Trekking Around Kalaw, Myanmar in a Monsoon

I fall asleep to the soothing sound of heavy rain which continues unabated until 6 AM. I rise, and step onto the soggy, padded earth, which sponges most of my momentum, adversely affecting the physics equation as I attempt to hop over a puddle. SPLASH.

My guide and I trek through town, friendly Burmese people smiling and waving hello; here, no soul is unknown. At the edge of the village, two four year old boys race to us, presenting brilliant, red welcoming flowers, the gesture so sweet it warms my heart on this chilly, overcast day.

green vista, few trees

We start ascending the mountain, 5,000 feet above sea level; mile high, explaining what look like deciduous, evergreen trees. 

The chasm in communication formidable, my guide speaks English- very broken.  I decide to keep my questions to a minimum. Most of the trees have been cut down, used for firewood, housing, and now exported as timber; plantations, mainly tea, replacing. Forests remain only on land where the soil is deemed too poor to grow.  

tea plantation, the small trees/bushes

The clouds burst, the power of the torrential rains shocking; drenching me instantly. I slip and slide across the slick, muddy path.  The vistas here are unspectacular, which isn’t much of a loss since my entire focus is needed on the slippery ground in front of me in an all-out effort to stay erect. 

Ten kilometers later, we break at a tiny village with a Nepalese restaurant.  The hot green tea is welcome, and I down several small kettles.  I fill up on bananas, and a couple chapatti.  A group of four Belgians and a Japanese man stop by.  They are going on a three day trek to Inlay Lake, a trip I surely would have been on had I not uncharacteristically planned out my stay in this country in advance. 

We eat outside, sheltered from the monsoon by a thatched roof. Having barely moved for the last half hour, I start to shiver, my body chilled. I see my breath for the first time ever in Southeast Asia. I’m suddenly feel grateful to have chosen the “less adventuresome route” for once.

I take refuge inside, surrounded by the restaurant’s meager collection of pots and pans.  A small fire burns in the room’s center, I warm myself, fruitlessly attempting to dry out my socks.

drying socks over fire

We head out. The steep road morphs into a waterfall, and I expect a mudslide to sweep us away at any moment.  We veer off the road into a remnant of forest, the vegetation absorbing more of the moisture. 

All wildlife here has been hunted out of existence, you'll be lucky to spot a bird.  We trek through the trees for almost two kilometers before we meet up with the main road.

Mud swallows my leg to my knee, which with great effort I remove from the quicksand.  We trudge 8 km through the deluge; our teeth chattering incessantly. 

I think of the soldiers in Vietnam, their descriptions of being in the jungle for weeks at a time, unable to dry out, shoes eternally soggy.  I shudder at the thought, how uncomfortable it must have been. If you wrung out my clothing right now, the water would flood the Sahara.

Slogging slowly through the muck for several hours, at last we make it back to base. I tip my guide and bid him adieu. I remove my dripping shoes and socks, take a warm shower, and throw myself, still shivering, back under the blankets, darkness fleeting, my room being lit by flashes of lightning as I listen attentively to the symphonic monsoon still playing outside.

PD'ing my Princess in Myanmar

Money, Gold, and Life in Myanmar

I get into his 1988 taxi, which he enterprisingly rents for $15 a day, charging the above average rate of $9 for the 45 minute ride from the airport to downtown.  My luggage goes in the back, resting directly upon the gas tank.  I sincerely hope we don't get rear ended.
I'm asked to sit in the front and chat with him.  Burmese people are famous for their friendly nature, and my cabbie more than obliges.

"Where are you from?"

"America."

He smiles warmly. "We very much like American tourists here.  You and the Germans are the best, you complain about nothing and are always very kind."

"Germans?" I state dubiously.

"Oh yes, Germans.  Very nice. Excellent technology too."

"Which nationality of tourists do you like the least?"

Without missing a beat: "French and Israeli."

"Why?"

"They complain about everything. 'oh, this cab is 22 years old, the window doesn't work right, I only want pay you $5 not $10.' "

Old colonial building in Yangon

The radio turns on without either of us touching it. "Oh good, today is working," my driver states with an enthusiastic smile.

"People in Myanmar are very friendly and honest.  We very much value tourists here, and if you ever have any questions you can ask anybody and they will do their best to help you."

Average salary here I am told is just a little north of $100 per month. The security guard working in front of the building gets paid less, $50 a month.

“But he is grateful to have a job,” my cabbie explains, “many people are out of work.”

It’s best here to work for yourself (as it is almost everywhere.) My new friend tells me he makes three to four hundred dollars a month after paying expenses, and his wife has a hair salon, and makes between $700-$1,000 a month. Mind you, these people work long, long hours, but with a combined income north of $1,000 they are firmly middle class, and can afford most things in this developing country.

“Do you save up money for a house, your own car?”

“It is very hard, such things are very expensive compared to what we are able to save.”

Yangon, view from atop down a narrow street

“Where do you put your money?”

“We keep at home.”

“Not in a bank?”

He laughs. “No! No one puts their money in the bank.”

Not long ago, the dictatorship had a problem with one of the banks, and shut it down, causing many of these impoverished people to lose their life savings.  They only trust two forms of currency, cash, and he even more so- gold.

"The price of gold always goes up," my friend states, perhaps tapping into the consciousness of the sweaty, overworked printing presses magically creating paper money for the economic powers of the world. Gold, another currency used by man for thousands of years, has a much more fixed supply. Along with most other commodities, gold will, according to many, increase in nominal value as paper currency is devalued from its rapid printing.

Playing "hackysack" with a wooden ball in Yangon

You know how you buy a house for a car here in Myanmar?  Cash.  Not a check mind you, we're talking cash.  When someone purchases the house, they literally bring over wheelbarrows of cash, and considering the largest bill in Myanmar is worth $6 US, you can imagine how much time and effort it must take to count out the equivalent of say, twenty five thousand US dollars.

The price of hotels here is not cheap.  For a country with a such a poor population, you would think the price of lodging to be much less expensive (relatively.) What happened was that as the regime began to "normalize" there was a rapid increase in the number of tourists, and all accommodations became sold-out, so, as economics dictates, the hotel owners began raising their prices, and as tourists continued to pile into the country, prices kept going north.

Women transporting pots with son in Yangon

The economic possibilities here in Myanmar are mind blowing.  There's a need for everything-lodging, new cars, credit cards, and of course real banks, which will have a huge and near immediate impact as they ease the transactional friction I described above.

As a tourist, you literally have to bring all the cash you will need into the country. You cannot withdraw cash from any “ATM,” you cannot use a credit card, and most currency isn’t even accepted. American dollars, the Euro, and the Singaporean dollar are the only paper here worth anything, and each of those bills has to be in MINT, un-circulated condition in order to be exchanged or else they will be rejected.

I’m not kidding, a hundred bill I had with the most minor of creases was treated like a counterfeit bill, from the ancient planet of Noblodoom, which had, moments ago, been puked on. “We don’t want this,” they stated, shoving the bill back at me a look of disgust on their faces.

The U.S. lifted sanctions months ago and Pepsi and Coca Cola have already announced they are coming back to Myanmar, along with McDonald's and jolly old Phillip Morris (tobacco) who will do their best to put the world’s worst healthcare system under even more strain. Most people here have sadly never been to the dentist, and their smiles/mouths reek from the consequences. 

Piles of discarded durian (the smelly fruit) rinds on the street

One thing is sure, Myanmar will be changing rapidly. Seeing Myanmar as it is right now is a little bit like time traveling back thirty years. The truth, it’s like a change-up in baseball, it takes some work getting adjusted to the speed; I myself, find that I'm going to bed earlier each and very night. It's 8:00 PM here right now, I'm getting tired ...

Freedom Arrives in Myanmar (Literally)

I get off the hour-long flight from Bangkok to Yangon. The boom of a distant drum. Twenty-five steps later I'm already at immigration. A clamor, the media is swarming, the man in front of me obviously living a peak life moment, immensely gratified by the cheers and applause directed at him as he steps through passport control.

I follow him. Upon stepping outside the airport, he is mobbed, adorned with flowers, kissed on the cheek, the non-stop flash photography possibly garnering the attention of some distant alien astronomer.

Traffic to and from the airport is halted as he and another 45 year old man stand on tables, addressing the crowd of followers and well-wishers.  My taxi driver tells me that they were the leaders of the student protest movement in 1988, and after repeated incarcerations and beatings at the hands of the military junta, had vacated Burma (now Myanmar,) living in exile in Thailand while the repressive regime continued to maintain a stranglehold on human rights to stay in power.

I suppose that chance seating me on their plane was the diametrical opposite of boarding the aircraft with the 9/11 terrorists.

Check out a quick video of the student leaders addressing their supporters

Speaking out against the military junta normally lead to your fair share of troubles- prison or death. Thousands upon thousands of protesters were killed, while the generals appropriated and sold the country's natural resources, garnering tremendous wealth.

Due to the brutality of the regime, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Myanmar; economic development halted- and infrastructure is largely crumbling or non-existent, and while the country remains tremendously poor, democracy movement leader Aung San Suu Kyi has repeatedly credited sanctions for putting pressure on the ruling military regime, which recently began the process of transitioning to democracy. (the military still retains most of the power though. That will likely diminish as the years go by)

My theory on why the regime changed course? The stick-- the recent fates of various Middle East dictators, coupled with sanctions that made business difficult; the carrot- they keep their vast, ill-gotten wealth. Simply put, they were smart enough to see the writing on the wall.  

freedom for Burma! 

Regardless, today was a great day for the people of Myanmar, a shining moment in their history. A day where the darkness of repression was finally pierced by the innate right and light of human freedom, which I believe burns eternally in the heart of human being.

I realize the world has a long ways to go, as we burn the old constructs of might makes right, scarcity, and ego, but as light shines in more places in the world, with increasing intensity, the darkness recedes at an increasing pace. I was only glad to be there to witness it in motion, and feel long suppressed courage and joy rise up in the hearts of the people around me.

Tips on Getting Around Bangkok

Tips on getting around Bangkok

Transportation
1. Do not take the limo to your hotel from the airport. Go up to the top floor of the Airport, walk outside, and take a metered taxi. You probably won't spend more than 250 baht (about $8) on a taxi, if you take the limo, you'll probably spend about $25.
The other option is the airport train, which takes you into the center of Bangkok, and is connected to the BTS line. If there is only one of you, this is a little cheaper than the cab and you're sure to avoid congestion, if there are two or more, you are likely better off taking a cab except during rush hour.

2. Take the BTS and subway everywhere- Far quicker than waiting in Bangkok's heavy traffic, and cheaper. At rush hour however, you will have be standing shoulder to shoulder on the trains. If you're in Bangkok for any number of days, make sure to invest in a card with pre-paid trips, so you don't have to spend your time plugging the machine for tickets every time.

3. If you plan to visit sites outside the city like the Tiger Temple, or the floating market, far better to rent a driver for the day than to go with a tour group. You'll avoid having to go to overpriced stores the tour company has deals with, and you'll get home more quickly. Bangkok rush hour traffic is miserable, and you don't want to wait while 10 other people are dropped off in front of you.

4. DO NOT accept a ride from a tuk-tuk driver for a price that's seems too good to be true. What he'll do instead of dropping you at your destination, is take to some tailor where you'll feel pressured to buy something. Just not worth the "savings."

5. If you do take a taxi within the city limits make sure to take a metered one.

Money exchange
I only have one recommendation for this, go to the Vasu Exchange, by the BTS Nana station between Soi 7, and Soi 11. Exchanging money there is nearly commission free. Where the exchange rate at the Airport might be 29.5, at the Vasu Exchange it will be 31.2 (Thai Baht to U.S. Dollar) I have looked at over 100 exchanges, and nothing else comes close.
Or if you don't want to use currency you brought, use the ATM (which would cost a fee of course from your bank and the corresponding ATM's bank.

Shoppping
Bangkok consists of high end malls, like the Siam Paragon Mall, with amazing architecture, name brand stores, and a state of the art movie theater, as well as merchants hawking their wares on the street. Prices here are typically much better than in the West, but make sure to keep your wits about you.
The good news is, in Bangkok if you get ripped off it is generally for small amounts of money, a couple of dollars here, a couple of dollars there, but beware of people trying to sell you second tier quality for first tier prices.
Overall though, the shopping experience in Bangkok is a lot of fun, and you can find excellent gifts to bring back home that are not readily available in the West.

Where to Stay
So many places choose from, my recommendation is to go on and go agoda.com and read the reviews. Most places come as advertised, and you can find a wonderful hotel for $60 a night. Two such hotels are the Metropolitan, although the location is more catered to the business consumer and a tad more pricey than others, and Dream Hotel on Soi 15, which has a far superior location.
Many hotels (including The Dream Hotel) will give you a 10% discount if you just show up and pay in cash.

Food
You will find excellent food in Bangkok. Everything from Indian, to Western, and of course Thai cuisine is available generally at bargain prices.  An excellent place to eat is the food court at the Siam Paragon Mall, where you will get a vast plethora of choices, most of which of are generally healthy, and be you'll be hard pressed to spend $7. 
Also, the MBK food-court is another excellent choice.
When I am in Bangkok I generally subsist on coconuts, mangoes, and jack fruit, which can be easily purchased on the street. You can also get tasty cooked, sit down food directly from street vendors, both cheap and tasty. You will not go hungry here, that much I promise!

Overall Bangkok is a very vibrant city, with a lot to offer, and it doesn't take a lot of money to have fun. If you have any thoughts, comments, or added suggestions please feel free to leave them in the comment section below.

Top Things to do/ experience in the City of Bangkok

The best things to do in Bangkok--
1) Clubbing-- Other clubs well worth a visit, all located in the same area as Bed Supper, are Q-Bar, and Levels (across the street.)
A great and popular place top meet friends for drinks is Hemingways across the street from Terminal 21 Mall.
Bed Supper Club at one time topped the list but has since closed.

Bed Supper Club- interior

2) Get a Massage-- somebody wants $60 an hour back home to give you a nice massage, come to Bangkok when you get an hour-long the massage at a high end spa, for $15. You can get an excellent foot massage depending on your location for as little as $4 for an hour.

If you're looking for an excellent high end spa, with well trained masseuss's, then I would recommend Lavana Spa on Soi 12 I believe.

3) Go to the Siam Paragon Mall-- I'm not much for shopping, but you could live in this mall. A state of the art movie theater, a good gym, excellent and artistic coffee shops with Wifi, a fantastic food court where you would be hard pressed to spend $7 on an excellent meal, and any name brand store you could mention, plus an aquarium downstairs where you can swim with ten foot sharks. I'm not making any of this up.
Also Terminal 21 mall.

4) get tailored clothes made-- Bangkok is filled with excellent tailors, however buyer beware, if the deal appears too good to be true, it probably is. You can, however, get wonderfully tailored clothing specially fitted for whatever size you are, for prices cheaper than any department store back home.

Recommended Tailor-- Jackies, on Suhkumvit right next to the Vasu Exchange, by the BTS Nana Station. I feel that both these places are honest, and although their prices are not the cheapest, you will get excellent quality.

5) go shopping at the night market-- numerous vendors hawking their wares, everything from incense, to cotton T-shirts counterfeiting high end brands, to luggage. Make sure to do your best to negotiate, as their first quote is nowhere close to the price they will sell the item for. The night market, for the record, is also available during the day.

6) take a tour of the red light districts- Soi Cowboy and Patpong. I'm not saying it's pretty, but if you haven't seen such places, they are certainly worth going to, if for no other reason than they show you what else exists in the world, and offer you a glimpse of a new reality.

Have something you think I missed about Bangkok? Leave it in the comment section below! 

Sweet Creek Falls, Oregon- The Rainforest of the Pacific Northwest

Parts of the West Coast of Oregon, get so much rain, they are considered "rainforests," defined as a forested area that gets over 80 inches of rain a year. 

This hike of Sweet Creek Falls was undertaken in January, during the winter, and the green barked trees, in fact covered with moss were stunning. 

Though this are is closest to Eugene, about 60 miles away, if you are in the vicinity, well. the pictures speak for themselves!  

 

Video: Sweet Creek Falls Trail- Gorgeous

The massive trunk of an ancient tree

gorgeous colors

Sweet Creek Falls

So mossy! So much water

Hiking The Santa Monica Mountains- Los Angeles, USA

Los Angeles isn't all concrete jungle and Hollywood. About an hour outside of West LA, in the Malibu area, are the highest peaks of the Santa Monica Mountains. The trail we took is the "Solstice Trail" (Take Yerba Buena Road way up the hill from the Pacific Coast Highway if you are interested.) 

I went on this hike at the end of May, before the summer heat wilted the flowers, and browned the vegetation. 

The amazing rock formations with the Pacific Ocean acting as a backdrop, made for spectacular vistas, and allowed my mind to relax into a meditative state, as I gazed at nature's beauty.

Bee pollinating cactus flower

okay, it's not Mount Everest

Vista

poison oak- do avoid!

Awesome rock formation and photo!

So, if you are going to visit the Los Angeles area, and you like being in nature, do consider venturing out for hike in through the mountains. 

PS- thanks to my friend Annelize for the first few pics! We were both on photo duty, and she's a wonderful photographer. 

Thrills- Bungee Jumping + Jet Skiing in Pattaya, Thailand

Bungee and Jet Ski

Until now, bungee jumping, has somehow evaded my fairly lengthy adventurer resume.
Using a pulley system, we ascend two hundred feet into the air in a man made platform. I fully expected myself to be laughing at the top. I’m an experienced skydiver, regularly parting ways with airplanes at 13,000 feet. This was going to be easy. This was gonna be a breeze.
Unfortunately, I forgot my intense fear of heights, and looking down at the ground from two hundred feet is far more frightening than skydiving altitudes. (It seems more real.)
“One, two, three, GO!” yelled the jump master.
But I hung onto the railing, the unfamiliar feeling of fear aching in my body.
“It’s safe right?”
“One million percent,” he replied.
Let it loose! I jumped up as high I could and felt the exhilarating feeling of acceleration pull me downward. I have to say, I LIVE for that feeling! The aliveness, nothing else is present, except for the RAPIDLY approaching earth.
“Aaahhhhhh!” I let a scream, but it was pleasure. This feeling is what I live for! I felt pumped for hours afterwards, I’m definitely doing it again.

I suppose that is why I went jet skiing after I got back to my hotel. Going fifty miles per hour on the open water, jumping waves, the spray in your face is absolutely exhilarating. This is living!

My stay in Pattaya lasted three days. Not that it’s not a nice vacation, relative to say, Lincoln Nebraska, but of the places I have been to in Thailand, it’s the place I would be least likely to return to. Sure, you can jet-ski, parasail (which I also did, believing as I was flying through the air I was Peter Pan) but on the whole, I’d recommend skipping Pattaya.