Monday, February 20, 2012
Kuching the Miao Miao Land
6 of us took Airasia to Sarawak Kuching for a long stay from 8th to 14th January. It's really fortunate to have friends from Kch to host us and bring us around. Kch is a peaceful and quiet city charaterised by lots of well-preserved heritage buildings, small shop lots and plenty of roundabouts. You will be surprised to see HUGE roundabouts, with housings in the middle. Mother of roundabouts! Win hands down. Imagine yourself telling your friend over the phone you stay at the roundabout. HAHA.
Kolo mee is the best noodle i have ever tasted in my life. It is the specialty in Kch and there's many versions of it. I wish i could have Kolo mee for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Midin and Manicai are also my favourite local dishes. There's one night when we had dinner at one of the seafood restaurant at Damai Beach. They served Bamboo Clams, which my dear friend claimed to be crunchy. gg. epic friend is epic xD
The most enjoyable moment for me in Kch was the walk in Sarawak Cultural Village. We got to appreciate the life and housing of different races living there. The staircase of the long house is so simplistic that it is nearly impossible to climb without the handle. I guess noob people like us will just jump down from the second floor during emergencies. The cultural dance performance was spectacular and it lasted for an hour in the auditorium. The pipe blowing skill of the Iban has left a great impression on me. The eagle dance, which put most of my friends to sleep, amazed me with their graceful footwork and buoyant movement.
There was one unpleasant and unforgettable moment at the waterfront in Kch. 8 of us were separated unfortunately by the road traffic. So 2 groups of us agreed to meet at the fort across the river. We were conned by a boatman who brought us to a route that we were not told was a shortcut to the fort. 4 of us, luckily all guys, have to brave through tall grasses on soft ground with all the mud and puddles, with just SLIPPERS. We could not see the ground until we set foot onto it. So we tried our luck. Thank goodness there's no snake. Some of us got stained with mud. Luckily my white shorts were spared because i tried to walk like a robot.
Jong's Crocodile farm and zoo was an awesome place to hang out with friends. Lazy crocodiles lying motionlessly in the puddles entertained us with their pretentious smile. Some camouflaged with algae all over the face, swim in the lake like a moving log in disguise. Deadly and stealthy as always, this humongous beast change their pace in movement in a split of a second to hunt their prey down. The weather wasn't good on that day. It was pouring when we ran from one feeding center to another to watch the show. A piece of meat hung over a wire was transported above the lake to lure the hungry beasts. A swarm swam below it, making circles around the meat, as if they were planning when to strike. It's not surprising to see some turned out to be a clash between the titans. Greedy crocodiles that didn't utilise their brain lost the hanging meat from their first bite as they started to chew in the air rather than pulling it down to the water using their body weight. There was one which approached the bait but missed it a few times due to its horrible gauge of distance. We were so amused and called it the crocodile with diplopia!
Damai beach is an awesome place to relax especially during this off peak season. There's no one at the beach except us! The sand is so fine and the ground is quite flat, suitable for beach games like volleyball or beach soccer. But it was disappointing to realise that there's no volleyball or frisbee for rent. I regretted for not bringing my own onto the plane :( We did nothing much on the beach, just soaking ourselves in the water and bombing each other with wet sand. No jumpshots taken, no sports played. It was poorly planned.
Bako National Park was the hightlight of the week! We traveled from island to island and observed enormous mine stones erected at the seashore. We then jungle-trekked the park with SLIPPERS. Each destination was like a few kilometers walk which took about an hour to complete, so we had to plan our route. Fortunately in jungle like this there's no leeches. Only soil, puddles, ponds, branches, twigs, grasses, sand, rocks and some man-made stairs at places where it's impossible to climb. It was not shaded at some places and those who got sunburn the day before at the beach, turned into red lobsters at the end of the day. Most of the time, i bet, we kept looking at our steps and forgot to look around the scenery. True story.
We also visited the Hot Spring at Annah Rais. In the middle of the cooling river there was a site where the sand turned hot as you sink into it. It was incredibly hot and your feet will get burn if you stand there for more than 2 seconds! It's amazing to move your foot and feel the difference in temperature, as if the water is compartmentalised by nature into hot water and cold water.
Kuching is a nice place to chill and relax, with mouthwatering delicacies and tropical weather. It is an attraction to those who love the sun, the rain, the beach and the forest.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Myanmar the Golden Land.
Early at 6am we trudged our way to the Swedagon Temple to catch the sunrise. It is the iconic and magnificent landmark in Yangon. At dawn, it was lit brightly with artificial lights which stripped away its original beauty. Surprising at this unearthly hour, the temple was already crowded. We were immediately recognised as foreigners when we set foot onto the icy marble floor, and was asked to pay 5 USD entrance fee. Fail. Because among the crowd, we were the only ones who wore t-shirt and jeans. Local costumes, being formal or informal, are always sarong with slippers. Yes, people wear long sleeves collar formal top with sarong and slippers to work.
As the sun rose, Swedagon was immediately turned into life, like a giant golden African snail. Symbolised by its conservative design of the temple yet rich in colours, it reflected back to the development of Buddhism in Myanmar people which is simplistic and from all walks of life.
On the second night we rented a van to Bagan, the pagoda desert. It was a freaking 10 hours bumpy ride throughout the night. Most of the time my head was bouncing against the seat like a basketball. It was a loooong night. Midnight, we stopped twice at the rest station. The temperature difference between day and night was incredibly huge that i was almost frozen to a rock when i peed. It was freezing cold especially my poor feet, because they were only covered with SLIPPERS. Burmese! Y U NO WEAR SHOES?
Bagan is a dry and cooling desert with numerous erected pagodas and temples. Each temple has its own story. Among all, there was one that struck me the most. Back in the ancient times, there was a king who found a ruby on this land, therefore he happily built a temple here like nobody's business. lol. I don't see a need to build so many temples on this stretch of land, as if they were meant for housing thousands of followers. The architecture was beyond my imagination. It's godlike. The walls were decorated with paintings telling tales of the ancient time. The pagoda was built of bricks that stretched all the way to the top. The interior was embraced with cool air and darkness as there were no openings to the outside world. Footwear was strictly prohibited in temples. The floor that was shaded from sunlight was icy cold. Every steps sends the chill through my spine. lol, literally. It is impossible to plod through the steep stairs, narrow tunnels, and the rocky floor without a torch. Up to the top, the view is splendid. Giving me the bird eye view, I can see ALL the temples sprouting on this beautiful golden land, with the sky painted with orange clouds and hot-air balloons. It's absolutely a feast for our eyes.
These 3 days in Bagan were basically visiting temples, temples and temples. They were more or less the same. Once we got off of our van, the villagers will flock towards you, asking you to buy souvenirs. Our arrival seemed to bring lots of hope for them to make both ends meet.
"Postcard? One for one thousand! You are handsome. You buy my postcard, I be with you."
"What about some paintings? Lookey lookey! Lookin's free! This one story of Buddha. This one lucky elephant, got 7 trunks. Which animal you like?"
It's impossible for me to buy from all of them. They were too many. And it is heart-wrenching to see lots of children not going to school but selling postcards to tourists who step-footed in this poverty stricken country. Some even followed us all the way to our van. Even with the door closed, these children were still exchanging gestures through the transparent window, asking you to buy their postcards.
At night we all stayed at Class One Hotel. A lot of Eurasians stay there. The hotel breakfast was awesome, in western style. At noon we had buffet at a local restaurant. They filled up our table with ALL the local delights and specialties until there's barely a space to put my rice bowl. Burmese food is always salty, spicy and sour. We were so happy and stuffed. The food was uniquely delicious and surprisingly cheap (1100 kyat/person). In Burmese, Pakshashimeh means "pay bill".
Mount Popoa is the last place we went before we headed back to Yangon. It is a sacred mountain that has a temple at the top, which was 777 steps of stairs away. We bought sarong and face paint before we came to disguise ourselves as villagers. Along the way, those selling souvenirs started laughing on us, as if we were the entertainment of the day. Some commented our sarong was worn wrongly. Fail. HAHA! This place is full of monkeys and monkey's shit. While climbing the stairs we can hear the footsteps of monkeys roaming on the roof. Some followed us along the way, trying to snatch our bags. The view from the top is very scenic. I can see the rainforest carpeting the horizon.
The security in Myanmar has put Malaysia into shame. I feel a lot more safer walking in Myanmar's street. People there are poor, but crime rate is astonishingly low. We left our bicycles at the road side while visiting different cultural houses in the National Park. At the end of the day, our bicycles were still there not stolen.
We watched "Underworld: The Awakening" at the cinema in Yangon. Though I had watched the movie before, this time it was a whole new experience. My attention was not entirely on the story, but the spectators. People were mumbling at their own will and the whole movie was featured with extra "background music". The movie has no subtitles, so i guess most of them could not appreciate the show. At the end of the show, when the lights were up, I was stunned. The neighbouring seats and the aisles were full of watermelon seeds, paper cups, bottles, tissue paper, you name it...I felt really sorry for the cleaners.
We visited a lot of temples, but I cannot remember which is which. We ate Burmese food everyday. We walked barefooted most of the time. We spent 20 hours in the van travelling. We braved through the icy cold shower at night when the heater was malfunctioning.
We didn't buy all the souvenirs cos the Bojio Market was closed on the Reunion Day. That's the only regret because we saved up our money for the last day so that we can ALL IN!!! A lot of spare cash left at the end of the trip. Looking back, it's really worth going to myanmar. Want to thank my Burmese friend who brought us around and let us stay at his house. Also, the van driver who not only endured the long hours driving marathon, but also told us stories of the pagodas like a tour guide. Myanmar hospitality, thumbs up!
