Sunday, October 14, 2012

In the Land of Golden Smiles: 3 of 3



Continuation...

6.) Pinoy blooper. We were having dinner on our last night in Bagan. Right next to our table was a pair. The four of us started talking in Tagalog about the couple and I'm sure it was quite audible. Dinner came. Drinks came. After paying the bill and thanking the restau owner, we got up and made our way out. That's when the guy at the next table said, "Excuse me. You're Filipinos?" The four of just froze and tried to remember what we said earlier during the night. Haha! Thankfully, our earlier conversation stopped at asking who was what and nothing more crazy. Haha! 


7.) Being disconnected from the world. When we reached Bagan, almost every hotel and restaurant had a "Free Wifi" sign. But that was all it was - a sign. For two days, we tried to connect but it wasn't successful. I already expected that Inle would be the same. I was right. When we asked the front office of our hotel about wifi, they already told us that it doesn't work and they were apologetic about it.  I didn't mind at all. It was a reminder of the old days where I didn't have a mobile phone, I didn't have to post where I was, I didn't know what was happening in the outside world, and so on. (I did however still take photos of the food and the surroundings so I can upload them on Instagram upon our return to Yangon. Haha!) Being "offline" allowed me to just "be there" and be in awe of the panoramic lanscape surrounding us... and I was okay. 


8.) The sunrise at Shwesandaw Paya. My favorite, favorite, favorite experience during the trip! Let's just say that after having seen the sunrise at Shwesandaw, I've concluded that I really am a morning person. We reached Shwesandaw around 530AM. We made our way to the top of the temple. It was chilly. I didn't bring a jacket with me because it would be hot during the day. The magic started as 6 AM struck. I was on the other side of the temple marveling at the sight of the plains slowly being revealed by daylight. I decided to return to the other side which gave a vew of the sunrise. That was when I saw the golden orb rising from the horizon. At first, you can only just see a small section. Minutes, second passed by and the orb becomes bigger and bigger. A few minutes more and it was there - a perfect ball of golden yellow. It was truly an awesome sunrise. There is a feeling of optimism that goes with it, a feeling of hope that it's going to be an awesome day. And at that moment, I was just grateful, grateful to be there -  to see the glorious sunrise, to be in the midst of magical surroundings, to be alive and seeing everything around me. 

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