Amy and I decided to skip the free hotel breakfast. We were going to a tea house, Lucky 7 for breakfast. It was busy but we found a seat and ordered food. It was all delicious and she loved it as much as I did. We ate too much food were regretting it as we left for our cooking class.
We were taking a cooking class at Monsoon Restaurant. The manager met us and told us to go upstairs. We walked to the second level and were greeted by a head chef and two sous chefs. We figured it was going to be a large class and found out it was just the two of us! The menu consisted of tea leaf salad, Ragine Spicy Curry Sea Bass, Shan Chicken Curry with Potatoes, Coconut Rice and lentil soup.
The chef had the sous chef do all the chopping ahead of time. Darn, that means we will eat sooner. The head chef demonstrated the dish, we tasted it and then made our dishes.
Oops! I forgot to cover the pestle while pounding and the chef caught me! She was concerned I would get spices in my eyes. 
The aromas were heavenly. After all of the cooking they arranged the meal for us. Mmmmm mmmmm! We savored our food. It was more than we could eat. But so delicious. After we finished our meal we ordered Vietnamese coffee and relaxed. It was still early and Amy asked what my plan for my last afternoon was. I told her there were 2 things on my list. A fortune telling at Sule Pagoda and the evening at Shwedagon Pagoda. She was intrigued with the fortune telling. We had both read/heard that the Yangon people visited the Sule Pagoda to have fortunes told when important events happened in their lives. We decided to have our fortunes told. Amy had to catch the evening bus so she went first. When she was done we said our goodbyes and I sat down to have my reading. The woman asked me my birth date, time of birth and country. I told her and she started writing down information on a sheet of paper. Then she read my palms. It was an interesting reading and some of the information from my past were spot on (especially about my last job). I took notes on my future and time will tell if any of it was true. I don't live my life by these things but it was a fun and interesting reading.
I walked back to the hotel and cleaned up before getting a taxi to the Shwedagon Pagoda. It was a nice night out. No rain in sight. I went to Shwedagon and started my walk around the pagoda. I heard a woman chanting and went to the temple and sat and listened to her. As I left a young monk walked up and asked "where is your home country?" I told him USA and he wanted to take a picture. He spoke little English and I spoke little Burmese. He told me to follow him and he took me around to see parts of the pagoda which were special to him. He motion for me to bow three times and what to do next. As we walked he showed me pictures of people he met. He introduced me to his 2 monk friends. They tried to teach me to meditate....a lasted 2 minutes and thought about how uncomfortable I was for 10 minutes. Scenes from the movie Eat, Pray Love kept passing through my mind. I felt like Julia Roberts in India with time standing still. The monks laughed at me and said I needed to practice
more often. As we parted, he gave me his Buddha prayer beads. I thanked him and said my goodbyes.
My trip to Myanmar was amazing! The people were kind and welcoming. They not only opened their country to me but, also their homes and hearts. I feel a special bond with the beautiful people of Myanmar. I hope and pray that the country finds peace and good fortune in the future. They are so hopeful after many years of repression under the military regime. I love Myanmar. It is an amazing country that I would like to visit again after the government opens up more areas for tourists. A trip like this opens up your mind and appreciation for your own country. No country is perfect or right 100% of the time. But it is pure luck that some of us have been born in countries where we have freedoms versus countries that do not. I am thankful for my opportunities every day. I don't think people understand this until you have visited foreign countries and witnessed it first hand. Explore the areas you visit and search out the local people. I promise your travels will be amazing. You will be enriched from interacting with the people and understanding their culture and daily life.
I walked back to the hotel and cleaned up before getting a taxi to the Shwedagon Pagoda. It was a nice night out. No rain in sight. I went to Shwedagon and started my walk around the pagoda. I heard a woman chanting and went to the temple and sat and listened to her. As I left a young monk walked up and asked "where is your home country?" I told him USA and he wanted to take a picture. He spoke little English and I spoke little Burmese. He told me to follow him and he took me around to see parts of the pagoda which were special to him. He motion for me to bow three times and what to do next. As we walked he showed me pictures of people he met. He introduced me to his 2 monk friends. They tried to teach me to meditate....a lasted 2 minutes and thought about how uncomfortable I was for 10 minutes. Scenes from the movie Eat, Pray Love kept passing through my mind. I felt like Julia Roberts in India with time standing still. The monks laughed at me and said I needed to practice
more often. As we parted, he gave me his Buddha prayer beads. I thanked him and said my goodbyes.
My trip to Myanmar was amazing! The people were kind and welcoming. They not only opened their country to me but, also their homes and hearts. I feel a special bond with the beautiful people of Myanmar. I hope and pray that the country finds peace and good fortune in the future. They are so hopeful after many years of repression under the military regime. I love Myanmar. It is an amazing country that I would like to visit again after the government opens up more areas for tourists. A trip like this opens up your mind and appreciation for your own country. No country is perfect or right 100% of the time. But it is pure luck that some of us have been born in countries where we have freedoms versus countries that do not. I am thankful for my opportunities every day. I don't think people understand this until you have visited foreign countries and witnessed it first hand. Explore the areas you visit and search out the local people. I promise your travels will be amazing. You will be enriched from interacting with the people and understanding their culture and daily life.
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