January 11- 13 Vancouver to Yangon
After another horrible night's sleep I got mobile and did some minor rearranging to my luggage in a largely futile attempt to lighten my backpack. At one point as I sat reviewing the itinerary I suddenly couldn't think of where my money belt was packed. Instant panic thinking that I might have left it on the table in Yellowknife. As I rummaged pocket by pocket through my backpack the fear intensified and I began to think of possible options to resolve the problem. After what seemed like an eternity but was, in reality, only a minute or two I remembered one more pocket buried at the bottom of the backpack and, sure enough, there was the money belt just where I had packed it for safekeeping. Another huge sigh of relief. Finally I thought I had everything organized (famous last thoughts), closed my luggage and headed for the airport.
Check in and security clearance were a breeze much unlike the power hungry security types in Yellowknife. After a short visit to the smoking room I moved to the Air Canada Maple Leaf lounge for a little snack (more on that later). The lounge was empty when I arrived but filled up quickly as people who don't arrive for their flights as early as I do wandered in. On to the boarding gate after another stop at the smoking room.
The flight ended up being a half hour late waiting for connecting passengers and their luggage but finally we took off. My window seat was large and comfortable but very hot with the sun streaming through the windows. My seat mate and I didn't speak a word the entire ten hour trip. In fact I cannot even remember what (s)he looked like now. I have a vague recollection that he might have been Japanese but can't be sure. I read a fair bit, tried but failed to sleep a bit and ate a lot (more on that later too). It felt very strange because we left Vancouver at 12:30 pm in bright sunlight and landed in Tokyo at 3:00 pm in bright sunlight with nary a hint of darkness in between. As a result of the constant sun I found the cabin almost unbearably hot. My body was thoroughly confused from both the lack of sleep and the time changes. . Eventually we arrived at Tokyo's Narita airport, a huge structure very difficult to navigate because you had to constantly change floors and walk and walk and walk.
When I located the check in area I was dismayed to find that I didn't have a copy of my baggage claim ticket. The guy in Vancouver must have neglected to put it with my tickets. That took a little explaining to an agent who spoke very little English but finally she gave in. Of course that put me on edge for the duration of the flight because I was worried about how I would trace my suitcase if it didn't arrive in Bangkok. Unfortunately because my flight was late and my delay at check in I didn't have time to explore and had to head directly to the boarding area. As I approached the boarding gate I was surprised to find that I had to go through another security check. Being unprepared I neglected to empty my pockets and rearrange all of the stuff I carry on board so set off the alarm when I walked thorough the x-ray machine. That necessitated emptying my pockets, removing my belt and walking through again. No problem the second time.
Once through security I managed to find a smoking room and had a few minutes relax before my flight to Bangkok (All Nippon Airways) was called. Interestingly the smoking rooms here include battery operated lighters, an excellent idea since security confiscates all lighters from carry on baggage. Knowing that this time I was smart enough to secure some matches from the hotel in Vancouver before I left so didn't need to avail myself of the amenities.
The seats in Business Class were the farthest apart I have ever seen - at least six feet so there was no problem with the seat in front reclining into your lap. Once again the service was outstanding for the entire seven hour flight but sleep eluded me yet again and getting properly comfortable proved impossible. All of the way I worried about the luggage situation. Again there was no conversation with my non English speaking seat mate.
On arrival in Bangkok around 11:00 pm local time I proceeded through the interminable lines at Immigration and Customs but had no problems. Then there was a long walk to locate the baggage carousel where our bags were supposed to be. I waited and watched for a half hour or so and finally asked someone (with great language difficulty) if I was at the right carousel (though I knew I was where the signs said I should be). Once confirmed I waited a bit longer and checked the set aside luggage several times before proceeding to the Baggage Services counter because there was no sign of my suitcase. After a prolonged and halting conversation one of the agents went off with my tickets and returned with information showing that my bag had been checked right through to Yangon. I have no idea how that happened because I was sure I had seen the baggage tag showing Bangkok. There was nothing I could do but worry all night about that situation so I proceeded to try and find the shuttle to my hotel (Novotel). That task proved the easiest of the day with just a little extra walking because of the ongoing construction (like every airport in the world it seems). The shuttle was waiting when I arrived and the ride to the hotel was less than five minutes.
The hotel was huge and the lobby the largest and most ornate I have ever seen anywhere. The ceilings soared many stories upward and there were lights hanging form everywhere. Lots of security and staff in evidence. Everyone was incredibly polite greeting each person with the folded prayer like hand Thailand form of greeting. it was about 12:30 by the time I got to the hotel. Since I couldn't do much without my suitcase and had no internet access form the room I went to the bar for a drink and then returned to my room around 1:00 am. I tried, again without success, to read and sleep from 2:00 to 3:30 when I gave up, got up, had a couple of Nutri bars and prepared to return to the airport.
I was at the airport by about 5:30 and tried to locate the proper check in for Thai Airways to Yangon. After one agent sent me off on a wild goose chase I decided to take matters into my own hands and simply went to the Thai Airways check in. Once again I had to explain the fact that I had no luggage to check in but that didn't prove a huge problem as now I at least had the claim stub number. Then it was off on the long trek to the gate. Enroute I stopped and had a little breakfast at one of the restaurants because I wasn't sure what I would get on the short flight to Yangon.
This flight (after having to ride transporter buses to the plane) was only a little over an hour as Yangon is only around 350 miles northwest of Bangkok. I had no seat mate this time so was able to fully relax and enjoy the short flight. As we landed the flight attendants distributed orchid corsages to everyone. A very nice touch I thought though I didn't wear mine (couldn't get the pin to close LOL). Just after I cleared Immigration (mercifully short lines this time) I noticed that my jacket was missing. Being tired of carrying it I had looped it through the handle on my back pack and it must have dropped off somewhere between the plane and Immigration. Needless to say that once again raised my stress level which was already high wondering if my luggage would appear. I decided I would wait to seek advice from the person who was supposed to meet me. I can't say how relieved I was to see my suitcase appear on the carousel. One less thing to worry about and fewer options to contemplate.
Having retrieved my luggage I set off in search of my contact. After perusing numerous hand held signs I noticed one saying "Gray Black". As I had been called that several times in the past I assumed it was my guy and went to him. Sure enough it was the right person. His command of English wasn't great but I explained about my jacket and he brought in another person to whom I explained again. Eventually after the involvement of several others a woman who seemed to understand at least the basics of the problem led me off in search of someone who might know what to do about it. She spoke to someone who spoke to someone who spoke to someone who went off somewhere to do something. After several return visits to confirm the problem he went off again. Several minutes later yet another person returned carrying my jacket. He was tipped generously and thanked profusely.
The ride to the hotel (Summit Parkview) wasn't too impressive save for a glimpse of the large golden pagoda in the distance. Hopefully we will get a closer look at that later. Many of the buildings were behind high walls but what I could see looked like unused remnants of old colonial days. The traffic wasn't all that bad but the diesel fumes were choking. Conversation with my driver was limited by the now familiar language difficulties but I did manage to exchange $50 US for 61,000 Myanmar Kyats.
The hotel is quite satisfactory but not more than a two star in my estimation. For an establishment that claims to be a favourite of international travellers I expected that the level of English would be reasonably high but such is not the case. Check in was confusing in that I thought that I was here for two nights but they had me shown as only one. According to a sign in the lobby our group is to meet tomorrow evening (Sunday) and that meant to me that we were leaving here the following day (Monday). Eventually after the involvement of several other people and a few telephone calls it was straightened out and I am now booked for two nights but still wondering if the sign was correct or not. Unfortunately my itinerary only lists activities by days not dates so I cannot be completely certain.
My room here is quite adequate with two single beds, high ceilings but not many amenities (no clock, etc.). Only one bottle of water so I had to go off looking to buy some more tonight. No internet access either. I can use the Business centre to check my e-mail but cannot upload to my web site so that will have to wait.
This afternoon I relaxed and finally napped for a reasonable period of time before going for dinner. The prices here are the most reasonable I have seen in years. I had a large bowl of soup (a Thai soup with shrimp, mushrooms and greens - not too spicy and I tolerated the cilantro but did not eat the leaves ), a seafood noodle dish for a main course and a quart of local beer for $9.50 US. No tipping allowed. The food wasn't great but was nothing to write home about so I won't. LOL. They also had a fairly extensive buffet but I wanted to try some things from the menu.
Ok, just for my friend Jean-Yves I will now delve into the culinary realm. Most of my experience so far has been eating on the planes but I must say that I was very impressed. Everything, except the standard airline omelet this morning, was very tasty and extremely beautifully presented.
Breakfast in the Air Canada Maple leaf lounge Vancouver:
Banana, yogurt, toast, Kim Chi noodle soup. cucumber, olives and dip, espresso, coffee...
Lunch on Air Canada between Vancouver and Tokyo: Jackson Triggs Merlot (Ontario)
Indian Candy with pickled ginger (tasty but hardly candy LOL)
Smoked Salmon Mille Feuille (excellent)
Ebi no Sakamushi (steamed shrimp) (huge and ugly)
Narutomaki (fish paste roll)
Nasu no Zeri-yose (eggplant jelly)
Takenoko-ni Hourensou (simmered bamboo shoot with spinach sauce)
Kyuuri no Tobiko-zoe (Cucumber with flying fish roe) (delicate and tasty)
Ikura to Yamaimo no Sunomono (mountain yam with salmon caviar) (yam bland, caviar salty and fishy but good)
Yasai no Nimono (simmered vegetables)
Chasoba Shitake Sengiri Wasabi (green tea buckwheat noodles with shitake mushrooms and wasabi) (I ditched the wasabi and the rest was great)
Sake to Shinjou no Kasane-mushi Renkon (salmon and fish paste terrine with lotus root) (excellent)
Pickled vegetables, Miso soup and steamed rice.
Cockburn's Special Reserve port (Spain)
I was happy but stuffed!
Dinner on Air Canada between Vancouver and Tokyo:
Beef Sukiyaki with yam noodles, tofu and vegetables.
Dinner on All Nippon Airways - Tokyo to Bangkok:
Grilled rare fugu (globefish) (excellent)
Cod sashimi with fish roe
Kelp cured salmon
Crabmeat salad
Chicken galantine, vegetables, rice with mushrooms
Hagen Daaz ice cream
No one presents food as beautifully as the Japanese in my opinion!
Breakfast at Bangkok Airport:
Duck soup with noodles (excellent)
I am having varied success with chopsticks but persevere none the less. I find slippery noodles a definite challenge but have managed most of them so far. I ask waiters to leave a fork just in case. LOL So far I have managed, by pure luck and diligent observation, to avoid overly spicy food. Fortunately many of the meals have the "hot stuff" in side dishes as condiments. I don't expect that luck to persist however. As we get into the more remote and smaller areas I expect it will be more a case of take it or leave it. Look out stomach here we go!
Here in Yangon the people are equally as polite but don't use the Thai form of greeting. Sandals are ubiquitous foot ware. Many of the men wear "skirts" (I must learn the proper name). If they are much cooler than jeans I may have to make the plunge to switch. So far the heat hasn't bothered me as much as I expected it would but standing in line at Immigration in Bangkok I was dripping sweat. I sat outside for a while tonight and it was quite comfortable.
If I am correct that I have nothing scheduled until the briefing tomorrow evening I am not sure what I will do for the day, There is a choice of sitting around the pool soaking up the rays (eat your heart out northerners) or taking a bit of a tour to places we won't be going as part of the regular tour. Right now I have no idea what I will do. At the moment many of my back muscles are so sore from carrying my backpack and not being comfortable in the planes that I am also contemplating an hour long massage ($20 US). Whatever will be will be.....