Yesterday I had a nice respite at the spa in Hanoi, tucked down a little side street...
I had a massage, a facial, a manicure and pedicure -- total charge...$60!!
Then I had about an hour before my pickup for transfer to the airport, so I wandered around the corner to try to find a bite to eat. Ended up at a little sidewalk cafe along a lake...
Yes, the stools/tables do look like kids size!! So got some squatting exercise out of it! They made me some beef with veggies, with some fried noodle puffs....below is where they prepared it in a couple of woks...
...total cost -- $1.50
It seemed like there were lots of young people out eating in the cafes...
...and then I realized it was Saturday! Totally hard to keep track of time while on the road.
Flight to Myanmar last night was uneventful and customs went smoothly. As we were landing, I could see the famous golden Shwedagon Pagoda from the air. Spectacular! We also passed it, all lit up, on the way to the hotel. We will visit it on another day. My Yangon guide, a woman, picked me up and filled me in on some facts about the country. It is broken into seven states. The city of Yangon, where I landed, has 2 million people. (by the way, I thought it was Rangoon, but that was a mispronunciation by the British....so Yangon is the real name). Country has a total of 58million. They have a new president as of ten days ago (did any of you realize that?). Still a part of the ruling military regime. In school, they all learn English, in addition to the Myanmar language which is unique to this country only (that they all learn English was a surprise to me!). This is most likely left over from when the British had tried to colonize the country. It was the English who had also, during that time, changed the name to Burma. I'm not sure who the people like the least....the British or the current ruling party. But they do seem to prefer the name Myanmar, which was a surprise to me as I thought it was only the military government who preferred that name. But Myanmar Empire was what they were before British rule, and they feel that Myanmar is their own preferred name as it is their own. They are surrounded by India, China, Laos, Thailand and Bangladesh and their foods are influenced by all of these neighbors.
Today, at 6:00am, I fly north to Bagan for two days of sightseeing, so Day 37, to be continued.
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Location:Rangoon, Myanmar
You're having way too much fun..........Ha, Ha. This entire trip is unbelievable. Incredible experience. So happy for you.
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