We spent the morning watching the 2012 Oscars. The Oscars began at 8:00 AM and finished at 12:30PM Tuesday morning. What a contrast, in Los Angeles it was a Monday evening affair with evening gowns and tuxedos. That is like Superbowl Monday.
I was thrilled "The Artist" won best film because the movie was filmed in black and white and was a silent picture. Mary Pickford thought silent films trained people how to act. I also had a student tell me last semester that he would never watch a silent film and nothing in black and white. That was the past and the films are boring. We are seeing many adds and commercials in black and white especially in high end stores.
We have seen a few of the winning movies. We loved "The Descendant," "Midnight in Paris" and "The Help" We headed to the movies this afternoon to see Meryl Streep who won best actress in "The Iron Lady" We thought she did a great job as Margret Thacher, but I am ready to see the other films to compare.
On the last Sunday of the month they have the Little Penang Street Market. We stopped and listened to a Malaysian lady who did a wonderful Connie Francis. She sang a lot of other old rock and roll songs but was at her best singing Connie Francis.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
In Penang, Malaysia, Again
We are back in Penang, Malaysia. Back to the PP Island Hotel and dim sum for breakfast.
There is a blue sky because Penang is an island and the wind blows from every direction. The sky in Myanmar is polluted by the use of old cars, Chinese two stroke motorcycle engines, Chinese trucks with tractor engines, burning of trash everywhere, the use of charcoal for cooking fires, the burning the forests for new fields and major development projects, and the greatest problem burning the rice fields. No smoke here.
The airport McDonalds has their employees wear black cowboy hats. This seems a little odd to us, but since most of their employees are Muslim women already wearing wearing black McDonald's head scarves this means that they are wearing their cowboy hats over their head scarves, which looks even odder.
Yesterday we even went to the movie, "The Descendants" in a new cinema, and nearly froze during the movie. We only took one wrap to share, and we needed more. Maybe long sleeves and pants. The movie was excellent, we both really enjoyed seeing George Clooney in a serious role. The theater was selling a new type of popcorn. "Salted"! We bought one and it tasted like popcorn at the movies in the U.S. In Asia most popcorn sold is super sweet caramel popcorn. We will buy the salted popcorn again.
There is a blue sky because Penang is an island and the wind blows from every direction. The sky in Myanmar is polluted by the use of old cars, Chinese two stroke motorcycle engines, Chinese trucks with tractor engines, burning of trash everywhere, the use of charcoal for cooking fires, the burning the forests for new fields and major development projects, and the greatest problem burning the rice fields. No smoke here.
The airport McDonalds has their employees wear black cowboy hats. This seems a little odd to us, but since most of their employees are Muslim women already wearing wearing black McDonald's head scarves this means that they are wearing their cowboy hats over their head scarves, which looks even odder.
Yesterday we even went to the movie, "The Descendants" in a new cinema, and nearly froze during the movie. We only took one wrap to share, and we needed more. Maybe long sleeves and pants. The movie was excellent, we both really enjoyed seeing George Clooney in a serious role. The theater was selling a new type of popcorn. "Salted"! We bought one and it tasted like popcorn at the movies in the U.S. In Asia most popcorn sold is super sweet caramel popcorn. We will buy the salted popcorn again.
In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
We arrived in K.L. on the flight from Yangon. Quite a change, with reasonably new taxis and buses, clean air, skies that are blue, not brown, and, best of all, ATMs, banks, and money changers that take wadded, dirty and folded US money.
We spent one night in K.L., arriving around 9:30pm, then checking into the Tune Hotel at the airport. The next morning, before our flight, Jim bought a new suitcase to replace Laura's that died earlier on the trip. This time we decided to leave the old suitcase at the hotel. So, new we have one red and one orange suitcase, both of which roll and have handles that extend fully.
Our flight to Penang was on time, and left at 1pm.
We spent one night in K.L., arriving around 9:30pm, then checking into the Tune Hotel at the airport. The next morning, before our flight, Jim bought a new suitcase to replace Laura's that died earlier on the trip. This time we decided to leave the old suitcase at the hotel. So, new we have one red and one orange suitcase, both of which roll and have handles that extend fully.
Our flight to Penang was on time, and left at 1pm.
In Yangon, Myanmar, Again
We fly from Nyaung U, the city where the airport for Bagan is located, to here on an Air Bagan Fokker 100. It was a full service flight, we were able to check our bags and even had snacks and drinks. When we arrived in Yangon we waited and the bags were brought to the gate where we arrived, so we picked up our bags and left.
We ate traditional Myanmar salads for lunch at the noodle restaurant just down the street from the Clover Hotel. Jim had tomato salad which was chopped garlic, tomatoes, onions in a spicy peanut dressing topped with hot chillies, peanuts and sesame seeds. I was surprised that Jim liked such a combination. I selected the green tea salad and each cook makes it a little different. The salad had cooked green tea leaves, roasted peanuts, sliced garlic, chopped chillies, tomatoes and onions. The salad is very crunchy and dark green.
We ended our stay walking around the park a block down from the Clover hotel. This was a little sad after just seeing the National Kandawgyi Garden in Pyin U Lin managed by a company out of Singapore.
After our walk we gathered our bags and took a taxi to the Yangon Airport. I don't know if we will ever be back in this dusty, dry, hot, polluted country, but I enjoyed the history and the people. Jim found wonderful places for us to stay and got us to the sites we wanted to see. This was harder for him to plan because Myanmar government wants packaged tours, and makes it harder for independent travelers than it should be. Maybe that will change if they open up the country. the country has a serious tourist infrastructure problem.
The Shwedagon Pagoda is going to celebrate it's 2600th Birthday in March.
During the 1990 elections, which were nullified by the military, Aung San Suu Kyi used the music from the song "Dust In The Wind" by Kansas as part of her campaign. So, we have had a lot of people relate to our being from Kansas through that song. Thank you Kerry.
We ate traditional Myanmar salads for lunch at the noodle restaurant just down the street from the Clover Hotel. Jim had tomato salad which was chopped garlic, tomatoes, onions in a spicy peanut dressing topped with hot chillies, peanuts and sesame seeds. I was surprised that Jim liked such a combination. I selected the green tea salad and each cook makes it a little different. The salad had cooked green tea leaves, roasted peanuts, sliced garlic, chopped chillies, tomatoes and onions. The salad is very crunchy and dark green.
We ended our stay walking around the park a block down from the Clover hotel. This was a little sad after just seeing the National Kandawgyi Garden in Pyin U Lin managed by a company out of Singapore.
After our walk we gathered our bags and took a taxi to the Yangon Airport. I don't know if we will ever be back in this dusty, dry, hot, polluted country, but I enjoyed the history and the people. Jim found wonderful places for us to stay and got us to the sites we wanted to see. This was harder for him to plan because Myanmar government wants packaged tours, and makes it harder for independent travelers than it should be. Maybe that will change if they open up the country. the country has a serious tourist infrastructure problem.
The Shwedagon Pagoda is going to celebrate it's 2600th Birthday in March.
During the 1990 elections, which were nullified by the military, Aung San Suu Kyi used the music from the song "Dust In The Wind" by Kansas as part of her campaign. So, we have had a lot of people relate to our being from Kansas through that song. Thank you Kerry.
In Bagan
This post is out of order. It should be after Mandalay, Again.
From Mandalay we took the fast boat to Bagan on the Ayeyarwady River. It was about a ten hour trip. Was fascinating to see Burma go past the boat as we cruised down the river.
After we had been at our hotel for a couple of days Jim was coming back to the room and he saw a snake sunning itself on the concrete step under our door. When the snake saw Jim it beat a very hasty retreat and Jim came on into our room. An hour or so later when Jim was sitting on the porch, under which the snake had escaped, he told one of the hotel employees that he had seen a snake. The employee as "Was it a Cobra"? To which Jim replied "I don't now what it was, but it wasn't a rattlesnake". Shortly after that a search ensued for the snake, without finding it. We finally got around to trying to identify the snake, and thanks to Google, yes, it was a Cobra.
From Mandalay we took the fast boat to Bagan on the Ayeyarwady River. It was about a ten hour trip. Was fascinating to see Burma go past the boat as we cruised down the river.
After we had been at our hotel for a couple of days Jim was coming back to the room and he saw a snake sunning itself on the concrete step under our door. When the snake saw Jim it beat a very hasty retreat and Jim came on into our room. An hour or so later when Jim was sitting on the porch, under which the snake had escaped, he told one of the hotel employees that he had seen a snake. The employee as "Was it a Cobra"? To which Jim replied "I don't now what it was, but it wasn't a rattlesnake". Shortly after that a search ensued for the snake, without finding it. We finally got around to trying to identify the snake, and thanks to Google, yes, it was a Cobra.
In Mandalay, Myanmar, Again
Jim discovered a wonderful grocery, Ocean, that has lots of prepared fruits that we have been buying and eating. They have a wonderful section of prepared foods, including Sushi, and the fruit. But, Jim is a little hesitant about buying the spicy fried eel to take back to the hotel.
In Pyin U Lwin
We took a shared taxi for 6000 Kyat. It was about a two hour drive, including a rest break for the driver when he also flushed his radiator. The trip is uphill for the second hour and apparently the car was overheating so they stuck a hose in the top of the radiator and let the water flow through.
We rode in a Toyota Corolla station wagon, which apparently has replaced the Peugot as the vehicle of choice. Most of the long distance taxis were old Corollas
The Kandawgyi Hill Resort where we stayed was built in 1921 and was the HQ for the 354th Field Security Section of British Military Intelligence from 1945 to 1947. It was also the Japanese Headquarters for the area during WWII. It is run by the same Singaporean team that runs the National Kandawgyi Gardens. The hotel was great, although a little far from the center of town. It was right next door to the Gardens, and about 1/4 mile down the street was a Holstein cow and her calf. A real Holstein, not one of these humped Brahmas that you usually find. Wonder what the story is about that cow being here?
The hotel also has a lot of Poinsettias planted around its yard. Funny to see them growing in a garden, and blooming without it being Christmas.
We also found a wonderful new restaurant just down the street from the hotel. Had wonderful pork and chicken burgers.
We rode in a Toyota Corolla station wagon, which apparently has replaced the Peugot as the vehicle of choice. Most of the long distance taxis were old Corollas
The Kandawgyi Hill Resort where we stayed was built in 1921 and was the HQ for the 354th Field Security Section of British Military Intelligence from 1945 to 1947. It was also the Japanese Headquarters for the area during WWII. It is run by the same Singaporean team that runs the National Kandawgyi Gardens. The hotel was great, although a little far from the center of town. It was right next door to the Gardens, and about 1/4 mile down the street was a Holstein cow and her calf. A real Holstein, not one of these humped Brahmas that you usually find. Wonder what the story is about that cow being here?
The hotel also has a lot of Poinsettias planted around its yard. Funny to see them growing in a garden, and blooming without it being Christmas.
We also found a wonderful new restaurant just down the street from the hotel. Had wonderful pork and chicken burgers.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
In Mandalay, Myanmar
We can blog! While in Yangon, Myanmar, formerly Rangoon, Burma, access to our blog was blocked. We just tried again up here, in Mandalay, and the site is unblocked. So, here we go.
For the first two days we were her, Laura was mostly in the hotel, fearful to venture too far from the toilet. for the second, and last two days, Jim had a cold.
This is a frontier town of about one million which is hot, flat and dusty. There is one hill, the 760 foot tall Mandalay Hill, which is a major tourist site as it is the site of several Buddhist religious sites, and at it's foot is the Mandalay Palace and Temple. The only problem is that you can barely see the hill for all the pollution. the smog is really bad here.
We are staying at the Hotel Queen, www.hotelqueenmandalay.com, in the downtown area and so far we have seen one traffic light, in a town of around a million people. There are also no street lights so it gets very dark at night. The only light is from the shops and cars. the electricity is also hit and miss. It goes off frequently and most big businesses, our hotel included, have huge generators for when it does go off.
We found out today, that in making Gin Tonics, the tonic is as expensive as the Gin, as it is imported and the gin is local. That being said, the cost of a mid-range fifth of local gin is only $1.50. Or, just slightly more than a chicken curry chapatti meal.
We were able to call the kids today, since the hotel we are in has a very good internet connection. Again, kudos to Skype. Also, if we want to get up at 5am we can watch a live stream of the Superbowl. Tomorrow, it will be Superbowl Monday here. Also, in this hotel we can stream the oldies station, KCEA, from California.
Jim has found his blueberry danishes here as well as in Yangon, so he is happy. He found a branch of the same bakery that is in Yangon.
To get here we took the overnight sleeper. We left at 5pm and arrived at 10am.
On the train we had a two person compartment, with upper and lower berths.
After arriving we took a trishaw from the train station to our hotel. We piled both of us and both suitcases on it and off we went. Good thing the town is flat.
For the first two days we were her, Laura was mostly in the hotel, fearful to venture too far from the toilet. for the second, and last two days, Jim had a cold.
This is a frontier town of about one million which is hot, flat and dusty. There is one hill, the 760 foot tall Mandalay Hill, which is a major tourist site as it is the site of several Buddhist religious sites, and at it's foot is the Mandalay Palace and Temple. The only problem is that you can barely see the hill for all the pollution. the smog is really bad here.
We are staying at the Hotel Queen, www.hotelqueenmandalay.com, in the downtown area and so far we have seen one traffic light, in a town of around a million people. There are also no street lights so it gets very dark at night. The only light is from the shops and cars. the electricity is also hit and miss. It goes off frequently and most big businesses, our hotel included, have huge generators for when it does go off.
We found out today, that in making Gin Tonics, the tonic is as expensive as the Gin, as it is imported and the gin is local. That being said, the cost of a mid-range fifth of local gin is only $1.50. Or, just slightly more than a chicken curry chapatti meal.
We were able to call the kids today, since the hotel we are in has a very good internet connection. Again, kudos to Skype. Also, if we want to get up at 5am we can watch a live stream of the Superbowl. Tomorrow, it will be Superbowl Monday here. Also, in this hotel we can stream the oldies station, KCEA, from California.
Jim has found his blueberry danishes here as well as in Yangon, so he is happy. He found a branch of the same bakery that is in Yangon.
To get here we took the overnight sleeper. We left at 5pm and arrived at 10am.
On the train we had a two person compartment, with upper and lower berths.
After arriving we took a trishaw from the train station to our hotel. We piled both of us and both suitcases on it and off we went. Good thing the town is flat.
In Yangon, Myanmar
The flight from Singapore on Jetstar was unremarkable. The flight left and arrived on time. From the airport we caught a taxi to our hotel and finally to our room. Jim booked this hotel because it is next to the Shwedagon Pagoda, one of the main sights in Mynamar.
Waking up in the morning we saw the Shwedagon Pagoda bright gold with a blue sky and that was only time we saw blue sky until we returned to Penang. The Shwedagon Pagoda is a pagoda that all Myanmar Buddhists desire to visit once in their lifetime. The pagoda contains eight hairs of Buddha. Buddha presented the hairs from his head to the King of Burma to build a pagoda. The temple is going to celebrate its 2,600th birthday in March.
As we walked around the city the women and children were wearing yellow patches on their cheeks. I first thought this must be a religious symbolism we saw in India, but it is the local cosmetic decoration and sun screen.
We ate in a Korean restaurant and Jim really loved his Kimchi stew. Now, he wants to cook it at home.
Waking up in the morning we saw the Shwedagon Pagoda bright gold with a blue sky and that was only time we saw blue sky until we returned to Penang. The Shwedagon Pagoda is a pagoda that all Myanmar Buddhists desire to visit once in their lifetime. The pagoda contains eight hairs of Buddha. Buddha presented the hairs from his head to the King of Burma to build a pagoda. The temple is going to celebrate its 2,600th birthday in March.
As we walked around the city the women and children were wearing yellow patches on their cheeks. I first thought this must be a religious symbolism we saw in India, but it is the local cosmetic decoration and sun screen.
We ate in a Korean restaurant and Jim really loved his Kimchi stew. Now, he wants to cook it at home.
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