And So it Begins-Burma

The travel gods have been with me so far on my journey to Burma. I just left Boston yesterday (ok, so it wasn’t quite yesterday, but the Internet is not why you come to Myanmar) it seems like I’ve been traveling for a lot longer than that. I managed to get the last flight out on Jet Blue to JFK, left before the snow started to fly in BOS, and aside from a miserable 4 hour wait for a cab once I arrived, I felt incredibly lucky to have been able to connect with my traveling companion and best gal pal and continue on my flight to RGN today. Although the booked flight was delayed, and I would have missed my connection in South Korea, we were able to get on the earlier flight (as it was also delayed), making the connection possible. Are you exhausted yet?
We tried to finagle ourselves an seat upgrade, but failed miserably. The silver lining to that cloud was being befriended by an airline employee who was born the same year as we were, and was fascinated by the fact that we were college buddies going off on this adventure together. Because of the weather, the flight was fairly empty, and our new friend got us each a row of seats to ourselves. When was the last time you had a row of empty seats on a plane? I never knew an empty seat could make me so happy, but 17 hours later, I was eternally grateful.
I have to say I was very impressed with Korean Air. Even in the back of the bus, the service was impeccable, the movies great and I loved the design of the seat backs. Yes, simple pleasures…

This is Burma, wrote Rudyard Kipling. It is quite unlike any place you know about. Even though the veil has been lifted on tourism there, I am expecting unexpected treasures and sights. Saffron robes and golden temples, women wearing thanka to protect their skin, and grannies rolling cherrot and chewing blood-red betel. Street food and tea houses, a hot air balloon ride at daybreak and wooden canoes that snake through the lake powered by leg rowing drivers. I hope you’ll be curious and join me as we travel to Yangon, Inle Lake and Bagan visiting markets, sacred stupas, traditional crafts and a culture that still remains a world apart. Loading photos here is just about next to impossible, so I hope you’ll come back for more