4 months today!

I have officially been travelling for four months! It seems like I have been away for ages. I am currently spending the last week before my yoga course in chiang mai. It is nice to be settled in one place and to get to know it really well. I am going running and going to yoga classes to prepare. I think the course will be quite mentally and physically demanding so I am also doing some reading too. 

I have met some really nice people doing a massage course and I have very willingly agreed to go to the school to get a few free massages so they can practice. 

At this point in my trip, I have realised I have learnt quite a lot about myself. Things I like and don't like, what I want to achieve and what is important to me. I was hoping for some kind of epiphany telling me what I want to do in the future but I have figured out it doesn't work like that. Meeting new people and spending time in different countries and cultures encourages you to think about life and all of it's wonderful opportunities, almost making it harder to know what you want to do after travelling. 

When you meet other travellers, you generally ask each other questions to try and find out some information about them. I have realised I enjoy asking the questions but don't enjoy answering them and talking about myself. However, it makes you learn more about yourself and appreciate your talents a lot more. A good example of this happened in Pai. The hostel in which I stayed was full of musicians and artists and most evenings a guy called john played live music at a bar in town. We were chatting as a group a few days into my stay and I was asked what I studied, 'German and Music' I replied and he clocked on immediately. 'What instrument?', 'Piano'. He was impressed and the next day he found a keyboard and set it up outside. He wanted me to play but I was too shy, not confident enough in my ability and I was worried I wouldn't live up to whatever expectation the group had. Another day passed and I kept eyeing up the keyboard. I ended up waiting until nobody was around and then I started playing. It felt great, partly because I had really missed playing and partly because no one was there. Or so I thought. 'So you can play!' I heard from the room next door. John came out and I instantly went red but felt pretty good. This gave me a confidence boost and the next night we had a jam session. Everyone played or sang and I was asked to play the piano. I messed up a few times but when I looked up everyone was smiling and I got lots of hugs and people actually thanking me for playing, they had all really enjoyed it and i felt on cloud nine. I may not be the worlds best pianist but that experience has given me such a confidence boast. Many people say to me they wish they played an instrument so I shouldn't be so shy about it. 

Similiarly, when I say I speak German or that I do yoga or that I did a triathlon once or that I love singing or even that I have a degree, it makes you recount these achievements and hardwork that went into them and really appreciate what you can do. 

mae hong son

Once I started to feel better I took the bus to a small city about three hours from Pai. The people here are super friendly and it didn't take me long to find a quaint guesthouse by the lake. There is not too much to do here so I used the time wisely by relaxing, reading, playing my uke and exploring the markets. One evening there was a dance show and girls looked great all dressed up in traditional costume.

pai

I am really enjoying being in Pai. I have met some lovely people and have been having a lot of fun chilling out and going out with them. Last night was one of the american guys birthdays and we played beer olympics, which consists of drinking games played in teams. Considering I had never played the majority of the games I wasn't too bad! We went out dancing afterwards and today has been a chilled day before a big music festival tonight.
The music festival was a lot of fun. We had quite a big group but somehow managed to stay together. I really didn't know what to expect from a thai music festival but I think they did a great job. The next day was spent chilling out at waterfalls, which were very cold and we stopped off at a fruit farm which gives you bowls full of banana chips,  jam, peanuts, fruit and roselle juice and you just have to pay a donation.
Annoyingly I picked up a cold that had been going around so I have had a few bed days. Luckily the people I've met here are super nice and have been looking after me.
Going to take it easy for a few days to make sure I am fit for my yoga course.

so many markets!

Chiang Mai is full of markets. The huge night bazaar is constructed every night and every Saturday and Sunday the walking markets offer their goods to tourists and locals alike. I managed to get there just as the stall owners had finished setting up but it soon got busy! There was really so much on offer I could have bought suitcases full of trinkets and eaten tons of delicious thai food. I tried the local dish, kow soi, for dinner and that was delicious. A noodle dish in a thai curry sauce with chicken. Yum!
I found a fruit stall that sells muesli and yoghurt at another small market so went there for breakfast this morning before going to the visa office. I got chatting to the only other foreigner there who was an 81 year old grandpa escaping the cold in Canada.  We had a lovely chat about travelling as we enjoyed our muesli. He told me a funny story about a Thai man he met with the name pum pui. Apparently his name means 'fat belly', which was what he had when he was born so they called him that! I think Thai people have a wicked sense of humour!
Getting my visa extension for my yoga course was also an experience. As I arrived 30 minutes early thinking I'd beat the crowd,  it was full and there were also two white monks. I sat behind them and eavesdropped, finding out that one was German and the other Russian. I have never seen European Buddhist monks before and it was quite strange.  Totally shaved eyebrows and heads.
I have met a lot of french people in Chiang mai and I am looking forward to meeting more at my next destination, Pai.

Pyin oo lwin

Edward and I were up early to catch a share taxi to a town two hours drive outside of Mandalay. The winding drive took us up through mountains with beautiful autumnal views. We were dropped off at a village 9km from town and noticed a village festival was being set up. We asked what was happening and was told it was Independence Day. We went through the village and started on an hour long trek to a waterfall. The trek was very steep and we were already dreading the walk back up. We met lots of Burmese tourists and locals on the way down. The fall was stunning and we enjoyed sitting, drinking tea and observing the shameless Burmese taking hundreds of selfies. We wanted to start the trek back up before it got too hot and witnessed two rich Burmese kids being carried up the path lying in hammocks attached to a large bamboo. Pretty lazy if you ask me! 

Edward and I managed the steep climb up and was even taken the rest of the way by a pick up can full of very friendly Burmese girls. In between the giggling we found out they were all friends in Mandalay and studied at the university. Once we arrived at the village we found the festival in full swing. Kids were eating ice cream and the men were participating in local games. One was a tall piece of bamboo that had lots of oil on it and the guys had to try and climb it. The locals found it very funny when the guys slid down. Another game was two men sitting on a piece of bamboo with a pillow in one hand that they had to use to try and hit the other guy off the bamboo. There was a great atmosphere and we got lots of smiles and 'hello's like always.

We ventured into town once our stomachs began to grumble and found a very busy Indian restaurant. We were given a lot of food and it was very tasty. Next stop was the national botanical gardens. We had a walk through an aviary and saw some lovely looking birds and a cheeky monkey being fed by a monk. There was also a music festival. We didn't have tickets like the locals but were told we could go in for free just because we were tourists. This shocked us both because we are usually always charged at least 5 times more than the locals! 

After a long day we got a shared taxi home and had a very yummy dinner! 

Chiang Mai

Arriving in Chiang Mai was a refreshing change from Myanmar. As much as I enjoyed it, it was nice to come to a clean city with more backpackers and plenty of places to sit, drink tea, do yoga and enjoy a good meal. As soon as I arrived at the airport I befriended a nice Swedish couple and we shared a taxi. Luckily they also had a cheap hostel in mind so I didn't have to search for ages to find one! After a relax and unpack we headed to the night market for some dinner. It was packed and full of touristy souvenirs but is was nice to be out and about.
I spent the next day relaxing and researching fun things to do in Chiang Mai. Also had a necessary shop for electronics and managed to do some good bargaining. I went along to a great yoga class in the evening. I was quite sad I didn't manage to do yoga in Myanmar.  It wasn't because I was lazy and didn't go to a class but I couldn't find one anywhere once we had left Yangon. So I will have to make up for it in thailand.
Today I went along to a fantastic cooking class and ate my weight in thai food. I made pad thai, spicy prawn soup, curry paste and green curry and a papaya salad. I even got a cooking book so I will be cooking you all something when I get back. :-) lucky you!!

At the market learning about the different ingredients and realising it's going to be pretty hard finding it all in Germany.

myanmar

I am finding it difficult starting this blog entry because so many things have happened.
I had been telling everyone about my parents, Edward and Christian coming out to see me and was very excited. I really enjoyed seeing them all, spending time with them and I am so appreciative they came to see me but it wasn't as stress free and easy as I had hoped. There was a clash of interests and some illness due to exhaustion and bad food. It isn't necessary to go into detail so I'll stick with the good stuff, which there was also plenty of.
Edward and I started our adventure in Yangon. We arrived at our couchsurfers flat and were very warmly welcomed. Jonathan gave us some great tips about what to do in yangon. We had a lie in and met jonathan in the afternoon. He took us around town and showed us some good places to go with mum and dad.
Christian arrived that day and i went to collect him from the airport. Annoyingly the airline lost his bag so we had to get some new clothes from the market.
We went to meet mum and dad from the hotel and took them to china town for some food.
Sadly mum spent the next few days in bed because she was exhausted after the end of term and the flight so the boys and I checked out the market and a very big pagoda.
We all piled onto a night bus to bagan and arrived early on the 25th. We all wore Christmas hats at breakfast and impressed the Burmese staff. We hired ebikes for the days we were in bagan and enjoyed zooming around exploring the temples. Dad, ed and I went on a wonderful boat trip across the river and took a tuk tuk up a bumpy track to the top of a hill. The view was amazing.
Edward got struck with a stomach bug flu thing so spent a few days in bed. This meant christian went ahead to mandalay and Edward and I met him there once we had said bye to mum and dad and edward felt better.
For my birthday we had a small explore of the city and christian and I went out for a lovely western dinner and cocktails. Was such a good change from noodles!
The next day we visited mingun and amarapura, two small places outside of the city and we had a tuk tuk driver for the day called steel fighter. We were even invited to a monk's funeral and saw him in a huam size fridge. The locals were very keen to try and tell us about the ceremony. We also walked along the world's longest teak bridge and witnessed a burmese seven aside football competition.
New years eve was spent in a noodle restaurant with the owner and his colleagues drinking beer and whiskey and playing the guitar. He was very friendly and we had a good pre-party before we joined the massive street party that was going on. We had a lot of fun celebrating with the Burmese!
The next day Christian went off to the beach and edward and I are spending the last few days of our holiday exploring the beautiful surroundings of mandalay before edward heads back to Mogadishu and I am travelling further to chiang mai.
Travelling in Myanmar has been fantastic because it had been so different to vietnam, laos and cambodia. There is such a wonderful mix of cultures with chinese, indian and thai influences. The people are the friendliest I have ever met and I always felt welcome. I have definitely eaten the best burmese food in mandalay and have enjoyed learning about this amazing country.
Two interesting cultural things is that men were a sarong type skirt which edward is wearing in the first picture and the women paint sandle wood on their faces to use as sun protection.

Jonathon, ed and I in yangon

In dala across the river from yangon

Bagan and it, s stupa-filled landscape

Mandalay