We wanted to mention what an enjoyable dinner that we had last evening. As we had mentioned, the theme was a Royal Thai dinner and we thought that the food was excellent. Keith tried both the Mahi Mahi and the Fillet of Grouper as our Senior Waiter and Headwaiter recommended both of these. We enjoyed a laugh with them as the Senior Waiter recommended the Mahi Mahi and the Headwaiter recommended the Grouper so Keith didn’t want to disappoint either of them and that is why he tried both. After the meal was served they both came back to the table to ask Keith which one he preferred. He gave the politically correct answer which was to say he liked them both which he did although he did have a preference. Yes, the Grouper. ☺ Anne Marie had the Mahi Mahi and enjoyed the meal along with the way the side items were prepared Thailand style.
The dining room was very quiet during the main seating since some guests were on overland tours, other guests were on tours that we not getting back until later in the evening and still other guests were eating in one of the specialty restaurants or at Tastes which offers a casual dining venue. We would say that only about 100 guests were in the dining room whereas during this segment of the cruise the main seating has been very popular and there have been a few nights where close to 450-500 guests were dining.
In addition to it being very quiet, the staff had much more time to converse with us. As we have mentioned, given the length of the cruise one really gets to know the staff during the course of this cruise. You learn not only about the culture of the countries they live in but also about their families and their dreams. We have sailed with our Headwaiter several times starting in 2005 and we know him quite well.
We also spoke with another Senior Waiter who serves the tables near our table who we know from not only sailing this year but also last year. He is from a town North of Mumbai and since we will end this segment of the World Cruise in Mumbai he is kind enough to be preparing a list of places for us to see. He is a very kind person and we have enjoyed talking with him from time-to-time.
Our Senior Waiter and Waiter are both from Chile so we have also enjoyed wonderful conversations with them. Since we have visited Chile a couple of times we can converse with them about different areas of their home country.
Regardless of where each person comes from, we are all very fascinated with each of the places that we have visited during this World Cruise Adventure. We sometimes all forget about how truly diverse this world is and that there are so many differences from one culture to the next culture. At the same time, the thing that is most common as we visit places around the world is the pride that so many people take for their respective country. As we visit so many places we continue to be reminded about how fortunate we are that we were raised in an area of the world with so much opportunity as this is not the case in many areas around the world. We try to remind ourselves of this each and every day.
We also had time to have a nice conversation with the Maitre D’ of the main dining room as we were departing the dining room last evening.
Before we went back to our room, we spoke with some of our fellow passengers who returned last evening from the tours to get some additional information. Unlike when we visited religious sites in other places during this journey and in prior years trip, when visiting religious sites in this country in addition to removing ones shoes we are also required to remove our socks. Needless to say we heard about passengers coming back to the bus with feet that were black from all of the dirt. This is because you are encouraged to leave your shoes on the bus and there is some distance to walk between the bus and the religious sites. They were given wet wipes to clean their feet when they returned to the bus.
We awoke earlier than normal this morning as we had an early tour. Some of our fellow passengers who are beginning overland tours this morning had to wake up very early as there were two different overland tours where passengers had to be ready at 5:00 AM. Consequently, the Lido Café was available for an early risers continental breakfast starting at 4:15 AM for those on the very early tours. The good news is that our tour did not begin until 8:15 AM. ☺
We enjoyed a nice workout. A couple of the regulars who normally workout when we do were not there as Mary has been on an overland tour the past few days while John began his overland tour this morning. After another great workout, we enjoyed breakfast in our room and then got ready for our tour.
Our tour was excellent and our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable, spoke English well, was very candid on some of the issues related to internal strife inside this country and also had a nice sense of humor.
There is no question that the majority of people who live in Myanmar have a challenging life. Things we take for granted they will never experience. It is a poor country. It used to be the number one exporter of rice worldwide until various embargos were implemented. Today, rice is still a major export but not as large as it used to be. Other drivers of the economy include the export of Teakwood, and various precious items such as Rubies, Safire, and Jade.
On our way into Yangon from the pier we traveled with two other buses in a little convoy and we were escorted by one car that led the way. We went through a few intersections where police on motorcycles shopped traffic so we could proceed. We passed by a number of very small villages. We saw Monks walking on the road in bare feet. All of the other locals wore mainly sandals or thongs and no socks. Many of the areas that we passed were clearly third world. We did pass many rice patties. This country grows sixty different varieties of rice.
Around 5.5 Million people live in an around Yangon and the population of Myanmar is approximately 50 million residents. The average income is the equivalent of 150 USA dollars per month. Professionals such as engineers and doctors make around ten times this figure.
The tour that we took was called The Golden Glory of Yangon and provided a very nice opportunity to see a variety of sites and to get a nice overview of Myanmar and Yangon. Our tour included a visit to the world-renowned Shwedagon Pagoda. As we mentioned yesterday, this Pagoda is over 2,500 years old. The site soars at a height of 326 feet and gold plate adorn this structure, which also has 6,500 diamonds, rubies and other precious stones atop this site. The site is amazing and can be seen from a distance of several miles away.
The tour also included a visit to Chauk Htat Gyi which has one of the largest reclining Buddha images in the world.
We also saw the Maha Bandoola Park and the Sule Pagoda along with the Bogyoke Market also known as Scott Market, which featured the sale of food, clothes, handcrafts and gems. We also had the opportunity to see a replica of Karawek Royal Barge, which is moored in Royal Lake.
Traffic in Yangon was not as bad as we expected. There are some motorbikes but primarily people either walk, take shuttle like buses or drive n cars. Clearly, the majority of the people walk or take these shuttle like buses and are packed in them like sardines. The locals wore very basic clothes and it is very clearly that there is a great deal of poverty in this country. We saw a good deal of begging when we got off the bus at the market. However, as we walked around the market it was far less pushy than other areas of the world. The market contained various stores but also people coming up trying to sell items. When we were approached we would say no thank you in a polite manner and the people would leave us alone. The people we spoke with at the sites we visited were very polite. They are indeed nice people but unfortunately the government is not. Our tour guide mentioned that three times the currency he had saved became worthless and about the various rights that the people have lost. He said that the military has a big presence but in most cases not highly visible. However, at the Shwedagon Pagoada we saw several military personnel who had their fingers on the trigger of machine guns.
Seeing what we did today reminds us once again of how fortunate we are to live where we do and to have had so many opportunities afforded to us. Yes, we worked very hard but we were fortunate to be rewarded for our hard work. In many parts of the world, there is not much light at the end of the tunnel for hard work. This appeared to be such as country.
After returning to the ship we took some time to reflect on what we had observed and heard during our tour. Afterwards, we enjoyed a very nice lunch back on the ship.
This afternoon and this evening other tours are being offered. This includes a tour of the Shwedagon Pagoda at night along with a dinner, cultural show and a visit to the Shwedagon Pagoda during the evening. In total, nine different tours were offered throughout the day.
This evening we enjoyed a wonderful dinner in the Main Dining Room.
Our ship will remain docked in Myanmar for a second evening and we are scheduled to depart this location at 11:00 AM tomorrow morning. We will then have another three full days at sea as we sail to Cochin, India, which is our first of two stops in India.
Keith & Anne Marie
