A month of silence
Whoa! I just realised that it has almost been a month since I last updated this blog, sorry about that. I could say that I’ve just been really busy with doing stuff and all but that would be a bold-faced lie. I’ve just been lazy and I have never been a blog person even though I’ve tried. So here is just a summary of what I have been doing over the past month or so:
I got to Myanmar safe and sound as most of you might know already. First of all, it was nothing I would have expected. Long gone were the cars with holes at the bottom, in with the luxury cars of Lexuses and BMW:s (as the ban of imported cars was lifted some years ago. Yangon looked like any other regular big(ish) Southeast Asian city. Lots of hustle and bustle, chaos, people selling stuff on the street and a freakishly hot air. Though I should be used to it by now. I spent a few days in Yangon to devour all the sights the city had to offer but I was not the biggest fan of it. I was eager to see what else Myanmar had on offer so I got me a night bus to Mandalay. I had contacted a few people in Mandalay through couchsurfing to I had my local tour guides already booked for my stay hahahaha. Other was this really nice girl who had just graduated as as a dentist and she showed me around Mandalay, the U Bein bridge and took me to eat at some really great street food places where the prices were low. Other had just come from Bangkok/Italy, where she did her degree/did her exchange and we went for a dinner and hung out. She also drove me to the train station when it was time for me to take another night train towards Bagan. Bagan should and is probably on every tourists’ bucket list upon visiting Myanmar as it is a place full of beautiful temples, just like Angkor Wat (except prettier). You have also probably seen poster pictures of hot air balloons with a lot of temples below them. Yeap, that’s Bagan. I have to say, it definitely is just like in the photos. Drop-dead gorgeous on a sunrise/sunset. Especially if you get to find a temple with no people in it (like we did). By we, I mean these two French girls and a German guy who I met on the night train. We arrived to Bagan around 5am, pitch-black and went to search for a guesthouse. Found one soon and decided to go see the temples at sunrise. Rented bicycles and started cycling towards the direction the guesthouse keeper pointed us. It was a surreal feeling cycling on a dark road with no lighting towards an unknown destination. There was pretty much no one on the roads and you couldn’t see 2 meters ahead of you. Thank god for iPhone and the flashlight! We finally found a tall temple in time and climbed it and just sat down to admire the views, which were amazing. Did the same again at sunset! Otherwise Bagan does not offer that much activities but it is well worth it.
I wanted to see Chiang Mai on Northern Thailand before meeting up with Paula in Bangkok so I got a flight from Yangon to Chiang Mai. I also met up with Hanna again there as she came from Bangkok! We gathered this great group of people around us and had a great time there. We also took a tour with Hanna to Elephant Nature Park which I would highly recommend for anybody who visits Chiang Mai. It is a sanctuary for elephants which have been mistreated and abused by people. The sanctuary buys (and rescues) elephants from companies who use them solely for making money off of them. For example organising elephant shows, riding them or using them to beg on the streets of Bangkok. The elephants by these companies are tamed by abusing them violently to make them obey their new masters. They hit and poke them with sharp sticks and poles and tie their limbs together and make them live in really small, confined spaces until they are ready to obey. The Elephant Nature Park lets these elephants roam freely, feeds them and washes them. Each elephant has its own caretaker. At the Park you are not allowed to ride any of them but you can take part in feeding and washing them and just admire the magnificent animals playing with each other. However, some of the elephants who have been rescued recently are not really friendly towards people (for obvious reasons) so the caretakers advise people to keep their distance. Anyways, well worth a visit and you learn so much new information about elephants!
Being in Chiang Mai was great fun but it was time to take a night bus to Bangkok to meet with Paula! We stayed at her friend’s place in Bangkok for one night before taking a train towards the south. We wanted (or I wanted) to get to Koh Tao to do an open water diving course. On our way we stopped in Hua Hin for one night, which was quite horrible. Full of old Western guys with really young Thai girls (as there were a lot of girlie bars). Beach was nothing worth mentioning and the prices for food were expensive. Fortunately, stayed there for only one night! Another train to Chumphon, one night there and then a ferry to Koh Tao for some diving! We arrived there and started looking for an accommodation as we had not booked one. Took a taxi to Sairee beach as most of the diving centers were there. Paula spotted this one called Siam Diving Center and they had relatively cheap rooms so we decided to take a room from there. Went out to do some reseach on the diving school but the people at Siam were so great and Tripadvisor reviews spoke highly of them so we decided to just do it there. Also the accommodation was free if we did the course. The PADI open water course is like 3,5 day course. First it starts with theory and videos and quizzes and a final exam. Then you practice in a swimming pool and finally move into the sea. The theory part was easy and all the quizzes went fine. I started freaking out when it was time to move to the swimming pool hahahah. My regular ‘swimming’ has consisted of hanging by the pool and drinking beer. Never been much of a swimmer and first off, I had to swim for 10 minutes. Which doesn’t sound like a lot but for a person who has never swam before (properly and distances) that is quite a lot. Did it though! Next up was putting on the gear and practicing with them. I have to say, first time breathing underwater was something else. Actually, pretty awesome! We practiced moving and using the equipment and some various skills we might need in actual diving situations. The most problematic for me was taking the mask off underwater. Somehow I had the reflex of panicking as soon as water filled up my nostrils. I do realise that I don’t need to inhale with my nose but it’s just something that happens when you’re not used to it. I got really frustrated with this specific thing but luckily our instructor was great. Oh, I forgot to mention, we had just one instructor for the both of us so it was really personal teaching. Our instructor Nick was awesome, he was supportive and encouraging, taking time to explain everything and making sure we got everything. I also did not mention that I had a small fear of the ocean. The basically the open water course was something of a mental barrier for me. Conquering my fears and all that shit. Our first dive in the sea was awesome! A bit difficult but awesome as there is another world waiting for you underneath. Saw some many colourful fish and coral reefs and everything! The rest of the dives went quite smoothly (even taking the mask off in the sea) and after the fourth dive, we were certified scuba divers. I actually felt proud of myself hahahah. Only because it was a bit difficult for me in the beginning, but I got through it.
After the course and Koh Tao, it was time to move to Vietnam! First stop, Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon/Sai Gon or however you want to call it. First impression, better than Bangkok. I don’t like Bangkok, I don’t know why. We spent a few days there just walking around, eating dirt-cheap street food and we also visited the War Remnants Museum. Highly recommended but highly depressing. Like really, I almost started crying. It documents the Vietnam War by photographs and stories journalists and ordinary vietnamese people. Also some really sad picture of people affected by the Agent Orange. Damn those Americans! We also did a tour on the Cu Chi tunnels, which is outside of the city. Cu Chi was a village where people had built tunnels underground to battle the Americans (and succeeding). During the war there was like hundreds of kilometres of tunnels underground and they even reached Cambodian borders. Nowadays there’s not that much left but you could still go and crawl in the tunnels which was not really comfortable. Especially for a big Westerner (too many hamburgers). Now I am writing this from Nha Trang and tomorrow we’ll go do some more diving (without Nick 🙁 ).
Sorry for the lack of chronology. logic and just for the type of writing. I should have posted stuff earlier OR should have written a proper entry showcasing everything I have done but I am just lazy. And I have decided to keep this blog going until I am back in Finland. Not gonna give up! Even though it might suck. Fuck it, it’s for me as well as it is for you.
Peace!
-Jani
Next post please 😉