Barefoot at the Pagoda

We arrived in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) at 4:30 PM and finally made it off the ship at 5:30 PM. We made sure we were appropriately dressed (no shoulders or knees could show), so I wore a skirt and short sleeve blouse and Michael (poor guy) wore long pants. We took a complimentary shuttle into Yangon (formerly Rangoon) – and this could be classified as an adventure ride. The coach was “air conditioned” – not. There was some air circulating, but that was about it. The weather was hazy sun, hot and humid. We were on our way to Yangon, a distance of approximately 25 miles from the commercial port where the ship docked. Drive time was about one hour. You may wonder why it takes one hour to go 25 miles – well the roads aren’t exactly what we are used to. Our goal for this evening was to see the Shwedagon Pagoda, which is spectacularly light up at night.

Upon leaving the port, we had to clear security. We then got on to the main port road, which is being generous in its description. It was more like a 1 ½ lane sorta asphalted path with ruts, potholes, dips, bumps and anything else that can shake your kishkas up (that’s your insides). It reminded me of those vibrating machines with the belts you wrapped around your butt. We were airborne a few times.

I don’t know if it is because it is the hot season, but the countryside was bleak and the poverty was staggering. We passed by “farms” with a few cows and goats. Our guide told us that they did not use mechanical equipment to hoe the crops; instead, they believed in doing it the old way – using oxen or cattle to pull the plow.

This sounds like a bunch of propaganda to me as the government knows they need to be able to feed their people. Most likely it’s just that they can’t afford the equipment. The houses were not even as nice as shacks; they were little more than hovels. The closer we got to a village, small roadside stands and cafes dotted the side of the road. Most of these were nothing more than a lean-to with tin or plastic tarps for a roof. There were kid-sized plastic chairs and tables at the cafes and food stands. Our guide told us they use the kiddy chairs because they were cheaper and the taxes were cheaper than if they had regular sized chairs. Everything looked abandoned, there was trash everywhere, and people either walked, rode bikes, or motor scooters. All secondary roads were dirt and the homes looked like hovels. Very, very depressing.

The people, both men and women, wore a tailored shirt or blouse, a sarong called a longyi, and flip-flops. The women had a yellowish powder swiped across their faces. This powder is made from the bark of the thanaka tree, and is used as a cosmetic, sunscreen, or bug repellent. We saw many Buddhist monks wearing the traditional saffron robes called pongyi.

The buildings in the outskirts of Yangon look deserted and look like they have never been maintained. There are slums and trash everywhere. In between all the decay, there will be a pagoda, all glitzy and kept up (compared to the rest of the town). There was no or very little political discussion, and I wasn’t about to ask any questions pertaining to such because I like my freedom and would not like to be detained in Myanmar. Air conditioning is virtually unknown due to the cost and during the summer season (March-May), there isn’t enough electricity to run them.

We finally arrived at the shuttle stop in the center of Yangon – a western-style hotel, where we picked up a taxi to go to the Shwedagon Pagoda. The cost for the 10 minute ride for four people was $3.



I originally thought there would be one big pagoda or spire, but the enormity of the complex was mindboggling, I’m guessing about 15 acres. Upon arrival, we had to remove our shoes and socks and walk barefooted. OMG, I could barely put my foot down on the floor, but I knew this was something I had to see and just held my breath and did it. The marble floor tiles were still very hot from the sun, and walking barefooted didn’t help my left foot any.

It is so difficult to describe the immensity of this place. It is a little like a maze, with paths leading to different shrines. The shrines were of all sizes and all contained golden buddhas; there were hundreds of them. On the wall behind many of the buddha heads was a spinning disk with color lights – it looked like something you would find in Las Vegas. People were praying in groups or individually. The main spire stands approximately 322 feet tall. The crown or umbrella, which sits atop the spire or stupa, is topped with 2,317 rubies as well as 5,448 diamonds (the largest is 76 carats). Gold leaf and more gold leaf. It was very hot and muggy and we were soaking wet. It took about 1 ½ hours to walk a circuit around the main area.

We finally found our way back to the area where we left our shoes and I headed to the bathroom to wash my feet (they were BLACK with dirt and grime – ugh!). There was a woman sitting on the floor next to a foot bath. You step into it and she dipped a bowl into fresh water and poured it over your feet. I gave her $1. I then used a sanitizing wipe to better clean my feet before putting my shoes back on.

We returned to the hotel via taxi, picked up the shuttle, and repeated the lumpy bumpy trip back to the ship. We finally arrived back at the ship at 9:30pm and to our surprise, there was a very nice buffet waiting for all of the people who missed dinner because of the tours. We had a bite to eat and then took a looooong shower before bed.

Day at Sea

Michael is still crazy upset about his computer. IT guys looked at it this morning and pronounced it dead. They have configured the loaner computer, so at least the support has been wonderful. I am writing on a computer in the computer lab and transferring the file to a thumb drive. I will be able to then transfer the files to the loaner computer, hook up my new $18 USB cable to my phone and hopefully get this posted to the blog. Right now, we are out of internet service. In a few days, the ship will set up our onboard internet account (at the crew rate), so things should be a lot easier. See what I go through to keep you guys updated!! LOL LOL

I just love technology.

Several people have asked about our accommodations. Here is the summary: nice, but cramped. We have a window, but our view is blocked by a lifeboat. If you crane your head just right, you can see toward the stern. At least we get daylight. The room is about 200 square feet and includes a king size bed, a large desk chair, which sits at a built-in desk/armoire cabinet, and a tiny settee and small table. We have a safe and refrigerator (with free soft drinks). The storage is cramped for a two month trip, but we managed to get everything in. There is not much passing room in the aisles.

The bathroom has two sinks, a commode, and a tub/shower combination. Adequate but cramped, especially if two people are trying to get ready at the same time. At least this is NOT Princess. Nice fluffy towels and good housekeeping. The room is close to one of the elevators, dining rooms and bridge room.

Phuket, Thailand

Today we visited Phuket, Thailand. Along with our new friends, we rented a van for the day to tour the area. Negotiations are a must before engaging a driver.

Phuket is an island in the Andaman Sea and is connected to the mainland by one bridge. This island is covered with tropical flowers and rubber trees. The eastern shore is rocky and the western shore has all the beautiful beaches and resorts (these were severely damaged in the 2004 tsunami). We were surprised at how large and clean the city was. The signage was a mishmash of English, Thai, Arabic and Hebrew. Make no mistake, this is a third world country but yet it had its charm. Our driver spoke passable English and took us on a tour that covered all the highlights.

My impression of Phuket and surrounding areas is that it looks a bit like Mexico, with small open air store fronts with absolutely no zoning ordinances that I could see. There were many thatched roof structures with blue tarps over the awnings. Buildings were not well maintained and there was wild vegetation growing everywhere and on everything. Overall, the place was a lot cleaner than I imagined.

Our driver, Pong, took us to Wat Chalong, a Buddhist temple complex made up of several temples, each one dedicated to a specific entity. The main temple was three stories tall with a very high steeple; very ornate with lots of gold leafing. The bottom floor was filled with life sized golden Buddhas; I don’t know what was on the second and third floors as I did not go inside. You have to remove your shoes before entering any temple and since I forgot my socks, there was no way I was going anywhere barefooted. Michael took off his shoes, and I did have some antiseptic wipes for him to use.

Our next stop took us to the elephant farm. Lenny wanted to ride them, so we all agreed to go.

When we got there, it was so blasted hot and humid, and we all decided we did not want to ride for 30 minutes for $35 each. Would have been a cool thing to do, but we were wilting and our journey had just started.

Other points of interest that we visited were Phromthep Cape, which is located at the southern tip of Phuket Island and offers a magnificent view of the Andaman Sea, and Patong Beach, the famous resort area. The road to Patong Beach was hilly, steep and curvy and the drivers are crazy. It was pouring down rain.

The people riding motor scooters would dart in and out, ride on the wrong side of the road, and were like gnats. There were also scooters with side baskets attached and they rode crazy, too. It looked to be like a one lane road (in each direction) but they managed to squeeze 2 ½ lanes out of it (in each direction). It was pretty scary, but Pong was a good driver. Also, thank goodness for the air conditioned van we were in.

Our main objective in going to Patong Beach was to find a USB cable for my phone (which I will remind you that Michael forgot to bring). Pong took us to a mall – I have never seen anything like it. It was three or four stories and it went in weird directions with moving sidewalks instead of escalators. One minute you are in a grocery section, the next in a clothes shop. There were no walls, so you couldn’t tell where one store started and another ended. There was one store that specialized in facials and partial massages for 60 minutes for $10. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the time, and we were, after all, on a mission. We finally found the mobile phone section and there were at least eight phone vendors in one spot. On the fourth try, we finally found the cable for $18. We then had to make our way back to where Pong dropped us off and I will admit, for the first time in my life, I got lost in a mall. It took us several attempts to find our way back, but we finally did.



We returned to the ship, had a light snack and headed back to the room to boot up the computer and try out the cable. Long story short – the computer died. It wasn’t pretty, nor was poor Michael who was pulling his hair out worrying about how he is to run the bridge games without his computer. The IT guys said they would look at it tomorrow and if it was indeed dead, they would give him a loaner until we get to Dubai, where we get to purchase a new computer. Sweet…..

Turned in early again after a lovely dinner in the Prego dining room.

Travel Day and First Day at Sea

The dreaded travel day. Eveything went like clockwork, on time, no traffic, lots of waiting and boredom.

It took us 12 hours elapsed time from when we left home until we boarded the plane in San Francisco to Singapore. It was 1 am when we took off and by that time, we were both very tired. We were served dinner at 3 am our time. We were sitting at the very back of the plane with almost every seat occupied, and I have to say it is a trial in what a human body can withstand. I cannot sleep on an airplane, no way no how. When you think you have put in six hours, you realize you have another nine to go. I have to say that Singapore Airlines services its passengers the way that airlines used to.

I had the pleasure of chatting with the flight attendants. It helped to pass the time. I spent a lot of time standing in the back end of the plane where I could stand and stretch a bit. As I write this, we STILL have another nine hours to go! My knees are killing me from being bent for so long sitting in a cramped seat.

We arrived in Hong Kong for refueling and were able to get off the plane and walk around. I was able to send and receive email from my phone – in China! Off to Singapore -- another 3.5 hours to go.

Arrived in Singapore to hot, muggy, and rainy weather. We went through customs in a flash, picked up our bags, and our ride to the ship was waiting for us. Have to say this was a very long trip, but logistically, everything worked and there were no hitches. Hope the rest of the trip goes as well.

Zombie Land in Room 8108

First Night -- The Living Dead Were Here. We were so tired and all I wanted to do was crash. Every time I lay down, another suitcase was delivered. Since there was no room left in our room with boxes and suitcases spread out all over the place, we had to unpack and put things away. Michael did a few errands (like check out books from the library and get the info from the excursion desk). I gave up trying to take a nap and went to the sail away party and sipped on a Singapore Sling. By 8 pm, I was in bed trying to stay awake until Michael returned from dinner. Finally went to bed at 9 pm and woke up at 11 pm. The rest of the night, neither one of us was able to really sleep and by 5 am, we gave up.

Day 2 – Sea Day

Our first sea day and we went to work. Had a decent turn out considering the ship is only half full. I have met some very interesting people from all over the world. I met our dinner companions for the first time tonight and boy what an interesting group. An Israeli man married to a German woman and a Russian couple who now live in Canada. Fascinating people.

One thing did happen today. I went to transfer this word document from the computer to my phone, so I asked Michael to get the USB cable from his computer case. He looks at me, looks in the case, and looks at me again and said, “didn’t you pack it?” I said, “didn’t you pack it?” Long story short, we have no cable. I went to the computer lab hoping that they would have one. They had chargers, but no USB cables. I went to the concierge and asked them if they had one. Nope. But the nice guy said he would put out an email to the crew to see if anyone had a cable they could loan me. An hour later, the cable was sitting in my cabin!!! How cool is that?!

I’m too tired to continue writing. I would like to be witty and describe these people, but sleep and getting up early to go sightseeing tomorrow in Phuket, Thailand is a priority.

Note to my knitting friends: I do not recommend trying to knit a lace pattern when you are tired. Tinking and frogging is the order of the day when your concentration is shot.

Packing is Done

This is scary. It seems as though the Walkers will never learn how to pack light. And this is the checked luggage! We still have our carry on bags, too. In all fairness, the two boxes were sent to us by Better Bridge so we can take it to the ship. So all in all, I guess we didn't pack too much. LOL

Now we can sit back and relax.

For my knitting friends, I started my lace shawl and expect to have it finished by the time we arrive in Singapore (just kidding). With a total of 48 hours elapsed time either waiting or flying I will probably have a good chunk of it done. I will post a photo of it when I am a little farther along.

Final, Final Test

I am avoiding the bedroom today as the time has come to make packing decisions and I am just overwhelmed by it. I am also very tired as I was awakened by a hammering noise at 4:45am. Tried to sleep, but getting a headache so gave it up at 6:45am. So far, this has been a long day.

It's 11am and I have finished picking out everything. Now the trick is to see if it will fit in the suitcases and be under 50 pounds. This has really been an exhausting experience. I know that I am forgetting things (such as my white cotton slacks which are still in the desert -- rats). I am avoiding packing the checked suitcases as it is a real puzzle to balance weight and what you pack in each suitcase. For those experienced travellers, how many times has one of several suitcases been lost or misrouted? I know it has happened to me before; so, what I do is spread everything among the suitcases. That is, a few blouses and pants in one and a few blouses and pants in another one. I even slip a few things into Michael's suitcases and then let him deal with the weight issue. I also take a carry on that has enough stuff to get me by for three days. Experience is a great teacher.

Just finished final testing -- and everything works!!!! Created the above paragraphy on the computer, then uploaded the document to my phone, did a cut and paste after opening the document and Blogger and there it is. I just love playing with gadgets and electronic toys.

The Packing Begins

The real fun began today with laundry and packing and paying bills and doctor appointments and you get the drift. My desk is piled high with papers and more papers; I think they just multiply while I am sleeping. Since I haven't fully unpacked all my "papers" from six months in the desert, I don't have a file to put the new papers in. Being somewhat anal, I have to separate the 2009 papers from the 2010 stuff before I can file the new stuff. Oh, George Carlin would be so proud of me!

Therefore, I have decided to procrastinate. Watching TV tonight sounds really good. Besides, my left foot hurts (for those that don't know, I have plantar fasciitis, which is a torn and inflamed tendon that goes from the heel of the foot to the ball of the foot and makes walking very painful) and got the third injection today in the bottom of my heel. Wonderful way to start a long trip with aching feet. Hope this injection of cortisone helps.

New URL

I couldn't stand the assigned URL for my blog, so I have created a new one. Please bookmark and use this to access my blog site: http://beverlywalkersworldadventures.blogspot.com

The Visa Saga

We were informed, albeit late, that we needed passports for India and Myanmar. This entailed some fast work on our part as we exceeded the deadline for getting this done (not our fault). We decided we would forego these countries and not bother with the visas. Well, that was not an option according to Crystal in as much as it doesn't matter whether we get off the ship or not. We would not be allowed to BOARD the ship if we didn't have them.

Crystal sent us the paperwork via email. OMG, the paperwork. First thing we noticed was that Myanmar wanted copies of our birth certificates! Well, guess where they were: we are in the desert and the certificates are locked away in the safe in Port Ludlow. First, we pressed Anne into service and she was able to fax them to us (and fortunately Anne's job is not that of a safe cracker!). It took about three hours to fill out all the paperwork, and we promised that we didn't know anyone from Pakistan or was ever in Pakistan. The next morning, we each got FIVE passport photos (1 for India and FOUR for Myanmar). Sent the whole package, including our passports, off via Fedex to a company in Washington DC that goes around collecting visas for ripped off tourists to the tune of $650.

The passport arrived today with the visas. Phew.

Setting up the Blog and Notes to the Reader

Get ready -- this is a big one. Fifty six days cruising on Crystal Cruise Lines. We fly to Singapore and arrive in enough time to get on the ship (it takes two days to get there). We will work our way west stopping in places such as Thailand, Myanmar, India, Dubai, through the staits of Aden (and hope not to see any pirates), through the Suez Canal, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, Italy, France, Spain, Portagul, and a circle around the UK, arriving in London.

This is my first experience blogging via mobile phone. I am trying to get things set up before we leave. Please bookmark the URL (which was assigned as I did not, nor could I, make up such a silly name) -- http://taghep982.blogspot.com

To see the next page of posts, you need to click on "older posts" at the bottom of each page. Or you can just click on the link you want to see under Blog Archives.

We finally unpacked the car, put all the stuff away from our winter in the desert, and worked out the kinks in the TIVO and my printer. We are going to take it easy for a few days with Deborah and Isabelle. Then the fun begins! How to pack for two months in two suitcases and not exceed 50 pounds in each one. I swear, this time, I will not pack more than I will wear or need, and I will wear things over and over again. The ship, after all, has laundry facilities.

It will be interesting to spend this much time on a ship. Never been on longer than 21 days; and, we already signed up for a 65 day cruise starting in January 2011!