SAD ZOO (Yangon, Myanmar)

Perhaps it was the heat, or possibly the furry rats and mangy street dogs, that increased my lust for all things animal and made us hop into a taxi and travel across Yangon for a trip to the zoo. I had read it was a great colonial gem - a lovely Victorian leftover - literally over a hundred years old and full of exotic creatures.

Upon arrival, our first siting was a great big hippo jumping up on it's hind legs to be hand fed a bunch of greenery. Kris of course got as close as he could to the action. With those big choppers coming dangerously close to the keeper's arm and a group of young monks leaning perilously over the non existent railing, I thought we might have a real feeding frenzy on our hands!












We carried on, but most of the animals were far more dozy, like the beautiful white tiger laying on it's belly in it's own little Raj house just panting away, with it's big tongue hanging out over it's toothy smile.

The elephants were a rather sad state of affairs, just chained up in a concrete area in a small arena where they perform tricks for passing visitors and beg for bananas. Our energy was waning, but no trip to the zoo is complete for Kris without visiting his beloved monkeys.

RAT PACK (Yangon, Myanmar)

Yangon rises early and closes early. There are people on the streets selling at market stalls before the dawn, and then come midnight, everyone has gone home or bedded down on the street. I took the camera around for a late wander and found dudes playing cards on street corners and singing. People love to break spontaneously into song here! It's nice.

Not so nice is the clumsily hidden brothels - in a strictly governed, morally restrictive climate, the sex industry has found a home in the illegal mega-casinos springing up near the Chinese border away from the army's control, and then in the cities they are bizarrely in Karaoke bars. We've had some very funny karaoke experiences, with the unfair advantage of being westerners and considered superstars. So we were keen to visit again, but not here. We'll have to head back to the street corners for a spontaneous singalong.




 On the way home, walking through where the fruit market had been, there were so many rats, I actually kicked one with my bare toes in flip flops as it scrambled across the pavement. Eeesh!

FIRST IMPRESSIONS (Yangon, Burma / Myanmar)

It’s good to be back in Asia. The heat, the craziness, the toilets, the irresistible urge to buy tat. Burma, or Myanmar as it’s now referred, has some really unique things going on. It’s somewhere we’ve been fascinated with coming to for a long time, partly because of it’s natural beauty and amazing culture, but also because it’s so politically messed up and it pushes my social justice buttons. It’s been quite an insight touring around. 

A beautiful language, but not the most economic

Our first impressions were unexpected. We probably know more about Myanmar from the news than anywhere else - and that just seems to be all about rigged elections, Military Coups, people trafficking, fighting monks, and the plight of Aung Sung Sui Kyi, Myanmar’s big political hope. 

Well there wasn’t much sign of a Military presence or oppression - there are very few soldiers and police around. In fact, quite the opposite. The only recognisable groups on the streets are monks - thousands of them. Myanmar is a very religious place, and parts of the country feel like going back in time. There are shrines on every street corner, and beautiful pagodas pierce the skyline.

Myanmar is a very religious place - but definitely no Immortal materials allowed

Beautiful smiley people covered in Tanaka Face Paint, are shy but eager to greet you with waves and smiles, and less shy children run up to you with flowers. The country's borders opened to tourists just four years ago, and far from the slightly jaded relationship with tourists seen in other parts of SE Asia, people are in the early romance stage with Tourists and the West in general.

People are so kind and helpful, which is just as well because it is definitely harder going backpacking here than in other nearby countries - although not as tricky as we’d heard - you don’t need week’s supply of dollars to last you as ATM’s are plentiful (even if they steal your cards!) and they’ve upped their game for getting around. It’s just that the West has not fully landed yet - we’re grateful for that most of the time! Telltale (another sailing term I’ve learnt) signs of the West are scant - there are no MacDonald and Starbucks edifices. It’s pretty expensive here too - that was a surprise. But in the heart of the city, it feels very foreign. For a start, people speak very little English, conveniences like toilets and cold drinks seem impossible to find, and Yangon is HOT! In 45 degree heat and 80 percent humidity, it was quite a struggle to wander the streets for a safe bite to eat.

Yangon, previously Rangoon the old capital, boasts the largest Buddhist shrine in the world with the Swedagan Pagoda - an immense edifice in luxurious gold leaf, surrounded by a myriad of shrines, temples, and devotees. I lost Neko there and found her talking with a teacher and his students, helping field basic English questions. 

Shwedagon Pagoda

 Other than this ‘World Wonder’ of a sight, it was mainly all about walking the streets and soaking it all up. There are always weird and wonderful things to grab your attention.

Crouching Kitty, hidden Buddha??

Ceremonial sweeping

OFF TO SE ASIA (In Transit)

After four and a half months of living in Sydney, we are now on our way back home to Bristol...only with a slight detour in SE Asia. Ok, ok...it's a six week detour - but for the record, we aren't being overly ambitious. The plan is simple - three weeks in Myanmar (which we are expecting to feel like 'proper' travelling) followed by a chilled out time on a beach in Thailand (which will no doubt feel like a holiday). Watch this space.

JOEL & ELISE ENGAGED (Sydney, Australia)

The title says it all - little Joel proposed to his gorgeous girlfriend Elise on a very sunny Anzac Day and she said yes! We all drank bubbly and celebrated with them, laughing and crying and just generally feeling over the moon excited that we'll have a new sister in our family. Plus Kris has been asked to be Best Man and they are hoping for a summer wedding next year, which means we will be coming back to Oz much sooner than expected! Hooray all round.

MUSIC VIDEO (Sydney, Australia)

What happens when you take a bunch of students with high-falutin’ ideas and no money, with a whimsy to make a music video underwater, and combine them with an idealistic camera man with a bug up his ass? It wasn't an easy ride!

Firstly, it's hard to make a music video underwater when the lead actor can't swim. Seriously! That’s some bad planning right there. Add to that, hours in an unheated swimming pool, no breathing apparatus, and several spider bites, and you got yourself one helluva weekend! Pretty annoying. I'm not sure what the spider was, but it gave me a cracking headache and the shivers for 24 hours. I’m not sure I deserved that after rescuing a white tail from our laundry…the nasty flesh rotting ones.

Contrary to what people might assume given the localised swelling, the bug wasn't actually UP my ass.

SOUTH COAST (Jervis Bay, Australia)

Our time in Oz is ticking away, but we made sure to squeeze in a quick trip to see Kris' step-brother, his lovely wife and our beautiful nieces who live down the coast in Jervis Bay. Jesse & Emma are busy people, she is nearly done with med school and will be a full fledged GP by the next time we visit and Jesse is managing a monster building project. All this while raising their two beautiful daughters in a cool little beach town. It was great to hang out with them and see how much the girls are growing up, what they are into, what their favourite colours are, etc. As is normal in Oz, we spent the afternoon on Hyams Beach (which has the whitest sand in the world - literally, google it!) soaking up the sun under a perfect blue sky and by the next morning we were walking along the bay in the pouring rain, with the sea and the sky a matching blue-grey colour. Our drive back to the city took us through the countryside around Kangaroo Valley, where Jesse is overseeing a stunning hillside renovation of a beautiful modern house.

PLAIN SAILING (Pittwater, Australia)

We didn't come out to just swan about and enjoy the sunshine and the family's famously kind hospitality. We both want to make some progress with professional and artistic aspirations. Tricky this creative professional lark though.

Obviously we’re busting a gut to land some work - I’ve managed to recut my showreel, Neko made me a website, we've sent out a tonne of emails to contacts here, I've had a couple of interviews for local jobs....and now?…and now I'm off sailing, then it's to the clubhouse for drinks, then Joel and I have a tennis match! Well, it's all about networking darling.

Really, I was allowed to become part of the crew on a 40 foot racing yacht, competing against the likes of 'Wild Oats', Australia's premiere racing team. It's nuts! With my reputation for sinking boats (Motorboat with Jean Phillippe, Queensland 1995, Katamaran with my brother Jesse, Jervis Bay 2001), I can only assume they were duped by my piratey Bristol heritage and my willingness to sport a beard and stripes. I'm working on my limp.

So far, I have a couple of days a week tutoring on a media course at a local college, and I'm scheduled to shoot a music video next month. The rest of the time, it's all 'tacking and spritzers'! This freelance thing is turning out to be plain sailing.

UNDERGROUND OPERA (Wellington Caves near Dubbo, Australia)

So we're in The Outback...ish. It's Valentine's Day.

Now the landlocked regions of Australia are absolutely stunning - but there's not a lot happening. Where do you plan a romantic night out where it's all mozzies and sheep stations? Let's go to the high street milk bar and look at the local rag to see what's going on: country fair, shearing competition, hot rod rally, 'Pie and dance', nope nope nope nope. We chance upon a rare droplet of sophistication in the cultural desert that is the Australian heartlands: 'Opera in the Caves'.



We call for availability and lo and behold, talk with the actual opera company owner, a one man operation with a troop of the finest troubadours and some cool lighting. As it happens, when he's not running Opera events, he's a miner...everything from digging for gold and gems in Aussies new mining boom, to digging a harbour tunnel in Sydney. We asked about the event and enquired if we could see some pics online. He said his online photos were scant and that he hoped to get more tonight only his photographer had bailed. Well mercy me! Next thing you know, I'M booked to be the stand in photographer, and we land free tickets. Ker-ching!! A damp dark back row seat and some fat lasses wailing in Italian. Now that's what I call a real gem of a romantic night out.

My sweet Valentine...Neko 'Billy no mates'

Miner Bruce has that 1950's dappa talkshow host look. Love it!

Thank you Bruce Edwards www.operainthecaves.com.au

HAPPY CAMPERS (Murray River, South Australia)

Wayne Dermody seeks out quiet places to sit, sun, and fish alongside the thousand of miles of rivers in Australia’s Outback. We met him at the quiet and remote Cadell campsite on the Murray River. He served in Vietnam, came back and joined the police force, and wished he'd stayed on rather than leaving to odd-job around Oz. He had a girlfriend with four kids for six years. He finally left simply saying "I'm gonna split." She said "righto." Only then, did he learn to drive at age 50, and off he went on the road.

 

Wayne goes to occasional Vietnam vet reunions, keeps a collie called Shaggy and lives a simple life out of his Ute (Utility Vehicle / Truck). Everything he needs is right there. He’s on route to a reunion now. Along with his sister, these guys are the only people he keeps up with. To earn a few more bucks for the road, he will soon return to his work digs on a sheep station in Western Australia. He feels like his time is running out to keep doing physical labour as he gets old and out of breath. Wayne smokes 40 roll ups a day.

For Wayne, it’s never too late to start traveling, but it may be too late to stop.