Soaked in the South

Arriving at the bus station was like entering a small town, it was so easy to get lost amongst the grid of ticket sales offices, food vendors and vehicles crossing everywhere on the muddy slosh that had quickly devoured my thongs. I found my bus which had its departure pushed back an hour, so I wandered off in search of snacks to suffice the 4 hour journey. By the time we eventually set off, the bus was already blasting some local pop music and firing off its menacing horn as it passed most vehicles. As I was not packing earplugs, sleep was'nt going to be an option on this 4 hour journey.

After passing endless rice paddies on a reasonable road (compared with the streets of Yangon), we arrived in Kyaiktiyo, the journey also including numerous stops to exchange passengers and allow food marketers to parade their goods alongside the windows and occasionally hop on to strut the isles. I had contemplated trying to get a room up on top of the mountain, but without a reservation and hearing rumours of the exuberant prices, I took the first offer when stepping off the bus of a nearby hotel which came to $15 for my own bungalow and was located right next to the bus departure point, which I would be utilising first thing in the morning.

To get up to the Golden Rock you need to wait for a pickup which is lined with about 10 rows of wooden seats, this will drop you either at the top of the mountain or a  45 minute trek short, I elected for the top along with the rest of the passengers due to the menacing rain. Lucky enough to be on the front row, I was able to stand up for the winding journey up the mountain through the thick fog soaked jungle. At the top foreigners are required to pay a $6 entrance fee to see the giant golden boulder, which appears to be magically perched on the side of the mountain (on top of a strand of Buddhas hair as the story goes) and is the the third most sacred Buddhist pilgrimage site in Myanmar. Catching up on a quick meditation session, I made my way back to the truck drop off point for the 4pm departure which entailed waiting around to 6pm for the final truck to fill up and leave, plenty of time to catch up on Burmese soapies and sip instant coffee mix which again was wayyyy too sweet.

Next stop in the morning was Mawlamyaing and then a short local bus to Hpa An, both busses crammed full of Burmese perched on tiny stools along the isles and standing in every possible gap on the bus. Luckily after I stepped off a tour guide with decent English helped me find the reasonably priced Tiger hotel and organised a room with panoramic views across the river and a mountainous backdrop, there was even complimentary condoms on every floor (leaving me wondering what kind of hotel had I checked in to). I arranged for him to pick me up first thing in the morning for a full day tour of the surrounding area. Taking advice from a local to try out the best Myanmar retaurant in town, the vegetable dishes I ordered for mains were reasonable, while the free side dishes were a bizarre mixture of mysterious heavily salted and fried condiments, still not bad for the dirt cheap prices.

The wet season failed to disappoint as I set off on the back of my guides scooter in the worst downpour yet, coupled with the road being speckled with potholes, I was sure that only a miracle would keep up upright for the journey. We visited a number of caves throughout the day, which had hundreds upon hundreds of Buddha carvings from the 15th century. A great deal of precision had been assembled to inscribe the roofs with these tiny symbols of faith. Being the wet season I had them all to myself, bar a few monks who barely stirred from their slumber when I entered.

Next was chocolate mountain, which if not attached at the bottom, looked like a scene straight out of Avatar at the floating mountains. Here the local marketers donate food each day so that people can come for lunch and eat curries, rice and soup for free, probably the best meal since arriving in Myanmar. The cave that followed was the main reason for visiting the area, although I had heard it may be  little rough during the wet season. Concerns were raised when our scooter could not even make it across the road to the cave due to too much water flowing, although my guide assured me I would be ok as long as I took it very slow on the slippery ground and had a good flashlight to lead me through to the boat that would be waiting on the other side. The cave itself is around 500m long and pitch black once you pass the first corner. I don't think have ever been close to navigating my feet across ground so slippery before (the guide decided not to accompany me), water was pouring in from numerous crevices and the mud was almost impossible to cross remaining upright. Rocky formations were impressive and turning off my headlamp in the middle of the cave to leave only the trickling of water and shrieking of bats above was an unusually pleasant experience. The same could not be said for my mood when I finally reached the exit to find no boat and had to trek back trough to the entrance of the cave.

I'd like take this opportunity to comment on the quality local cuisine in Myanmar. Travelling to new countries and experiencing their foods is one of my favourite part of international travel, unfortunately Myanmar has missed the mark with this experience and I am yet to try a dish that I would recommend as a worthwhile experience. I can barely even find a place that serves fruit juices or shakes, certainly not a decent one either. In comparison with the neighbouring Thai  cuisine, they have left my taste buds underwhelmed. Maybe tomorrow when I venture off the the north this view can be changed.

Blast from the past

Without really knowing what to expect, I boarded the plane from Bangkok for the short flight over to Yangon, the capital of Myanmar (formerly Burma). This is a country that has been under strict military control until it was released in 2011, during that time it had been fairly void of tourists and supposedly represents a way of life in Asia that feels like you have jumped back at least 50 years in time. I was well aware that tourism infrastructure would be at a minimum and limited over priced hotels (if you can even find a room) had over 300% price increases in the last few years. The wet season has also begun so heavy periods of rain and potential mud slide issues on the long highway halls were to be anticipated.

Landing in the capital provided views of a lush green city that looked to be set in amongst a forest. Of course it was pouring down with rain and the taxi ride to my hotel was spent dodging the abundance of pot holes and almost a constant river of rainwater along the most roads. I had managed to secure a booking at Hn Inn in downtown Yangon which also provided a free airport transfer as I booked two nights at $23 each. When checking in a very friendly manager was put on the phone to me who advised the hotel was full for the night and she would send me to her friends more expensive hotel in the next street at no additional charge, she organised a taxi due to the rain, even for such a short distance which was no more than a few hundred metres. The streets all seemed to be in a constant state of repair with roadworks at every turn.

Not seeing any other tourists about, I ventured around and found a little restaurant on a back street packed with locals, ready to sample some of Myanmars local cuisine I eagerly joined them. I wasn't sitting more than a few minutes after ordering a local Myanmar tap beer (at only 60c each!!) before two locals invited me over to join them for drinks and some sort or fried nuts beer snack. They had broken English but we managed to converse quite easily, noting their friends were coming soon, which I thought meant would be time to move away to make space, but it was just a sign the party was just getting started. For the next few hours we  sampled beers and locally produced spirits with stories of life in Yangon. We were also smoking some sort of  green cigars(known as cheroot) which looked to be wrapped in maybe banana leaf. These were some of the most genuine friendly people I have ever met, after ordering a variety of dishes for me to try out, they insisted on paying for some of my food and drinks even though they clearly did not have much money at all, they even all walked me back to my hotel to make sure I made it ok.

Waking up early the next morning I headed down to the river front and knocked back a couple of coffees and 3 decent sized freshly sliced mango's, all for under a dollar. It seems what would be spent in some of the overpriced accommodation would be offset by a very reasonable cost of living. Along the streets there were locals set up with little plates and cans full of rice or corn, which they were selling to feed flocks of pigeons, I assume maybe this has something to do with the heavy Buddhism following in the country and the respect for all living beings. Back at my hotel I enjoyed a traditional Burmese breakfast which was toast, fruit, coffee, eggs and some sort of noodle soup which didn't particularly grab me. After packing my bags and switching hotels, I managed to score a second breakfast although the satisfaction from instant coffee and creamer loaded with sugar was starting to wear thin.

The monk back on Koh Phangan had spoken very highly of the impressive Buddhist monument in Yangon, Shwaedagon.  This place is the most sacred Buddhist Pagoda for all Burmese people of which over 90% will visit in their lifetime. This truly impressive Pagoda, standing 325ft tall and is totally covered in plates of gold that combined are rumoured to weigh over 60 tonnes. The peak is tipped with a 76 carat diamond, the crown also containing a further 5,448 diamonds and 2,317 rubies.

I spent the afternoon wandering its vast marble floors (which were extremely wet in the rain) with my little sidekick who kept waiting to borrow my camera to work on his photography skills. After some time meditating in one of the statue halls I sat down to a freshly prepared noodle salad with a local family, from their look of amazement I may have been their first ever foreign customer. The food was delicious and at only 50c including two bowls of soup, an absolute bargain. Afterwards I met a recently graduated engineering student who showed me around for an hour and discussed his plans to try and get a job in Singapore after he finished studying English, as he has not had any lucky utilising his degree in Myanmar. He felt extremely lucky to be living within walking distance of ShwaeDagon, which he visits every day like many other locals.

Back at the Hn Inn where I was saying, the very knowledgeable and obliging manager sat down and helped me work out a rough route I could take around the country to finish up in Mandalay in 20 days. Advice from Will at the meditation retreat back in Thailand was to check out a beach 6 hours West of Yangon which sounded like a perfect idea to me, however it was strongly advised against these few relaxing days as there was so much to see, spanning over some decent distances. I gave up on the beach and booked a bus for 7am to take me to the Golden Rock South East of Yangon.

Myanmar Visa

My time in Bangkok needs to be limited as much as possible, with a little over 2 months left in SE Asia the aim is to maximise time in each of Myanmar, Laos and China. After doing a little research on Google it turns out the process to organise a visa for Myanmar is rather straight forward, and given I can prove that I am flying out within 24 hours, an express process can be granted for a slightly higher fee.

I took the night train up to Bangkok and managed a few hours sleep in between mingling with backpackers in the restaurant carts, drunk Russians running around all night, a broken fan that I was convinced was somebody listening to bongo drums on their ipod during my Diazepam haze and a top bunk that threatened to thorw me off at every turn.Treating myself to a reasonably priced $30 hotel located just a few streets from Khao San Rd, my room was decent and included high speed wifi to cram in some last minute research about possible destinations in Myanmar.

Requirements for the express Visa were a copy of an inbound flight ticket (which I booked for $80 with Airasia), a photocopy of your passport photo page and a completed application for with two passport sized photos. The application forms can be obtained about 100m down the road from the visa office (yellow sign displaying 'copy centre') which also provides printing and copy services for a small fee.

Having read that the lines can get large quite early and wanting to ensure I got my visa the same day, I set off at 7am to get the ferry boat and sky train to the visa office which is open for applications from 9 - 11am every weekday, except Thai and Myanmar public holidays. The line was already about 30 people deep by the time I got there just after 8 and picked up another 10 or so by the time I got back from the copy office closer to 8:30am. Once inside you line up to advise what kind of visa is required and sit until your number is called. There were 3 windows collecting applications and payment, the whole process being  completed a little after 9:30am.

With a few hours to kill until collection at 3:30pm, I jumped on the sky train up to MBK which is a 7 story shopping centre in the middle of Bangkok. Here I withdrew and changed $1,200 USD notes in pristine condition as I had been warned these are the only currency accepted for most hotel and transport bookings, the highly scrutinised notes are not available once you land in Myanmar. After the disappointment that the fees and a deteriorated exchange rate had on my spending budget, I made the unwise decision to check out an all you can eat sushi restaurant. The conveyor belt offered all kinds of meats and vegetables that you cook in a large soup pot boiling in front of you, there is also a buffet selection of sushi, desserts, soft drinks and other strange looking Japanese dishes.. I walked out of the place feeling disgusted by the amount of food consumed.

Back at the visa office (which is actually located on a side street just around the corner from the embassy) I joined the other tourists taking refuge from the sweltering heat in small patches of shade across the road. The collection process was very quick and over within 15 minutes. The rest of my evening was spent mingling on Khao San road and knocking back as many last minute Thai meals that my renewed appetite  could manage. It was here I also found my new favourite juice store serving up my usual order of a banana shake (that required drinking half to be topped up again) and the best fruit, muesli and yogurt combo tasted yet, all for 2 dollars!

A life changing experience

When I arrived at Wat Khao Tham it was just after 10pm as my ferry ran 45 minutes late (or on Thai time), the tuk tuk dropped me off at a pitch black clearing in the jungle, with only what seemed to be a crazed dog barking at me to interrupt the harmony of the evening insects. There was a semi enclosed dining hall that looked sure to be swarming with scorpions and centipedes (which I hear have the more painful sting) and even though I desperately wanted to get the tuk tuk to take me back to town and a comfy bed, I knew my commitment was made and it I would need to tough it out for the night.

Just as I was pulling out my flimsy travel pillow while searching for the insect spray to bath in, I noticed a small light somewhere up on a hill nearby. Deciding to check it out was brilliant decision as it turned out to be a lady who lives at the wat and helps to look after Mae Chee. She kindly guided me through the dark to provide a small pillow and a thin (seriously like 1cm) mattress, then showed me to my room in the mens dormitory section. The rooms were basic with a wooden bunk bed, freshly painted white walls and glass louvre windows, luck had it that my room was located on the end of the dormitory and had two walls of windows to let a fresh breeze in and faced out over the jungle, with glimpses of the ocean between the trees. Laying down on the hard wooden bed I wasn't sure how comfortable my sleep would be, yet I had a satisfied feeling that this week was going to be something very special.

At 4am the bells rang and I pulled on my fisherman pants and lightweight white cotton shirt (purchased at the market the day before), wearily wandering outside with a small torch I followed some of the other participants up to the meditation hall. It was here that everybody selected a rectangle cushion on the floor to sit in their desired meditation position, some choosing to include an extra harder cushion for lower back support. Unsure what to do I assumed the position of the meditators around me and battled sleep deprivation for the next hour and a half, wondering if I would be able to manage to keep this up for at least 10 hours every day.

We then took part in a Thai Chi class for 45 minutes lead by one of the meditation participants, something I have wanted to try for some time now. The class was very basic and it looked like most of us were first timers as we took a bit of getting used to the life enhancing flow which followed a stretching session. The 7am bell chime signalled it was time for breakfast and we were presented a small buffet style selection of vegetarian curries and fresh fruit down at the dining hall I had been so close to sleeping the night before. It turns out the official starting day was to be delayed until tomorrow, so we were allowed to talk and enjoyed free time until the next meditation session was to follow a feed at dinner time. Throughout the entire retreat you are not permitted to talk to anybody (apart from a couple of meditation interviews to assist with any queries) and upon arrival, all of your possessions such as laptops, phones, books and anything that might be a distraction to the mind are forfeited.

The retreat was being lead by Tom Weiser who had come over from California and where he has been teaching Dhamma in America. He brought with him Rob, who shared the same initial Vipassana retreat over 10 years ago and is a Dhamma brother. Anthony who has had an extraordinary 15 years (which I will briefly cover later), was also on board to assist and will continue to lead the retreat on a monthly basis moving forward.
I will not try to explain in too much detail what the Vipassana meditation study is all about, but instead I strongly recommend you find some time in your life to visit a retreat, it is such a powerful way of training your mind that would be beneficial to everybody at any stage of their life. This is not some religious cult, in fact the religious side of it (as it is derived from Buddhism philosophy) is at a bare minimum and by no means forced upon you. No you will not walk away from the week as a devout monk, well not unless that's something you want to be. The meditation practise which is a mixture between sitting, walking and some standing (laying down is not permitted around the temple grounds) includes some direction from the teachers on various techniques, this seems daunting at first but soon the body and mind adjusts to the long hours of inner solitude. I took great interest in what each day presented and how the meditation sessions would vary at each practise. Thoughts would spontaneously arise and choosing not to attach any action to them was our main focus, however you would frequently find yourself drifting off for quite some time before realising and bringing your mind back to the awareness of your breath.

This practice is only provided for people who are serious about completing the length of the course, which in my case was for 10 days and included all of the teachings, lodging and food free of charge at a stunning location. It will provide you some invaluable insight in to how your mind works, with the opportunity to step back from the constant mental bombardment of every day life. It is a very powerful mental training that with ongoing practise can help to improve and control every part of your life, developing moment to moment awareness, strengthening emotions and investigating into the deeper truths and laws governing the body and the mind. Quite the contrast from the young party seeking crowd the island is famously known for.

I found that issues which I have been struggling with in recent times were put in to perspective and it gave me the opportunity to see life far more clearly. There was one point on about the fifth day where I had to break the rules and put pen to paper to write down ideas and goals for my 2 - 5 year plan after I return home from travels, it seemed like insight and emotions had been harnessed far better than any other time in my life.

Anthony originates from Australia and was ordained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand in 1994 aged 24. He then spent many years living and practicing in Myanmar, India, Srilanka, China and Tibet. 14 years later he returned to Australia where he worked, studied at university. He has now been invited to come back to Thailand and share his learning of the Dhamma and practise of meditation by the director of the Dipabahavan Meditation Centre. Mae Chee who is 90 years old and doing outstandingly well for her age, is the founding nun of the meditation school which has now been running for over 25 years. She gave an inspirational speech at both the commencement and end of the retreat, which made us all feel like family welcome back to our new home at any time. You would find it hard to come away from an experience like this not making some great friends and invaluable self development.

Visa run

Sometimes a situation arrises in life and you feel like the opportunity is more fate than a coincidence, well thats how I felt when I was walking to 7-11 for mosquito spray during the detox and came across a flyer taped to a light pole advertising a meditation retreat on Koh Phangan. Previously I had spent unsuccessful hours scouring the internet for a Vipassana retreat that had English teachings and would fit in with my travel dates and visa restrictions.

The retreat on Wat Khao Tahm was due to start on the second day after my detox finished and would last 6 days past the expiry of my 30 day visa on arrival for Thailand. Mr Kim's travel agency located in Thong Sala was offering a 'Visa Run' for tourists who wished to extend their stay. For $50 you would get a ferry to the mainland where you would be bundled in to a mini van that hauled ass to the Malaysian boarder at unforgiving speeds compared to any other vehicles on the road. The aim was to get your 15 day extension (less time is offered compared to the airport visa) stamped and return to the ferry port in time to catch the last 6:30pm boat back to Koh Phangan, which I needed to be on as the retreat orientation was 5pm that day and I was already going to be running late.

Needing a simple room for the night I booked in at Runs Place next to Mr Kims agency, which provided a basic double bed in a fan room for just under $7, it was also close proximity to the night market where I could indulge in a carrot juice and plate of boiled vegetables as my first proper meal after the post detox plate of Watermelon and Papaya, it was bloody amazing!!

The ferry departure was set for 5am so I had to be up a little after 4 I was armed with half a kilo of fresh cashew nuts (as my post detox instructions advised I could introduce on the second day), my unstoppable hunger devoured them before we even got to the Malaysian border. It was there I managed to pick up a kilo of Lychee's and a couple of mango's to last the drive back. In all the day was a success and saved me the 500 baht daily fine when your visa is over stayed.

The last supper

You will probably think this sounds a little crazy, just as I did when the retreat coordinator asked me how long I had fasted for previously (serves me right for not reading the details properly), but theres a first time for everything. To kick off my solo journey I signed up for an 8 day fasting detox at Ananda Wellness Resort located on Koh Phangan.

The idea is that it takes 7 days to cleanse the bloodstream and lymph system of toxins. Fasting is the quickest way to eradicate toxic materials out of your body, eliminating fat mucus and diseased cells. The body will still hold on to important vitamins and minerals. It was certainly not my intention to lose any weight from this retreat, unfortunately it is unavoidable but will predominantly be fat loss, averaging 4 - 6kg per person.

My favourite part about the time here is that you get to spend it with like minded people who can share their experience and are all having a tube shoved up your bum hole twice a day for an internal shower. The colonic irrigation or colema used an alternation between warm coffee or garlic laced water that was self administered and as well as clearing the toxins, helped to discharge a build up of harmful matter that has been collecting inside the bowel walls.

Although it was my first time experimenting with the process, I had taken an interest a couple of years ago when I read this article about Anthony, who after swallowing a marble as a child, passed it 22 years later after a butt flush at a health retreat in Thailand. Apparently you could have undigested food lodged in your colon, rotting in to a toxic time bomb. Feel free to ask if you would like to discuss any finer details of the colonic process.

Not surprisingly most conversations seemed to drift toward food, no matter how innocent they had started. We would find ourselves sitting around the detox bar or floating in the pool discussing the most unusual food combination we had ever tried or debating what our first meal would be, even though we were very aware spending this long not eating would be a slow process easing back in to the world of food, staring with a few days of fresh fruit and veggies only.

Supporting the lack of intake, we had to adhere to a rigerous routine of herbs (37 herbal pills every day!), shakes (Psyllium Husk and Hydrated Bentonite) and probiotics. On top of the 15 colonic irrigation's, there was a daily massage, herbal sauna and yoga class. I also elected for the optional liver / gallbladder cleanse and anti-parasite course after my recent infection in Nepal.

It was recommended to start prefasting 2 - 14 days before the retreat, yet my diet over the past month had been mediocre at best although it turns out this did not seem to disadvantage me in any way. Days 2 and 3 were the hardest with a general lack of energy, craving food and an intense head spin every time I stood up. Although I don't believe the food cravings were due to my body actually being hungry, it was more a case of thinking about the food that I could not have and weening my body away from the recent sugar and salt fuelled eating bonanza. Some of the food being craved is not even something I would generally eat or had eaten for years, all the same a big greasy Maccas burger dripping with fatty oil did sound appealing. Dreams also became quite strange and vivid most nights of the detox, as you might have guessed they were a constant reminder of all the delicious foods I would not be eating that week.

My biggest pickups from the retreat were to CHEW YOUR FOOD AT LEAST 30 TIMES, examine your poo carefully (its a great indication of your digestive health) and to give a good intestine massage daily to ensure smooth flow. So I lost a total of 7.3kg, but that's clearing out a LOT of shit and I don't anticipate it will take me long to put it back on. My aim is to try and stick to a diet consisting of fruit and vegetables for as long as I can hold out to see how my body reacts, still a long way off from being a declared vegetarian!!

Jurassic Park

For the final two days before the boys fly home leaving me solo explorer for nine months, we flew up to Bangkok for the ultimate comp off at Jurassic Fishing Park, chasing freshwater species such as Catfish, Carp and Arapaima which grow to 120kg+ at the lake while lies two hours north of Bangkok.

We checked in to our Hotel which ran right off Khao San Rd (the famous backpacker street of Bangkok) and headed out for a night of beers, street meat and scorpions. Lucky for us the 6:30am departure was not an issue as the fishing park provides little huts with pillows, so you can nap in the shade until your guide wakes you for a fish run.

The park has only been open 12 months and includes a

recently completed series of accommodation bungalows for serious anglers, chasing seriously big freshwater fish, to bask in their element. We only had the one day, but that still entailed 9 hours of fishing, with one rod geared up for the 'smaller' fish and the other rigged with a live bait which the mighty Arapaima would hopefully grab. They even serve food to your little fishing huts, of which we shared a large pot of green curry to settle the previous nights misbehavings.

Much to the boys disgust, my rod leapt in to action with the first catch in under an hour with the catfish fighting for a decent 10 minute session, we had to be careful removing him from the water for photos as this is a sport fishing park, purely catch and release. The rods were set up on holders with a live line setting so the fish could run with a bait, then a little light and alarm would alert the angler to who was getting all the attention. It was a painful few hours waiting until the alrm burst to life and I landed my second catfish.

With the victory looking promising and the two stragglers ready to call it a day, I was kind enough to let Simon reel in my third and final hook up, a decent carp. Then not wanting to leave any man behind, we patiently waited until Ben's line sensor screamed with delight and he was on to what turned out to be a big Carp, in fact the largest catch for the day at around 20kg.

 

As per comp off rules, we had a vote and my mixed bag secured the victory, at least until September when I stop through Australia on my way to South America and maybe give the boys a chance to let me defend my title.