Asia III: Sri Lanka - South India - Laos - Myanmar - Brunei - Korea

I switched to a more expensive and reputable bus company and successful avoided bad-temper driver and mosquitos infestation in the bus. JJ express also provided better food. However, no one can spare me from the rude and ridiculous taxi drivers waiting at Bagan bus terminal at 4 am to suck up my $ like mosquitos. I walked with another hostelmate to old Bagan (4 miles one way) to check out some gracefully aging pagodas in high heat, although I was tired and sleepy. I was so tired at noon and hitchhiked with two rides back to the hostel to rest. “Bagan, located on the banks of the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) River, is home to the largest and densest concentration of Buddhist temples, pagodas, stupas and ruins in the world with many dating from the 11th and 12th centuries. Bagan became a central powerbase in the mid 9th century under King Anawratha, who unified Burma under Theravada Buddhism. It is estimated that as many as 13,000 temples and stupas once stood on...

I found a boat-sharing vendor for crushing Inle Lake today. It is a shallow 22-km long lake in the middle of Myanmar inhabited by many different tribes. I saw local fishermen posing for pictures at the lake entrance - with the expectation of a tip. The boat trip included visiting workshops, such as the Lotus textile weaving factory (lotus fibers are 7 times of silk), silversmith workshop, a shop for handmade cigars "cheroot" (from tobacco, honey, rice flour, tamarind, banana, and anise), 5-day rotating market (it's at the same location every 5 days), the Phaung Daw U pagoda with ceremonial boats, an over-priced lake restaurant for lunch, a cat-jumping monastery where the monks trained the jumping cats, the Indein village, The Sankar village and the nearby Tharkong pagoda. I really enjoyed this 8-hour boat ride passing through villages and great scenery.

While walking around town hunting for dinner, I saw a village parade to celebrate four young boys to become monks. I also ran into the crowd watching the newly dig out ruins next to an old temple.

I grouped with a UK couple and toured three sites in Nyaungshwe, the main access point for Inle Lake, by bicycle today. It was hard to use the single-speed old bike to get on hills or break on downhills. Shwe Yaunghwe Kyaung is a monastery with unique oval windows in the ancient teak thein (ordination hall) which create a perfect frame for portraits of the novices. The pagoda next to the monastery has unique surrounding walls with carved in Buddha with underneath donor names. Our second stop was Htat Eian Caves that are nice to explore. Bring a torch. There are Buddha statues inside of course, we saw one female foreign monk praying/meditating. Our third stop was the Coffee House (in lieu of Red Mountain Winery, which we planned to go but only saw from the Coffee House) with great country views.

I was fully warned about the bumpy roads, crazy bus drivers, freezing cold AC, and loud music in Myanmar buses, and I experienced a crazy bus driver first hand last night during my overnight bus from Yangon to Inle Lake. It was a VIP bus with a 2+1 configuration, which is two large leather seats on one side, and a single seat on the opposite side like mine (7A). Also, Two European girls complained about the mosquitos at the back of the bus, and switched to a later bus. Our bus suddenly sped up and twisting and turning like a police chase for 3 minutes. I immediately tightened my seat belt, sallowed motion sickness pills, prayed quietly that I wouldn’t die in a Myanmar bus. One local passenger explained to me that another bus clipped on the rare mirror of ours and tried to run away, so our bus chased the other bus even with a sharp and fast U-turn. With all that, I actually had a sound sleep during the bus ride in the blanket and wide seat, although I was waken three times to get o...

There are wonders to discover within Yangon Downtown. I visited Musmeah Yeshua Synagogue, hidden in the once-thriving community. I then started with Sule Pagoda, which is in the city center. Amidst the busy streets, be amazed at the colonial-era buildings, the markets, Chinatown and Little India. I took a short break at Pansodan Scene Café and Gallery for the AC. Afterwards, I went down Pansodan road which hosts the most beautiful architecture in Yangon.  I dropped by Gekko Restaurant to see the beautiful British floor tiles which are still preserved since colonial times.  Later I went inside the Strand Hotel to be see its magnificent décor and its renowned historical past. It is the oldest and most famous hotel in Myanmar, built by the Sarkies brothers in 1901. I saw a few Buddhist and Hindu temples. China town is crammed with streetside vendors selling everything from gold to vegetables. I got a cold soda and baked sn...