In the beginning of November, I headed out to Asia for the first time! I went to Myanmar, Thailand and Japan. My best friend is from Myanmar, so I went to visit her in Yangon and then we flew to Bagan. Bagan is one of the most beautiful places that I have ever been to.
In Bagan, there are many pagodas. A pagoda is a tower like structure made of stone, brick or wood, and is used like a temple. In Myanmar, the pagodas are more conical or pyramid shaped. In order to enter the pagodas, you have to take off your shoes and walk barefoot…what an experience that was!
On one of our days there, we woke up at 5 am and headed out to a pagoda. We climbed about 20 feet high and watched the hot air balloons over the sunrise. This was one of my favorite experiences. Hearing the sound of the birds as we climb very steep steps to watch the hot air balloons rise with the sun, seeing the excitement in everyone’s sleepy faces and just being there surrounded by nature – it was such a rich experience.
Then, I flew to Bangkok! I spent two days in Bangkok, and while I was there, I got to experience the floating markets!
It’s amazing to see how people around the world do things so different. I love the Thai culture, especially the food! While in Thailand, I also got to ride on an elephant. Another cool experience!
The view from our hotel.
And to end my trip, I headed off to Tokyo. I have never seen so many people walking in the city like I saw in Tokyo. I loved walking through the streets, trying different foods, seeing all of the high rises…it was such a different world. I went to a few different shrines and I even took the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto.
It’s crazy how each country is so different, even though they are so close to each other. I felt like I experienced so much in such a short amount of time and I would definitely like to go back one day and see more of these countries.
