Thailand to Myanmar

A calm before the storm.

I'm so glad I got to stop in Thailand before traveling again. It allowed me to rest when I really needed it. The first thing on my agenda was to eat and eat till I forgot all the food poisoning. Then I drank and drank till I got my fill of cold, fresh fruit juices. Then I chilled in the city for a week meeting up with lots of friends. Two people that I had met in Varkala, India were in Bangkok at that time. I knew one of them was going to be there but the other one I just pumped into turning out of my hostel one morning. Small world! I also met up with Jane, a college friend and previous roommate, and confirmed that she's alive and well. Woo-hoo! Last of all, I attained my visa for Vietnam and visited Kanchanaburi while I waited for it to be approved. After getting my visa, I tried and succeeded in crossing over to Myanmar by land from Mae Sot.

Beautiful murals on the corner of a street in Khaosan area.

Chow time! Dig in, everything is delicious!

Towels shaped into a swan outside of a massage parlor waiting for customers.

The international riot seen first-hand. The people here were exceptionally friendly and there was also great street food all along the blocks. They would ask where I came from, explained the difficult situation their country was in due to their corrupt prime minister that had ran away to Dubai, and continue passionately in their peaceful protest equivalent to Occupy Wall Street. Another situation showing a vast difference in what is reported and what we see. If the extreme isn't reported, would people still be interested in news? The city declared a state of emergency a few weeks back due to bombings and other outbreaks of violence. I hope the best for the people and stay well Thailand!

With the lovely Jane, having some delicious looking cakes.

Christmas, Angry Birds style.

The riot at night with a big screen to project speakers and performers.

Many of the protesters would sleep in tents, or simply on the concrete ground, in or around the plentiful temples.

Preparing food for the crowd. This was free for the protesters. They also distributed free water bottles throughout the day. I was impressed with how organized this was.

Visiting the Sai Yok Noi waterfall in Kanchanaburi.

Taking a dip with the local children (Photo courtesy of Yong Gab Kim).

Walking along the death railway with Yong Gab, who I met at my hostel in Bangkok (Photo courtesy of Yong Gab Kim).

Off to Mae Sot on the night bus.

The sunrise in Mae Sot as I took a motorbike around for the morning before crossing the border.

Baby Kyaiktiyo in Mae Sot.

Finally reaching the border between Thailand and Myanmar.

What an introduction to Myanmar (I have to say that I'm still guilty of calling it Burma the majority of the time)! People ripping you off from the get go, pouring rain, bumpy road or lack thereof to Kyatchiyo, and the girl who sat  next to me on the bus ride puked and spat onto my backpack. Positives were a shower after two days of traveling, finally making it across the Burmese border overland, and the motorcyclist to Kyaiktiyo directed me to a cheap guest house. So yes everyone, it's possible to cross by land from Thailand to Myanmar but not from India to Myanmar. Full trip pictures to come!

I made it! Officially in Myanmar.

There are ATM's now. What a difference a few years make!

The jeep ride to the pagoda. There were a lot of locals coming here for their pilgrimage to the golden rock, which is popularly done around the end of the year.

One of my favorite foods: sticky rice. This a local sticky rice with banana (the pinkish looking bit). It's served with fresh shredded coconut and sugar.

The pagoda from afar.

They consider women to be inferior in their form of Buddhism so approaching any pagoda in this country is forbidden. They monks also consume meat and are allowed to smoke. After taking Vipassana and seeing these signs, I'm sure you can tell I don't agree with this religion.

Some of the women in local dress.

A local selling artfully cut pomelo. What a great smile! The yellow on her face is thanaka, a popular local make-up and sunscreen.

The locals offering gold leaf. Again, only men could approach the rock.

India: An Epic End

An end to a challenge I will never forget but wish to return.

The end of India....five months everyone. That's a long time. I was stoked to return after the awful food and prices in Maldives. It always takes something worse to make you appreciate what you had, right? I have to say my final weeks were the best I've had in this country. I spent a week on a bio-dynamic coffee plantation, hopped on the longest train ride ever without a reserved seat to Kolkata to volunteer at Mother Teresa's house, felt the positive energy in Varanasi that seems to draw all travelers back, and then tried and failed to cross Myanmar by land from India. It was all good though because I met the most amazing Manipuri people along the way and Assamese family at the Kolkata airport. I had to book a last minute flight out of Guwahati to Kolkata and then Kolkata to Bangkok. This flight took off one hour after my visa was due to expire. It's a good thing you can check in two hours before. Happy times -_-". The verdict is a return to India is a must. The Assam region had the friendliest people I've met out of all of India and the best food. It was like Chinese crossed with Indian. I saved the best for last but needed more time on that visa that's for sure.

With some of the staff at Balmaadi Estates. If you interested in visiting, send me a message and I can give you the contact information. Such lovely people and the manager at the cafe I worked at in Varkala had constantly ordered them to get him alcohol and meat everyday, even though we were provided free vegetarian meals and accommodation.

The only thing they requested of your stay was to sponsor a tree for 500 INR, about 8 USD. I was planting one of my trees here with the help of the staff.

The amazing home cooked food.

The cherries before they were processed.

Washing the monkey parchment.What is that you say? Find out below!

So monkey parchment is their term for the beans or seeds of the coffee cherries after a monkey had eaten it. It can be spat back out (smaller monkeys) or excreted (bigger monkeys). Similar to Kopi Luwak, this type of coffee is extremely popular in Japan.

Riding on the Nilgiri Toy Train out of Ooty.

The white on the left was from the smoke of the engine...quite suffocating.

Cute sites while riding on the toy train.

On my way to Kolkata, I found these girls practicing for their performance. This was a school trip for those studying social work.

I was convinced by this friendly Swami tiger to stop in his town, Visakhapatnam, for a day.

Sitting in a mustard flower field in the Araku valley.

Beautiful sunset on the way to the train station. I really gotta clean my lens!

The flower market in Kolkata.

The things they carried, Kolkata style. This city reminded me of Bangladesh.

A saucepan used to make chai and the clay cups to hold them underneath. You can drink it and then smash the cup as they are only used once.

Funny street art in Kolkata.

Near the slum area. The people were so cheerful and eager to get their picture taken. The boy was pumping water for his shower.

Everyone has time to stop for a chai :D.

At sunset. I was delirious with another round of food poisoning. I can't remember much but the pain of walking that day.

Kolkata traffic.

The nightly puja in Varanasi.

The locals eagerly helping to light one of the many lamps.

Puja continued.

Gently pushing his candle and prayers out on the Ganges, the holy river.

Around Varanasi: a fierce looking goat lying on the steps of a ghat with an amazing tree growing off a wall in the background.

The street dogs of Varanasi are so intelligent. They drag a piece of plastic or cardboard to sleep on to fend off the cold of the concrete.

Sunrise on the Ganges.

A Baba taking a nap in a picturesque location.

On my way to the Myanmar border, I stopped in Guwahati. I stayed at the cheapest hostel I could find and ended up in a dorm with some army men from Manipur. Food was available at a low cost and tasted fantastic!

View on the way to Moreh, the Indian border town with Myanmar.

I made it. I crossed over to Myanmar without realizing but came back to get my stamp. Needless to say, I didn't get it. Myanmar doesn't allow foreigners to cross. The local Indian army men were super nice and helpful. The ones not from this state were excessively rude. I was so stressed because I had used all of my rupees expecting to cross so I had none left when they didn't let me and the ATM was broken. Plus the rate they gave across the border for my USD was robbery. Stress, stress, stress. Luckily, the sub-divisional police officer helped me out. When I got back to Imphal, I paid him back.

Having dinner with one of the army men. It felt like he was guarding me because an ugly fight was going on outside.

Waiting at the airport in Kolkata for my flight with the mother of the lovely Assamese family I had met.

I was the first one on the flight. First time it has ever happened. I had to take a picture. Thank you AirAsia and the wonderful Thai flight attendants.