The Engleson Files

So once out of Burma, the Engleson clan will be heading down to Phuket and Ko Phi Phi island, Thailand to just hang out for two weeks and relax by the ocean. We have kind of split the trip up in half with Burmese trekking to begin and then Thailand chilling to end of; both phases of this month-long are very different but I think the contrast will be very much welcomed. I sincerely doubt I will be able to update my blog while away so I will have to inform you all of our stories once we return. I hope everyone has a great month and we will talk to you all when we get back to China. Cheers!

Loose Itinerary:

Bangkok - Jan.14th-16th
Rangoon - Jan.16th -20th
Bagan - Jan.21st-25th
Mandalay - Jan.26th-30th
Rangoon - Jan.31st
Phuket (Mariott) - Feb.1st-8th
Ko Phi Phi - Feb 8th-11th
Bangkok - Feb.12-14th
Home - Feb. 15th

See ya later!!

Two nights really, but what the hay, we’re on our way!!

The Golden Rock, Burma

Once our stint in Mandalay is over we will then find our way back down to Rangoon and get ready to fly out on the 31st of January. In all, we will have spent a little more than two weeks in Burma and will then head down south to Phuket where sun, sand and surf awaits. As I have stated earlier, I am very excited to go and visit Burma and see what it is all about. This trip has been on my mind for a long time and to finally have it in my grasp is very exciting. I fully realize that the situation in this country can be a little hazardous, but I am not concerned in the least. I think this trip will be wonderful for our entire family and all will have a great time.

Over the past two weeks Svea has really begun the process of trying to walk on her own. While the video clip doesn’t show it, her personal best so far is 6 steps; compared to Magnus she is roughly two months behind where he was at this time. I have a feeling by the time we get back from holiday she will be a full on walking terror. This is a fun time to watch your children grow!

So, after a few days in Bagan I hope to take a 9 hour boat ride east down the Ayeyarwaddy River to the great confines of Mandalay. Mandalay is the historical political capital of Myanmar and is also the capital of Myanmar culture. Here you will see a huge range of Buddhist Sasana and Myanmar traditional arts and crafts. While just soaking in the ambiance for 3-4 days, in Mandalay I am hoping to take the kids to some traditional Marionette shows and hopefully go watch the infamous Moustache Brothers Troupe perform. Supposedly, Mandalay is the richest historical landmark next to Bagan, so it should prove to be very interesting and I am very excited to be going there.

“If you’ve ‘eard the East a-callin’, you won’t never ‘eed naught else.”
No! you won’t ‘eed nothin’ else
But them spicy garlic smells,
An’ the sunshine an’ the palm-trees an’ the tinkly temple-bells;
On the road to Mandalay …

-Rudyard Kipling

Photo courtesy of Blake Defieux

Yes, today was our last day of work before our upcoming 5 week holiday. I know the rest of society will not sympathize with me, but the last 3 months have been a long haul and it feels good to finally have some time to rest and relax and be with family. For the past two days at work (don’t tell the boss) we have had Pro-d sessions in the morning and then it has been out to the pond in the afternoon for our last chance at some good old fashioned wintertime fun; for some reason it just seems to be that much more fun getting paid to do it. Anyways, it was absolutely glorious out on the huge ice surface and we are all exhausted from playing, but sadly that will probably be the last of it because the ice will most likely be gone once we all return from holidays. But for now, that is it, the time card has officially been punched and we are now on vacation!

Our next stop after Rangoon will be a 700 km jaunt north to the great plains of Bagan. Bagan is located in the middle of Myanmar, covering a tract of country measuring about 16 square miles along the east bank of the great Ayeyarwaddy River. The 2000 + monuments which are now in all stages of decay were erected mostly from the 11th to 13th centuries A.D., when Bagan was the seat of the Myanmar dynasty. Tradition carried by the local chronicles, has it that a long line of fifty-five kings ruled over this kingdom during the twelve centuries it was in power. Pictures that I have seen of this place look absolutely amazing and I simply cannot wait to go there. It is most likely we will spend 3′ish days here and hope to ride bikes around the area and soak in the history or maybe see it by ox-cart, who knows, but we are going and I know it will be fantastic!

Since we are on vacation for Svea and Magnus’s actual birthdays we have always tried to have their party before everyone goes away; and this year we were able to just squeeze it in. This time of year is always very hectic with report cards being due and everyone just generally tired from the long slog at school, so we did our best to keep this party a low key affair but still ensure that the kids had fun. We had all of Magnus’s school friends and a few of Svea’s acquaintances come over to help them celebrate. Kristin did a wonderful job planning the event and getting all the goodies prepared for the kids to devour; and also our Ayi and Alice’s Mom (Lao Lao) worked extremely hard making 300 jiaozi’s (dumplings) for all of us to enjoy - everything was just wonderful! In the end, everyone had a good time and all kids were sent home with their parents raging from a two hour sugar high. Happy birthday Magnus and Svea and thank you all for coming and a special thanks must go out to Kristin, Ayi and Lao Lao for making it a success.

Starting January 14th, 2008, the Engleson clan will embark on their one month winter holiday, which will take them into both Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand. The first leg of the journey will begin in Yangon (Rangoon) where we will most likely spend four days visiting. Yangon is the largest city (4 million people) and is also where the capital lies. The British began their colonization of Burma in the early 1600’s, governed it for 200+ years and then annexed it over to India in 1886; and then in 1937 Burma became a separate colony. After many tumultuous years of struggle, the military seized control of Burma in 1987 and then in 1989 changed the name of the country and everything else in between - hence the post-1989 name of Yangon to the previous Rangoon. As stated earlier, I prefer the old school days and will refer to it in the older Burmese fashion from here on in. The major point of interest in Rangoon is easily the Shwedagon Pagoda to which I am very excited to go and visit. Other than that, I understand Rangoon has a very diverse mixture of people living there and I would just like to tool around the city and soak in as much of the culture as I can. Bar none, I think Rangoon is the coolest city name out there and it is going to be very neat to say I have visited there.

Photos courtesy of Hubert Wong

During our most recent on day off this past Sunday, many Canadian teachers used it to participate in our 3rd Annual Dalian Ice Festival up at our local pond in Kaifaqu. It was, once again, a very selective crowd who came out and participated but it was also another raging success! The marquee event of the day was the age old classic barrel jump. Now, yes, we did not have any barrels to jump over perse, so instead, we placed sticks over shoes and then continued to widen the gap a shoe length at a time after each person successfully cleared that distance; so not exactly the same but the principles and spirit are identical. Coming into this year’s competition, Blake Defieux was the reigning two time champion and was feeling very strong about his ability to repeat. “I have never lost this competition,” were the infamous words spoken by the man heading into the showdown. But, for Defieux the day wasn’t meant to be and instead a new champion was declared…

But, as you can clearly see by the unorthodox style, it was not me who was crowned the Barrel Jump King - that honor went to a new staff member Darren Seath (see his form below). I was able to make it to the final-four in competitors and the final distance jumped but could not successfully clear it. Through our rude measuring instruments we figured that we were somewhere around 12 feet (so I would have last cleared 11 feet). I was easily the ugliest competitor in the field and clearly had the most wipe-outs, which my body is definitely feeling right now (I could barely walk the next day).

Adrian Conradi and Blake Defieux barreling in on their barrel jump

But, all in all, it was a great day out and a lot of fun was had by all. Our wintertime fun does not have as large of a window of opportunity as it would back home in Canada, so it is always great to take advantage whenever we can. We were also very happy to see Defieux lose his crown and not have to listen to him in the office anymore.

Barrel Jumping Facts:

- The men’s record was set in Terrebonne, Quebec, Canada, where Yvon Jolin cleared eighteen barrels (29ft, 5in) on January 25,1981.

-The woman’s record was set in Lasalle, Quebec, Canada by Marie Josee Houle who jumped over eleven barrels (22 ft, 5 1/4 in) on March 1, 1987.

The winning jump - 12 feet

Well, she did it! Yesterday our visa agent, Sunshine, in Beijing handed in our passports to the Myanmar embassy and got the official stamp we needed for our holiday. Getting the visa is not the big issue, but because we waited until the very last moment we needed to get it done ASAP and needed everything to work out just perfectly for in order for it to be done - and in China that can always be dicey. But, Sunshine came through in the clutch and did a fantastic job for us. So today, we celebrate Sunshine and all her wonderful efforts! Thank you Sunshine!!

How do you follow up Turkish Superman? That’s right - Turkish Spiderman! I am not sure these guys in Turkey followed the same premise of Spiderman as we are used to in North America, in fact, I am not even sure they know what they are doing at all. This is a very strange interpretation of ol’ Spidey, ladies and gentlemen, and if any of you think you understand the plot please leave a comment…

Oh yes, it never gets tiring winning! Once again, and for the 4th time in a row, Canada has won the World Junior Hockey Championships. This is an absolutely beautiful tournament and I am a very proud Canadian today - next goal: five-peat in Ottawa!!

Shwedagon Pagoda, Rangoon, Burma

Well, it’s official-official, the final pieces to the Burma (or Myanmar) puzzle are just about finalized. Yesterday, I Fedex’ed our passports to Beijing where I have a girl by the name Sunshine finalizing our visa permits into Myanmar. I am hoping/praying she will return our documents to us by next Thursday (which she “promises” she can do), because on Monday the 14th the Engleson clan is off to Bangkok and then on the 17th we are scheduled to fly into Rangoon, Burma. (I’m sorry for those who are new style Myanmarists, but I prefer the more old school, colonialist ideal of Burma - “it will always be Burma to me” to quote one J. Peterman of Seinfeld). It has been a long and arduous journey getting into Burma for us and it was almost lost again two days ago. Kristin is, to delicately put it, a little concerned about the political climate there and is worried that her babies will get into some trouble while visiting. I have done my best to reassure her that everything will be fine and that the trip we are taking is actually quite mild, but there is no arguing that Burma is a sensitive place, which is what I think makes it very special and unique. Anyways, this trip has been on my list for two years now and I am so excited to finally get it going - and I am going to say it right here, right now, Kristin will come away a huge fan and will wish to go again! So the countdown is on, Burma here we come!