CassyBee's Travel Blog: Chuck Palahniuk

Bagan is a special place. I visited in November with a friend and I've had this post in draft ever since. It is probably one of the most photographed and visited places in Myanmar, so perhaps it's been a little intimidating to find my angle.

Anyway, it's about time I get this post up! I was lucky to be able to take a personal day, so we made the one hour flight from Yangon early on a Friday morning in November. Bagan had been on the top of my list of places to go, ever since I found out I was moving to Myanmar. I'll walk you through my adventure in Bagan.

Day 1:

I had arranged a car and tour guide for our first day of exploring and they were waiting for us at the airport. The guide helped us purchase our pass to the "Bagan Archaeological Zone" - the pass lets you into the whole area. Then we were off to see our first temple!

Glistening gold in the early morning sunshine.

Path to another temple, note sand paintings for sale on the right side.

Because Bagan covers a huge area, it's helpful to hire a car to get around. Our guide spoke great English, gave us lots of background on the temples and answered all of our questions. We explored several temples, weaving our way down dusty roads.

Meandering around Bagan.

We got to climb up this one!

Shoes stay outside; these are holy sites.

View from the top!

Taking a rest to take in the view.

I'm in Bagan!

You are always wondering what it looks like around the next corner...

So what's inside these temples? Lots of images of Buddha.

After a busy morning of exploring, we opted for a traditional Myanmar lunch. They call this a "buffet," but you don't get up and serve yourself. Many meat, vegetable and fish dishes are brought to the table, along with rice and various sauces. Then, you serve what you like, adding sauce and sides to personalize your dish. If one of the plates empties, a fresh and full one is soon soon replaces the empty dish.

Cheers to a successful morning of site-seeing.

After lunch, we checked into our hotel to rest and refresh. However, it wasn't long before our ride was back and our organized guide explained that the next stop would be a lacquerware workshop. After this visit, I have a whole new appreciation for how much time and work goes into a single piece!

First stages of lacquer ware. Check out how he uses his toes.

A display showing the steps to finished piece. Start with the bottom left and follow the pieces around in a backward "C" shape.

Close-up of the end result. Truly an art form!

Women working in the shop. Traditional lacquer ware is all made by hand.

Before long, it was time to see more temples. The artifacts inside varied, as did the state of each one. Some were well-kept, but many are crumbling.

Next up was a temple climb to take in the sunset view. It is gorgeous, but most tourists have the same idea, so it's not a quiet or calm temple stop.

Sunset over Bagan

Hanging around after the sun goes down and crowds disperse.

Day 2:
The next day my friend and I decided to go exploring independently. One of the amazing things about Bagan is that you can get lost in the fields of temples and discover rarely visited ruins. Bagan is a living archeological zone; the caregivers of the smaller temples live behind them and are continually adding to, or keeping up the structures and the art they contain.

Turn down a dusty road, find a temple

One of the first stops in my wanderings brought me to a small temple and the owner showed me the art inside and then eagerly supplied a bamboo ladder so that I could climb to the roof.

Selfie on top of a temple

Next, I caught a horse cart ride and bumped my way towards another of the bigger and more visited sites.

Approach from the horse cart

Most temples have one, or many buddhas, inside.

This spot is especially famous for its mystery: secret corridors, walled off tunnels and hidden windows are just some of its surprises.

Climbing up a hidden staircase

View looking out at Bagan

Walking up to a ledge; remember, no shoes in temples!

Dark hallways give the impression that you are in an Indiana Jones movie.

Another angle.

Secret staircase - I had to climb it!

View down the steps.

Next I rented an electric bike, an absolutely great way to get around! (It comes with a helmet, Mom!)

The Irrawaddy River. Just going around on my bike!

Another rooftop view.

This passage is locked. Oh, the mystery!

As the sun drifted down in the sky, I knew exactly what my sunset plans were. I pointed my bike in the direction of my friendly morning host and his temple and made my way to my own private sunset viewing from the morning temple. It was such a contrast to the noise and crowds from the night before, but the sunset was equally breathtaking.

The next day I took a day trip from Bagan to Mount Popa and then flew back to Yangon in time to log in to my virtual class by 7:30pm. It was a very full weekend and you must visit Bagan when you come to Myanmar!

Mount Popa is a topic for another post! I hope you enjoyed seeing a glimpse of Bagan. And, I hope to be more timely with my blogging as my second year in Myanmar begins.

Here's what I read this summer (the plus side of lots of flying time!):

Wild by Cheryl Strayed (Loved it!)
The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer
Bagombo Snuff Box by Kurt Vonnegut (he's still one of my favorites!)
Sons and Lovers by D. H. Lawrence (somehow I got out of high school without reading this one)
Tijuana, crimen y olvido de Luis Humberto Crosthwaite (keeping up with my Spanish)

Still working on:

Millionaire Teacher: The Nine Rules of Wealth You Should Have Learned in School by Andrew Hallam (Good advice for anyone, not just teachers!)
Change Your Mind by Paramananda
The Great American Detox Diet by Alex Jamieson
Diary by Chuck Palahniuk

That's is an interesting combination... I bet you won't see these three titles together anywhere else!

Once again my blog posts are dragging behind my travels, so here goes a different format to let you know some of my adventures. Holiday break here is almost 3 weeks so I decided to fly a little farther away and explore the Philippines. I was excited to experience the beaches, visit Palawan and Bohol and see how much Spanish language influence I would encounter (turns out not a lot, but there are words here and there I can understand).

10) Getting a haircut before I left... The prep for a trip can be almost as exciting as the actual traveling! I had been nervous about having a trim, but really needed one. I decided to be brave and visit our local hairdresser. She does a hairwash, neck and shoulder massage, hair cut (without scissors - she used a razor!) and blowout/straighten for about $12. She only understands a little English, but I learned the word for "a little" and tried her out. I think it turned out pretty well!

Tired, but happy with new hair and for first day of vacay during layover in Bangkok.

9) Traveling light! This was my luggage for the trip - all carry on! And my blue backpack has my laptop inside. My fan burned out just days before the trip (I had backed up onto an external hard drive the day before which eased much anxiety) so I dragged my pc around 4 Philippine islands to eventually bring it to Bangkok (stop at the end of my trip), only to be told that the part would have to be special ordered.

I was pretty stressed out about the computer situation (luckily there is a desktop in my classroom I can use) after spending an entire day running around Bangkok, visiting four different stores with no luck. In the end I got an email address for a shop here in Yangon and the manager had a store in Bangkok order the part and then took my laptop for repair during one of his weekend business trips. I don't think that this was really his responsibility, but he seemed eager to help and I decided to trust him. It turned out to be one of those strange but wonderful events that happens when you are abroad. My computer is now back and running!

I recommend traveling light!

8) Manila - I wouldn't say that Manila is a "must visit" if you go to the Philippines, but I enjoyed the old part of town. The Spanish architecture feels familiar to me and having a day here broke up my travel to Palawan (I spent an entire day to get here... Yangon - Bangkok - Kuala Lumpur - Manila).

Cathedral downtown

Park inside the old city wall

Part of the wall

7) Walking to the Beach in Palawan - I stayed at a Yoga Retreat center called Bahay Kalipay and they are located a short walk from a nearby beach. More on Bahay Kalipay below!

Flying in I couldn't believe I was here!

Dirt road leading to nearby beach

I visited for sunset

And sunrise...

It's a mangrove beach so not great for swimming, but beautiful

6) Exploring Palawan - there is a LOT to see and do on this island. I could have spent my whole trip here and been happy. I did not make it as far as El Nido, but I did see the underground river and get in some beach time. Palawan definitely merits another visit...

Beautiful Palawan

A day at this beach...

On the way to the underground river

Wildlife at the park!

Beach at mouth of the river

Christmas day at the underground river

Navigating out of the cave

5) Reading! Buying a kindle in March 2014 as a birthday present to myself was one of my best purchases for my traveling lifestyle! It is so powerful to have so many books in one small machine. With flights, some delays and lots of beach time, I checked quite a bit off of my reading list.

Za Za, emperador de Ibiza - Ray Loriga (this author's works were the focus of my thesis and he's still a favorite)
The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls
Lullaby - Chuck Palahniuk
Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer
The Lowland - Jhumpa Lahiri
Super Sad True Love Story - Gary Shteyngart (Thanks for the rec, Y!)
I started The Omnivore's Dilemma (Michael Pollan), but got distracted by the novels.

Not bad for 21 days, right?

4) Yoga Retreat, Bahay Kalipay - This is an amazing space and the owners have a fantastic story; they built the entire place themselves with a careful eye on design, community and sustainability.

My simple room.

One of the resident cats relaxing near the yoga space.

The "lobby"

Path through the property

Our Tai Chi classes were held here

Coconut storage house

Yoga practice space - second floor has a treehouse feel.

3) Raw Food at Bahay Kalipay - I have been gluten, dairy and egg free for years now, but my experience with a raw diet was fairly limited. Bahay Kalipay is a great place to experience raw food - the meals and snacks are prepared with local, organic ingredients and lots of care.

Buffet dinner

Cold miso soup with apple and salad

Carrot pineapple salad, curry and fresh greens

Dessert!

Ingredients for our raw vegan dessert cooking class

Treats made by guests - Banoffe Pie with Meringue, Fruit Cobbler, German Chocolate Cake and Chocolate Pudding!

A typical breakfast: loads of fresh tropical fruits, topped with coconut, chocolate sauce and a side of chocolate nut milk.

I am not planning to add the raw component to my diet full time, but I enjoyed learning more about this approach to food and tasting all the wonderful dishes at the retreat!

2) Escaping the flood in Loboc - This is a better story now that it is over and I am safe. I arrived into Bohol 24 hours late due to a delay at this small airport (an airplane had a flat tire and that stopped all flights for the rest of the day...). After spending an extra night at an airport hotel in Manila I was so happy to get off the plane and find a taxi to take me inland to Loboc, despite the rain. Since when does a downpour stop a gal from Seattle? My plan was to stay two nights, touring the interior of the island, home of the chocolate hills and tarsier monkeys. I had also booked a stand-up paddle boarding nighttime tour to see the fireflies. Sounds lovely, right? I was so excited that I even snapped some rainy photos of the inn.

For more "before" pictures, check out Stephanie Grace's website or Trip Advisor's page.

Already a swelling river when I arrived to Stephanie Grace.

Hotel in Loboc - my room is on the far right, perfect river view.

I confirmed my car and driver for the following day, settled into my room, ate a delicious fish dinner and went to bed early. Around 11pm I was woken up by noises in the hall. When they didn't stop, I got up feeling slightly annoyed that the other guests were being loud and so I wandered out to see what was up. No one else had gone to sleep - they had watched the river rise up, filling the lower level of the inn. The owners had not been worried at first, saying that the water never got too high. We found out later that they had opened a dam upstream and that Typhoon Seniang was passing right through Loboc. Water came through the entire first floor of the hotel, filling roads behind the hotel and trapping us.

Muddy water filling the reception area and dining room (view from second floor).

Floating furniture downstairs.

View from my room the after one long and rainy night.

I don't have a lot of photos of the event because I needed to conserve my iPhone battery to send updates to my sister (and it eventually died). I did take the following video, though.

The pool is to the left of the flags and the right side is the driveway.

I was never seriously concerned for my safety and I feel incredibly lucky to have been at this hotel, with its sturdy foundation, second floor rooms and caring family. The Philippine family that owns the hotel live on the second floor also and they went out of their way to take care of us (swimming to the neighboring homes to bring back mangoes and rice, diving into the dirty water to bring back bottled water from the underwater kitchen, never mentioning a worry about their own property and livelihood).

We were trapped two nights and one full day. We couldn't believe it when we walked out on the second day. The water had receded, but the village was flooded with mud, homes and businesses destroyed and the locals were beginning to attempt to clean up the mess. The government even sent in workers with food and water donations. I felt so lucky to find a car and continue on with my vacation. As a tourist, I had the luxury to leave; most people in the village did not have the same situation.

If you would like to help the family that took care of me in their effort to rebuild their business, then visit their page and make a donation.

1) Beachside accommodation in Anda - I decided to splurge on accommodation here before the typhoon incident and it was definitely a treat to escape to tranquil Anda after the flood. Not a lot of tourists make it out to this side of the island, so I'd definitely recommend it if you want to get away from the busy beaches in other parts of the Philippine islands.

I spent my time reading, catching up with family and friends (phone re-charged and wifi connection!), wandering on the beach, walking to the nearby village and swimming.