I am sorry I have been absent so long! It's been months since my last post! I do have to say thank you to all my friends and family who sent me Christmas, New Year, etc cards, I loved them all and confession...they are still up on my book shelf!
Although it snowed like crazy and was colder than I can ever remember, there is nothing like being home. I had such a jam packed, fun filled trip. It wasn't until I got back to Singapore and celebrated Chinese New Year (CNY) that I realized just how much I love all our traditions at home! Especially this one:
Love having tea at the Drake with the girls and doing some shopping, although while crossing the street it was so cold I thought I might give up on life and lay on the side walk
Giant Fish...get lost
The grossest desert on the planet. Yam's in what seemed like Karo syrup with a slice of pumpkin...i was excited for the pumpkin but the Yam ruined it ALL. It was served again at another event I went to and I politely declined!
Tea time in the road gets busy!
Shopping at the market (when i read the brochure from the tour guide I thought I would be able to buy art and trinkets...not so much, think more along the lines of fish heads and grain.
Fish heads, with flys! extra extra
Listening to some tunes
Coffee stop
Getting around Dala
That's my tour guide and his bike driver, I was behind him
This is town!
This is a road in town
A nicer home...
1st floor coffee shop, 2nd floor tea, 3rd floor wedding receptions...efficient use of space!
Coupla high school kids fixing the sign outside school
Cows roaming all over!
Fresh water must be retrieved at the wells
This is the children's school, I am not sure the curriculum b.c. I just kept hearing kids yelling, ahhah
Are you ready to have you heart broken, when I biked up to this building I said 'oh is this another school' to which I was told 'no this is an orphanage, all their parents are dead' punch! The saddest part is that it's very hard to even adpot these kids because human trafficking is such a huge problem. Ugh heart break
The Orphans are looked after by the monks that live across the street.
Next we went on to the candle factory...aka room...these 2 girls make 20,000 candles a day!!! I asked 3 times if he really meant 20k! The lack of electricity on the island calls for the need of candles. She makes candles all day, every day, like 12+ hours...
My tour guide thought she'd like a picture, I am not so sure?
Kids heading out for some water. They were smiling and waving after I took the pic, wish I got a better one, they were very happy kids.
Need a water break, these jugs of water are all over an you can stop and fill up the glass, have a drink and put it back (who is gonna wash those glasses...hmmm no thanks!)
Me and my bike driver, he is 23 and has no babies...the extent of the signing, English and Burmese spoken between us got us that far!
I know it's so wrong b.c. these people have no water, but I was soooo hot I ALMOST refreshed with my Evian spray. However, when you see toddlers walking a mile to get fresh water, spritzing your face with purified water you grabbed out of your Kate Spade purse seems a bit innaprop!
I will let you judge me for wanting to cool down, this was the walk back to the shit show ferry:
I could go on and on about my 3 week trip home but you were all there for that, so I don't think I need to do a recap. I flew back to Singapore in a middle coach seat with a sour face the whole way...the new travel policy crushes my soul. It was very nice to get back to the warm sunny weather, I can not tell a lie!
I didn't blog for a while b.c. it was pretty dead here when I got back, but then CNY rolled around and town came to life! CNY goes on for 14 days but you only get 2 days off work, boo! CNY is truly the Asian's Christmas. This is when they celebrate with family along with friends. Christmas is more of a celebrate with friends holiday b.c. they don't really do that whole thang. I went to my first CNY lunch with work. The place was 100% packed and I think I was the only non-asian. The first dish is the one that everyone mixes together and all the ingredients have a meaning; the olive oil is to represent a smooth year ahead, sweet sauce to represent love, etc etc and after the dish is blessed you all mix it up together. Fun! (and the only dish i really wanted to eat!)
Crispy Pig Skin..yum
The crispy pig skin wasn't my thing, nor was the giant fish. Although my co workers loved eat you are to eat all the fish, even the bits by the cheek...eeeeeeek
My second CNY dinner was with work and it was quite similar food but the party was much bigger and they had the traditional Dragon Dance. I have deemed the Dragon Dance the Jesse White Tumblers of Asia, they drive around town, dancing and jumping around and then get back in their van to go do the next gig elsewhere! Here are the Dragon dancers showing up at my condo:
It's the year of the Horse and I wish I took better pics but here is China Town with the TONS of Horses they decorated with! I think the gold coins mean good luck.
Here is a traditional Dragon Dance.
After all the CNY buzz dies down people start to get back to work. So it was time to head off to Bali for work and fun! Of course!
I had been to Bali before but had not stayed in a villa, very rustic chic I will say. It was uber chic but the bathroom was 100% outside and I thought I might get eaten by a snake when I went out there!
In Bali there is a beach club called Potato Head beach club and we hit it up, it was such a fab day at the beach, does this scream heaven!!! Cheese with a view!
Bliss
After Bali it was off to Myanmar for a conference. I was lucky I stayed at the only hotel that has decent functioning internet. I even met a woman who lives their with her husband for his job doing something for the British Government Security and she told me she goes to the hotel when she needs reliable internet. She also told me Yangon is known as a hardship post, while I loved it there I can see that...I would not want to live there.
I like the bathroom signs, the men wear Longyi's which are like sarong's so they def need to be clear on the bathroom doors. The ladies don't always look that fancy!
Outside the hotel there are many street vendors selling food, books, maps, SO many maps, but not of like how to get around town these were giant laminated maps of the country...I asked someone why these are being sold and he said 'so you can get around'...cool I know that this town is north and I need a plane to get there, I'll buy your helpful map!
So much fruit!
Before the food truck, there was the human food cart.
The most famous temple in Yangon is the Shwedagon Pagoda. It's enormous and very beautiful! However, I did find it strange that some of the temples had florescent lights coming out of Buddha's head, new age, I guess?
Cleaning the temple...they can try but my feet were still black!
After I spent a few days in Yangon for the conference I took a trip across the Rangoon River to see Dala. I didn't do much research, just went with the tour and I wasn't quite anticipating what I got...
So I crossed from the Red area over to Dala
If you ain't got no money take yo broke ass home! There are some places in Asia that prefer US dollars. For some reason the Ferry guy wanted USD for my ticket. The tour guide had a crisp $5 bill. He purposely brought a crisp bill b.c. if you have anything else here it is 100% useless, the guy still would not accept his, only, reasonably crisp bill, luckily I had one! Phew!
Waiting for the Ferry, Jammed in a cage like place, sooo hot!
Annoying Chinese Birds that migrated for Winter...they were like out of 'Birds'
Dala is an area that is very antiquated, minimal electricity and running water, there are many monasteries and people living there and I can't imagine staying over night...However, I feel like these people feel the same about crossing the river, they are on board with their pace of life, I think?!
Crusing through town in his Longyi
Entrance to the Market
Coupla high school kids fixing the sign outside school
Kids heading out for some water. They were smiling and waving after I took the pic, wish I got a better one, they were very happy kids.
Me and my bike driver, he is 23 and has no babies...the extent of the signing, English and Burmese spoken between us got us that far!
I know it's so wrong b.c. these people have no water, but I was soooo hot I ALMOST refreshed with my Evian spray. However, when you see toddlers walking a mile to get fresh water, spritzing your face with purified water you grabbed out of your Kate Spade purse seems a bit innaprop!
I will let you judge me for wanting to cool down, this was the walk back to the shit show ferry:
I am in LOVE with Myanmar and I can't wait to go back this was just one spot and there are so many more to discover throughout the country!
As I always say, I will get better at this blog, I do want to use it for my own personal journey as well as sharing with all of you!
Stay tuned for.... St. Patrick's Day in Singapore, The Rolling Stones come to Singapore, Trip through Australia's Great Ocean Road and Wine Country, Friends come to Sing and we head over to Thailand!!! Whoo hoo March and April are going to be great! (it's almost been 1 year in Sing)
I encourage you all to look at flights for next winter!!! No coat/no boots party here in Sing Town!!
Sunset March 11, 2014 (no 4-17 inches of snow here!)
Lots of Love!!
Katy
