to get a little bit temple-out, as anyone who's spent time traveling in southeast Asia can attest, and besides, most temples in the country pale compared to Shwedagon in Yangon. Anyway, the view from the top, though foggy that afternoon, was really nice. All in all, I definitely prefer Mandalay to Yangon. It's much quieter and more peaceful, while still being a city (unlike the next stop in Hagan). I would have liked to spend longer than just one day there, but I was able, at least, to see the big sites. My day in Mandalay was by far the rainiest day of the whole week, and returning to the hotel for a cup of hot tea was much needed after slogging through muddy water at the palace all day.
The new semester has begun. For the past week I've been back at the office and working on my transformation from Vacation Michael into Bangkok Michael. I've got a few new posts in the hopper ready to put out over the next few weeks or so. I've been kind of lax lately in my updates. My first year, I wrote a lot about my experiences in Bangkok. Everything was new, exciting, and exotic. By my second year, Bangkok didn't feel so foreign anymore, so I focused more on describing school life here in Thailand. Now it's my third year. So far I've written on and off about some of my travels, but lately I've been finding it more and more difficult to find new and unique things to write about.
Now, this blog isn't meant to reach a wide audience. It rarely gets more than 25 views on any one given post, and It's not meant to. The idea of this blog is really just to keep in touch with my friends, but especially my family back home. I don't really feel much pressure to publish frequently, especially when I have nothing to write about. Coming up soon, I have a series about my recent October holidays to Myanmar (Burma) and Cambodia, so I'll still be getting that out soon. As it happens, I really use this blog more of a travel journal so that I can remember my own adventures better! But lately I've been thinking more about trying to put out some short videos for my family, so that they can get a better feel for what my life is really like here.
I've done it before. When my former colleague, Ryan, and I went to Japan in April, we decided to make a film of our trip just for fun. It made the short stopover really memorable. Even though it was one of the shortest trips I've ever taken, it is one I'll never forget. Most of the video, I'll admit, is kind of... boring. But we've compiled some of the sights and experiences into a sort of montage here:
I'm working on something similar for my recent trip to Myanmar. Really though, I want to put out an occasional update showing aspects of my life here in Bangkok. I want my family to see and hear what I'm up to. A video gives a much better feel of a place than my words could describe. I'm not trying to be "Youtube famous". To be really honest, these videos are for my family and friends to watch. I realize that some things that seem normal or mundane to me now could seem exotic and interesting to someone who has never been to Thailand. Sometimes living as an expat presents me with challenges that lead to funny experiences, like how to celebrate Halloween in a country where that's just not a "thing":
I don't expect it to be a super regular thing. Maybe I'll show you around my neighborhood. Maybe I'll show what Thanksgiving is like here. Maybe I'll show some strange and unusual Thai snacks. If you have any ideas of something you'd like to see, let me know! I hope it can be a fun and interesting way of interacting more with my friends and family back home.
I most likely won't talk about the videos much here, but if you are interested, you can follow my updates at:
When I went to Myanmar for the first time last August, I only stayed for a long weekend. Although I had planned to go to the Golden Rock, the roads were flooded during my visit, and I ended up staying in Yangon the whole time, and I loved it!
This year during my October term holiday (one of the big benefits of being a teacher!) I had originally planned to go Laos, a country I've heard wonderful things about, but have never visited. Although the flight there is only an hour from Bangkok, it would cost me almost $300! That's ridiculous! I decided to shelve that trip until I had enough time to take the night train there instead. In a last-minute search, I found that round-trip tickets to Yangon were going about $50 (much more typical for southeast Asia flights from Bangkok), and I immediately booked.
The last time I went, I had to deal with the frustrating bureaucracy at the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok, and spend lots of time waiting in long lines. Since then however, the country has opened up even further, and I could now apply for an e-visa online! Already, Myanmar has changed a lot in the year since I first visited. It's set to change in incredible ways in the next decade. I feel really lucky to get to see this transition.
The first day was spent in Yangon. I more or less copied the colonial walking tour from my first visit, because I think it's really interesting to see how these buildings were preserved in a way that's really unique in this part of the world. Of course, I couldn't visit Yangon without going to the famous golden Shwedagon Pagoda. I won't go into details, as I've described it before. Needless to say, it's absolutely stunning, especially at sunset.
Early the next morning though, I was in uncharted waters! This time, the roads were clear, we were told, and we could go to the Golden Rock! From here on out, my trip in Myanmar would be only new experiences. The trip would take three hours, at least that's what the travel guides and hotel manager told me. Halfway to Mt. Kyaiktyo though, we were stopped by a muddy, flooded road. That slowed us down considerably, and the drive took over six hours. By the time we reached the top of the mountain via terrifying open-back truck on the winding roads in the pouring rain, I was cold, wet, and kind of mad. Luckily, a reservation at the warm and comfortable Mountain Top Hotel awaited me.
Mt. Kyaiktyo is home to one of Myanmar's most mysterious sites: the legendary Golden Rock. The rock is said to balance on a hair of the Buddha. It's covered in gold leaf, and sits precariously on the side of a cliff face. In fact, it rocks back and forth in the wind.
It was so foggy on the top of the mountain that evening, that it was impossible to see further than ten feet in front of your face. When we finally reached the rock, it was a little bit of a disappointment, since it was freezing cold, pouring rain, and mostly deserted. You couldn't even get close to the rock, because the gates were locked due to the weather. The famously amazing view I had heard so much about was nowhere to be seen.
Nevertheless, it's a remarkable site, and one worth seeing. My advice: go during the dry season!
I've decided to get into video! My idea is to put up short updates about life in Bangkok, but I'll also film some of my trips as well. You can watch a short clip about Myanmar here:
I'm the first to admit, it's not professional by any means! I just think it might be a fun way for my friends and family back home to see what I've been up to, and to see some of these places in video. After all, a video can give you a better feel for a place than I could just by describing it! While the first few videos (my trip to Japan and my trip to Myanmar) are about my travels, I plan on making more videos just about life in and around Bangkok. Subscribe for updates, and a like is very much appreciated!
