Burma: A Monk and a Nurse

Burma is behind me now as I move forward in my travels, back to the dazzling future as I mosey about the sparkling modern streets of Kuala Lumpur. But the people and sights of that motley land will vividly reside within me forever.  Especially, the people. 

A crash course in current events, first, for those who aren’t savvy regarding the unjust climate that permeates the air in Burma, much like the damp mold that saturates the buildings of Yangon. Burma is run by a military government which holds an iron tight fist around the freedoms of its people. Any books deemed threatening are banned, news that doesn’t favor the govt’s ideals isn’t reported, citizens are hardly allowed to leave the country, internet usage is restricted and monitored, and hundreds of political prisoners sit in jails for the crime of speaking their minds. Government informants are everywhere, leading to a population that lives in constant fear and censorship. ‘Democratic elections’ are occasionally staged, but are merely a farce put on as an attempt to appease international pressures; they always end the same way, with the same people sitting upon seats of crushing power.

Yet, the people smile. And laugh. And love. And live. And hope…

On the outskirts of a modest village named Hsipaw, my partner and I dismount from our rented bicycles and stroll up the steps to an unassuming temple. It is the day of a new moon, and thus a minor celebration day, as the ancient traditions of their ancestors dictate. Several women dot the stone floor that circles around the bell shaped structure, eyes closed they sit in various positions of prayer and meditation. When their stillness is broken, we exchange warm smiles and eventually follow their footsteps down a winding staircase that leads to another temple enclosure below. Many had gathered in this simple room, and as we timidly entered, the sounds of devotion we could hear found the bodies that were producing them. A lean monk dwarfed by his billowing robes led a small crowd in hypnotic chanting. Once the spell was concluded, the awareness of our presence spread fast. Faces beamed at us, thrilled to have outside guests join their tight knit community. Little English was spoken in this room, but that didn’t stop anybody’s effort to connect. We ate with them. We drank tea with them. We played with their bashful children. We were honored to receive gifts from the monk… for each of us a string of prayer beads, and for each of us a copy of the Dhammapada, written in Burmese and English. We learned from this smiling congregation how to use our prayer beads, holding them in both hands and gently thumbing along each bead while chanting ‘Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha’. We sat with the Monk as he enthusiastically opened up page after page in the Dhammapada and animatedly tried to communicate his interpretations. It was hours before we managed to tear ourselves away from their enveloping warmth, and when we did, it was with a certain lightness in my step as if an unperceived weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

Photo by David Simon

On another day, in a suburb of Mandalay that sees hoards of day trippers eager to catch a glimpse of a massive and unfinished pagoda, we managed to find some space away from the tourist stalls and souvenir hawkers. A brief mention in the Lonely Planet of an infirmary for the elderly, and the nurse who runs it, piqued our curiosity and so we ambled up to the crumbling, inconspicuous buildings. It wasn’t long before our unsure wanderings were met with the heartfelt welcome of a smiling middle aged woman. We introduced ourselves, and she began to tell us about her work. This was a home for elderly people who needed care, and who had no family or home for themselves. Twenty five years ago she had begun her work there, and to this day she still runs it completely on her own. No other nurses… no doctors… only her, and the 82 +/- patients that live there.  Seven days a week she relentlessly works, struggling to care for the plethora of crucial needs that she is responsible for, because if she doesn’t nobody else will. Sleep is rare. Funds are few, and none are from her country’s government. More shocking than all of that, is the expansiveness of the smile that radiates across her face as she relays all of this information. Really… radiates. I mean, in the best of circumstances, her line of work is extremely difficult and trying both physically and emotionally. Yet, there she stood, up against a veritable mountain of adversities, with her impenetrable positivity.

Startled into awe by her spirit, I managed to ask her, “How do you keep your smile?” To this, she emitted a resounding laugh from her rounded belly, and could barely get the words out between her chuckles and chortles. In essence, she replied that whenever the tribulations loom over her in daunting towers, when she feels she might cry from the ordeals and and hardships that she faces… instead she laughs. She thinks of each trouble and laughs. She laughs and laughs and laughs until her heart is light again. Then, she gets back to work.

In the midst of circumstances truly unfathomable to anyone growing up in a land of freedom, the people of Burma find strength not just to carry on, but to truly live with spirit and happiness. This indelible will calls to mind the people of another nearby country, who lived through a horrific genocide, and came out the other end still retaining softness in their smiles, and generosity in their hearts. The courage and resilience of these people is humbling beyond words. It certainly puts into perspective the comparatively minor difficulties that mange to distress me.

Paired Phi Phi's, and Asia-virgin eyes...

An interesting thing happens when I'm trying to tell myself to write about things that happened nearly two months ago instead of the ever-fascinating array of moments that are happening in the now... I feel a bit uninspired. For the past two weeks, since starting this blog, I find myself pulling out my ol' trusty journal and filling page after page trying to record the vast layers of colorful experiences that I have partaken in throughout Vietnam, and now into Cambodia. Yet, I struggle to churn out a few paragraphs that would contribute to the continuation of the Thailand story that I began here. Not because there is any inherent degree of 'less amazing' to attribute to those travels, but simply because they are of the past, and what's bouncing around in my head NOW is the incredibly contrasting sights of Phnom Penh, my first introduction to Khmer food, aimless wanders through this city that have uncovered a wealth of treats, and my visit today to the haunting rooms of the most notorious Khmer Rouge prison, S-21.

So, as it seems my eagerness to catch up to the present outweighs my desire to fully detail the past ... here's an attempt to summarize travels that no doubt deserve more attention than I currently feel like doling out:

•  Scuba diving is as powerfully amazing as I've always heard it described. Also, slightly nerve wracking at times... like when, say, you have been harboring a substantial conviction that a shark is going to eat you someday, and on your very first dive ever you are blessed with spotting not one, but two, swimming around and about you.
• The vibe of Koh Phi Phi Don, with all of it's temporary Thailand holiday partiers, is not really my bag.
• Yet, the Phi Phi islander's stories of Tsunami survival, (including one local whose life was saved when he was pulled from underneath collapsed wreckage--thanks to Buddha--and who then went on to open a supremely welcoming restaurant heavy with local patronage and serving up the best damn Thai Chili Paste Stir-Fry on this planet), are distinctly humbling.
• An overnight camping trip to 'The Beach' (yes, that one), on Koh Phi Phi Ley is beyond magical, offering up memories I will always cherish.

...This island is uninhabited save for the national park workers that look after it, but every morning and afternoon 100's of beach (Beach?) enthusiasts make day trips out there to stake out a small patch of sand amidst the teeming crowds. No doubt the draw of this island's raw beauty is enticing, but the circus of followers would put me off of it in a heartbeat, were it not for the surprisingly unsought out option of an overnight trip there. Less than 40 souls skipped about the expanse of this island's sparkling surfaces for the 15+ hours that I spent there, lending it exactly the kind of deserted feel that I wanted it to have.

•  Railay beach is divinely chill, displaying more dreadlocks, rasta beach bars, hippie inspired designs, and artistically infused decor-creations, than anywhere else I saw in Thailand. An unfortunate time crunch allowing for only one night there, left me wanting so much more. 

A pause in the bullet-pointing is necessary, as I must explain that from Railay beach Dave and I journeyed up to Bangkok in order to pick up his admirably adventurous, and absolutely lovely, parents from Suvarnabhumi Airport. Now, maybe in some circles it would be considered rather odd that after only a handful of months dating Dave and I were enthusiastically jumping into a two week, non-stop, meet-the-parents extravaganza. But, when you consider that after only a day of knowing each other we embarked on a week and a half long trek through Mongolian countryside together, and with less than two weeks of existence in each others worlds we set off on a course through China that ended with him on my doorstep in Seoul, effectively moving in for the better part of a month... well, it's not so odd then.

Tony and Shona Simon are, self-admittedly, not of the seasoned traveler variety. Yet as their son began eking out an unknown route through unknown lands month after month, inspiration struck and travel plans began emerging. From the moment my path found itself suddenly intertwined with theirs, as we exchanged flurried hellos amidst airport tile traffic, I could sense their eager bravado, absolutely endearing them to me immediately. As we began navigating the streets of Bangkok together, I quickly discovered much more to love about their presence. See, there's a certain amount of travel awe-luster I manage to lose sight of at times, after traipsing through more and more cultural landscapes that are so different to my own. My first day in Asia? Unabashedly awestruck. After almost 3 years in Asia? Decidedly less so. Yet the surroundings are no less deserving of awe. The Asia-virgin eyes that paralleled my gaze for the next two weeks reminded me in the most welcoming of ways, just how rich in sensations this part of the world can be.

 Right! Focus, Laura. This blog is meant to engulf the rest of my time in Thailand, and I'm still only 2 out of 6 weeks in. So, back to my increasingly failing attempts at brevity...

I made it!

Within 24 hours, the fearless foursome quickly jumped aboard an overnight train to a place called Chiang Mai in the Northern reaches of Thailand's jungles. Chiang Mai is: 1. Bigger than I expected. 2. Even more of a tourist hot-pot than I expected, (I knew it was of course a popular destination... but wowzers.) 3. Home to some seriously delicious restaurants. 4. The perfect place to wander in any random direction and unknowingly happen upon serenely picturesque temples, complete with the sun colored robes of monks scampering about. 5. A fantastic place to partake in a cooking class, which left Dave's mom and I with a veritable wealth of knowledge to call upon when trying to recreate the mouth-watering flavors of the Thai Kingdom...and, 6. The location of a somewhat poor decision regarding our travel activities.

Hmmm. Kinda tired now. Alas, for more on week 3-6's adventures and misadventures in Thailand, I guess I'm just going to have to write another blog. Damn. Except, not really, cause once I got going I realized I rather enjoyed pulling out those too-quickly-fading memories and making them live and dance before me again.

Relaxation soup

There are countries enough in the world to quench the thirst of every fathomable human desire. Just hearing the names of certain outlined patches of earth can bring to mind such varied and vivid pictures, it's no wonder travel is addicting in that never-ending-my-list-only-gets-longer-the-more-places-I-go kind of way. Throughout the years, my ever-changing yearnings have brought me into the extremely diverse arms of Ireland, India, Greece, New Zealand, and more. Every country satiates something inside of me. Each unexpected surprise down every new road discovered, is another part of my being unearthed. This past January, as I struggled through a very cold Korean winter, and labored through teaching a six week intensive English program (think 80+ hour work weeks), the travel desires that bubbled up in me coalesced into the perfect encapsulation of those desires, all in one incredibly tantalizing word..........................

...............Thailand. 

Like sweet nothings whispered into my ear, that one word sent ripples of pleasure down my spine, allowing me to plow forward through the monotonously wintry work days. As I woke to another dark, snow-covered morning.....(Thailand); as I walked into the office for the fifth Saturday in a row... (Thailand); as I lay under several blankets grading endless papers in a freezing house... (Thailand), as I battled through thigh-numbing wind... (Thailand); as the bittersweet goodbyes to students, friends, colleagues and korean life piled up, Thailand called me forward. With her promised servings of perfect paradise, wrapped in idyllic beaches, covered in unending sun, drenched with pristine waters, sprinkled with simple bamboo huts, garnished with hammocks, served with a side of jungle wilds, and complimented by unbelievably fresh, flavorful foods... I wanted to gorge myself on everything Thailand could offer me, figuratively and literally.

Fortunately for my insatiable hunger, my wonderful partner that I would be reuniting with at the Bangkok airport after 3 months apart, had randomly found himself killing time in a rinky-dink border town the week before, doing the only there was to do there: playing the slots at the fancy and seemingly misplaced casino. Of course, he won the jackpot. This was highly fortunate for me, because his generous spirit meant that he became dead set on spending said jackpot during our first week together in Thailand. Woohooooo!!

Cut to: a week spent within the glorious clutches of a beautiful, peaceful, secluded island resort, off the Andaman coast of Thailand, on a large yet extremely undeveloped island called Koh Yao Yai. Now, don't be fooled by the term 'resort', for this was not your typical manicured-beyond-belief sprawl. Everything about the place was designed to perfectly blend in with it's surroundings, giving off a beautiful barely-there feel.  All the rooms were individual huts, dotting the forested paths, and inside ours was sublime luxury complete with the most amazing outdoor shower EVER. Definitely not typical backpacker digs! Ridiculous perfection, for my indulgent holiday style cravings. For the next week, I tried my damnedest to help blow through the wad of cash burning a hole in Dave's pocket-- we rented motorbikes for a day, tooling around the islands few stretches of pavement with the wind in my hair and an unbelievably huge grin plastered to my face; we took a boat trip around the surrounding islands, beaches, and bays; we ate very well, as well as ordering a bottle of wine every night; and I signed myself up for what turned out to be the best massage I've ever received. We really really tried to live like high-rollers. Yet, still we left with cash to burn. Amateurs I guess.

After seven nights luxuriating in a pool of relaxation soup, I peeled myself away from those lazy days, and quite eagerly jumped into the adventure of actually traveling in Thailand. First stop: Koh Phi Phi, home to a hugely thriving Thailand beach 'scene' thick with travelers and all the comforts and excesses they love. Not quite one who craves such party scenes anymore, I mostly looked forward to what lay around Koh Phi Phi-- namely the turquoise waters that stretched over the incredible dive sites below. I was to start my open water diving course on the very first day we arrived, and for that I was school-girl excited.

The Route

So where the hell am I these days anyway? Well, right now I'm sitting at a cafe in Hanoi, Vietnam. Last week I was in Thailand. Two months ago I was living in Korea. Another couple weeks from now and I'll be in Cambodia. Not a clue where I'll be six months from now, but six months ago I was in Mongolia. What travels will I be writing about?? The current ones, I suppose. But not without a reference, or an homage, here and there to the roads that I've traveled that brought me to wherever I might find myself currently. What exactly are the current travels? Well, after doing this traveling thing for the past 8 years off and on, I thought it was high time I finally cover the route that practically defines the concept of modern-day, cheap travel in faraway lands... good ol' Southeast Asia.

My route is a bit hodge-podgy, starting south, going back up north, making my way south again. Without a doubt, catering my trip towards meeting up with amazing travel partners is an easy choice to make. From Korea, I flew south to Bangkok. After six weeks in Thailand, I flew north to Vietnam. Now, I will trickle down south again, through Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, back through Northern Thailand, over to Burma, and hopefully still have time and funds left for Malaysia and Indonesia. I started on February 7th... I plan to keep going through July, at least.

Though it's already been seven weeks since I began these current travels, I plan to back-track in this blog a bit, and begin where it began. In Bangkok, on Feb. 7th. Stay tuned...