Final Thoughts/Reflections

As a pollster, my job is to ask interesting questions that yields helpful information.  So, here's the five questions I sent to the group:

1.        Your favorite stop?
2.       What surprised you most?
3.       What is one thing you learned you will never forget?
4.       If you were telling friends one place to go in Myanmar, where would it be – Yangon, Bagan, or Inle Lake?
5.       What is the most interesting cultural part of Myanmar to you personally?

A     Not everyone answered yet, but I will add replies as they are updated (I'm hoping this will get Val and Michelle to do it as well).  

      Favorite Stop

     Favorite stop was the Shwedagon Pagoda. The historical significance of the site coupled with the stunning visuals were the major motivating factors in my choosing to go on this trip and they did not disappoint. (Pierre)

    I think my favorite spot was the farming village on the banks of the Irrawaddy.  There was so  much there that was worlds apart from ours (Kevin)

       The ruined pagodas in Bagan and Indain Village  - the sense of history was very strong at the two places.  The sense of reverence for their religion was the underlying feeling I got at both places, even though the pagodas were falling down. (Carol)

    The Shwedagon Pagoda for both its spiritual and political significance since it's been the site for so   many protests and strikes over the last 100 years that helped pave the way for democracy in the  country .  It's beauty and peacefulness made me feel very happy and calm. (Lynne)

    My favorite stop isn't just one but several,,, I loved the ruined pagodas, the hot air balloon ride, the cooking school, the village tour, the lacquer tour, and the orphanage.   (Meg)

      Loved the sunset Teak bridge- definite photo op! (Pamela)

    Tough to specify one.....loved the Pagoda Ruins ....was impressed by the complexity and detail  of  Ye Ye Mom's lacquer workshop....was given hope by the kids in the orphanage....wished we had a bit  more time at the parasol/paper making factory....that was pretty cool.....the reclining Budda in Yangon was pretty impressive (Rich)

    Biggest Surprise

      The simplicity of their lives....non mechanized....non modern....perhaps both a good and a bad thing (Rich)

       Though the country has been "open" for about 5 years, the impact of the Western world is still very minimal. (Carol)

      How the small villages we visited from the river still operated basically as they did hundreds (or thousands ) of years ago….(Pamela)

      What surprised me the most was spirit of the people, so many live with so little yet help each other,  what a beautiful world that is. (Meg)

      The people surprised me the most. Their humanity, warmth, graciousness, generosity, spirituality and smiles to a bunch of foreigners was amazing and lovely to share with them.  I hope that as their country grows and becomes more modern that they never lose these qualities.  (Lynne)

      I expected it to be poor and third world, but because it retains so much of its rural nature it did not seem impoverished.  As Ye Ye said, we may be poor, but we do not live poorly. (Kevin)

       What surprised me the most was despite the apparent poverty of the country, the people were exceedingly warm and generous of spirit.  (Pierre)

      Unforgettable Learning

      One of the most impactful anecdotes of the trip that I will never forget was Ye Ye’s story of being forcefully relocated by the government. While one can all to often read about this sort of travesty happening around the world, being at the exact location of his home and listening to him chronicle the events of his childhood really left an impression on me. (Pierre)

      Like the others, I think Ye Ye, and his life story will ultimately be the lasting memory.  He and his family encapsulated so much of what the country has been through and hopefully what it is moving toward.  (Kevin)

       The one thing I learned that I will never forget is how spiritual the Burmese people are and how it is incorporated into their daily lives with such simplicity which is demonstrated by their grace, humility and resilience in the face of terrible leaders and governance over the years.  Ye Ye and his family encapsulate this truth so beautifully.  (Lynne) 

      One thing I will never forget is Ye Ye.  I loved hearing his life story and meeting his family.  Their perseverance is to be admired and his energy to succeed applauded,   He was truly an inspiring person. (Meg)

      Going to the orphanage and seeing the faces of these children who have lost their families and yet they are able to be hopeful and optimistic about their futures. (Carol)

      The resilience of the people in living their lives even in a “democracy”….Example of Ye Ye’s family and mother (Pamela)

      That there is always hope....that the human spirit can and will overcome adversity....exemplified by  Ye Ye's Mom determination to keep her family going and the hopeful  faces of the kids in the orphanage (Rich)

       The One Place To Go
      One selection only.....not fair.....if I must ....Inle Lake (I am a water guy...really enjoyed the daily boat rides....wind in the face thing)  (Rich)

      Inle Lake- seemed very different than any of the other places in the world we have visited……fisherman had mad rowing skills! (Pamela)

      Of course Inle Lake would be top of my list for anyone to visit. It was such a unique way of life, and hopefully will  not be destroyed by the many hotels being developed! (Meg)

      Ok this is hard one but I would say Inle Lake because of the unique way the people live their lives on the lake, the way they paddle their boats and fish, the visual contrast between the lake and the pagodas.  And, I echo Meg's statement that hopefully all of the hotel development doesn't destroy it. (Lynne)

      I would tell them not to miss Inle lake, though they should go everywhere else as well, just don't miss the lake! (Kevin)

      This is a toss up for me.  Bagan and Inle Lake.  Began had the history that I was looking for on this trip.  Inle Lake had the interaction with people which gave the trip the modern context of the country. (Carol)

      . If you had to choose just one location in Myanmar to visit, I think I would suggest Inle Lake. The way the locals have adapted their lives to the lake and their unique methods of transportation, fishing and farming were just too cool. (Pierre)

      Top Cultural Aspect

      In my humble opinion, the most interesting cultural part of Myanmar is the adherence to Buddhism and the impact it has on its people in their daily lives. The apparent sense of community and charity to others is remarkable to see in practice. The daily gathering of food by the monks was another facet of daily life that I had no idea about but found extremely interesting. (Pierre)

      For me, from a cultural point of view is how much Buddhism, monks and the monk's lifestyle is integrated into the country's identity.  Also the oddness of the over the top aspect of the modern Pagodas and the disconnect between spirituality and their lavishness.  (Kevin)

       Again a hard one, so since I can't seem to stop talking about it with friends, it was the visits to the monastery, the school, the village and the orphanage.  To be exposed to how life is lived in Myanmar was a special treat that I was not expecting.  Followed by seeing the arts and crafts produced in the country from the gorgeous Lotus Collection Lacquer wares, the silk weaving, the Lotus silk weaving, the Shan paper and umbrellas.  Oh and one last thought, love seeing all of the pagodas (stupas) everywhere big, small, gorgeous or dilapidated.  All are a powerful symbol of faith and strength that will be needed for the people of this country while it travels down the road of democracy.  
Ok one more 2nd to last thought, Ye Ye and meeting all of you made this trip especially fabulous and special.  (Lynne)

      The most interesting cultural part of Myanmar for me was again the spirit of the people. (Meg)

       Hands down---It was sharing time with Ye Ye. I loved spending time with him and getting to know him, and to hear his stories-personal and those of his family and country.  (Pamela)

     

       That we really all  can get along.....the inherent peacefulness and sense of community of their daily existence (except the town drunk of course) (Rich)

       Talking with YeYe and hearing his family story.  The forced relocation of his family by the government was an incredible piece of living history - the impact of government policy without thinking about the people.  The resilience of YeYe's family and mother, in particular, as she took tragedy and turned it into a future for her family.  Hearing from YeYe as he embraced entrepreneurship - owning and renting out tourist boats on Inle Lake.  (Carol)

   

      

 

Stat Boy!

Stat Boy -- not just for swimming or softball!

• Set foot in seven countries on the trip -- Japan, Thailand, Myanmar, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, and USA.  We are not counting that we traveled to Japan, Thailand, and Singapore, but we were there (albeit briefly).

• Took 16 airline flights.  Three to get to Yangon.  Three internal to Myanmar.  Two to get to Australia.  Two internal to Australia.  Two to get to New Zealand.  Four to get home from New Zealand.

• Stayed in eight hotels/resorts, one private house, one riverboat, one rental condo -- 11 units altogether.

• Traveled for 23 days -- longest Bolger Family trip ever.

• Took countless bus and boat rides.

• Slept in seven different time zones.

• 34 hours to travel to Yangon

• 56 hours to travel home from Auckland.

• 29,866 -- approximate number of air miles flown (it was probably more)

Random iPhone Pics from Myanmar

The last remaining throne

from the Kings of Burma

The group, prior to ballooning.  It was a 

happy time then, a time when the

Falcons still led in the Super Bowl.

Post-ride champagne.

The dining hall at Inle Lake

Ye Ye provided sage advice. . .

"don't fall in the water."

The guy behind me, with the cheroot

did most of the paddling and all

of the steering.

The mountains rise

above Inle Lake.

Scenes From the Orphanage & The Paper Making Workshop

At one of the markets, Ye Ye had the smart

idea to buy a bunch of masks to hand out

to the kids at the orphanage.

Sunset over Inle Lake. . .last night in Myanmar.

At the paper workshop

A typical creation using local flowers.

Working on the decorative parasols.

Impressive product

More for sale.

Last Day In Myanmar

Our last day in Myanmar was both anticlimactic and more interesting than expected.  The interesting part came when we stopped at a workshop where the craftspeople were hand-making the parasols and a special paper that included flowers right in it.

The workmanship is like magic, and it is very hard to describe.  Like the other craft work we saw, you have to watch it in person to appreciate how intricate and impressive it is.  Each piece of "paper" took at least six hours to make -- and yet we were paying such a low price for it.  Like others we saw in Myanmar, it is a dying art, as the Chinese are making it faster and cheaper using automation.  The quality is not nearly as impressive, but consumers generally prefer cheaper to higher quality.

We flew back to Yangon from He Ho airport.  We hopped on our last bus of the trip as a group, and went to lunch at the best Italian restaurant in Yangon.  I don't remember the name of it, and can't recall even when looking at Trip Advisor (there are 39 Italian restaurants, including pizza joints in Yangon).

It was a fun last meal as a group.  Carol and I had a plane to catch to Singapore, so we caught a car back to the airport after saying our goodbyes.  It's great that all of us are doing the Arctic trip in June 2018!

Auckland Pics

Selfie with the Sky Tower in the background.

Not enough wind to fill the sails.

Rangitoto from St. Heilers Bay Beach

Our trusty kayaks

Rangitoto from the bottom

Auckland from Rangitoto

The North of the North Island

Grinding winding the grinders

Great Korean pancake place on the Foodie Tour

Typical Auckland Alleyway.

On the left is the bar where we

finished the tour.

Proof we made it to the top of Rangitoto.

(Pronounced: "Rang-e-toe-toe")

Say it five times fast -- you can't 

help but smile!

Conquering Rangitoto

(Editor's Note: For those worried from the title that this is some throwback to colonial times and we claimed some uninhabited island for England, or the US, or some other hegemonic superpower, you are WAY overthinking the meaning of the headline.  As Sarge said, "Lighten up, Francis.")

What was supposed to be the last full day of the trip, and definitely was the last activity of the trip, started early on Sunday morning at 8:30, when we met our guide, Daniel.

Daniel is an Irishman who works for Auckland Sea Kayaks -- I had signed us up for a sea kayak paddle out to Rangitoto Island, which is a dormant volcano that dominates the harbor.  We then would hike up the 850 feet to the top of the volcano, before hiking down and paddling back.

We hopped in the van, along with three Indian men working in IT in New Zealand (they are from India, not Native Americans!) and drove out to St. Heliers Bay, passing three other bays along the way.  Another married couple -- a strapping German guy and his athletic Kiwi wife) joined us there.

It took a while to get everything set up -- we wore skirts for the long (15 foot) kayaks to keep our cockpits dry, and there are pedals for the rudder.  The kayaks are too long for steering them the conventional way, with paddles.  Instead, we used foot pedals to steer it -- which proved to be a hassle to overcome.

Daniel did teach us how to use feathered paddles, so that was quite helpful.  From the ACK website:

For those unfamiliar with the term “feathering”, it’s the action of positioning your blades at opposite angles to one another to reduce the wind resistance while paddling. Put simply, while one blade is in the water the other will be angled so that it is slicing through the air resulting in greater paddling efficiency. 

The start was less than auspicious.  It took me a bit to get used to the steering pedals, so I was zigging and zagging all over the water.  Meanwhile, the two Indian dudes in one boat had no idea what they were doing, so Daniel ended up towing them.  I got the hang of the foot pedals, and Carol and I pulled far in front of the other three kayaks.

We kept having to wait, even for the uber-German/Kiwi younger, fit couple. This was not a simple paddle out on a calm Potomac Bay -- there was wind and waves.  A couple of times we would have been drenched by a wave if not for the skirt that faithful kept the water out of our cockpits.

Three quarters of the way across, my right foot pedal slid forward, so anytime I needed to do a right turn, I had to stretch my foot all the way, straining to reach the turn pedal.  It concentrated the mind.

It was about a three mile plus (probably 5 kilometers) paddle, and we did not land on a beach, but instead got out on a rocky narrow ramp.  Thank goodness Daniel was there to hold the kayaks steady as we got out in the waves.

After a brief rest, we started on the hike up to the top of Rangitoto.  While 850 feet up may not sound like much, remember, our starting point was 0, so it was all of that 850 feet.  The path was relatively flat at first, with a modest elevation gain, but then got steeper close to the top.  We walked through bush and wide open lava rock fields, with the occasional views back to Auckland.

The fun part of the trail were the signs.  One said "20 minutes to the top" and after 10-15 more minutes of walking, the next sign said "15 minutes to the top."  Uh, no.  It's good to see Park Service personnel are as bad at math in New Zealand as they are in the USA.

Anyhow, the first overlook brought us to a great view of the cone, which apparently is considered to be the third most cylindrical cone in the world, behind, of course, the first two, which are (I have no idea, and have no interest in using my Google machine to find out).  Then we climbed the final 200 meters of stairs to wooden viewing platforms at the top.

The views at the top are spectacular, the harbor, islands, the northern most point of the North Island, all of Auckland/suburbs, and more stretched out below.

Not shockingly, the hike back down was easier, although since we only have two good knees between our four total knees, we still had to take the downhill semi-gingerly.  Once all the way back to the harbor, Daniel had a good meal going for us, including steak (he had a vegetarian options for the guys from India), quinoa, tasty bread, and some other non-traditional salad.  

The trip back was harder.  The wind had picked up (would have been a good day for the America's Cup sailing!), and the waves also picked up.  We had to aim way left to end up back to the right. Fortunately for us, aiming way left ended up better for us than it has for the Democratic Party.  (Relax, Dem friends -- it's not like three of the last four elections have turned out well for you!)

At the same time, the wind kept pushing the back of the kayak to the right, so the boat kept steering left.  So, I had to slam my foot down on the right pedal and turn hard right the whole time just to keep the boat straight.  At times my foot was cramping from the constant pressure from the toes on the turn pedal.

It isn't a competition, but still we kicked the butts of the other boats.  We had to stop and wait many times -- we figure we would have save 20 minutes for each crossing had we not had to wait for our slower, younger, more fit compatriots (I'm not confused -- Daniel was a paddling dervish, but as leader, he had to hang with the group).

We weren't trying to "win" (well, kind of), but it really wasn't even close.  At one point we stopped for a while, and the German-NZ boat caught and passed us.  We started paddling from a dead stop, and within ten strokes had pulled more than a boat-length ahead.  Watching the technique of the others was painful -- they carefully placed part of the paddle in the water and gently pulled it through. It was as though they thought if they put the whole paddle in, it would melt.

Having left around 10am, we were back a bit after 4pm -- a full day of outdoor activity.  I was pretty happy with the day, and Carol was satisfied with her mad paddling skillz and making up the steep part of the volcano to the top.

Later that night, we walked down to the Harbour for dinner, stopping at the highly recommended "Oyster and Chop" where they sell, surprise, oysters and chops.  Lacking a reservation, we didn't have to wait long for a table.  The food was quite good, and fittingly I had lamb for our last night down under.

I will spare all the write-up of our painfully long trip back, only to point out it was 24 hours longer than it was supposed to be.

Random Pics in Melbourne, Canberra

Old Parliament House (foreground) and

New Parliament House (background)

in Canberra.

Memorial to Military Dogs

Top of the War Memorial in Canberra

Vietnam War Memorial 

Carillon Tower

Aboriginal mosaic outside

of New Parliament House

Parliament House

A couple of aquarium scenes from Melbourne

More Melbourne

Melbourne Botanical Gardens

Captain Cook's house.  Except he never

actually lived there.  Plus it was

transported from England.  

Building at Federation Square.

No Romulans were seen.

Church doors at St.

Paul's Cathedral

Train station

The aquarium

A view of Melbourne's South Bank

Black swans on the Yarra

Melbourne from Yarra River Bridge

Ditto

This is. . .well, I don't know what

it is, but it looks interesting.

St. Paul's Cathedral