"My country, it's beatuiful man"

Alright, let's start with new years eve. Serendipity beach in sihanoukville is somewhat crescent shaped. So from dusk til about one AM there were hundreds and hundreds of roman candles being lit all along the beach. Taylor and myself bought about 35 dollars worth of fireworks, which would go for probably close to one hundred in the US, so we had our fair share of fun on the beach as well.

We also proceeded to participate in a 48 hour bender amongst ourselves starting on the first that involved more than necessary trips to the casino. Damned Koreans taking our money, which is funny because Taylor is working in Korea at the moment. We both left the morning of the third, without sleep for the last two days, and it turned into a doozie (SP), at least for me.

I caught my bus at 8AM rom the beach heading to bangkok. Well, when I got to the border and had crossed, thus nullifying my cambodian visa I was eventually, after sitting on a minibus and having my ticket looked at multiple times, and then getting kicked off, told that the company on the beach had forgotten to notify the company on the Thai side that I was headed to Bangkok. Luckily, for me, there was another individual in my position as well. We waited around for a while til we could catch a ride with another minibus that took us to the Trat bus station. Where the hell is Trat? Who cares because we got there around 5pm and had to wait til 930 for our bus. By this time I might have gotten a couple of winks but very few. As soon as the bus took off I was out. I was so out that I only woke up when the bus was pulling in to park and all the other passengers had already disembarked. Again luckily for me the other guy was there because he grabbed my bag for me.

This was around 2am so I hailed a cab to the airport because my flight was at 7 in the morning. I arrived at the airport and slept a couple of hours on the floor until the din of passengers in the airport awoke me and I got my boarding pass and proceeded to the gate. Where I then slept a bit until someone awoke me and alerted me that we were boarding. On the plane I was out, but by this time there was something wrong with my right eye and I couldn't see out of it very well and it hurt like hell. So arrived in Yangon, tossed my contact, attempted to call some guesthouses which were all booked, but one very kind one told me they would find me a place to stay if I came through. I got a taxi into the city, about an hour I think, I was sleeping the whole way. I arrived at the guest house, which was packed with people, thanks lonely planet, and immediately found a couch at the back and passed out for a few hours. When I awoke they told me they had found a place, gave me the address and I made my way there.

Needless to say when I got to my guest house I slept till the next day.

Upon my awaking never have I felt like more of a complete stranger in a strange land. Burmese is an extremely foreign language and there is hardly any english written or spoken anywhere. As I was wandering the streets, I was trying to keep myself contained and not shrivel into my shell of xenophobia, not that I am a victim of such, but I have never been in a place so strange, that felt so far from home. I thought about ways to get out of here, but told myself not to be a puss and buckle down.

And then an angel of sorts appeared in the form of a 67 year old toothless burmese man named momo, who is a wood carver and teacher, and speaks english. Woo Hoo.
So this guy has taken me under his wing and literally toured me around Yangon, luckily for me school is on holiday. I buy him breakfast and lunch, and give him a little money at the end of the day and he is happy to travel around with me. And I am getting such a wonderful sense of this city that I would otherwise not. It is such a treat. We have tea and the best ethnic cuisine and he teaches me burmese here and there and it is really a relief. Because I had never felt the way traveling that I did when I experienced myanmar, maybe it was just fear, but that alone keeps too many at bay.

Today we started with tea and pork buns at a chinese restaurant, then we went to see some religious attractions and a large man-made lake with the kings boat on it. Then we went to the largest reclining buddha in myanmar, which I think is about the same size as the one in bangkok, not as beautiful, but what was excellent is that we were the only ones there, amazing. on our way out of the rectangular arena that housed the buddha some gentle men opened a gate that usually isn't to bring in a cart of materials and next to them there was a dilapidated concrete slab, as that is usually what walk ways are made of, and momo fell right through. I felt really bad, but luckily it seemed that he was not hurt.

And its true what they say about burmese people being really kind. I was on the bus today and visibly about a foot too tall and stooping, so this guy who was my age or a little younger offered me his seat. I felt silly and didn't know how to say no so I just took it.

Slowly I am becoming more comfortable with this place, and I assume I will soon learn to love it. The culture here is immense and outstanding. The street culture alone is awesome, especially when compared with Cambodia where there is very little. You can find anything on the street from stands making betel nut chews (nut and spices wrapped in leaf, which everyone chews and spits out a blood red spit) to printing presses, to bars, to retail stands. It really is all on the streets.

Yup I think that is enough for now. I will shortly be traveling to some remote parts of the country, so fear not if you don't hear from me for a little while. I will only be enjoying myself to the fullest.

And... I'm out

OY.

SO out of Cambodia for now. Heading to myanmar tomorrow. Trying as I type in this cafe to continue on my bus from sihanoukville to bangkok thinking it would save me dough, however it is only causing drawn out hassles. Something about there not being communication across the borders for the bus company. Rubbish.

Happy new years to all.

Not much comm in myanmar but I shall try my best to keep it in the loop.