Love from Bogalay

Dear lovely reader,

I didn’t realize how much I wrote about my last blog about Burma, but I’m just really happy everything is put out into words. Well mostly everything haha, we’re about to wrap up in Burma!

So we last left off meeting Atun and booking a taxi ride back to Yangon the night before. Our last day in Bogalay would surely be our most memorable. Atun meets with us at 11am at our hotel, not a minute late. This guy is the shit mang. Our day pretty much begins.

He leads us to a temple, not a far walk from the hotel. In fact, everything in Bogalay is very much walking distance. And I’m immediately in love with that fact. There’s a certain power within walking that gives you the ability to see the space around you so much clearly. We take off our shoes, and walk up the white steps to see the temple. Atun mentions how his grandfather built those steps. And we’re just like ‘Yep, we’d definitely buy that.’ When we finally reach the top, there’s this gorgeous view of Bogalay that greets us. From the small buildings and shops, to the green rural countryside with abundant trees and shacks. We take a minute to soak every inch of this view. During that same time, a young Burmese girl asks us if we can have a picture with her. I’ve learned that if a local asks to have their picture taken with you, please take the picture. It’s quick, it’s simple. A picture withstands time, and represents a moment that you want to cherish forever. It would and does mean a lot to a local who asks for a picture with you.

We keep venturing throughout parts of Bogalay we would have never seen without Atun by our side. We pass by this two story building, and from the crowd outside and all the cheerfulness, it sounds like they were having a party haha. And they were. This gorgeous Burmese woman comes out with a lace, flowery, purple gown. Her hair is up, makeup done, and bouquet in hand. This could only mean one thing – a traditional Burmese wedding!!! So we’re about to walk past this shindig, when all of a sudden, the bride beckons us to come inside. And we’re just like ‘No way, we’re so not dressed for a wedding.’ Haha but I’ve learned that stubbornly nice people don’t like taking ‘no’ for an answer. By the time we could disagree any further, we’re on the second floor and we see tables arranged at different parts of the room. There’s food everywhere. And you know weddings and parties, always having more food than their guests can handle. And the food is plentiful here. We got curry, chicken, beef, pork, bread, rice, whatever you can’t name but tastes great anyway. And our plates and bellys are stuffed. Truth, I was a little hesitant to eat though I was pretty hungry. Flies were flying around, who knows whether you’d get traveler’s diarrhea or not. But food is food. And we weren’t going to pass away a free meal. We met the bride and groom – gorgeous pairing. They were both surprisingly reserved at their own wedding reception. But hey, probably tired from all the preparation. We mostly spoke with the best man, who knew enough English for us to know more about them. The bride, groom, and best man are all friends from high school. In my head I’m like ‘Aw shucks, high school sweathearts?!’ That’s so damn cool. Haha I have to mention that when the five of us arrived, we almost stole the thunder away from the bride and groom. Remember what I said about locals in Bogalay rarely see any tourists? Well cameras, flashes, video recording were all on us. It was kind of ironic and refreshing haha. Not at all uncomfortable really. The tourists are usually the ones clicking their cameras away, not the other way around. In all honesty, we were all just blown away how unconditionally kind everyone was to us. The way they treat one another, treat strangers, it’s like family. They kept telling us to eat up, eat up. I think they were just trying to fatten us up even more haha. But we were stuffed. And we were so blown away by what just happened to us in a matter of thirty minutes. I mean I always joke back at home, about crashing a wedding. But the idea of offering a stranger food, eating with them, talking with them, is probably one of the most intimate things you can do with that person. It brings the idea of a common ground. We are both humans, we both need food, we both speak, we both breathe. Though we are all different, if we can find that common ground, we could become friends. We humbly thank the couple, everyone who made us feel welcome, at home, as much as we can. And we each offer Burmese money as a gift to the couple, and offer them our gratitude and best luck and wishes for their long future.

We leave the reception, thinking the best serendipitous moment that could happen to us, actually happened. But literally within five minutes, that was about to change. Mm just back up before that, Atun takes us to this restaurant shack that serves the most interesting and delicious coconut rum ever. All right, back on track now haha. So Atun leads us to a Hindu temple. But the most interesting part of this temple was that the temple also served as a soup kitchen, serving hundreds and hundreds of locals a day. I haven’t seen many ethnically Indians in Burma yet, just native Burmese. So it was cool whenever Atun would talk with the head host of the Hindu temple, who was Indian. They would speak in Burmese. So back to my point about the soup kitchen. The locals who managed the soup kitchen generously offered us to eat… AGAIN! We saw these huge ass barrels of food filled with curry and rice. And in my head I’m like… ‘Runs, runs, runs, runs, traveler’s diarrhea, traveler’s diarrhea, how long has that food been sitting out?’ But Mike and Geoff just go with it as usual and we’re all like ‘Mang we’re already sitting ourselves down, might as well, y.o.l.o.’ And haha it’s probably the coolest dining experience I’ve ever had – completely on the house. They pull out this long table for us, and set pillows for us to sit down on. Instead of plates, we eat curry and rice on these banana leaves. Geoff and I eat our food with our hands. I promise you, food tastes so much better when you’re eating it with your hands. And the rice and curry tasted absolutely delicious. Some were also fanning us from behind. We’re just like… BEST. CUSTOMER. SERVICE. EVER. Again, I couldn’t believe we fell into another moment like this. The crazy part was that while we were eating, literally, crowds and crowds of Indian/Burmese locals were staring at us, taking pictures, filming videos. I felt like I was behind a glass case. Not in a bad way at all. I felt like a star ^_^. They had to manage the crowds by filing new crowds in and out. It was fucking nuts, to say the least. But that exciting rush I felt from being in that exact moment and time, I will never forget.

We left the soup kitchen and Hindu Temple with fuller stomachs and lighter hearts. Not too far from the temple, we saw the memorial for the devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis.

“Cyclone Nargis, the most devastating storm in the recorded history of Mynamar, struck the Ayerwady Division including Bogalay Township and seven other townships in Yangon Division at peak wind speed of over 200 km/h (120 mph) on 2nd and 3rd May 2008. The cyclone left 34,699 people dead, 1,437 missing, 8,925 injured and destroyed 29,263 heads of cattle. At the directive of state leader, U Thein Aung, Minister for Forest, organized the rescue, rehabilitation and reconstruction works in Bogalay Township with effect from 4th May 2008, devoting a total spending of Kyat 195,010 million for the cause.”

Reading the memorial, I felt my heart lurch, but in different directions. The locals in Bogalay – everyone looks so happy. They don’t have much, but they have all they need. And it made me wonder, if it was possible for anyone in the world to be that happy with what these locals have. Probably not. As humans, we naturally keep wanting things we don’t have. We’re ambitious, especially in the United States. If you can strip down to the bare necessities. Take away your jeans. Take away your smart phone. Take away your camera. Take away everything. You can be just like the locals in Burma. You can simplify if you choose to. What if less is really more? No. Less is really more.

The four of us, Mike, Geoff, Ang, and I dedicated the rest of our afternoon to get gifts for the locals who had touched our hearts in a matter of two days. Gift bags with soccer balls, snacks, cookies, hats. One gift bag for the hotel’s family. One gift bag for the restaurant’s family on the first day. We all pitched in Burmese money to give to Atun, who was our rock. We had almost forgotten to collect our passports as we checked out of our hotel. We were calling it close. We were already in the taxi until I shouted, “Our passports!!” That was probably my big shiny moment there :D.

Our taxi driver had damn good eyes. He was able to drive through the dirt road ‘interstate,’ cross through busy bridges, maneuver through local pedestrians and motorbikes. Haha the drive there was pretty bumpy I’m not gonna lie. I think our driver would have shit himself over how smooth a CA Interstate is. You could see real Burmese countryside when you’re leaving Bogalay. Each house or shack you saw had its own bridge that crossed the river. Some bridges were built with one stick or many sticks. This is how these locals live every day. How can one say the way they live is either right or wrong? You can’t. You can only humbly observe, appreciate, and respect, how hard they work every day to make each day their own.

Nighttime fell upon us. I stuck my head outside the taxi window. I’ll never forget what I saw at that moment. Looking up at the night sky, I saw the clearest, the brightest, streams of stars I have ever seen in my life. I felt like a little kid, which let’s be honest, I am most of the time. The wind was in my face and I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the sky. My camera couldn’t take a picture of these stars. It wouldn’t have done them any justice anyway. So I only have that picture in my heart, for as long as I live. Dang, how sweet would it be to fall asleep under those set of stars forever. I can only dream.

When the four of us got back to the ship, we had to get together in one room and talk about what just happened to us. Because really, what the hell just happened to us?! I could only describe it as the best adventure of my entire life. I mean that whole experience that happened in Bogalay, that’s the freakin’ reason why we travel in the first place: To be surprised. To surprise someone else. I knew when we left, I left behind a part of my heart in Bogalay. And I promised myself that I would have to come and get it back one day. 

I could go on and on. But I’ll just let my pictures do the rest of the speaking. Hang on tight for more blogs. I could almost see the finish line with this voyage. But don’t get me wrong, I miss home. And I will come home back to you as soon as I can.

All love and hope,

Kimmy

Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.                   
   –C.S. Lewis