First day in Ecuador and I have risked my life more than once, according to some

I'm not joking with that I went far today, in terms of crossing norms that are reserved for tourists. I will be trying to catch a night bus to Lago Agrio as soon as I finish my English tea (which is a weird thing in Ecuador, they do not celebrate tea time at all here). It is a little challenge to get where I need to be without using taxis. But hey bus tickets will cost me 0,5$ while taxi is 10$ ;)))

View of the Quito Old City from the El Panecillo (45-meter-tall stone monument of Madonna)

I hope you can appreciate how beautifully located Quito is.

$10 is a small charge, insignificant almost, so why bother with public transportation? Because taking taxis or private drivers it takes away all the fun of catching local buses. There is a point where having a private driver can enhance traveling experience, if you are fluent in local language and can engage in a meaningful conversation with your driver. That can be enriching and I wish I could speak Spanish! Otherwise using public forms of transportation lets me experience how people move about their daily lives.  So how did I risk my life today? Well..

Let me tell you about my day. After a short night - I arrived in Hostel Minka well after midnight - I hit the streets of Quito at a reasonable 9 am around with a plan to walk all over the Old Town left and right. First impression wasn't exactly favorable. You know how it is, you arrive in a strange city in a strange culture, how to make it easy to assimilate and blend in? It is a tough job. Sundays in Ecuador are particularly strange because most businesses do not open and the only thing that keeps people moving is the mass attendance. This produces a view of empty streets and only churches being full. I happen to have arrived on Sunday so my first impression was just that!

But I did not get discouraged, rightly so. As the day developed more people were coming out to hang around. Around lunch time it was busy enough to make me feel more comfortable. My first steps have been to the Basilica, as I was so close to it. Surprised faces of people watching be go around the beautiful inside of the church.  

The back view of  the Basilica of the National Vow (Basílica del Voto Nacional). Not many people take on the challenge of climbing the hill and taking the rear view. It is really beautiful though.

I admired the details of the Basilica, I found it harmonious and well designed.

I stumbled upon this cute little celebration in from of the Basilica. Apparently these young ladies have finished their rehearsals and took the opportunity of having their pictures taken by a family photographer. All of their friends and family were there to celebrate their accomplishment together. It was fun to watch them posing.

El Panceillo hill, the Basilica in the background.

Here I was taking this shot while climbing towards El Panecillo. It is a steep climb, hundreds of steps and narrow street. The top part, after you pass a little football court, goes through private possessions and the street is narrow enough for one person only. There are dogs lying on the steps and chilling, if you dare to pass them on your own.. I did not. I waited for local hosts to be outside and possibly heading in the same direction than me. They have a way of dealing with the dogs which I am not going to explain here..

on the way to Ecuador first taste of drama

The thing is that you never expect things to go wrong before you hit the road. If you are familiar with risk management you may try to build complicated mitigation plans and alternative plans in case you plan A does not work. The truth is that while on the road anything and everything can happen. 
When I was on the bus to Cape Tribulations I was forewarn specifically that land slides and river floods were not uncommon. In the event of unlucky weather conditions one can get literally stuck, separated from any means of transportation. God forbid if a life threathening injury occurs during this time. You'd better have air evacuation purchased with your insurance premium. 

my anti mosquito artilery

Equipped with all past learnings and experiences I did purchase evacuation package with my premium ;) I dont intend to get friendly with anacondas or piranias of this world, but better be safe than sorry. Even a simple injury can become deadly if not treated and prolonged for a long period of time. I feel I am loaded with all the first aid medicments, the stuff I never use in a daily life. Antiobiotics, oitments, 6 types of tablets for all sorts of medical problems, bandaids, headcold infection, nasal infection, throat soureness, headache, pain... makes me feel sick just writing all of it. You are probably wondering. All this because I dont speak local language and from what I udnerstand it can be quite challenging to obtain meds that are legitimate. A lot of medical products get forged or is simply unavailable. It was even stronger case in South Asia. Besides who wants to spend time looking for GP recommendations when I can simply diagnose myself and take what I think is right for me at that particular time. You need to know yourself, this is also true. Are you prone to indigestion or infections? What are the typical symptoms that make you look for medication and what symptoms are known to sort themselves out? Are you pain-sesitive or can you cope? 
This time I decided to take Malaron with me. As you may know it is a globally known anti-malaria drug. In the past, when i Mekong Delta or up country Burma I was taking a risk with not taking this drug. The side effects of the drug scared me and the number of people who suffers from side effects seems greater than other drugs (it is ~5%). Not this time, I have a feeling there will be lots of options for me when I arrive in the Oriente and I may decide to stay in the lowlands for longer time that all my previous times in malaria reported areas. 2-4 days I can risk, but if I go longer say 5-10, I think the risk goes significantly up. Using DEET at least 40% (lower % does not have sufficient protection from amazonian mosquitos) reduced the risk, also knowledge what species of mosquitos are active at what times and what diseases they can spread. All this fun stuff to learn! ;) 
I dag out my mosquito repellent I brought from Burma. By average a 150-200ml DEET container lasts me about two weeks. By the time I was on my third week in Burma I run out of my American DEET and I was forced to go and explore local options. It turned out that this India produced repllent did excellent job, so I brought few tubes with me and now I have it with me here in Ecuador. Backup plan, tested. 

Ecuador trip preparation, general information health and safety

This time I chose a new continent to bite on. Close proximity from North America and general country indicators made me believe that from all the choice, South America and Ecuador in particular, are going to become my new travel destination. The story of my slight fascination about Ecuador goes back to my Australian trip. An amazingly giving person I met on my way there, was and Ecuadorian. He made part of my Tasmanian Overland hike very special, made me feel more confident and welcomed in Tasmanian bush. After that trip I started thinking about destination ideas and doing research for feasibility. Yes, I know, I went to Myanmar first, a totally different direction, but from the feasibility perspective it was a better choice at that time. I was based out of Poland EU, now I am based out of USA East Coast. I will not get any closer to South American continent in the near future. So Ecuador it is. 

http://www.ecuador-travel-guide.org/

Not many people know that Ecuador is the first country to recognize Rights of Nature in its Constitution (2008). A small thing but it makes it a very interesting destination because it means the nature in Ecuador is so unique that it required its own voice. 

Check this video about Ecuador constitution Nature's Rights https://youtu.be/9i4EexIF_3E 

Yes it is diverse and very versatile. A relatively small country but packed with unbelievable number of rare attractions. Interestingly, it has also been recognized as a retirement heaven for Western expats (check the Global Retirement Index - Ecuador is no 2 for 2016, out placed by Panama).

But what about health and safety? 

Cape Tribulations, Daintree Forest and Moosman Gorge, Mount Sorrow as well!

  

Return to Yangon

Here is how life can be different from day to day in Myanmar.

 

Yesterday a blue water and cocktails in a company of United Nations team at the Triumph Hotel Mandalay. 4-5 star facilities with excellent service for a fraction of western price. I chose this hotel because it was built new and I was not disappointed. I got a very spacious room in a short distance from the pool. I loved the addition of tanaka-based cosmetics in the bathroom and a Burmese tea on hand in my room.

 

Open swimming pool at Triumph Hotel in Mandalay.

The next day you will be sleeping in a shag and the best thing ever will be a cold fruit shake served beside the main road with a questionable quality view.

The place captured below is really special and known in the whole town of Hsipaw because it is the only street place that serves ice-cold drinks. They prepare cocktails in front of you from today's fruits selection. You can customize your cocktail or choose one of tens of suggestions posted on the walls around the counter. You can really get your smoothy or shake ice-cold, a true luxury on a hot Burmese day. I had two green shakes in a saw, they were delicious and refreshing (lemon, ginger, mint, pineapple and other deliciousness).



The best cocktail place in whole Hsipaw - Yuan Yuan vel. "Mr Shake".

Risking life in Myanmar, is it really?

Yes and no.

Yes you have to be aware that taking up a bus trip in rural places will expose you to >10 hrs of uneasy road and bus-mates smoking, chewing tobacco or getting travel sick. And that you will have no facilities for a decent toilet break, not unless you fancy sharing it with thousands of beetles and other bugs.

Yes  you need to be prepared for jumping up and down on a rail tracks thy remember English invasion in XIX century. 

Yes, you may consider a life threatening a trip on tip of a truck going though a hilly road that is actually not a road yet. It may become a road in the next 5 years or so. You need to trust the driver as going through these roads ever day with all that carriage of people and things has made them very skilled off road drivers. While in Western world men and women seek adrenaline through competing on inaccessible terrain in Burma every man and women who can drive must have those skills mattered in order to survive. There is no mercy on a convoy of various vehicles verbose must know the drill otherwise it will fail for each of them. So whether a motorbike, a four wheel drive or a truck driver all of them must be well accustomed and at ease with whatever road condition the day is going to bring.

Rural Maynmar proved better than anticipated

Even though completely disconnected from the world and hard to get to, Burmese countryside was warmly welcoming and in a way relaxing. If you allow yourself to spend two days traveling to a place like Indawgyi Lake you will be reworded 100 times. I allowed myself Monday-Friday and I am kicking myself for not giving it more time for the three days were lost in transition and I only got to sped two nights at Lonetoen village by Indawgyi Lake.

Shortage of power and very basic accommodation is nothing in comparison to being able to socialize with the local village community, contribute to local school, attend football matches and many more. You cannot put price tag on these things 

Hopin guest house

Accommodation couldn't get anymore basic than that! Before and after ;)

Squeezing between local truck riders

Myanmar people and some observations

 Let me share with you this. I love Myanma people. They are the most honest and wholehearted people I believe there are in Asia. They are open minded, yet devoted to tradition and family values. They are hard working and smart. They have the internal integrity that is passed from generation to generation and it does not get forgotten or traded for something else.  

 

Local football event between two villages in Kachin state. Everyone supports their teams!

A family resting on the steps of one of the temples at Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon. 

People share space with much lower tolerance in Myanmar, there are no boundaries of your personal space. For example it is normal to keep leaning on someone on the bus or use their body parts to support yourself. A person can be a total stranger as long as they are the same sex. It is also normal for men and especially teenage boys to walk streets holding hands or shoulders.

Two friends on their way to the village, Rakhine state, Mrauk-U ancient stupas.

People are very supportive of each other, helping one another happens all the time without asking. If your bag needs lift or shifting from place to place, if you need to support yourself better, if you need anything of your convenience Myanma people are very helpful and forward thinking.

Bagan is the most romantic spot




Bagan and its thousands of temples, source: Wikipedia

 

 

Finally I have something to brag about, reaching Bagan was not exactly easy and I hope to share some insights about that later. For now let's just enjoy wonderful ancient city of Bagan! I am booked in an amazing hotel in New Bagan with only one missing thing that this hotel does not offer is a swimming pool. But maybe this is for the better as I would have hard time deciding to go out exploring or not to. Also the weather change is noticeable. Leaving Rhakin state left behind the tropical wet weather with after effects of the current monsoon going on in India. Here is dry hot with the temperature going to low 40 Celsius. It is great news as finally I can do my laundry and dry it!!

 

Arakan, the first flavor of real Myanmar

My first steps were directed to current Rakhaing state. Having done my homework on Burma I knew that this was where some of the oldest traces of its past greatness were to be found. The culmination of Mrauk-U prosperity was around XVI century. What remains today are the ruins of old palace and a fortified wall. In the short cycling distance there are the still standing old pagodas to visit. Their great days are long gone but it is still interesting so see them. It is probably a good prelude to seeing 2000 Bagan's temples.



Mystique Mrauk U from Shwetaung pagoda source: Wikipedia

Andaw- Thein temple complex, The name means 'Tooth Shrine'. It contains a tooth relic of the Buddha coming from Sri Lanka.

It made me upset to look at the ruined remainings of old stupas and temples scattered around the place; some are in between bamboo houses, some are in the middle of farming fields, the only companion being cattle. What a humiliating end of life for a temple that must be.

 

Friendly Asian bloodline cows in tropical conditions. Just outside on of the temples.

Some wise books say that two days are sufficient to fully explore the site, for me it was one day. I did go inside pagodas whenever I could, armed in my headlamp, but I did not see murals or much of reliefs. There is quite a good reading on all the temples widely available so no more history here.

It was most enjoyable to go around and see all of the temples. I even got reminded that shoes are off even when walking inactive ones (shame on me, rules are rules no matter if it makes you walk on dog and cow excrement, they are allowed). I did not realize that inactive pagoda also count as sacred places, silly me.

The highlight of this journey will be the boat trip however which deserves a whole separate post.