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Minga-la-ba ! Roughly translated as "auspiciousness to you", it is widely used as their greeting -- but they also love saying "HALLO !", with a big smile of course. We are now in Monywa, Myanmar, with 2 days completed of our 5 day trek around the exotic country of Myanmar.

With 135 recognized ethnic groups living inside a country not even the size of Texas, there is no one word or image to adequately capture Myanmar. The abundance of languages, dress, and customs makes it difficult to differentiate between these culturally diverse lands. This is a country that has gone through (and is still going through) the transition from a socialist government and completely closed borders, to a democracy with open borders and the beginnings of tourism. It was just 7 years ago that foreigners could widely make entrance to Myanmar. The people here were jailed if they spoke politically or expressed any disdain toward the government, and to this day, they must be careful about what is said. Facebook is now in Myanmar, and people have found themselves in trouble with the government simply by "liking" or "sharing" a controversial political message or web link.

While the popularity of female politician Aung San Suu Kyi proves that some females enjoy more freedom, as I travel through the countryside I see interesting gender roles. Gasoline stations have young girls pump the gas, and on the side of the road, road construction work is done by older women, with one or two men supervising them. These are hard working people, with rather harsh conditions - weather, living conditions, working conditions, economy. And we saw an example, walking in to see a cigar factory and shoe/slipper factory - sweat shop conditions, young girls working, a 16 yr old mother breastfeeding her child while working and no break, hot and steamy room (I was dripping sweat being in there 10 minutes), no chairs or tables, just doing the constant repetitious work all day on the ground squatting, chemical fumes but no air circulation or protection. An unfortunate reality.

But there are smiles galore -- very friendly and kind people here, and they always offer a smile, along with a curious look as there just aren't any foreigners in these parts we are traveling. Yesterday, after leaving the busy and touristy town of Bagan, we didn't see one single foreigner/tourist the entire day. When we walk through the busy night market, we are the only foreigners, period. People are eager to see us, and take a picture of us or with us. At the hotel pool, we befriended some young local guys, and next thing you know, they are sharing their bottle of Johnnie Walker with us, and sharing some laughs together -- virtually no English, as they don't understand, and I certainly don't understand their language -- but enough body language and smiles and laughs, and we got along great !!

Our guide, Sam Gupta, is excellent, and a real joy to have with us throughout our journey. He spent 3 days with Bobby and I during our first trip to Myanmar 3 years ago. Sam seems to really enjoy sharing his country with us, translate for us as we roll along, and see that we experience the real culture of Myanmar. And that is exactly what we are geting -- when one says, get local -- well, we are in it ! Far away from tourism (except for Bagan), this is everyday life here, and that's what I enjoy the most. Talking with local people or the Buddhist monks, and hearing their story. And they like to hear about us as well, and it helps them to speak English and develop their speaking fluency.

On our first day, after getting familiar with our respective motorcycles at the shop in Mandalay, bags strapped on the back, and helmets on, we hit the road on the journey. Unfortnately we didn't have a breaking in period to get accustomed to riding, in a subtle and safe area before going into the busy city. The motorcycle shop is located in the heart of the bustling Mandalay city, and so immediately out of the shop, we are in the craziness of the city, with motorcycles everywhere. Sam took us for a visit to his son's monastery school, and we got a tour around the library and the school property. The girls that showed us around have excellent english fluency, so the school must be doing a very good job. Then, back on the road in the city. We ride in single file with some space in between the 4 of us, with Sam in the front of course, and Robert in the back. Unfortunately, while crossing a busy intersection Haley took a spill and went to the asphalt, when a crossing motorcycle cut her off and left her in the position of either crashing or going to the ground. Fortunately, it wasn't severe, just some scratches and a couple bent pieces on the motorbike --so resting and regrouping on the curb, and the motorcycle shop bent the damage back in place, and we're back on the road again. Believe me, with the many variables of riding motorcycles here, and the fact that there just aren't any rules when it comes to "right of way", you have to make that split second judgement call of making an aggressive move or taking a defensive move - it's no joke. And kudos to Haley for getting back on the bike after getting rattled, as it's not easy.

While at lunch, outside of Pakokku, all of a sudden, the music starts BLASTING, I mean, loud ! And motorcycles and trucks start rolling in, all with red flags that represent the Democratic political party, paying tribute to the late General Aung San, with a statue being carried around on the truck. We go over into the rally, and next thing you know, they're all excited to be taking pictures with us in the middle of the rally -- everyone crowded around us, music blaring, lots of excitement. It was pretty cool.

The day of riding ended yesterday with an awesome boat ferry ride across the river to Monywa, with the motorcycles on top. At the night market, Haley and Connor visited the bug vendor and each ate a large cricket, very high in protein ! Yummm !

More to tell, but I just don't have enough time -- exhausted at night when I make it to the room after the busy day, and then we leave this morning for more riding to our next stop, Shwebo. It's tough to have time to write the stories, so I'm squeezing it in wherever I can. And the added challenge of intermitent internet connectivity along with power outages throughout the day -- this morning alone there were 7 power outages, and that's a normal day.

The pictures will show everything, so check them out by clicking on the photo album.

Enjoy ! Onward, to Shwebo !

Robert, Haley & Connor