The entrance to Angkor Wat.
In the moat (left and right of the "rainbowbridge" to the entrance building) there use to be crocodiles so nobody could swim to the temple.
maandag 2 november 2009
ricefield near Siem Reap
Ricefield in the neighbourhood of Angkor Wat.
Everywhere you look tehre are ricefields and they harvest rice twice a year.
Mount Popa
Mount Popa, religious place in Burma.
The mountain is about 1500 meters high. It has not only lots of Buddha statues but is famous too because of the "Nats" (holy spirits) to which people pray to help to make them rich, stay healthy, get beautiful children, grow old, etc.
It is the place in the whole of Burma to pray to the "Nats".
Goldeh Pagoda in Bagan
Ankie and me in front of one of the golden Pagoda's in "Old Bagan".
Again forgot the name, but who cares; We both thought that driving, biking and walking through "Old Bagan" is already one of the highlights of our trip.
Not only because of the beautiful buildings but also of "the serene environment" (Ankie thinks) and the almost total absence of other tourists.
Our guide Aung we recommend.
"Old Bagan"
"Old Bagan" A view from one of the highest pagoda's to the east.
It's about 18.00 hours in the evening and lots of pagoda's are to be seen.
"Old Bagan" and Irrawady river
Bagan.
View from an "Old Bagan" Pagoda to the other side of the Irrawady river on which stands another pagoda.
Bagan Pagoda, forgot the name
Back to Bagan, Myanmar (Burma)We have now the possibillity to ujpload some pictures. This is one of the bigger pagoda's in "Old Bagan", a 16 square mile place with more than 4000 religiuous buildings.
The smallest are only 3 meters high and the tallest more than 50 meters.
"Old Bagan" is the old city where the people used to live. Since the military took over the people were moved - around 1990 - to "new Bagan" and they had only ten days to move, find a home (which had to be built), install watersystems, etc. etc.
White Buddha Shwe Dagon
Another golden Buddha with white body or with a white body with golden mantle.
Shwe Dagon Pagoda in Yangon
As written earlier we had an afternoon to spend in Yangon and we went to the Shwe Dagon Pagoda in the city centre.
Around this pagoda there are many smaller pagoda's, stupa's, an ordination hall, etc. etc.
I don't know but I think there are at least tousands and tousands of Buddha statues here.
Today is November 3rd.
We are still in SIEM REAP.
This is the 3rd. day and it is raining very hard. It is the first day it is raining
since we left Holland.
Luckily we didn't make reservations to visit some temples today..........and
since it is raining we do something else.
Ankie is going to get a footmassage and I am going to read or talk to some
other hotel guests or so.
Yesterday we visited other temples than the two most famous ones.
We visited:
- Chau Say Tevoda (in restoration by the Chinese; friends of Cambodia)
- Thommanon (restored in its old glory by the French)
- Ta Keo temple (the first temple to be built of sandstone)
- Ta Prohm (it is still exactly as it was found 150 years ago, overgrown with
huge trees)
- Banteay Kdei (a Budhist monastery with on most of the pillars an image
of a lady dancer (Apsara) which make you think what the monks were
thinking of at the time)
- Srah Srang (a manmade lake - huge - for the ritual bathing of the royal
family of king (here we go) Rajendravarman II
- Prasat Kravan (a Hindu temple with images of Lakshmi and Vishnu).
When I am home I'll have every reader do an exam about these temples and
the winner gets a prize (a warm hand and or kisses depending on who the
winner is).
We went by Tjuk tjuk, a motorbike with a sort of riksha at the back.
This kind of transportation is popular because it is cheap*, makes driving in
the heat more comfortable and it is not going too fast.
When something is cheap we like it very much (the Dutch).
Something really amazing is that practically all the cars, motorbikes (all
vehicles with a engine) make no noise at all; this totally different from
other countries like - for instance - Thailand.
And almost no honking too.
Food is good here. We have good breakfasts, lunches and dinners.
You can get almost everything you want so we can choose all sorts of
food we like chicken liver (which I like).
Yesterday afternoon we went to the river (also called Siem Reap) for the
boatraces. These days they celebrate their Waterfestival which has to do
with the fool moon.
It was very crowded along the river.
We saw the races and it was fun seeing the people enjoying everything.
We visited the Old Market and bought little trinkets to bring back home.
In the evening (we went back to the river) there are lots of activities like
looking at the local bands (the music totally different from
what we were or are used to), selling all kinds of foods (also the fried
cockroaches again – getverderrie -), fruits, drinks and little floating
candleholders (with – guess what – candles) which didn’t burn because
there was alas to much wind.
In the afternoon it was crowded but in the evening it seemed that all the
people of Siem Reap and surrounding villages came to celebrate along
the river and look at the fireworks.
This is my account of our second and third day in Siem Reap.
Now I have to find the means to get this on my blog and……. when you
are able to read this, I have succeeded in doing so.
Greetings now from a wet Cambodia.
We are still in SIEM REAP.
This is the 3rd. day and it is raining very hard. It is the first day it is raining
since we left Holland.
Luckily we didn't make reservations to visit some temples today..........and
since it is raining we do something else.
Ankie is going to get a footmassage and I am going to read or talk to some
other hotel guests or so.
Yesterday we visited other temples than the two most famous ones.
We visited:
- Chau Say Tevoda (in restoration by the Chinese; friends of Cambodia)
- Thommanon (restored in its old glory by the French)
- Ta Keo temple (the first temple to be built of sandstone)
- Ta Prohm (it is still exactly as it was found 150 years ago, overgrown with
huge trees)
- Banteay Kdei (a Budhist monastery with on most of the pillars an image
of a lady dancer (Apsara) which make you think what the monks were
thinking of at the time)
- Srah Srang (a manmade lake - huge - for the ritual bathing of the royal
family of king (here we go) Rajendravarman II
- Prasat Kravan (a Hindu temple with images of Lakshmi and Vishnu).
When I am home I'll have every reader do an exam about these temples and
the winner gets a prize (a warm hand and or kisses depending on who the
winner is).
We went by Tjuk tjuk, a motorbike with a sort of riksha at the back.
This kind of transportation is popular because it is cheap*, makes driving in
the heat more comfortable and it is not going too fast.
When something is cheap we like it very much (the Dutch).
Something really amazing is that practically all the cars, motorbikes (all
vehicles with a engine) make no noise at all; this totally different from
other countries like - for instance - Thailand.
And almost no honking too.
Food is good here. We have good breakfasts, lunches and dinners.
You can get almost everything you want so we can choose all sorts of
food we like chicken liver (which I like).
Yesterday afternoon we went to the river (also called Siem Reap) for the
boatraces. These days they celebrate their Waterfestival which has to do
with the fool moon.
It was very crowded along the river.
We saw the races and it was fun seeing the people enjoying everything.
We visited the Old Market and bought little trinkets to bring back home.
In the evening (we went back to the river) there are lots of activities like
looking at the local bands (the music totally different from
what we were or are used to), selling all kinds of foods (also the fried
cockroaches again – getverderrie -), fruits, drinks and little floating
candleholders (with – guess what – candles) which didn’t burn because
there was alas to much wind.
In the afternoon it was crowded but in the evening it seemed that all the
people of Siem Reap and surrounding villages came to celebrate along
the river and look at the fireworks.
This is my account of our second and third day in Siem Reap.
Now I have to find the means to get this on my blog and……. when you
are able to read this, I have succeeded in doing so.
Greetings now from a wet Cambodia.
Yesterday we arrived at Siem Reap (pronounced like Seem Reep) from Bangkok.
Siem Reap means: The place where the Siamese (Siem) were slain (Reap) by
the Khmers at the time.
The flight was on time and took only little more than one hour.
Before that we flew in about one hour from Yangon to Bangkok where we had to
stay for about three hours. Our suitcases were labelled through, so no carrying
of them or waiting at the luggage/baggage(what is the difference?)belt.
At the airport, as usual, there were people waiting for us who brought us to our
hotel, the Casa Angkor Hotel.
Today (Sunday 1st. November) starting early we visited Angkor Thom with the
Bayon Temple and Angkor Wat. These temples were built 1000 years ago by
Khmer Kings who were powerfull because they were able to have their people
harvest rice twice a year (the same as the Bagan Kings at their time in Burma).
They were rich because of that and it shows in their majestic temples in the
northwest of Cambodia.
These temples were created by Khmer kings form the 8th. till the 13th. century.
The most beautiful ones date from the 12th. century. The first famous king of
that time was Jayavarman II.
From the 15th. century the temples were abandoned by the kings and
subsequently forgotten until their rediscovery in 1861by a frenchman called
Henri Mouhot.
Angkor Wat (The temple of Angkor) seems to be the largest temple in the world
with a volume of stone, equaling the volume of the Cheops pyramid.
It is a 12th. century Hindu inspired temple which symmetrical towers (there are
now 5 but there were 9 towers) which are stylized on the modern Cambodian flag.
The building of the temple took some 40 years and is generally believed to have
been the funeral temple for the king at that time (Suryavarman II).
The temple has been occupied by budhist monks and is rather well preserved,
due to high quality building materials (very good quality sandstone). On its four
walls their are awesome bas reliefs showing Hindu tales of battles between the
good and the bad (the king with his monkey armies fighting the demons).
Angkor Thom (walled city) contains the famous Bayon Temple with the more
than 200 large mysterious smiling faces. It also contains the 300 meter long
elephant terrace with its large sculptured elephants.
In the same area you'll see the Leper Kings terrace with a statue of this king.
It was again very hot today and we drank a lot of water.
I am now writing at the hotel in our cool room (airco) and going to have a nap.
All is well, the food is good, the water - and beer - cold.
Alas no Ketel I over here.
Tonight we go to the river waterfront to look what is happening there.
Today there is now a waterfestival with boatraces, air balloons, dances and........
drinks (they say).
It is only some three hundred meters from our hotel and we will see.
Till the next time.
Siem Reap means: The place where the Siamese (Siem) were slain (Reap) by
the Khmers at the time.
The flight was on time and took only little more than one hour.
Before that we flew in about one hour from Yangon to Bangkok where we had to
stay for about three hours. Our suitcases were labelled through, so no carrying
of them or waiting at the luggage/baggage(what is the difference?)belt.
At the airport, as usual, there were people waiting for us who brought us to our
hotel, the Casa Angkor Hotel.
Today (Sunday 1st. November) starting early we visited Angkor Thom with the
Bayon Temple and Angkor Wat. These temples were built 1000 years ago by
Khmer Kings who were powerfull because they were able to have their people
harvest rice twice a year (the same as the Bagan Kings at their time in Burma).
They were rich because of that and it shows in their majestic temples in the
northwest of Cambodia.
These temples were created by Khmer kings form the 8th. till the 13th. century.
The most beautiful ones date from the 12th. century. The first famous king of
that time was Jayavarman II.
From the 15th. century the temples were abandoned by the kings and
subsequently forgotten until their rediscovery in 1861by a frenchman called
Henri Mouhot.
Angkor Wat (The temple of Angkor) seems to be the largest temple in the world
with a volume of stone, equaling the volume of the Cheops pyramid.
It is a 12th. century Hindu inspired temple which symmetrical towers (there are
now 5 but there were 9 towers) which are stylized on the modern Cambodian flag.
The building of the temple took some 40 years and is generally believed to have
been the funeral temple for the king at that time (Suryavarman II).
The temple has been occupied by budhist monks and is rather well preserved,
due to high quality building materials (very good quality sandstone). On its four
walls their are awesome bas reliefs showing Hindu tales of battles between the
good and the bad (the king with his monkey armies fighting the demons).
Angkor Thom (walled city) contains the famous Bayon Temple with the more
than 200 large mysterious smiling faces. It also contains the 300 meter long
elephant terrace with its large sculptured elephants.
In the same area you'll see the Leper Kings terrace with a statue of this king.
It was again very hot today and we drank a lot of water.
I am now writing at the hotel in our cool room (airco) and going to have a nap.
All is well, the food is good, the water - and beer - cold.
Alas no Ketel I over here.
Tonight we go to the river waterfront to look what is happening there.
Today there is now a waterfestival with boatraces, air balloons, dances and........
drinks (they say).
It is only some three hundred meters from our hotel and we will see.
Till the next time.
Last days in Burma
The last addition* to the blog about Myanmar (Burma).
Driving or walking around in Burma is like really being in another world. A multitude of traditions, flawless hospitality, redstone and golden pagoda’s in green landscapes and genuine friendly people.
All visitors are invited to view the sun set from the top of one of the bigger pagoda’s. The atmosphere is beautiful when looking around to the other pagoda’s you can see everywhere in the fading light.
Something totally else.
In Burma workforce is very cheap. So everywhere you see lots of people doing chores which we in Holland do only with one of a few. In the restaurant next to our hotel in Yangon I counted no less than 13 people doing the waiting, cleaning the tables, taking orders. The restaurant has some 10 tables and not more. And….. I couldn’t look in the kitchen.
In the restaurant in Bagan, where we ate every night, there was at least one waiter or waitress per table. The laundry – a shirt and one pair of trousers – was brought by three men!
One more example of this phenomena (I hope I spelled this right). One morning we heard a lot of shouting and when we looked 19 man were measuring a long piece of land along the river. A cleaner of our bungalow explained that those guys were measuring pieces of land to grow peanuts. Apparently the rows of peanuts have to be so many yards apart from each other and this had to be pointed out. 19 man with poles, to stick in the ground (after measuring). It was really a sight.
What else is there to tell about our adventures in Burma?
Villages like ours but than 200 years ago or so (pigs, dogs, chickens, people living all together in a one room house of wooden structure with walls of woven bamboo and roofs with the leafs of the palm-trees). To keep the feet dry during the rainy season every house has a floor about one meter above the ground……and the roofs (I asked) don’t leak!!.
Trucks so old you are really surprised they still run.
Goats and cows on the highway on which you drive mostly not faster than 40 or 50 Km’s per hour because of the potholes in the road, the people (with animals) on the road on bikes or just walking.
The devotion to “The Lord Buddha” seems somehow unreal to us. But almost all the people we met and talked to were Buddhist and believed in reincarnation. If you try to do your best, be nice, do chores for others, take care of elders, the family, the monks, etc. the Buddha will make sure that you live a better next life than this one. Or something like that.
* apart from some pictures I still am not able to load up (no time or no internet or no electricity or the plugs don’t fit in the sockets or there are no sockets or there is no wifi or whatever).
Driving or walking around in Burma is like really being in another world. A multitude of traditions, flawless hospitality, redstone and golden pagoda’s in green landscapes and genuine friendly people.
All visitors are invited to view the sun set from the top of one of the bigger pagoda’s. The atmosphere is beautiful when looking around to the other pagoda’s you can see everywhere in the fading light.
Something totally else.
In Burma workforce is very cheap. So everywhere you see lots of people doing chores which we in Holland do only with one of a few. In the restaurant next to our hotel in Yangon I counted no less than 13 people doing the waiting, cleaning the tables, taking orders. The restaurant has some 10 tables and not more. And….. I couldn’t look in the kitchen.
In the restaurant in Bagan, where we ate every night, there was at least one waiter or waitress per table. The laundry – a shirt and one pair of trousers – was brought by three men!
One more example of this phenomena (I hope I spelled this right). One morning we heard a lot of shouting and when we looked 19 man were measuring a long piece of land along the river. A cleaner of our bungalow explained that those guys were measuring pieces of land to grow peanuts. Apparently the rows of peanuts have to be so many yards apart from each other and this had to be pointed out. 19 man with poles, to stick in the ground (after measuring). It was really a sight.
What else is there to tell about our adventures in Burma?
Villages like ours but than 200 years ago or so (pigs, dogs, chickens, people living all together in a one room house of wooden structure with walls of woven bamboo and roofs with the leafs of the palm-trees). To keep the feet dry during the rainy season every house has a floor about one meter above the ground……and the roofs (I asked) don’t leak!!.
Trucks so old you are really surprised they still run.
Goats and cows on the highway on which you drive mostly not faster than 40 or 50 Km’s per hour because of the potholes in the road, the people (with animals) on the road on bikes or just walking.
The devotion to “The Lord Buddha” seems somehow unreal to us. But almost all the people we met and talked to were Buddhist and believed in reincarnation. If you try to do your best, be nice, do chores for others, take care of elders, the family, the monks, etc. the Buddha will make sure that you live a better next life than this one. Or something like that.
* apart from some pictures I still am not able to load up (no time or no internet or no electricity or the plugs don’t fit in the sockets or there are no sockets or there is no wifi or whatever).
zaterdag 31 oktober 2009
Here we are in front of one of the most beautiful pagoda's of Bagan. Inside the pagoda you find at least 4 big statues of Buddha.
In the pagoda's, temples, etc. you have to take off your shoes. And to keep it simple you walk on flipflaps.
Because it is very hot and so are the tiles and stones we have to walk on, inside you take your time but outside, certainly when it is later on the day, you look for shadow or walk faster.
We are now in Myanmar for the third day.
It was not possible to make here in Myanmar a connection to my blog, so I thought I make this text and add that later to the blog.
We arrived in Yangon (from Bangkok) in the evening of the 25th.
Customs was (other than expected) no trouble at all and we were met by a guide from our touroperater at the bagageclaim.
All (almost all) Burmese men wear a long skirt (the Longhi) and most women put a paste on their faces (tanaka) to keep cool, to
whiten the skin and maybe for other reasons which I don't know.
We were brought to our hotel, The Thamada hotel, somewhere in Yangon.
It was already late in the evening but it was still stifling hot.
Because it was already dark we could'nt see much, but there was not much trafic, not many lanterns in the streets, but "enough"
people to see. Practicly all the cars and busses are very old, we saw.
The first evening we already found out that Myanmar is a poor country.
On the way to our hotel we saw a very large golden pagoda (From some old century), one of the highlights of Yangon.
After a drink and some food in the restaurant of the hotel we went to bed because of the heat we were tired and we had to rise early for our flight from Yangon to Bagan,
our destination.
We slept well, the room and bathroom were OK and after an early breakfast (which was good) we went to the airport with a taxi.
Everything went well and with a plane with propellers, we flew to Bagan.
In the entrancehall of the airport everybody's temperature was measured.My temperature was 35.2 according to some apparatus which they put in everybody's ear, and the in- and outside temperature must have been at least 30 Celsius or so (a little miracle).
We were met by our guide who appeared to be a really nice guy. He knows lots about the Burmese history and is fun to be with.
The first two days we visited all sorts of stupa's, temples and pagoda's. There are almost 5000 religious buildings in a rather small area (which is calles old Bagan).
Everywhere you look you see temples and pagoda's. It is awesome!!
The buildings date mostly from the 10th till the 12th century.
We were driven around in a horsecar, the driver and me in the front and Ankie and our guide in the back.
It does not go fast and so we had ample time to look around and visit each temple or whatever we wished to see.
Almost every temple and pagoda has images of the Buddha in it from small (a few feet or so) to really large like ten meters high or (lying Buddha's) like 30 meters long.
Most are guilded and others in the colours white (the face) and red (the rest of the Buddha).
You are only allowed on your bare feet in the religious buildings.
Apart from lots of religious buildings we visited holy Mount Popa (with a beautiful Monastery on the top), a village (no electricity but they got water) with houses on poles (almost everywhere) with in the yard cows, pigs, cats, dogs, burmese scrawny chickens, a horse here and there, mostly young children and women.
Furthermore we saw how lackerware is made (when made well it takes some 8 months to finish one piece from woven bamboo -or woven horsehair- till the endproduct: all sorts of pots and pans and boxes and tables, etc).
We were on a village market (flowers, vegetables, all sorts of meats -with lots of flies for free-, eggs, clothing, kitchen utensils), well you name it and they sell it.
Very interesting compared to our markets in Holland.
We also were in a sugarcane "factory" with a mill propelled by a buffalo, with tables (with the sugar on it) with legs in pots with some liquid to keep ants and termites away.
Trafic in Burma is relaxed.
About once in 10 minutes you see another car. The roads are bad.
But........it keeps the speed low and since there are all kinds of people on the road with bicycles, old wagons, horse drawn carts and sheep and cows and goats you have all the time in the world to look at it.
For the ordinary Burmese a car is much and much to expensive, apart form the problem to get permission to buy a car of you could afford one.
This afternoon we went for a boatride on the Irrawaddy river (the river Maas is only small compared to this river).
It is a little bit cooler on the water. The guide had brought beer and the vieuws were spectacular because the sun was setting.
We could see lots of pagoda's from the river, it was very quiet and relaxing.
The food is OK here but I must admit that we didn't eat real burmese food.
You can get for example a chickensandwich, chinese food (is OK), thai food and of course burmese food.
Everyday we have a nice breakfast with bread, fresh fruitjuice, coffee, tea, butter, marmelade, eggs, ham, etc.
Beer tastes like ours. Bottled water you can get everywhere.
The people are very nice and friendly.
Although you find almost everywhere people (from - sometimes very- young to old) who want to sell lackerware, t-shirts, shirts, buddha's, woodwork, etc. etc. they
are friendly, they behave well and they remain friendly even if you buy nothing. They laugh a lot and seem happy.
The service in the hotels is very good. It was the same in Bangkok. They open doors for you, they bow, the wish you good day, and so on and so on.
In Holland the people in hotels and restaurants all should go at least for one week to Myanmar to see what service means.
Everything is well maintained and shines in the sunlight.
This is it for the first three days in Myanmar.
It was not possible to make here in Myanmar a connection to my blog, so I thought I make this text and add that later to the blog.
We arrived in Yangon (from Bangkok) in the evening of the 25th.
Customs was (other than expected) no trouble at all and we were met by a guide from our touroperater at the bagageclaim.
All (almost all) Burmese men wear a long skirt (the Longhi) and most women put a paste on their faces (tanaka) to keep cool, to
whiten the skin and maybe for other reasons which I don't know.
We were brought to our hotel, The Thamada hotel, somewhere in Yangon.
It was already late in the evening but it was still stifling hot.
Because it was already dark we could'nt see much, but there was not much trafic, not many lanterns in the streets, but "enough"
people to see. Practicly all the cars and busses are very old, we saw.
The first evening we already found out that Myanmar is a poor country.
On the way to our hotel we saw a very large golden pagoda (From some old century), one of the highlights of Yangon.
After a drink and some food in the restaurant of the hotel we went to bed because of the heat we were tired and we had to rise early for our flight from Yangon to Bagan,
our destination.
We slept well, the room and bathroom were OK and after an early breakfast (which was good) we went to the airport with a taxi.
Everything went well and with a plane with propellers, we flew to Bagan.
In the entrancehall of the airport everybody's temperature was measured.My temperature was 35.2 according to some apparatus which they put in everybody's ear, and the in- and outside temperature must have been at least 30 Celsius or so (a little miracle).
We were met by our guide who appeared to be a really nice guy. He knows lots about the Burmese history and is fun to be with.
The first two days we visited all sorts of stupa's, temples and pagoda's. There are almost 5000 religious buildings in a rather small area (which is calles old Bagan).
Everywhere you look you see temples and pagoda's. It is awesome!!
The buildings date mostly from the 10th till the 12th century.
We were driven around in a horsecar, the driver and me in the front and Ankie and our guide in the back.
It does not go fast and so we had ample time to look around and visit each temple or whatever we wished to see.
Almost every temple and pagoda has images of the Buddha in it from small (a few feet or so) to really large like ten meters high or (lying Buddha's) like 30 meters long.
Most are guilded and others in the colours white (the face) and red (the rest of the Buddha).
You are only allowed on your bare feet in the religious buildings.
Apart from lots of religious buildings we visited holy Mount Popa (with a beautiful Monastery on the top), a village (no electricity but they got water) with houses on poles (almost everywhere) with in the yard cows, pigs, cats, dogs, burmese scrawny chickens, a horse here and there, mostly young children and women.
Furthermore we saw how lackerware is made (when made well it takes some 8 months to finish one piece from woven bamboo -or woven horsehair- till the endproduct: all sorts of pots and pans and boxes and tables, etc).
We were on a village market (flowers, vegetables, all sorts of meats -with lots of flies for free-, eggs, clothing, kitchen utensils), well you name it and they sell it.
Very interesting compared to our markets in Holland.
We also were in a sugarcane "factory" with a mill propelled by a buffalo, with tables (with the sugar on it) with legs in pots with some liquid to keep ants and termites away.
Trafic in Burma is relaxed.
About once in 10 minutes you see another car. The roads are bad.
But........it keeps the speed low and since there are all kinds of people on the road with bicycles, old wagons, horse drawn carts and sheep and cows and goats you have all the time in the world to look at it.
For the ordinary Burmese a car is much and much to expensive, apart form the problem to get permission to buy a car of you could afford one.
This afternoon we went for a boatride on the Irrawaddy river (the river Maas is only small compared to this river).
It is a little bit cooler on the water. The guide had brought beer and the vieuws were spectacular because the sun was setting.
We could see lots of pagoda's from the river, it was very quiet and relaxing.
The food is OK here but I must admit that we didn't eat real burmese food.
You can get for example a chickensandwich, chinese food (is OK), thai food and of course burmese food.
Everyday we have a nice breakfast with bread, fresh fruitjuice, coffee, tea, butter, marmelade, eggs, ham, etc.
Beer tastes like ours. Bottled water you can get everywhere.
The people are very nice and friendly.
Although you find almost everywhere people (from - sometimes very- young to old) who want to sell lackerware, t-shirts, shirts, buddha's, woodwork, etc. etc. they
are friendly, they behave well and they remain friendly even if you buy nothing. They laugh a lot and seem happy.
The service in the hotels is very good. It was the same in Bangkok. They open doors for you, they bow, the wish you good day, and so on and so on.
In Holland the people in hotels and restaurants all should go at least for one week to Myanmar to see what service means.
Everything is well maintained and shines in the sunlight.
This is it for the first three days in Myanmar.
A few days we were driven around in a horsecart.
The horse was a little skinny but the owner said the horse was OK. So, even the horse was happy!!
In the left side you see our guide at the time.
He is called Aung (just like Aung Si Suu Kye or so) because he was born on a certain day of the week.
Practicly all men wear a "longyi" pronounced as "long jee". Only younger people in the cities wear jeans.
In the background you see one of the minor pagoda's.
Uitzicht vanaf onze kamer
Dit is een wat fletse foto van het uitzicht vanuit onze kamer over de Ayerwady rivier.Aan de overzijde is een gouden pagode te zien.
's-Avonds was 'ie verlicht.
Zoals te zien is, is de rivier heel erg breed.
Overdag zijn vissers bezig in kleine bootjes met het vangen met netten.
vrijdag 30 oktober 2009
After Myanmar
Today is 31. October
The last so many days we were in Myanmar.
I was not able to do something with my blog overthere because " access denied" .
Has probably to do with the military bloc everything they think is bad for their position.
People in Myanmar don' t talk about the political situation or they do it very secretly.
We found out that everything is OK for the Burmese as long as they do what they are told to.
On my own computer I already made text for this blog but it is not possible, today on the airport of Bangkok, to hook it on to their internetsystem.
After we are in Siem Reap (Cambodia) we hope to make a new add to my blog on our own computer, WITH pictures.
About the pictures: we made a lot of Bagan, which is the place where during the 10th. till the 13th. century, lifestandard is high (for those days) because of being able to crop rice twice a year and so make lots of dough (money or whatever they had at the time).
We both (Ankie and I) enjoyed our stay in Bagan very, very much. Very good choice.
It was awesome bcause of:
- the friendly people (especiall our guide was a great guy)
- we were driven around in a horsecart which was nice
- the views on the Irrawady-river (we had a sort of bungalow with river-view)
- a rivertrip we made one day at sunset (beautiful)
- all the stupa' s, pagodas, temples, monastries, etc. etc. you can see, visit and get in and on.
In 16 square miles there are almost 5000 buildings, big and small)
- not many tourists (because of the situation overthere; for us very nice, but not for them)
- very good food and drinks
- very good service everywhere
- monks everywhere (beats the South of Limburg)
- etc.
The weather was hot but...........we don't complain (it's the time of year and its warm overthere all year anyway).
Yesterday afternoon we visited a well known market in Rangoon.
Rangoon is nowadays Yangon because new government means new rules and, in Burma, new names too and a new Capital city and a new university - kilometers outside Rangoon - so students can't riot in the big city.
Even the largest river (The Irrewady) has got a new name : Ayeryewady.
The market - a covered one - sells almost everything from woven materials to sweets, from flowers to gems (Myanmar has lots of gems like rubies, saphires, amethist, etc.), wooden souvenirs to food (amongst - of which I have some dark pictures - deep fried cockroaches*).
When we were there the light fell out and the whole place turned very dark.
* people love them in Myanmar.
In the afternoon we visited the Dwe Dagon Pagode (a huge golden one) with lots of Buddha statues (hundreds and hundreds or not thousands) in all forms, designs, large and small.
We were there for more than two hours and we would not have missed this for whatever.
When we came back in our hotel there was no water and that was rather shitty because we wanted to shower of course.
In a few hours we fly to Siem Reap (Cambodia) to visit Angkor Wat (The temple of Angkor).
All is well here and warm.
Till the next time.
The last so many days we were in Myanmar.
I was not able to do something with my blog overthere because " access denied" .
Has probably to do with the military bloc everything they think is bad for their position.
People in Myanmar don' t talk about the political situation or they do it very secretly.
We found out that everything is OK for the Burmese as long as they do what they are told to.
On my own computer I already made text for this blog but it is not possible, today on the airport of Bangkok, to hook it on to their internetsystem.
After we are in Siem Reap (Cambodia) we hope to make a new add to my blog on our own computer, WITH pictures.
About the pictures: we made a lot of Bagan, which is the place where during the 10th. till the 13th. century, lifestandard is high (for those days) because of being able to crop rice twice a year and so make lots of dough (money or whatever they had at the time).
We both (Ankie and I) enjoyed our stay in Bagan very, very much. Very good choice.
It was awesome bcause of:
- the friendly people (especiall our guide was a great guy)
- we were driven around in a horsecart which was nice
- the views on the Irrawady-river (we had a sort of bungalow with river-view)
- a rivertrip we made one day at sunset (beautiful)
- all the stupa' s, pagodas, temples, monastries, etc. etc. you can see, visit and get in and on.
In 16 square miles there are almost 5000 buildings, big and small)
- not many tourists (because of the situation overthere; for us very nice, but not for them)
- very good food and drinks
- very good service everywhere
- monks everywhere (beats the South of Limburg)
- etc.
The weather was hot but...........we don't complain (it's the time of year and its warm overthere all year anyway).
Yesterday afternoon we visited a well known market in Rangoon.
Rangoon is nowadays Yangon because new government means new rules and, in Burma, new names too and a new Capital city and a new university - kilometers outside Rangoon - so students can't riot in the big city.
Even the largest river (The Irrewady) has got a new name : Ayeryewady.
The market - a covered one - sells almost everything from woven materials to sweets, from flowers to gems (Myanmar has lots of gems like rubies, saphires, amethist, etc.), wooden souvenirs to food (amongst - of which I have some dark pictures - deep fried cockroaches*).
When we were there the light fell out and the whole place turned very dark.
* people love them in Myanmar.
In the afternoon we visited the Dwe Dagon Pagode (a huge golden one) with lots of Buddha statues (hundreds and hundreds or not thousands) in all forms, designs, large and small.
We were there for more than two hours and we would not have missed this for whatever.
When we came back in our hotel there was no water and that was rather shitty because we wanted to shower of course.
In a few hours we fly to Siem Reap (Cambodia) to visit Angkor Wat (The temple of Angkor).
All is well here and warm.
Till the next time.
zondag 25 oktober 2009
Back to Jerash
A week ago we were in Jordan. The first day we visited the city of Jerash. It is known for its roman arheological diggings. On e of the marvels of this site is a large square with pillars on the side.
Ankie made this movie of the square.
zaterdag 24 oktober 2009
Elepant riding
On the way back from the floating market we stopped for "elepant riding".
You could ride an an elepant, visit a fishnursery,
watch monkeys getting coconuts out of the palmtrees and see thai buffalo's.
Very !! interesting.
Bangkok Floating Market
Yeasterday we visited the floating market of Bangkok.It took us some 75 KM's to get there by minivan. I doubt wether it was THE floating market but there were lots of canals (Khlongs) with al kinds of boats and houses along the canals.
The whole trip was one circus of trying to sell us everything we could wish:
- elephant rides
- teak furniture
- souvenirs
- etc.
Last day in Bangkok
25th. Octobre 2009
We have been a few days in Bangkok.
The hotel is very good. Breakfast was a feast, every day.
In the neighbourhood of our hotel there are many small businesses like foot-massageshops (many westerners go there and Ankie did so too), restaurants, internet cafes, hairdressers, supermarkets, pharmacies, etc. etc. etc.
Furthermore there are hundreds of small stands on the sides of the streets selling all you want.
A few streets behind our hotel you can have massages with happy end in at least ten clubs in a row.
I must admit the girls look ravishing and lots of single men think so too.
Many guys walking around with thai-girls.
The restaurant we went to is some kind of meetingplace.
Girls and men come alone and some time later you see them leave, together.
The hotel lies rather near three very large shopping malls (Chidlom, Zen and Central World).
We have reconned the surroundings of the hotel. Of all the people you meet in the street at least one of the two has something for sale like:
- food (al kinds of cold and hot food, meat, fruit, drinks, sweets, etc.)
- toys
- maps
- clothing
- jewelery
- T-shirts
- souvenirs
- you name it and they sell it.
We had three times dinner in the same restaurant* because the food was OK there.
* Gullivers restaurant is only one 100 meters from the hotel.
Although it should rain every day for at least a few hours, we were lucky and did not get any rain
when we were outside.
The weather is very hot and humid though but we managed (had to wash our clothing every day).
It is now 13.30 and we will be taken from the hotel to the airport around 15.00 hours.
We fly to Yangon about 18.00 hours.
We have been a few days in Bangkok.
The hotel is very good. Breakfast was a feast, every day.
In the neighbourhood of our hotel there are many small businesses like foot-massageshops (many westerners go there and Ankie did so too), restaurants, internet cafes, hairdressers, supermarkets, pharmacies, etc. etc. etc.
Furthermore there are hundreds of small stands on the sides of the streets selling all you want.
A few streets behind our hotel you can have massages with happy end in at least ten clubs in a row.
I must admit the girls look ravishing and lots of single men think so too.
Many guys walking around with thai-girls.
The restaurant we went to is some kind of meetingplace.
Girls and men come alone and some time later you see them leave, together.
The hotel lies rather near three very large shopping malls (Chidlom, Zen and Central World).
We have reconned the surroundings of the hotel. Of all the people you meet in the street at least one of the two has something for sale like:
- food (al kinds of cold and hot food, meat, fruit, drinks, sweets, etc.)
- toys
- maps
- clothing
- jewelery
- T-shirts
- souvenirs
- you name it and they sell it.
We had three times dinner in the same restaurant* because the food was OK there.
* Gullivers restaurant is only one 100 meters from the hotel.
Although it should rain every day for at least a few hours, we were lucky and did not get any rain
when we were outside.
The weather is very hot and humid though but we managed (had to wash our clothing every day).
It is now 13.30 and we will be taken from the hotel to the airport around 15.00 hours.
We fly to Yangon about 18.00 hours.
vrijdag 23 oktober 2009
Angkor Wat
In one of the temples there was a "small" replica of the largest temple in Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
We will be there (Deo volente or insh'Allah or so) in a week.
You can see here what we are up to.
The temple of the walking Buddha
One of the temples we visited was the temple of the walking Buddha. Usually the Buddha's sit, lie down, stand or sit being very fat (lots of Chinese Buddha's are fat).
A walking Buddha is seldom seen, so...........................................
here he is.
As far as I can see it is just a standing Buddha with his legs apart.
The official Royal palace.
This palace is not really old (only 180 years or so) and it is only used for official purposes.
The king and his family live in some other palace and even there the king lives not there (here they hope only temporarely) because he is in hospital.
The king is 83 and rather ill.
We wish him good health and whatever.
Today we went to three different places.
The Royal Palace (King Bhumipol's official Palace), the temple of the walking Buddha end some other temples.
In the last templecomplex there were lots of Stupa's, lots of buildings with buddha's in it and lots of praying people.
There is also a large golden Buddha (see the picture of the last message on this blog) which is so long that it is almost not possible to get it in one picture except on a picture taken from the feet to the head.
Bangkok
Yesterday we arrived in Bangkok from Amman.The flight was uneventfull and we landed right on time.
A guide was waiting for us and brought us to our hotel. The hotel lies in the middle of an area with lots of small shops, so there is lots to see.
We walked around for a few hours and lost our way now and then. Ankie went for a footmassage and I read something (The new Dan Brown and I don't like it because it is too unreal).
We ate in a nice restaurant (Gullivers Tavern) and the food was good.
We went to bed èarly because we suffered a little from jetlag and because we flew during the night we were tired (moreless).
woensdag 21 oktober 2009
Women in Jordan practicly always wear a shawl.
The more religious ones wear a niqaab. Here you see one and she looks very happy. It was very difficult to photograph women because this is not allowed for religious reasons.
If they see you trying to make a picture they turn around so you don't see there faces or what you could see of them.
In the middle of Amman there is a part called "Al Balad". It is, as far as I know, the oldest part of Amman. You can see here a Roman theatre, bigger than the one in Jerash (see a few days ago), the Al Husseini Mosq with two minarets and all sorts of shops. Like in other eastern cities, the same craftsmen are next to each other.
There is a part (of a large street) with all the shops which sell charcoal or jewellery or ladies dresses or books or whatever.
Ankie in front of a jeweller in Amman.
Wadi Rum, Dead Sea and Amman
Yesterday we could'nt upload any photo's so this is one (today is the 21st. Octobre) from yesterday: a picture of the desert in Wadi Rum.
As you can see, nothing grows there and there is no sign (no tracks) of animals except of birds.
Somewhere right from the middle you can see Ankie (I hope).
dinsdag 20 oktober 2009
Wadi Rum
Wadi Rum
A national reserve.
The south Jordan desert.
We walked about three hours and it was beautiful.
But.........it was hot and as a matter of fact too hot for a walk and we did it anyway.
Van Wadi Rum, via Karak en de Dode Zee naar Amman.
On Octobre 20th. we travelled from Wadi Rum (a fter a goodnight sleep* and a good breakfast) via Karak and the Dead Sea to Amman.
When we went to bed it was still (I think) 25 degrees C.
During the night the temperature decreased at least with 15 degrees.
So we slept very well.
The next morning we drove to Al Karak, a medieval city with a huge castle.
From Karak we drove to the Dead Sea.
The landscape is fantastic (Sorry, no pictures today; you will have to wait till the next time).
Not far from Karak you can see the Dead Sea on the horizon.
We drove from south to north along the road on the eastside of the Dead Sea.
Although it was very hazy, we could see Israel.
On our side of the sea there were lots of control posts of the Jordan army.
In the north part of the seaside there is lots of construction of hotels and restaurants.
They call it Ammanbeach.
In one of these new restaurants we had our lunch with a vieuw on the Dead Sea.
Now we are back in Amman.
Tomorrow we will visit this city.
When we went to bed it was still (I think) 25 degrees C.
During the night the temperature decreased at least with 15 degrees.
So we slept very well.
The next morning we drove to Al Karak, a medieval city with a huge castle.
From Karak we drove to the Dead Sea.
The landscape is fantastic (Sorry, no pictures today; you will have to wait till the next time).
Not far from Karak you can see the Dead Sea on the horizon.
We drove from south to north along the road on the eastside of the Dead Sea.
Although it was very hazy, we could see Israel.
On our side of the sea there were lots of control posts of the Jordan army.
In the north part of the seaside there is lots of construction of hotels and restaurants.
They call it Ammanbeach.
In one of these new restaurants we had our lunch with a vieuw on the Dead Sea.
Now we are back in Amman.
Tomorrow we will visit this city.
maandag 19 oktober 2009
Pirates of the Caribbean
A day or so ago I promised to prove the link between India Jones and the Last Crusade and Pirates of the Caribbean with Captain Jack Spoarrow (Johnny Depp) , here in Petra.
Well look here, Johnny Depp excersising on a camel for the next movie: Pirates in Petra.
Keep this information confidential plaese; I promised to tell nobody.
Petra and surroundings
Behind the gorge, in which you can see "The Treasury" there is a large valley with lots of buildings, carved in the sides of the valley and in the middle. There is romanlike theatre, there are roads just like in Jerash (paved roads with pillars on the side), a large fort, lots of tombes, etc.
Reaching the end of the gorge there is the spectacular vieuw of the worldfamous building called "The Treasury".
It is believed to be 2000 years old. Probably a tombe for one of the Nabatean Kings.
The Nabateans were the people who carved the buildings out of solid rock in the gorge and the rocks in the valley behind it.
In this building in the movie "Indiana Jones and the last Crusade" Indy finds the holy grail.
To see the building for the first time is really awesome.
Een mooi voorbeeld van de "Siq", de nauwe doorgang tussen de rotsen naar de eeuwenoude stad Petra.
A nice example of the gorge (called the "Siq") leading to\the old town of Petra.
Je kunt je laten vervoeren door paarden (en wagen) en als het niet waait (dat was de eerste dag het geval) dan stinkt het er verschrikkelijk naar paardenpoep. 't Is maar dat je bent gewaarschuwd.
You could chose to take a horseride through the gorge but, when there is no wind, the horseshit stinks terrible.
Foto's Petra
Het is vandaag 19 oktober 2009.
Gisteren waren we in Petra, maar even zonder foto's.
Nu zitten we in the middle of nowhere in een bedoeinentent MET (!) wireless internetverbinding.
Een foto van de tent, waarin we vannacht slapen (hoop ik) zie je zo direct op het blog.
Eerst laad ik een aantal foto's op van Petra.
Today is Octobre 19th.
Yesterday we were in Petra of which we now have the photo's.
We are right now in the middle of nowhere in the Wadi Rum desert in a bedouintent WITH (!!)wireless internet connection.
Gisteren waren we in Petra, maar even zonder foto's.
Nu zitten we in the middle of nowhere in een bedoeinentent MET (!) wireless internetverbinding.
Een foto van de tent, waarin we vannacht slapen (hoop ik) zie je zo direct op het blog.
Eerst laad ik een aantal foto's op van Petra.
Today is Octobre 19th.
Yesterday we were in Petra of which we now have the photo's.
We are right now in the middle of nowhere in the Wadi Rum desert in a bedouintent WITH (!!)wireless internet connection.
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