Last days in Yangon-- then to the Beach at Ngapali

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Mon Jan 7 2013

This is our last full day in Yangon--not a favourite city for me. Very poor infrastructure (buildings, roads, sidewalks are in great disrepair. Garbage collection poor. ) On the bright side, people are very sweet and helpful.

Great coffee and ok breakfast at Zawgyi coffee house just near hotel. Off to change money.. Got good exchange 890 as opposed to 800-820 at hotels. But felt like drug deal - done on sidewalk sitting on baby stools on a bridge-3 guys. They count, we count. Fortunately R checked that they had 5,000 kjat notes because we were getting close to 100,000 kjat. Then they complained that we didn't have any $100 bills, just $50s (crisp though).

Home to deposit money in safe then back to Ruby Mart shopping centre to buy wine. I also fund floppy hat (lost mine somewhere along the way). R picked out 1 white and 4 reds all from Oz. about $70 in total, but some nice ones we hope.Home for rest.

Off to Shwedagon Paya again this time at sunset. Magical light. Back to Zawgyi for very pleasant dinner in garden-like an oasis-calm after the hubbub of the city. We find the wine here outrageously expensive and not particularly good. So we drink local beer-pretty good. Lovely warm evening.

Tue jan 8 2013

OBSERVATIONS:

Burmese always look so dressed up. Even workers look as if they are dressed to go out for an evening. Men always in dress shirts - white or plaid, short or long sleeved + longyis. (Skirts wrapped around them and knotted at waist)

The only overweight people I saw were tourists. Burmese are small and thin.

Driving is mainly about looking out for other drivers ahead and beside. Very little signalling-a lot of merging and drifting from side to side. Little beeps to warn pedestrians and other motorists. In Yangon, motorcycles and scooters are banned. Saw only a few bicycles off to side or on secondary roads.Long signals. Often drivers turn off engines while waiting at light. Count down shows how many seconds to wait.

I wonder about the level of efficiency here. The hotel in Yangon always had about 7 staff members at or around the main desk. How many people does it take to run the front desk? There were always 2 doormen.Then on arriving at Yoma Cherry Lodge, we found that for 13 rooms there are about 24 staff.

Up early. Finished packing. Off to find good coffee at Zawgyi. Not open till 9am! Cafe Aroma never seems open. Met businessman on street, Patrick, travel agent, who took us to little tea house near hotel. So-so coffee. Tasted rice wrapped dumpling. Animated conversation. He remarked how expensive our hotel (Clover City) is. Next time we'll contact him. Unlike a lot of places, he says he always answers emails/phone!

Took almost hr for cab ride to airport. Lots of traffic around 9 am. Long lights. Found pleasant coffee lounge where we had coffees and waited for flight. No announcements or dedicated gate - this is for domestic flights. Man with placard walks around showing current boarding flight.

Short flight - about 1 hour. Were met at Thandwe airport by 2 men in basic Dodge truck. Very bumpy 15 minute ride to Yoma Cherry. Beautiful property with beachfront rooms - lovely wide decks with comfortable seating. Picturesque bay full of simple fishing boats that left about 5pm to go fishing. They will be back to unload catch in the morning. Had lunch served on deck. British woman, Sue runs lodge. Very pleasant conversations with her and Burmese assistant, Kin-ma-tay. Unpacked, did laundry, and had nap.

Pleasant dinner on the deck in front of our room overlooking the Bay of Bengal--pretty idyllic!

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