Three Weeks, Three Destinations: Winter Break 2016
Happy 2016 Everyone!
A good resolution for me would involve being more prompt on my blog entries this upcoming year. I will do my best to carry through, starting with this entry, just a short time after our winter break. One of the nice perks of the international education world is having three weeks off during the holiday season; typically, Marianella and I have divided these breaks between Lima and Minnesota, but knowing that we would be job hunting this year, we decided to stay in Southeast Asia in the event that we needed to attend a job fair in early January (we didn’t; more details regarding that at the end).
We chose to divide our break into three distinct destinations and themes. Our first week was spent in Phuket, Thailand’s largest island, where our aim was to relax and relax some more. Our second week took us to Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), which was new territory to explore while also meeting up with friends of Marianella. Week three was spent in the familiar locale of Bangkok, where we were able to indulge in the advantages of the cosmopolitan city while also ringing in 2016. We are quite happy to report that all three destinations fulfilled us in their own unique way.
Phuket
On the day that we spent at the beach in Phuket, as I watched hang gliders being towed by boats under a sunny, cloudless sky with the backdrop of the sparkling blue Andaman Sea, I thought to myself that this is a life of illusion. Too perfect, a day that creative departments in advertisting agencies spend countless dollars when trying to shill beer, suntan lotion, etc. And the entire week in Phuket rolled out that way-waking up to cloudless skies, having breakfast in the open-air dining area while gazing out to the sea, and then on most days retreating poolside to read, nap, enjoy cold drinks, and take a dip in the pool when it got too warm.
Photobombed at the beach:
Who Needs Paris?:
Our favorite Thai treat-sticky rice with mango (and an iced coffee as a bonus):
I have told the story before of Marianella’s great reunion tour through Southeast Asia, but the last chapter and perhaps most remarkable was written on our visit to Myanmar. If you don’t know, Marianella studied in Japan thirteen years ago on a scholarship study program that brought students from an array of countries. Marianella became good friends with several others, particularly from the region of Southeast Asia. When it was time to say goodbye, email addresses were exchanged (this was pre-Facebook, children!), but the thought of ever meeting again in person was inconceivable for her since she was returning to Peru. This was particularly so with her friends from Myanmar, Ruth and Moe, whose country was run by a severe military dictatorship that made even email communication unlikely. When Marianella and I began dating and she showed me pictures of Ruth and Moe, she spoke of how they had been out of touch since she returned home and a sadness would wash over the thought that they likely would never be in contact again.
But thirteen years is a long time and over the course of the last five years, that military government began relaxing its restrictions to the point that in early December, elections were held which (optimistically) will bring true democracy to the country. Amongst the relaxed practices in the last couple years was the opening up of cell phones, internet access, and of course, Facebook, the great re-uniter. Which was exactly what occurred roughly a month before we departed on winter break, when Marianella received a friend request from Ruth. The anticipation that we both had as we arrived in the Yangon airport was palpable; Marianella was excited nearly to the point of tears. As we descended the escalator to the first level towards immigration, she burst into a frenzied wave-Ruth and Moe were on the other side of the glass partition welcoming us to their country. It was one of the best moments I’ve experienced with Marianella.
A good resolution for me would involve being more prompt on my blog entries this upcoming year. I will do my best to carry through, starting with this entry, just a short time after our winter break. One of the nice perks of the international education world is having three weeks off during the holiday season; typically, Marianella and I have divided these breaks between Lima and Minnesota, but knowing that we would be job hunting this year, we decided to stay in Southeast Asia in the event that we needed to attend a job fair in early January (we didn’t; more details regarding that at the end).
We chose to divide our break into three distinct destinations and themes. Our first week was spent in Phuket, Thailand’s largest island, where our aim was to relax and relax some more. Our second week took us to Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), which was new territory to explore while also meeting up with friends of Marianella. Week three was spent in the familiar locale of Bangkok, where we were able to indulge in the advantages of the cosmopolitan city while also ringing in 2016. We are quite happy to report that all three destinations fulfilled us in their own unique way.
Phuket
On the day that we spent at the beach in Phuket, as I watched hang gliders being towed by boats under a sunny, cloudless sky with the backdrop of the sparkling blue Andaman Sea, I thought to myself that this is a life of illusion. Too perfect, a day that creative departments in advertisting agencies spend countless dollars when trying to shill beer, suntan lotion, etc. And the entire week in Phuket rolled out that way-waking up to cloudless skies, having breakfast in the open-air dining area while gazing out to the sea, and then on most days retreating poolside to read, nap, enjoy cold drinks, and take a dip in the pool when it got too warm.
Photobombed at the beach:
Outside of the day at the beach and another day where we explored the town of Old Phuket, we were ensconced at the resort we stayed, which was just too inviting to leave. It was the first time we spent so much time at a resort/hotel when on vacation, but it was exactly what we desired to kick off our winter break.
Being silly at the Trick Eye Museum:
Being silly at the Trick Eye Museum:
Myanmar
But thirteen years is a long time and over the course of the last five years, that military government began relaxing its restrictions to the point that in early December, elections were held which (optimistically) will bring true democracy to the country. Amongst the relaxed practices in the last couple years was the opening up of cell phones, internet access, and of course, Facebook, the great re-uniter. Which was exactly what occurred roughly a month before we departed on winter break, when Marianella received a friend request from Ruth. The anticipation that we both had as we arrived in the Yangon airport was palpable; Marianella was excited nearly to the point of tears. As we descended the escalator to the first level towards immigration, she burst into a frenzied wave-Ruth and Moe were on the other side of the glass partition welcoming us to their country. It was one of the best moments I’ve experienced with Marianella.
Marianella, Ruth, & Moe:
Sandawshin Kyaik Khauk Pagoda:
Shwedagon Pagoda:
Before daybreak, the following day:
Our Next Destination
As teased in the first paragraph, we also accepted jobs for next year over this winter break. On our second day in Phuket, I opened my email after Marianella had just completed a Skype interview with another school to see job offers for both of us at Western Academy of Beijing. By the end of the week, we had accepted our offers and our winter break became much more carefree. As we may have shared with you over the summer, our hopes had been to get back into the Americas for our next jobs, but those opportunities just were not opening up for us, and according to everyone we have spoken with, we are going to an excellent international school in an exciting city. Marianella will be returning to her primary speciality as a learning support teacher in Grade 3 and I will be one of four high school counselors. We are excited and one of the reasons we are excited is that the flights back home are not that bad at all! Meaning that you all should consider visiting; The Great Wall, The Forbidden City, Stephon Marbury-you can find all these things in Beijing, along with us, starting in August.
Of course, you’ll be hearing from us before then, whether through this blog or in person. Happy 2016 and until next time, we wish you well.
Our first weekend was spent with Ruth and Moe exploring the sprawling, traffic-choked city of Yangon. We visited shining golden pagodas, a World War II cemetery, and ate mouth watering food from the kitchens of Ruth’s family and a local establishment. The highlight though was undoubtedly seeing Marianella reconnect with her dear friends from another time and another reality.
WWII Cemetery:
WWII Cemetery:
Our next stop on the Myanmar tour was to Bagan, a stunning site in central Myanmar. For my readers from southern Minnesota, I can describe it best with this comparison: Imagine the land between Troy and Saratoga, similarly undeveloped, only with flat land rather than rolling hills. Now, imagine approximately 3000 churches of varying sizes and grandeur spread throughout this small area, except the churches are Buddhist pagodas and stupas. (Before an earthquake in 1975, the number was over 5000). Ohh, and these pagodas were largely built in the 12th and 13th century. Finally, imagine open access to virtually all of them, where you traverse the interiors to your heart’s content. That was Bagan and we had an incredible three days exploring the area via electronic bicycles, scooters, and by horse cart. We would roll up, occasionally met by vendors, but often times it was just the two of us left to walk about and peek around. As it is an area of Myanmar that is predicated on the tourist trade, there is no industry around and we were treated to spectacular sunrises in the morning and sunsets each night, unobscured by clouds or pollution, just watching the perfectly round orb of the yellow-orange sun ascend or descend. The little town we stayed in had a small stretch of modest restaurants and tourist shops but there were no obnoxious discotheques and minimal man-made light, so we were able to view a brilliant sky full of stars and the moon with the sound of our footsteps the only intruding noise. Bagan is on the short list of our favorite places we have visited.
Sunset on our first day:
Sunrise:
Sunset on our last day:
Around the pagodas and stupas:
A female monk honoring Buddha:
Traditional Myanmar marionettes for sale:
Decorative umbrella shop:
On Christmas Eve, we departed Bagan and headed to Mandalay. We could have elected to take the short one hour flight, but we wanted a more unique experience, particularly given the date, so we chose to take a boat ride up the vast Irrawaddy River that links the two communities together. The boat ride was an eleven hour excursion which caused me a bit of concern-what were we going to do for eleven hours? From when we pushed off from the shore at 5:30 a.m. until we arrived in bustling Mandalay, we watched the sunrise, viewed the river traffic, napped, ate, read books, listened to music, gazed upon the communities we passed at the river’s edge, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. When one of the workers pointed out to me that the large buildings ahead were Mandalay and we would be arriving in forty-five minutes, I was actually disappointed, as we could have easily spent another couple hours contentedly on the river. Once we arrived at our hotel, we were told about the Christmas Eve feast they were hosting, but what hooked us in was the promise of Christmas carols that were going to be sung by the hotel staff. How could we pass that up? We showed up a half-hour prior to dinner to listen to the standards (Jingle Bells, Feliz Navidad, Winter Wonderland, etc.) being sung by the joyous Burmese staff.
Sunrise on the river:
Clothes drying after the wash near the boat launch:
Gratuitous shot of an adorable puppy near the boat launch:
Christmas Eve carolers at our hotel:
Outside of our hotel, there was a movie showing in the middle of a road with the most unique projector we have ever seen:
The next day we reunited with Ruth and met her friend and his best friend, who happens to be a Buddhist monk from Mandalay. He took us on a whirlwind tour of the region, as we only had one day and he wanted to show us as much as possible in our day together. Although primarily a Buddhist country, Christmas is a holiday celebrated in the country which meant we were out and about with throngs of people and as you can see below, we came upon a colorful parade in progress. We finished our tour of Mandalay that afternoon where Marianella and Ruth tearfully said goodbye but with anticipation of the next time we get together.
With Ruth, her friend, and his friend:
Jade Pagoda:
With Ruth, her friend, and his friend:
This delicious lunch was $2 per person:
Some of the parade's participants:
Bangkok
The day after Christmas we arrived in Bangkok and for the most part, gave our cameras a rest. After all, we really didn’t think we needed to show you pictures of the hospital where we got our check-ups or the movie theatre where we watched Star Wars. But we were happy to wrap our vacation in this city that provides so much at our fingertips-efficient health care, movie theatres, great food and drink, live music, with a energy and vibrancy that few cities we’ve visited can match. We did ring in 2016 in the heart of Bangkok, pressed up against thousands of strangers as we counted down to the new year. Two minutes into the new year, the crowd began its dispersion and we walked the main avenue along with thousands of other revelers towards our hotel several blocks away. It was a much better way to ring in the new year versus the last few when we’ve been groggily crossing time zones 40,000 feet in the air on the long journey back to Bangladesh.
Bangkok
The day after Christmas we arrived in Bangkok and for the most part, gave our cameras a rest. After all, we really didn’t think we needed to show you pictures of the hospital where we got our check-ups or the movie theatre where we watched Star Wars. But we were happy to wrap our vacation in this city that provides so much at our fingertips-efficient health care, movie theatres, great food and drink, live music, with a energy and vibrancy that few cities we’ve visited can match. We did ring in 2016 in the heart of Bangkok, pressed up against thousands of strangers as we counted down to the new year. Two minutes into the new year, the crowd began its dispersion and we walked the main avenue along with thousands of other revelers towards our hotel several blocks away. It was a much better way to ring in the new year versus the last few when we’ve been groggily crossing time zones 40,000 feet in the air on the long journey back to Bangladesh.
Our Next Destination
As teased in the first paragraph, we also accepted jobs for next year over this winter break. On our second day in Phuket, I opened my email after Marianella had just completed a Skype interview with another school to see job offers for both of us at Western Academy of Beijing. By the end of the week, we had accepted our offers and our winter break became much more carefree. As we may have shared with you over the summer, our hopes had been to get back into the Americas for our next jobs, but those opportunities just were not opening up for us, and according to everyone we have spoken with, we are going to an excellent international school in an exciting city. Marianella will be returning to her primary speciality as a learning support teacher in Grade 3 and I will be one of four high school counselors. We are excited and one of the reasons we are excited is that the flights back home are not that bad at all! Meaning that you all should consider visiting; The Great Wall, The Forbidden City, Stephon Marbury-you can find all these things in Beijing, along with us, starting in August.
Of course, you’ll be hearing from us before then, whether through this blog or in person. Happy 2016 and until next time, we wish you well.
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