theDreamchaser @benkress-blog - Tumblr Blog

Riding back into the developed world

The days are passing and this trip is coming to an end. It's starting to feel like a big round of goodbye's to everything. Yet even more so the anticipation of coming home to you is overshadowing everything. We spent the last two days of our burmese adventure in Mandalay, the former capital of old. Arriving there we felt so ready to move on to something new, that we tried every angle to reschedule our flight to an earlier one. I ended up making the decision to save the money and instead savor these last days in this beautiful country, which I most likely wouldn't come back to anytime soon. It had been a wild ride of two weeks in one of Asia's most curious and dynamic countries and it reminded me so much of the freedom-filled backpacking trips of the past. I wanted these last two days there to be in that spirit before moving on to bustling Bangkok. And that it was. We ended up renting motorbikes - quite the step up from bicycles and ebikes. It felt scary at first - the lack of traffic rules, of concept of lanes and the sheer size of the local traffic seemed daunting. Less cars and what felt like a million motorbikes on the road in their stead (compared to Yangon) looked like chaos. Yet in a strange way, ever since I visited Vietnam, which has a very similar feel in that respect, I felt quite intrigued to try it. There was obviously no driving school for this. In Europe they would have required you to have a license including the necessary hours in driving school. Not here, just a short intro on how the bike worked, the gear changes, the indicators and off you went. It took a few minutes to get used to but quickly felt like the most natural thing in the world. Next then was to explore and get acquainted with the crazy traffic. I just went for it and discovered pretty quick that there is some kind of order to the chaos, where you just have to be confident. Whoever gets to an intersection first and has the guts to do so confidently and not hesitate, gets the right of way. And strangely enough this works. With that confidence and the new found freedom in our minds we started exploring the city and went on another food hunting adventure, ending up in a Chinese place. The city was ours. In the evening we stopped at a night market, which offered a glimpse back into how life happens on the street here, from selling, to eating and human interaction. It all felt so alive. The next day offered much of the same and I felt so glad not having gone through with the flight change but rather embraced this last bit of adventure wholeheartedly. It's going to give me plenty of stories to tell. We let the day close out on what's called Mandalay Hill, where we watched the last sunset in Myanmar. It was certainly coming to an end now. It was then off to Bangkok the next day, transitioning back to civilization in a way. Having been here almost five years ago, memories and feelings of familiarity quickly came back. Lots of things have changed since then, others were still the same. While it is only a quick stopover on the way to Malaysia, it was nice to meet old friends and reminisce in memories. I'm lying in bed now, getting ready for the last few hours here and being excited for the last few days in this part of the world - yet all I can think about is: I'm coming home to you love.

Walking into clouds

Granted I was excited to head into more remote areas of the shan state highlands but I wasn't entirely sure what to expect, especially of 21km and 6h of walking in this terrain. Off we went early in the morning, leaving the town behind quickly. The landscape opened up and the mountains rose on each side of the path. That road was most of the times dirt road, sometimes muddy and often arduous, yet you'd still see evidence of people traversing on it frequently. We pushed further and further, climbing up and down, from valley to valley for no soul to be seen. Only occasionally you could make out the sound of a honda motorbike in the distance, that eventually passed us on this narrow and difficult stretch of a road. Apart from that we were greeted with gorgeous landscapes all around, the sounds of small rivers making their way down from mountain springs and the variety of insects. It was peaceful. Eventually we reached a village of the local Palaung tribe and were invited for tea into a house that was the home of two families. It turned out tea is their main crop here, that you also see everywhere on the surrounding hills. They sell it in the markets in the bigger towns in order to purchase other crops and produce. Interestingly we also learned about their societal customs on how it is forbidden for them to marry outside their tribes. Yet with the apparent changes in developing countries, where young people are more and more inclined to move to cities, these rules don't mean much anymore. Yet the consequences are still severe. Once they do marry outside their tribe, they are getting expelled and can't return apart from once a year. Having immersed myself in this local culture bubble we moved on to the monastery next door that was providing buddhist chants through a megaphone for the whole valley. Apart from the local monk and his novices, it was full of parents with their little kids. Paying my respects I quickly moved on to interacting with the kids outside, who were more than eager to have their portraits taken and seeing them on the back of my camera. These moments are so precious for me, as I see the joy in their eyes and feel like time has halted for me and them for a second. We eventually trekked onwards to make our way to a viewpoint on top of a mountain overlooking an adjacent valley. The journey there really summed up how I felt about this trek in visual terms. It led us into the clouds with hues of green all around me and red fertile earth below my feet. Beauty. We had the mid day break at the viewpoint with nepalese food and a variety of fruit. Reaching the viewpoint also meant we had reached the half way marker and would be heading back towards town. The sun came out in full force, yet we soon took a turn into the rain forest. Insects and their sounds all surrounding, the path became narrower. This definitely reminded me of my trek through rain forests in PNG but as I was thinking about you and us, it also gave me this clear revelation. The path was narrow, slippery at times and even very challenging at other times. I had no clue where we were and there were no longer any mountains visible to function as indicators. I was deep in the jungle just following every footstep of my guide and trusting that he knew the way. And there it hit me as if god was trying to tell me, watch this - this is how I guide you every day. I have to have pure faith that he leads me on the right path. I neither know destination nor the route to it, yet all I can do is put one step after the other while following his lead. He may guide me up mountains and into valleys, he may have me walk through challenges that make the journey difficult at times but he'll never leave us, he's walking ahead as he has laid out the path even as we're walking into the unknown. Feels great knowing that. We eventually got out of the forest onto better roads, past by rice paddies and more examples of beautiful landscapes, slowly making our way back into town. Reaching the hotel I felt beat, dehydrated and just really exhausted but it was a day lived to the fullest, seeing and experiencing what I wanted to see and having god talk to me on the way.

Into the highlands

Haven't put down any words in a couple of days, yet I fell like I need to. Spend a final day in the Inle Lake area with the anticipation of moving further into the highlands. It was a rather quiet day which allowed me to sleep in. After lunch I roamed around town and discovered another local market. These are just amazing, a treasure trove really not only the products that are on the stands but the people that sell them. They come down from the highlands, from their different tribal villages to make their living. Capturing them in their moments with the camera feels like a privilege, while their local ways of life still persist in this variety. Exploring the market led to an unexpected yet one of the most memorable encounters of this trip so far. As I was observing an older couple on a bench on an empty stall, getting ready to take a photo, the old man called me over and we engaged in a conversation. He proudly pointed to his wife and in his broken english told me that she's his queen. It amazed me how this old couple was sitting there so obviously still in love after what appeared to be a long life already. I ended up asking them respectfully to take their portraits and they were happy to oblige, taking pride in seeing themselves on the backscreen of my camera. I eventually ventured on and soon ended up back in the hotel to rest from the bristling heat. In expectation of moving on the next morning, another packing session ensued followed by an early night. And that was another day in this curious country. Today we caught a bus early in the morning en route to a hill town called Kalaw. The bus made it's way slowly uphill on narrow roads towards our destination, stopping every now and then to pick up some more passengers. Had my headphones on for most of the way to enjoy the passing landscape with music in my ears, eventually arriving there. We made our way to the hotel on the outskirts of town and were welcomed warmly. After some initial resting, made our way back into the town center to grab lunch and to explore our new home for the next three days, coming to the conclusion that there is not much here really. In the afternoon we slept through our second power outtage of the day - something to expect in the middle of nowhere I guess. Met our guide for tomorrow later that day who will lead us further into the highlands for the day and ended up having an early dinner to escape the mosquito plague and get ready for the day head. So yes, tomorrow will be a full on 21km, 6h trek further exploring the middle of nowhere to visit the Palaung tribes.

Lake life

I've been looking forward to this day since we got here and specifically since yesterday when I met 'Thet' our boat driver. We would be going on the lake - one of the supposedly most interesting places in the country. It was suitably early in the day, when we headed off to the jetty and boarded the long boat which would become home for the following few hours. It was a half an hour ride down a canal into the center of the lake, passing by villages and local fishermen who were still fishing in their traditional ways. While I've been reading about this place, I wasn't yet sure what to expect, what would await me essentially. After a while houses started to appear on the horizon and at some point we pulled up in front of a temple and we went 'ashore' to explore a local market that was supposedly happening here. At first it didn't really look like much, only a few souvenir shops here and there but after walking down a few back alleys, there it was. Countless alleys, a maize almost of market craziness hidden away behind the temple structure. People are coming down from the hills to the market to sell their goods. Produce, rice, peanuts, electrical goods, petrol, fish, anything you could think of and pharmaceuticals tucked in between. Every seller was specialized in something. More than that the ethnic diversity was intriguing. You could definitely see the different tribes in their faces, the different lives and cultural backgrounds they portrayed. Leaving this behind was almost difficult but we moved on eventually to explore other parts and people of the lake including traditional weavers and another tribe where women are trying to permanently extend their necks with golden rings. We made our way back to town at some point which let me reflect on the things I had seen and to read between the lines. While I did enjoy all of it, it did certainly feel like the times are changing and the local culture of tribes is under threat. While the elderly still preserve their past, the young ones are certainly feeling the influence of modern societies and technology. But more than anything, tourism is transforming the ecosystem of inle lake. While it certainly has positive sides to it, it also puts a very strong focus on serving it, that displaces the peace and customs of Inle. In the afternoon I went out to book some final transport arrangements for the next few days in a small pop up 'travel agency' that was no more than a little hut with a guy behind a desk, his phone and 5 chairs. He said to me, you should have come 10 years ago, tourists weren't even heard of here at that time. But then again 10 years ago, this country was in a totally different place politically as well. Nevertheless this lake and its people will definitely take a special place in my memories.

1985

Trips are often made up of heading from one place to the other, taking stops in between. I moved on today - left the plains of Bagan behind on a plane to Heho, which lies in the autonomous region of the Shan state. While I enjoyed every second of Bagan, I was excited to head on, to get new adventure impulses. The region of Inle Lake promises to be a treasure trove of ethnic minorities and beautiful landscapes. It'd be new, it'd be part of the unknown again. We arrived at the slightly rundown airport, picked up our backpacks and met our taxi driver. All he had to say was 'airport to inle lake 45 minutes' and off we went. I soaked it all in again, my eyes fixed on the houses and landscapes we were passing. It was hilly almost mountainous until we reached the Shan plateau. At some point I was just staring through the window as we were driving through a village and my eyes caught a red sign welded onto the facade of a house: it said "1985". Quite random seeing my birth year and only that front and center on a house. We eventually arrived at our hotel which proved to be brand new in this rugged town, where streets are often just dirt roads or ridden with pot holes, where houses stand half finished or merely on wooden stilts. Tourism definitely brings out extremes, in the peak months, they apparently cramp foreigners in monasteries as there is not enough space in the hotels and guesthouses. Another reason why I'm glad that I went in the low season so I can properly and calmly explore. After a few naps here and there and an overpriced lunch I headed out on my own to explore the town as my buddy continued to catch up on some sleep. I walked the streets in random fashion just trying to get a glimpse into people's lives here. Ended up meeting a young 21 year old boat driver at the canal leading to the lake, who tried to sell me his services for tomorrow. I'm always skeptical but never afraid of engaging in conversations and so I just sat down with him and talked about life. He told me how his parents give him the boat and how he's trying to make money to go to university and study geography. Talked some more about each other's lives, girlfriends, families and on. A moment of bliss, of a little bubble, a connection between human beings of different lives and background. He gave me a rundown of how he wants to structure the day on the lake with us, even offering to meet his family on the way. As I got to know him through that conversation, I wasn't just sold of running with him for tomorrow but I just appreciated that time. We agreed on fee and pick up time and off I went eventually. As the sun was going down and I walked down some more side streets, tracing silhouettes of people on their way home, hearing sounds of Buddhist prayer chants fading in the distance. As I was heading back to the hotel and later for some dinner around the corner, the day was coming to an end with excitement in my mind for tomorrow.

Resting the soul

Plans change all the time in this part of the world, on these types of trips. Actually the concept of a plan is probably foreign to the culture here. You have to be flexible, embrace it even. Being on this trip for a few days now, I feel like I'm fitting in again, releasing the true self and shedding the corporate life. Just seeing what's important in life, being present. In this I feel like you're so near, even though your thousands of miles away. Had another exploring day planned for the day, yet it ended up raining most of the day, so we ended up turning it into another relaxing day of pool and food hunting. Resting the soul. That also gave me the time to brainstorm of what to do in the next few days, completely in the spirit of not being tied down to set plans but just excited for new things. I'm specifically looking forward to meeting hill tribes in the next few days and hopefully getting some authentic and respectful ethnic portrait shots. Tomorrow we'll be heading to Inle Lake, which supposedly is a bubble of local ethnicities. A few days there followed by two days in a hill town for some trekking, before heading to Mandalay. More than anything though, our chats today made my day. Seeing your face, your irresistible smile and having our usual amazing conversations just makes me burst of happiness and excitement. I can't believe how lucky I am to have met the perfect person. I can't imagine life without you and this time away has drawn me even closer to you. It's my revelation here, to see this beautiful part of the creation but knowing that you're waiting for me at home and that I'll be sharing this life and these experiences with you from here on out.

The freedom

Today I finally set out to explore the plains of Bagan that are dotted with more than 3000 temples, pagodas and stupas. To start out the day we cycled into town to drop off some laundry and pick up some e-bikes. When I pulled the gas handle, heading off on a dirt road and feeling the breeze in my face, I knew that was it - the freedom explore, to stop and stare wherever I would feel like, to let the winds take me to the intriguing places of this 25 square mile area. We soon stopped at a large temple and met two young girls that were eager to sell us souvenirs but also practice their language skills on us. It was the perfect opportunity to understand and learn more about the local culture. I'm always bursting with curiosity when it comes to see how people live their lived in places like this and share a brief moment with them. Went on to explore and climb a few more temples, pushing our bikes down the dirt roads. The heat and humidity though were relentless. In 34C and blistering sun, we sweated along until we decided to head back for lunch, eventually taking a break at the hotel - poolside. With some resurgent energy we set our minds to extending our stay by a day but it proved to be too expensive in the end to change the bookings, so on we went back to the plains to find a spot for the sunset. And one we found indeed on top of one of those hundreds of pagodas. The view was breathtaking as the light was changing every second until the sun graced us with the last rays. I was sitting there just staring into the distance, taking advantage of a 360 degree view, just being astonished of this place. While the sun was going down on one end of the horizon, there was a storm brewing in the distance on the other end. The sky graced us with the beautiful colors of the sun setting and a double rainbow at the same time. Creation wonders right there bound in the freedom. The day didn't end just quite yet with the sun disappearing on the horizon. Rushing back into town to avoid the onset of the storm, we returned our e-bikes back and swapped back to the bicycles and made our way to an indian streetside restaurant for dinner. Eventually we still had to ride back to the hotel in the tropical rain. What would feel uncomfortable in our parts of the world, I quite welcomed to cool down. The rain was splashing in my face and running down my arms, while I was cycling down the road towards the hotel in the dark night. Another day closes on this trip, as I miss you more each day day!

The laidback

Getting hussled off a 10h bus ride at 4 in the morning doesn’t happen every day. I was glad to be finally arriving. While these trips inbetween destinations are usually serene and bubble worlds, the ride was rough. After negotiating with taxi drivers about the fare into town, we were on our way soon, hoping we’d be hitting proper beds soon. Luckily the hotel had our room ready, even at this hour - only one of the advantages of traveling in the low season. We ended up landing in our beds at dawn of day, ready to hit dreamland, after only having about an hour of sleep on the bus.

Being woken up by room service and the delivery of complimentary fruit, it took us a while to get out of bed. Eventually heading off to explore the hotel grounds, the pool was discovered quickly. It just hit me there, that I wanted to just lay low, relax and reflect. The sun was out in all its glory and the water was warm. That laidback feeling finally got to me on day five of this trip.

Later that day it was on to taking out bicycles to go out for dome more food hunting. The streets and life here reminds me more of PNG and Africa than Yangon. It’s slow and rugged. We ended up having round one of lunch on plastic stools at a streetside restaurant on the outskirts of the town. Plates kept coming to the table and we had a feast. Round two at a different restaurant followed on the way back to the hotel. Back there it wad more relaxing at the pool. Overall a great day to detach from the stress of the job realities.

While it all felt pretty amazing, what really lit up my day, was seeing and taking to you on facetime. It’s what is what is the single most important thing for me - specifically having an impact on how you start your day, getting that irresistible smile onto your beautiful face. Seeing and making you happy, getting you excited for our life together in christ, is what I live for.

What’s tomorrow? Exploring the plains of Bagan and the countless ancient temples and pagodas. Can’t wait.

From everything to nothing on the street, a god encounter on a highway in the middle of nowhere

Having been in this country for a few days now, I've seen what life is like, what people value, how they go about making a living. It's on the streets, for everyone to see, the daily struggles included. Today was no different. It was all in the light of exploring the local culture. Visited the major temple in the city, which apparently is one of the holiest sites in Buddhism. While circling around the main pagoda, a teacher and former professor of the local university wanted to show me the customs and explain the structures. As I am always eager to meet locals I got into a conversation with him, but as he wanted to show me the prayer customs, I respectfully declined and we parter ways. Seeing people there in these moments, praying for success, their families and so on, felt empty in a way, while I was still respecting their ways. The rest of the afternoon was all about food hunting, the other side of the exploring dimension of my travels. Found a local burmese street side restaurant in a backalley and had what felt like 10 different dishes on the table, all creating explosions in my tastebuds. It's an amazing way to explore local cultures. Once the stomachs were filled and satisfaction kicked in, we stocked up on supplies for the upcoming bus ride, headed back to the hotel, took a shower and eventually headed off. Chapter closed, page turned. I'm sitting on a bus now leaving Yangon behind. On a road that is bumpy and has nothing and no one on it. The bus passes the occasional other bus while it's making its way deeper into the night. Music in my ears while I write this and reflect on what I've seen. Everyone else here is already asleep and I wonder what their purpose for this trip is, what they await on the other end of this ride across the country. That same question applies to me in a sense too. I've been planning and looking forward to this trip for a while and all these vivid experiences are alive in my head, spinning new webs of memories. It's giving me a new revival of what I love to do. I'm also sensing that I will slow down further in these next few days, while scouting the plains of the ancient capital of Bagan. Going with instincts, taking each moment as it comes, being prepared for the encounters that will come. I'm certainly feeling that God is in this, how he has given me these few weeks, speaking to all my senses. In that, I know he also wants to continue talk to me about what's ahead what he has put into my own and our path. He has prepared me for the past few years for this and now he's letting me know change is coming but don't be afraid - I'm right there with you (listening to the lyrics of "Our God" by Chris Tomlin, while I write these lines). While I look at this amazing past month, he tells me 'boy you've seen nothing yet, I'll never let go, blessings will flow in my awesome power to show my might through your lives'. It's quite astonishing how he picks these moments, just like right now as I type this. As my eyes are getting ready to shut for the day and the clock is turning towards 12, I have you in my mind. With love overflowing, I'm expectant what live and god has in store for us on our journey. The sideroads, the highways, the mountaintops and valleys, I'm walking them with you by your side, never letting go of your hand, always excited for what's to come.

The random encounters

Life is curious here. It definitely reminds me of previous trips to the area, with the smells, sounds, the people and how they go about their lives. It's a full on immersion into raw life without any glitz and extras, yet excitement on every corner of the street. It's the spontaneity of exploration, of not having a plan but being purely drive by instincts of taking a turn her or walking down an alley there. After a basic breakfast this spirit has lead me on an early morning stroll here in the east of Yangon into an area that doesn't see a lot of foreigners I presume. I immediately got the looks and stares, the occasional snapshots from people's phones. It definitely made me realize I'm back in Asia. I ended up in a local market. Fresh food, produce and a few random pop up streetside stalls here and there. The smells were overwhelming almost but it was less about that and more about being immersed with the locals in what is a place that never sees tourists but purely portrays what life is like here. While I was trying to take it in with all instincts, I focused on catching glimpses of peoples looks, getting our view paths crossed for that simple moment of an encounter. No words - just the look, the smile and the occasional nod that made up the connection. It's what these trips are often about - meeting local people along the way on my own journey - as brief as these moments may exist, they transcend time and space. Heading back to the guesthouse after the morning stroll and waiting for our burmese contact in vain, we ended up going for plan b. We still had to sort out transportation for the next few days, so we set out to find a local travel agency, which we ended up finding in a random highrise on the 15th floor. After picking up bus tickets it seemed to be the right time to kick off the food adventure, with the foodie within me already on my heels for lunch. An indian-muslim eatery was picked out after some initial scouting and I ended up with two full chicken curry type meals and three banana lassis for what must've been 6 dollars. It was a piece of heaven right there, that would prove to last the whole day. Settling on addressing the onslaught of food coma with some rest back at the hotel we slowly made our way, passing by some more interesting looking streets, pagodas and people only to end up being caught in a monsoon downpour. That was only my second time I've witnessed one, but the raindrops here were just huge. Nevertheless once it slowed down, the walk back felt really nice with the few light raindrops running down my arms in this subtropical climate. What else I soaked in and realized on this walk was the pure essence of life here. It's happening on the streets. Everything. From the insane traffic and the roaring sounds of old trucks that were converted into buses, to the street side eateries, to people pushing their heavy carts to a new location to make a living and the people strolling along. Everything that makes life what it is here is just outside and everyone's participating. It's very fascinating and you easily get immersed into it. The late afternoon, early evening featured more exploring - I must've walked what feels like at least 5 miles. We ended up near a roundabout with a golden pagoda in the center and just sat down for a while, again feeling a few raindrops hitting my skin ever so slightly. And then there it was ... An 18 year old Burmese guy sat down next to me, eager to practice his english on me. We talked about life, family, girlfriend and jobs. He told me about his story of coming to Yangon a few months back all on his own with the mission to study English and then eventually return to his town to start a business. We eventually parted ways and he vanished into the night. A random encounter that I treasure, it's what I live for on these trips. Lying in my bed now with a whole treasure trove of new memories. Thinking about you and wishing you were here with me, exploring with me and making these memories together. Soon though, very soon, it'll be ours. The desires that will come reality as we embark on that journey of a shared life. I love you and can't wait to walk the streets of the world with you.

The rugged

It's always about the journey I say. And I have a feeling that this one will be pretty remarkable. From all the prep time, to the worries about my stomach, to the best 4 weeks of my life leading up to this day... it hasn't been an easy start into this adventure. Yet it's slowly starting to sink in, the wanderlust will be satisfied. I'm taking it all in as it comes - the smells, the views, the people, the sounds. It's new yet familiar in a way. Arrived at the airport in Yangon with a certain sense of expectation of the unknown, yet the instincts immediately kicked it. Picked up my backpack from the conveyor belt, changed some money and strolled into the arrivals hall, trying to spot my name amongst the hordes of taxi drivers waiting for the fresh meat. I looked and looked but to no avail. Drivers came over to offer their services and I kindly declined. Started chatting with one particular driver who offered me to use his phone to call the guesthouse. Being very apologetic, they promised their driver would be there soon. After waiting in what seemed ages, more casual chats with drivers, one of them came over with my name on his phone in a text message. He explained the situation and off we went in his taxi into the busy night. The streets are packed, busses cramped like usually here in south east asia and traffic laws seem to not exist. With the window down, the arm hanging outside and the warm city breeze in my face, I'm starting to get why I like these places. It's rugged, it's raw. Passing by streetfood eateries where men in particular gather, sit on tiny stools and chat. Reminds me of Vietnam really. The cab drive feels like a dream still, a bit unreal to be here, yet I suddenly get sucked out of it as we arrive at the guesthouse. I pay the driver in this still unfamiliar currency and he rushes off into the night. The guesthouse is very basic yet clean and all good in the end. The staff is very helpful and apologetic for the inconvenience and after I hand them my passport the first thing they give me is the wifi code and all I can think about is 'oh dear yes I can finally talk to my love again'. Here I am sitting in my room now, expectant of what these next few days will bring in terms of adventure, sights, smells, sounds and people. This is what I love doing, yet as much as I'm looking forward to it - the pain of being separated from you overshadows that right now. You mean the world to me and I can't wait for you to see it with me.