Finally I got some time and inspiration to write about our very first night in Yangon, Myanmar.
In fact, it was a first night for me as Ruben was in Yangon already in August. So he was much more ready than me to all those shocks I've encountered.
We landed in Yangon around 4.30 pm and by the time we got to our new flat - our future 'home' - it was about 7 pm.
Myo, our landlord and now a friend also, was waiting for us already in the flat. We dropped our things, had a quick tour in the flat and went to have some dinner in the tea house just around the corner.
It was my first time eating Burmese food. I was so hungry and tired that even didn't notice that the food was quite greasy and weird. This I realized later the next day when my stomach was not so happy about the dinner :) Papaya juice was stinky (yes, I don't like papaya; for me it smells like trash). But the dinner was cheap. I think we payed around 4 USD for both of us including drinks.
To word, eating in local tea houses are usually very cheap and if you know what to eat, you can choose something really nice.
Anyway, right after dinner we went back to the flat. And there we had our first power cut - it was short, but long enough for me to get scared while fighting cockroaches. Yes, there were huge cockroaches in the bathroom and the kitchen. I was trying my best to fight those disgusting creatures with a repellent.
The light appeared again after 15 minutes or so. And we decided to go for a walk in the night Yangon. Ruben told that he knows one route. I agreed.
We were wondering around passing by Central station, going downtown to Sule Pagoda and then went to Indian town. Indian town was horrible during the night. There were a lot of people sitting on the streets - eating or just doing nothing. They all stared at me - I'm white, blond, wore shorts and sleeveless t-shirt. Of course they would stare; they are not so used to see many foreigners.
The sidewalks were broken and you can see the sewage underneath, stinking and dangerous. I've seen some rats on the street and felt really disgusting - oh gosh, where I am? why did I come here for God sake... Is THIS my dream to live in Asia, being Zen and stuff?..
At that moment I couldn't believe that I can survive in this country. I wanted to pack my bags and go home. But go home where? I couldn't go back to Belgium since didn't have visa anymore. Going back to Ukraine was not an option either. No choice - I have to adjust... Running away is childish. Facing a challenge together with Ruben was my own conscious choice.
Finally we got to 365 cafe. It's a 24 hour cafe with wifi, full of locals and expats, more or less western style. I would say small civilized island in the middle of nowhere. We had some drinks, chatted with Ruben about our first Myanmar experience and tried to fight our jet lag (which will follow us for the next couple of weeks after).
We were home late after midnight and fall asleep immediately, even being still scared of those creepy insects.That night I slept like a baby in our king size huge and comfy bed.
... Next morning I woke up. In the daylight the things looked much better. Morning is always wiser than evening, as we say in Ukraine... :)
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