Teach. Eat. Travel.
  • Home
  • The Blog
  • The Places
    • Myanmar
    • Asia
  • The Updates
  • Photography
    • Myanmar Photography
    • Weddings & Portraits
  • About Alisa & Kim

Rock, Roaming, & Restaurant | Week 8 Update

11/12/2014

0 Comments

 
Golden Land

Picture
Picture
The epic sunsets here turn the whole world golden. We were lucky enough to catch this one off the balcony of a friends house and enjoy it with this group of beautiful people. Myanmar is referred to by some as the Golden Land which is a reference to all of the golden pagodas but I think it fits for this reason also. 
Picture
Picture
Punk Rock

A Punk Rock Photography Exhibition in Myanmar? Of course I had to check this out when I was invited by a friend and fellow teacher. Her boyfriend is a part of a Myanmar punk rock band. This band along with a number of others makes up a movement called Jam It! Completely made up of independent bands, Jam It! started as a small group of musicians getting together and playing their music and now they play in public venues for free to promote their music and create a scene.

It was a small space on the fourth floor of some unmarked building but as soon as you stepped into the stairwell you could hear the music streaming down below. Along with acoustic performances by members of various bands, the space was filled with huge prints of photojournalistic photographs that were taken at the different Jam It! events. It was an interesting night, defiantly not my usual scene but defiantly worth it. 

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Roaming About

On Saturday we wanted to stay close so we decided on an adventure in our own neighborhood. I had heard about a giant reclining Buddha that was near us. After investigating further I found out that not only was it near us but it was just a short walk away. With the help of three different Yangon maps and Google maps I set on a route in my head and we headed out. After turning down a side street off of a busy main road and before we knew it we were in the middle of nowhere. We found ourselves on a dirt road with tropical foliage on both sides. We past a meditation center and a monastery, we stopped into an art gallery inside someone’s house and found some crumbling structures. We saw monks collecting their Alms (donations from neighbors) and lots of beautiful tropical flowers. It was a very interesting walk.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
People who don't have the money to put up razor wire to protect their houses will spread broken glass on the ledges of the surrounding walls. I loved the juxtaposition with the flowers growing right next to the glass. 
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
It was a very cool walk and nice to be out and about without seeing any vehicles.  As abruptly as the country scenery started, we turned a corner and were right on the heels of a crazy busy road. I wasn't really sure where to go at this point but luckily enough there was a picture of a reclining Buddha just ahead of us so we followed the sign and easily found what we were looking for. 
Our Experience at Chaukhtatgyi Reclining Buddha
Picture
New Beginnings

Monday was Kim's first day of work. The restaurant is still being put together but she went in to start arranging the kitchen and develop the menu. It was very stressful for her to see all the work that had to be done with such a short deadline (they want to open in a week!). But she also really enjoyed beginning a job that she knows she will love. 

It was also the first day of us having a cleaner. Kim made arrangements with a lady named Saroja who cooks for some of the other teachers, Kim will be giving her cooking lessons once a week or so in exchange for her doing our laundry and washing dishes (our two least favorite chores). It was very strange to come home to someone else in the house since Kim has greeted me at the door almost every day since we have been here. 

Changes are difficult when you are trying to get settled still but luckily these are all good changes. 
Picture
Long Time Coming

With Kim working late to get ready for the opening at the restaurant I was left to the task of making my own dinner on Wednesday. If you know me at all you know that this is a BIG challenge for me. There is a reason why I married a chef after all. Usually for dinner I would just eat whatever I could find in the cupboards or order something in. Kim had been trying to teach me some easy dishes that I can make for myself for dinner before we moved but it is so difficult here because we don't have our usual pantry of ingredients and it is really overwhelming. But I had a couchsurfer over named Emi who convinced me that we could make our own dinner. So three hours later we enjoyed a chicken, roasted veggies, and rice. I was pretty proud of myself. 
Picture
Picture
Restaurant Preparations 

The restaurant was certainly coming along but there was still a bunch to do. 
Picture
Only 24 hours after the kitchen was put together Kim was asked to create a tasting for the owners of the restaurant and their staff. Needless to say it was a miracle all of it came together due to the crazy circumstances of having to shop for and stock a full kitchen, teach the sous chefs (who don't speak any English by the way), and prepare a meal for a dozen people in such a short amount of time. On top of that this was the first time any of these people would be tasting her cooking so needless to say it was a bit stressful. But if anyone could pull it off that would be our lovely Chef Kimmi. 
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
The tasting was delicious of course, she served us chicken tenders, onion rings, french fries, sweet potato fries, three different kinds of sandwiches, and fresh pasta and marinara sauce. Yum yum yum.
0 Comments

Chaukhtatgyi Reclining Buddha

11/11/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
Just a short walk down the street from us is another amazing Buddhist site, Chaukhtatgyi Reclining Buddha. The story is that fifty years ago there was a giant standing Buddha statue that towered above the trees on this spot. One day it got tired and crumbled to the ground. So they decided to build a laying Buddha in it's place. This is actually not a very touristy site, it is not listed on many of the places to see in town yet it is a stunning site. I think what was most surprising was the very simple surroundings of the Buddha. You would expect a place this important to stand out but the entrance looks similar to many other pagoda entrances that aren't nearly as spectacular. 
Picture
Picture
Picture
The Buddha itself is over 5 stories in height and about 219 feet from head to foot aka it was HUGE! It was shimmering gold all along the robe and glittering with jewels. 
Picture
Picture
Picture
The feet were especially interesting. There are 108 images on the soles of the Buddha that represent the three worlds. "59 indicating the inanimate world (Okasaloka), 21 indicating the animate world (Sallaloka), and 28 indicating the world of the conditioned (Sankharaloka)." We got a pamphlet that showed the meaning of each of the symbols and it was fun matching them up to the soles. Some of the symbols included the sun, the east island, the cup full of water, the white lotus, the white parasol, the ruby, the mountain of the universe, among others. 
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
I heard that almost directly across the street from this Buddha is another seated Buddha that is one of the largest in Myanmar so we will most certainly have to head down to this area again to see another spectacular site. 
0 Comments

Street Pizza for Lunch

11/11/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
There are a few different options for lunch by my school, although I often bring my lunch packed by Kim, there are some days that it is nice to get out of the building and wander down the dirt streets during lunch break. All of the street restaurants have arrays of Myanmar dishes that usually include various types of meats in seasoned oil/sauce, a few different stir fried veggies, hard boiled eggs, and other traditional foods.

The other week I was on my way to one of the street stalls that I frequent when a bright yellow sign caught my eye. "Alfredo Pizza" it said with a little character of a man throwing a pizza dough into the air. Although I hadn't heard anyone at school talk about this hole-in-the-wall street pizza place, I was intrigued and thought I would give it a try. 

As I approached I noticed a list of pizza options: cheese, sausage (aka hot dogs), pineapple, just to name a few. I thought I would play it safe and go for the cheese. I paid my 2500 kyat ($2.50 usd) and was told that the pizza would be 10 minutes but they would deliver it to me. I returned to my classroom and shortly after there was a knock on the door from one of the school staff with a mini-pizza box in hand. 

The pizza was surprisingly tasty for a street stall in Myanmar. Good dough, okay sauce, and great cheese. Mainly it was nice to have a lunch option that was not rice, noodles, or oil. Since getting my first pizza I have ordered it about once a week. It always comes promptly to my classroom door and one time I even got a sheet of stickers to boot!
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
0 Comments

Fire Balloon Festival | Taunggyi, Myanmar

11/4/2014

1 Comment

 
Picture
The biggest Fire Balloon Festival in Myanmar is located in the mountain town of Taunggyi which is about a 12 hour drive north of Yangon. I took an over-night bus up for an impromptu weekend getaway with my friend Ashley to see the festival. Being the biggest, I knew it was going to be a lot of people at the festival but I have not been anywhere in Myanmar with quite that amount of people all in one place before. If I were to guess I would say that there were probably a couple thousand people all gathered for the festivities. As we walked up to the festival grounds we were greeted by our first sighting of a fire balloon - and this one had fireworks on it! It was quite the site shooting up in the sky. (If you are impatient and just want to get to the action scroll all the way down for the video)
Picture
It was probably about a half a mile walk up to the main area of the festival and all the way up was lined with booths with vendors selling all sorts of things like clothing (traditional and modern), trinkets, gadgets, more clothing, accessories (purses and wallets), to name a few. There were a lot of warm clothing for sale especially hats and scarfs, although it was only about 50* or so people were dressed like it was freezing. I guess they are not quite as used to the cold as I am. 
Picture
Picture
Picture
Of course there was food, all sorts of food. Mostly traditional barbecue (below), noodle dishes, lots of greasy fried things, and don't forget the rice! Along with the food were the beer stands. You could get beer just about anywhere and walk around with it. Or you could pop into one of the clubs that the beer/alcohol booths had set up behind. These closed in spaces had private DJs and lots of flashy lights. 
Picture
Picture
Picture
There were lots of game booths also. There were the traditional prizes I was used to like stuffed animals or cheep plastic toys, but then there were the booths where you could win beer or cigarettes (above) or you could go straight for the bottles of liquor (below). Just make 2 baskets and it's yours! 
Picture
Temporary tattoo anyone? This man had all sorts of stamps that he lines with thick black ink that supposedly lasts for about 5 days. I almost got one but I couldn't find a design I liked. 
Picture
Two other types of booths were the monkey booth and the photo booths. When I peeked into the monkey booth I saw two monkeys sitting on hanging loops with a string attached to their legs. Ashley said that it was set up for people to pay money to see the monkeys to various tricks. The photo booth was kind of like glamor shots, where they dress you up in fancy or funny clothing, do your hair and makeup, then take your photo to be printed out and sent home with you. 
Picture
Picture
And then there was the ride section. This looked like most carnivals that I knew, with kiddy rides, jumping houses, and a few bigger power rides. What was not so normal was the fact that the ferris wheels (there were three of them) were all human powered. By that I mean that there was no motor, instead amazingly skillful men would climb up the wheel and, when aligned, would all power it by leaning to one side and using their weight to spin it. To stop it they would jump back on to the bench parts of the wheel and use their weight to pull it the other way. It was quite the sight to see these men nimbly making their way all around the beams of the wheel and swinging around like acrobats. Check out the video below for the full effect.  
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
  
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Now off to the field to see some of the Fire Balloons up close. Fire Balloons are similar to Chinese lanterns in the way that they are lit using the hot air from fire and let off in the sky to burn. Yet this is like Fire Balloons to the extreme because these balloons were GIGANTIC!!! If I were to guess I would say they were somewhere between 10 and 20 feet in diameter. Each balloon is sponsored by a different village, organization, or company and these are represented on the sides of the balloon in writing or symbols. Besides just good fun the general idea is that you send a wish or good thoughts out into the world to get the universe to fulfill. 
Picture
But the balloons are not the only things that are lit, they are also adorned with hundreds of small candles. These mini lanterns are colored so when arranged they reveal an image of sorts. They are hooked onto specific spots on the balloon, this has to be done very quickly as the balloon is filling but before it gets too full. Lots of helpers are needed for this part.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Fire is slowly built up below the balloon and fills it with hot air to make it inflate. Many skilled people are needed to help with this part as to not burn the balloon itself. After it gets filled enough one main fire is lit under it and the sticks are removed, these are just placed aside within the crowd. The process of filling the whole balloon up takes only 10-20 minutes.
Picture
Picture
Picture
While this is happening there is also a whole other section of the balloon being worked on. This section is completed by taping wooden frames together then placing more of the colored mini lanterns on it to show another symbol of sorts. The rows of lights here were quite stunning. 
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Finally the sections are attached together and lifted off. 
Picture
Picture
Picture
Sometimes instead of the mini lanterns, the balloons are decorated. These specially decorated balloons are always accompanied by a box of fireworks underneath them (instead of the wooden frame with mini lanterns). The fireworks start shooting off almost immediately and stretch right above the heads of the crowd. As you can imagine this is extremely dangerous. I later found out that the night before there was a huge accident where one of the balloons fell back into the crowd. Apparently somewhere between 1 and 3 people died and somewhere between 15 and 30 people got injured. The news is all hearsay here so it is difficult to get the specifics. Luckily all was well and good the night I was there. 
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Here is the video of the full process: 
1 Comment

    Alisa & Kim

    Two expats living, teaching, and eating their way across this beautiful world

    Picture

    Archives

    January 2022
    October 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    July 2019
    June 2019
    March 2019
    December 2017
    November 2017
    August 2017
    April 2017
    December 2016
    August 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014

    Categories

    All
    About Us
    Amusement Park
    Animals
    Anniversary
    Around Town
    Art
    Art Gallery
    Artists
    Art Teacher
    Artwork
    Athens
    Bali
    Beach
    Birthday
    Buddha
    Burma
    Bus
    Camping
    Cat
    Cave
    Celebrations
    Chinese New Year
    Circular Train
    Color Village
    Couchsurfing
    Culture Class
    Date Night
    Digital Art
    Doctor
    Dog
    Downtown
    Eat
    Ellie
    Entertainment
    Expat
    Family
    Farewell
    Festival
    Fire Balloons
    Flying
    Food
    France
    Freediving
    Greece
    Ho Chi Minh City
    Holi
    Holiday
    Honeymoon
    Hong Kong
    India
    Indonesia
    Inle Lake
    International Teaching
    Isreal
    Istanbul
    Kim's Cooking
    Lion Dance
    Living Abroad
    Local Transit
    Maine
    Malaysia
    Medical
    Mexico
    Monks
    Morocco
    Moving
    Myanmar
    Myanmar Food
    Night Life
    Outside Yangon
    Packing
    Pagoda
    Pandemic
    Paris
    Paya
    Pearl Condo
    Pets
    Philipines
    Photography
    Quarantine
    Reflections
    Resources
    Road Trip
    Saigon
    Shopping
    Shwedagon
    Smoothee Foodee
    Snacks
    Street Eats
    Students
    Teach
    Teaching
    Teaching Abroad
    Thailand
    Traditions
    Travel
    Turkey
    Vietnam
    Walking Tour
    Wedding
    Weekend Getaway
    Weekly Updates
    Wet Market
    Yangon
    Yoga
    Zoo

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.