As I nervously watch the news from Bangkok, knowing full well that we will be fine, we will be fine, my one overwhelming concern is that I won't be able to get to Chatuchak for the weekend market. Is that real crass selfishness? Yes, because the government in Thailand is really messed up, kind of like ours. However, the passports came back yesterday complete with Myanmar visas, and we actually have reservations in Sittwe and Mrauk U! We didn't get to go last year because of fighting in the area. This year we're goin' for it. A day to get to Sittwe, an overnight, a boat early the next morning for a 6 hour journey to Mrauk U, the site of a 15th century capitol littered with temple ruins, up the Kaladan river on the alluvial plain that empties into the Bay of Bengal. We have 3 days in Mrauk U that will include another boat ride to visit a Chin village. Then we reverse this, a day to get back to Sittwe, over night, and the plane back to Yangon. A big part of the adventure for me is seeing if all of this works as planned, how it works, and several days of wonder that it does! It looks so chaotic to me, an organized American who speaks no Burmese. I am addicted to the thrill of not knowing.
Our short stays in Bangkok will include a visit to Sampeng Lane, the Mecca of seamstresses and fabric junkies world wide. This year I finally figured out how to get there. Before this it has kind of been hit and miss. I intend to put a dent in the endless supplies of embroidery thread, pre-constructed frog closures, exotic buttons and Thai manufactured cottons. I have my sources, my secret places. And, of course, a trip to the classiest contemporary shop in Chatuchak, which happens to be just down the aisle from my favorite antique silver stall.
