Page 5 of Jason Lupei Travel Blog Posts


Asia » Thailand July 12th 2007

7/9/07 to 7/12/07 Bangkok is gross. There, I said it. It smells like something maggots would be in. It is an irritating hectic, as if New York and Yangon were combined into one city and then everyone started walking slowly. The best part about this leg of my journey was reuniting with Dan and seeing Billy. The three of us had a great time comparing notes on our last two weeks of life and travel, and pioneering through the streets and rivers of Bangkok. As far as sightseeing goes, we were able to complete our checklist in less than one day. It was difficult to be impressed after Burma. I liked the detailed mosaics and grand-scale architecture, but the repeated use of gold, green, and red was like an over decorated Christmas tree to me and ... read more

Asia » Myanmar July 9th 2007

7/9/07 I am sitting at HeHo (HEEEYYY...HOOOO!!) airport awaiting a flight to Yangon. From there, I will part ways with Chris and head to Bangkok to reunite with Dan for 30+ more days and six more countries of travel. I am most excited to join Dan today, and Billy tonight and share time and new experiences in Thailand. For now, I am reflecting on the last ten days in Myanmar: WHAT I'LL MISS MOST... 1) First and foremost, I will miss Chris. We spend most of our time laughing. She is someone I can play with, talk to, learn from and quietly sit next to and do nothing. I first saw this when she showed me around Vietnam two winters ago, and even moreso as we experienced Burma together. We travel well together. 2) I will ... read more

Asia » Burma » Mandalay Region » Inle Lake July 8th 2007

Today was my last full day in Burma and we spent it cruising around Inle Lake in a motorized canoe, from which we visited floating shops and nearby villages. It was the send off I hoped it would be. The first 10 miles of the lake seemed more like a river with parallel banks made-up of tall river grasses abd thatch-roofed stilt houses. We were amazed when the lake expanded and seemed uncontained, with water on every side as far as the eye could see. The backdrop was layers of hills and mountains topped with white mist and clouds. Fisherman speckled the lake, rowing with their right leg and casting net with their arms. Other boaters gathered sea weed and purple-blue water lilies. The large lake became over-grown with sea grasses and plant life which deceptively ... read more
Fisherman on the lake
Weavers...

Asia » Burma » Mandalay Region » Inle Lake July 7th 2007

Happy Birthday to my big brother Chris. I will have been celebrating your 36th birthday for 14-and-a-half hours in Burma before you are "officially" 36 in California. I'm bummed I wasn't able to speak with you, but only leave messages. The phone call was $6 per minute and not always available at choice times. Just know I thought about you and was sending birthday wishes in my time zone and in yours. ----------------- We left Bagan the morning of the 7th to fly north to rural parts of Burma. Our intentions were to see Inle Lake and some caves in Pindaya, but with only two days remaining were told the caves would be difficult to schedule. The flight to Heho (Heyyy!!! Hooo!!) airport was brief, but no one told us it made frequent stops...like a bus. ... read more

Asia » Burma » Mandalay Region » Bagan July 5th 2007

Words falter where heart and soul sing...This is Bagan. I can not articulate the magic of this ancient city, merely speak of its' history and appearance. Beyond these pages is the stuff from which dreams and imagination are made. Bagan is a 42 square Kilometer plain east of the big river. Stretching across this land is an archaelogical playground: over 3000 ancient temples. Most of them are made of brick and burnt orange in color, but some are white or yellow cement. On the first full day, we hired a covered horse cart (10,000 kyats) to drive us along the powdery dirt roads to some of the more significant locations. His horse was named Rambo and he was Tittee--two names I was able to remember. Some of the temples were well touristed with local vendors selling ... read more
Chrs overlooking the temples of Bagan
Me climbing the temples...

Asia » Burma » Mandalay Region » Bagan July 4th 2007

7/4/07 Happy Fourth of July! I am writing this journal on a slow boat (15 hours) to the ruins of Bagan. We wanted to take the slow boat to soak in the country-side and experience village scenes. The boat travels the mighty Ayeyarwady River--the life blood of Burma. The scenery has been spectacular; very flat grasslands with lots of greens and yellows (and brown including the river water). The first few hours were pretty full of villagers, tourists and baskets of goods. We have made a few stops where villagers load and unload the boat. It was suprising to me when locals from the various stops actually ran aboard the boat to sell us food and wares. We themed the stops based on the items being sold: banana, chicken, mango and blanket. The weather has been ... read more
Mango Stop...
Climbing aboard
Christine on the boat

Asia » Myanmar July 3rd 2007

7/3/07 (continued) After Dinner at a Chinese restaurant, we saw the Mustache Brothers who hold a culture/comedy show in their garage. They are extremely political which wound them up in a hard labor prison camp for seven years. Because of international attention and political pressure from groups like Amnesty international, the brothers were released, but prohibited from public performances. Continued attention and popularity keeps them alive, so we wanted to lend our support. What I liked about their show was the opportunity to experience cultural storytelling, costume, and dance. Their broken English however, made it difficult to follow the stand-up comedy. The whole show was actually pretty terrible. The women looked like really horrible drag queens. I've seen prettier ladies on Sunday Morning Brunch at Hamburger Mary's. I guess the important thing is that we ... read more
Myanmar Drag????

Asia » Myanmar July 3rd 2007

Today was the first day that really brought me to the quiet place within myself that allows reflection, peace and solitude. Today was the first day I lived the Burma I dreamed/read about and hoped to experience. We were fortunate enough to have a cool, cloudy day and an early start to check out a few stops outside of Mandalay. We rented a truck/taxi/golf-cart-type vehicle (with driver) for the day ($15 USD) and drove to three surrounding villages: Inwa, Sagaing, and Amarapura. The drive in itself was way cool. We drove in the bed of the vehicle and soaked in the people and the countryside. Every stop we were hit up by villagers selling wares. It was fun interacting with the locals. INWA was the highlight of my trip thus far. It is known as the ... read more
Quiet on the lake
Beauty of the lake
Our Taxi...

Asia » Burma » Mandalay Region » Mandalay July 2nd 2007

If this is the Mandalay made famous by the Las Vegas elite at the Mandalay Bay, then somebody in the marketing department either needs a big raise or should transfer to Disneyland's creative innovations department. First off, Mandalay doesn't have a bay. It is on a river and a lake, but there is no bay. And while it is one of the coolest places I've been, it definitely lacks...how would you say it... the five star ambiance boasted at the Vegas counterpart. After surviving the bus (barely), we easily hopped on a taxi/truck/go-cart type vehicle and headed to the Royal Guest House where we were to stay while in Mandalay. The accommodations were really nice for only $12 USD per night. Chris and I aren't too picky but do require clean beds and an in-room shower/toilet. ... read more
This is a temple
Photo 4

Asia » Myanmar July 2nd 2007

Oh my god... FIFTEEN—count them—15 hours of hell! The bus seemed okay......at first. Our seats provided ample room and they reclined enough to sleep comfortably. And then hell started... It was much hotter and extra humid this day—a terrible time on a crowded bus with windows that couldn't open to have the air conditioner stop working. We really thought the end was near. Our ruddy faces throbbed and sweat poured from every pore. We wrote “help us” and “this is hell bus” on the steam of the window, but humor just added to our delirium. At the moment when all seemed lost, the driver pulled over and mechanics spent 30-45 minutes fixing the problem. All SEEMED well... ...until the entertainment started. The TV up front began playing these karaoke-like DVDs, with cheesy music videos and really ... read more




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