Monthly Archives: March 2013
Shewdagon
Categories: myanmar (burma)
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Another UNO Convert
We’re like UNO missionaries. This is a picture of our driver, Charles, who took us around Yangon, Bahan, Bagan and up to the Golden Rock Pagoda. He was fantastic and patient. He liked UNO and was very good at it!
Categories: myanmar (burma)
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Temple at the top of Mount Crumpet
I am kidding about Mount Crumpet- that’s from a Dr. Seuss book. This was taken in Luang Prabang. I remember lots of steps and being very thirsty at the top, but for the life of me I can not remember the name of the “mountain”! Great views!
Categories: luang prabang, laos
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Laos is home to the biggest spiders in the world!
This one is not one of the biggest, but it is still quite impressive. Some spiders have regular looking webs with heavy white stitching close to the center. It feels sticky and strong.
The huntsman spider is the biggest by legspan. Unless you are a spelunker – don’t worry about coming across many because they prefer to live in caves.
Grammy- you would FREAK! Love!
Categories: luang prabang, laos
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Bells and Gongs are big here (literally and figuratively)
Categories: myanmar (burma)
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The Burmese Larry
We think we found Larry’s long lost twin!!
Categories: (jesse), myanmar (burma)
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Thanaka
All around Myanmar you see people, mostly women and girls, with a yellowish paste on their faces. Its called thanaka and they use it as a type of sunscreen that also cools your face. It is hot in Myanmar, like 102 to 105 daily, so you could see why this is necessary. Thanaka is a paste made from the root of a tree that is ground into powder. We thought we would give it a try.
Maddux is not as pleased with the results as the rest. The application of the thanaka is also a form of artistic expression, you see all kinds of designs. Our lady claimed that she was the very first person to create a leaf on women’s cheeks. Kim was lucky enough to get that one.
Categories: (jesse), myanmar (burma)
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Kyaiktiyo-The Golden Rock
This is absolutely amazing. Its a massive boulder with a pagoda on the top of it and covered in gold leaf. Its a Buddhist shrine that is high up a mountain and it looks like it will fall at any moment. There is a legend that says that Buddha gave a strand of his hair to a hermit to hold on to. The hermit was then instructed by a King to find a rock shaped like the hermit’s head and take the boulder to the mountain top. The hermit then found this position to put the boulder and then built the pagoda to house the hair. It is this hair that keeps the rock from falling.
There are thousands that make the pilgrimage to the rock and its not easy to get to here. We drove 8 hours round trip, took a trip in the back of big pickup truck with about 50 others up a windy scary road and then hiked up another 30 minutes all in 103 degree heat. And when we got there we saw this…
Kim was pissed! When she is told she can’t do something-guess what?-that’s exactly what she has to do. Very reluctantly she heeded the sign but we took a picture of her and Emerson in another restricted area for women and we acted like we didn’t understand. We play the ignorant American tourist role oh too well. That is the first photo on this post.
An exhausting day, but incredible.
Another important detail was that Maddux had food sickness and was puking the whole day, but he is a trooper. Thus, he was rewarded with a chariot ride for the hiking part.
Categories: (jesse), myanmar (burma)
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Chattin’ with the locals
This is what a common conversation is like here (most people know key phrases in English):
Other Person: hello! where you from?
Me: USA
Other Person: where in USA? New York City or Hollywood?
Me: I grew up near Chicago.
Other Person: Ah yes! Obama!!!!
Or when someone is trying to sell you something – first they ask where you are from. I told one woman that I am from the US but I don’t want to buy anything. One lady said, “No! You buy!” I told her that I wasn’t going to buy anything but her stuff was beautiful. Then she laughed to her friend and shooed me away with her hand saying ‘Beautiful, yeah, yeah, yeah, beautiful. Ok!’ She was like, whatever – keep walking. I looked back and started laughing- sarcasm is universal!
Categories: myanmar (burma)
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marschmadness 