It is hard to find words to describe Ingle Lake. It is a truly special place in the world. An entire water village world – in the middle
of the lake – where people live, shop, work, eat and never set foot on dry
land. Their houses are on stilts and
they can only leave home by boat.
Wat Arun: Right on the water, we took a longboat water taxi to Wat Arun's jetty. It is made of thousands of white and jeweled dancing gods... piled in layers on top of each other.
Phra Kaew: Second wat (or temple) that we had to visit. This one has been bedazzled within an inch of its life. Every flat surface sparkles with gems and glittery rocks.
And guarded by glittery warriors
The King of Siam: Thai people loved their king. He died two years ago and was succeeded by his son, King Maha Vajiralongkorn. Maha has ruled the country since his dad's death but he will only be officially crowned next week. The Thai people we talked to were pretty ambivalent about him. They loved his dad ... and are willing to give him a chance... but he's not been particularly impressive yet. You can see why... in his official photograph (which is everywhere in Thailand) ... he looks terrified. Does this man inspire confidence?
The competition: Since people have emailed me about this, I will give you all a quick update on the competition and how it is going. Remember, each leg is weighted depending on time in country, difficulty etc. At the end of each leg, the total amount of points you earned are turned into a Par Score. The team with the lowest Par Score at the end of the competition wins.
After the first 4 legs - and before Bill opened the Abu Dhabi leg - the leader-board was as follows:
#1 - Lawyers Without Borders (that's Rainey & me) - Par score: 13
#2 - Lazy Monday (Palo Alto couple, he's in tech) - Par score: 22
#3 - Ying 2.0 (My friend Alan Ying and his daughter) - Par score: 34
#4 - Order & Chaos (the two California doctors couple) - Par score: 42
#5 - SLO Folks (Last year's winners, Paula and Tom) - Par score: 44
The fisherman uniquely row their boats with their legs and feet …
while they use both arms to cast their nets. It's a tightly choreographed dance.
Water school bus: Even getting kids ready and off to school is a totally different experience.
Many of the homes are basic: one room, thatched walls and galvanize sheets for a roof.
What it’s like to try and “Keep Up With the Jones-es” when their house has real windows and paint and yours is just plain thatch? Income inequality and class distinctions are everywhere.
Many of the homes are basic: one room, thatched walls and galvanize sheets for a roof.
What it’s like to try and “Keep Up With the Jones-es” when their house has real windows and paint and yours is just plain thatch? Income inequality and class distinctions are everywhere.
We spent almost the whole day on the lake.. visiting temples and stupas and handicraft workshops. Amazing.
Good works: We spent a few hours - on the last day in Myanmar - volunteering at a Youth Development monastery in Yangon. The monks take in, house, feed and educate orphans
from far-flung and remote villages around the country. My favorite
part was eating lunch with the kids. They sing their prayers before they can start eating.. magical.
What it looks like when you are the very last person at the
table and you aren’t allowed to get up until you clean your plate. It’s a lonely position to find yourself in...
Eternal Meditation: To get points, we had to meditate – FOR TWO HOURS - at a center. I’m not kidding … TWO hours. Eternity is a shorter period of time. But how weird it this? When we arrived, they told us to wait and a meditation
guide would come to help us. When she
arrive - what a shock. The Buddhist nun
is an American woman from Chicago who has lived at this center, in the middle of
Yangon, for the past 25 years. What? Remember, Myanmar was under military Junta
control for most of those years and the country was considered a dangerous
place to even visit. There is definitely
a story there… and probably a good story …
but she did not share it.
Instead she talked us through various meditation and breathing techniques and then had Rainey and I do an hour of walking meditation … when we were supposed to only concentrate on our steps. I, instead, tried to self diagnose why my left foot creaks and pops a little when I walk very slowly, heel to toe. Then we did an hour of sitting meditation when we were supposed to only focused on our breathing... in and out .... but I deeply contemplated the bones of my ankles and how much they hurt when I sit cross-legged. Basically, I was a total failure at the clear-your-head thing. I twitched and wiggled and was a D- student. But I have to admit it… the Center was restful and serene. Maybe Nun From Chicago is on to something here.
Instead she talked us through various meditation and breathing techniques and then had Rainey and I do an hour of walking meditation … when we were supposed to only concentrate on our steps. I, instead, tried to self diagnose why my left foot creaks and pops a little when I walk very slowly, heel to toe. Then we did an hour of sitting meditation when we were supposed to only focused on our breathing... in and out .... but I deeply contemplated the bones of my ankles and how much they hurt when I sit cross-legged. Basically, I was a total failure at the clear-your-head thing. I twitched and wiggled and was a D- student. But I have to admit it… the Center was restful and serene. Maybe Nun From Chicago is on to something here.
High Tea: A
favorite scavenge .. have high tea at the old colonial hotel, The Strand. Who
can turn down scones and clotted cream and mango jam (not strawberry, a clear nod to
the tropics)… all served by a waiter wearing white gloves? Super fancy!!
LAST MYANMAR OBSERVATIONS:
Monks: The “Serious
Monk” face photo to send home to Mom to show that you are alive and doing well
at the monastery. Whatever you do ... don’t crack a smile.
Knock-offs: My
youngest son, Jordan, LOVES the “Supreme” fashion line, but since I am never
paying that kind of money for a simple T-Shirt … his love is more like unrequited
yearning. However, in Myanmar, “Supreme” knock-offs
are everywhere. This scene made me laugh:
We are in a village more than an hour from the nearest city and we come across this
old man who has very few teeth and lives in the thatched hut behind him … but
he does have a Supreme Hat…!!! Eat your heart out, Jordan.
Weird street food:
Some fried crickets … with scratchy legs and wings but a fat juicy body
that pops in your mouth when you crunch it.
YUCK. Anthony Bourdain has nothing on me!
Milk in bags: Having been born and raised in a third world country, when I was a child, our milk came in a bag. No cartons. Just a plastic bag. Myanmar is still in that era. Brought back memories.
Milk in bags: Having been born and raised in a third world country, when I was a child, our milk came in a bag. No cartons. Just a plastic bag. Myanmar is still in that era. Brought back memories.
Wat Arun: Right on the water, we took a longboat water taxi to Wat Arun's jetty. It is made of thousands of white and jeweled dancing gods... piled in layers on top of each other.
Phra Kaew: Second wat (or temple) that we had to visit. This one has been bedazzled within an inch of its life. Every flat surface sparkles with gems and glittery rocks.
And guarded by glittery warriors
The King of Siam: Thai people loved their king. He died two years ago and was succeeded by his son, King Maha Vajiralongkorn. Maha has ruled the country since his dad's death but he will only be officially crowned next week. The Thai people we talked to were pretty ambivalent about him. They loved his dad ... and are willing to give him a chance... but he's not been particularly impressive yet. You can see why... in his official photograph (which is everywhere in Thailand) ... he looks terrified. Does this man inspire confidence?
The competition: Since people have emailed me about this, I will give you all a quick update on the competition and how it is going. Remember, each leg is weighted depending on time in country, difficulty etc. At the end of each leg, the total amount of points you earned are turned into a Par Score. The team with the lowest Par Score at the end of the competition wins.
After the first 4 legs - and before Bill opened the Abu Dhabi leg - the leader-board was as follows:
#1 - Lawyers Without Borders (that's Rainey & me) - Par score: 13
#2 - Lazy Monday (Palo Alto couple, he's in tech) - Par score: 22
#3 - Ying 2.0 (My friend Alan Ying and his daughter) - Par score: 34
#4 - Order & Chaos (the two California doctors couple) - Par score: 42
#5 - SLO Folks (Last year's winners, Paula and Tom) - Par score: 44
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