I remain groggy after the 15 hour bus ride from Myanmar's northern city Mandalay down the central plain into Yangon, the capital. The haze has not lifted, the benefit of timing such an entry in this disoriented state is that I need not worry about matching Thanes's well written and detailed previous accounts of our journey! So I commence. We arrived in Burma after much research and discussion of whether on not to visit a country stained with such political turmoil - and after weighing the moral question - purchased the plane tickets weeks after the guidbook. The busy streets, the cities similarity to India and the down to earth people refreshed us immediately - lifting our spirits which had been dampered by the western culture's infiltration into Bangkok - the tourist pollution of what must have once been a wonderful area. The city's pluses I'm sure far outweigh the minuses - unfortunatly we plopped ourselves smack in the middle of Co San road - a festival like scene of slutty white women and twenty year old getting drunk and rowdy - NOT what we were looking for. The thai street food was the highlight and walking exploration of a city of highrise, hightech buildings loom above spectacular temples - the golden structures dominate and demand one's attention. Onto Burma - the jewel of south east asia, laos a close second but too quickly mimicking Thailand's successful tourist path - so simply laid out and difficult to stray from unless the whole thing disgusts you just a little.

Burma, or Myanmar to be correct has been the perfect country to end my travels in. Still relatively untouched - the reasons for such painfully slow development and lack of money for such luxury is a long story that I recommend anyone curious about this country pursues researching their own - dont think its a great idea to shed any light on it from this computer in this country. Enough said. We spent the first two days walking around the city, just soaking it all up before embarking on the 17 hour bus ride north - whewhhh! After just one short day in Mandalay hopped on another bus, pushing further north into the mountains - Hshipaw. This small mountain town, the ancient capital of the Shan empire yeahr ago was filled with friendly smiling burmese - just so excited to see white people. We made many friends and were once again blown away by the food - well i was , the traditional shan rice noodles dissolved in my mouth. We watched a glorious sun set, the rice paddies and puddle filled path reflected the bright evolving color scheme and it was the warmest welcome to the area of the country we had traveled so far to see. The next day we explored the fields - walking for hours balancing on the dividing dikes between fields - smiling and waving and the slightly confused, curious farmers - glancing up for a moment to catch my eye, waving enthusiastically and if a companion was nearly turning to exchange an animated conversation - most likely excitedly commenting on the crazy white folk walking through the fields, dead ending on the dikes, falling off ( only me, thane managed to keep his balance - sometimes the camera just distracted me, at one point I was almost jogging, forgot i was on a thin piece of dirt jutting up a few feet from the the land!)

The next day we departed with Mr. Bean - a trekking guide that sells bean salads on the road during the off season. His hilarious manner entertaining us the two days - we walked 15 miles the first day - saw two villages and stayed with a family he was close friends with. Thane and I were both equally entranced with the village life and our opportunity to be welcomed into a families home, witnessing their day to day activities, the generations living under one roof, in one room with the hearth of the fire in the middle of the room - heating at night, cooking in the morning, lighting cheroot cigars throughout the day. I could write for hours about this experience - i have stayed in traditional villages before - this night was particularly vivid in the family's ease to which they accepted us, making us feel comfortable with the observation of their culture that we could not possibly participate- they cooked and cleaned and carried on without any embarrassment or overly enthused attention being paid to us. The amount of time these people have spent together - the repetition to each days events - the content way in which the moved, laughed, cooked - existed - truly touched me deeply. With just Thane and I there it wasn't as if this group of tourists came for a show - it was very intimate.

We hiked out of the hills the next day and traveled by pickup to the annual festival that night. It was packed - a field usually deserted had filled with stages, noodle shops, stands selling all sorts of animal parts and other treats - the golden pagoda - one of the most spiritual in Burma dominated the skyline and the party persisted far after we jumped on the back of another pickup - breaking down only once - back to the guesthouse. The next night we did the same thing - received the same unrelenting stares of the many burmese people who had never seen a white person before - never the less - a tall white, red headed and bearded crazy man like Thane - or perhaps it was my gorgeous looks and fashionable attire ( that is a joke for those of you who haven't seen the outfits I've been wearing on this trip) that attracted such attention. ok i think my descriptions are becoming worthless and i need another nap. we are heading to the beach tomorrow - another 4 30 departure! Hope all is well with everyone back in the states - still trying to wrap my head around my impending return - Thane will be heading to Nepal before moving on the China!

Love
Kendall