Yangon with Kids

My motivation to write this post is the lack of information I found online about traveling to Myanmar with kids. Typically, when we take a visa run, I spend many hours researching all the possible places we could go and comparing costs and activities. While I found lots of resources about how to travel in Myanmar, almost none of it included traveling with children. Now, our children are great travelers and don’t require many adjustments as compared to adult travelers, but it is useful to know how other children have enjoyed a location, especially if I haven’t been there myself.

Family pic at Shwedagon Pagoda

Some people might be reluctant to travel to Myanmar at all, given the country’s historic unrest and its very recent opening to visitors. The unrest certainly continues in certain areas, especially as related to the Rohingya. (You can learn more about that HERE and HERE.) However, we did not feel unsafe at all while we were in Yangon. We found the people of Myanmar to be extremely friendly and welcoming. Many were curious when they saw us because there are not many Western visitors, especially families with young children. We never felt threatened in any way, though, even when walking through areas of town that some might label as slums.

Our family only traveled to Yangon, so we can’t offer any advice as to how children would do in other popular cities like Mandalay Bay or Bagan, but we enjoyed our few days in the former colonial capital. These are some of the activities and sights that might be of interest to you if you’re considering visiting Yangon, with or without children.

We arrived in Yangon on a Saturday afternoon. We took advantage of our hotel’s free shuttle to the famous Shwedagon Pagoda and visited the nearby People’s Park. I highly recommend visiting People’s Park, even if you don’t have children, because it is a beautiful space. If you’re traveling with kids, they will enjoy the airplane and train engine that you can visit inside the park, as well as the treehouse bridges that you can walk across and get beautiful views of both the park and the nearby pagoda.

Treehouse Bridges at People's Park

Shwedagon Pagoda is just across from People’s Park, and you can easily walk there after touring the park. I had read that the pagoda is best to visit at night because it can be very hot during the day, and because all the gold around the pagoda is especially beautiful in the evening. We grabbed dinner at a market near the park and then toured the pagoda. We were fortunate to see a guide as we entered the upper area of the pagoda, and he took us on a tour lasting over an hour. We paid for this tour (10,000 kyat per adult, or about $7.35), but we felt the cost was more than worth it since we learned a lot more from our guide than we would have known by simply walking around the premises ourselves.

We have been to many, many Buddhist temples, and in some ways this pagoda is not too different from others we’ve visited. It is considered the most important pagoda in Myanmar, though, and is visited by thousands of people each year. It’s substantially larger than other pagodas we’ve been to, and certainly one of the most impressive Buddhist sites we’ve seen. Our guide also told us about several of the side temples and their significance, and about the history of the largest pagoda, which was built over many years. I would recommend seeing this particular pagoda, even if you think you’ve seen all the Buddhist sites already.

View of Shwedagon Pagoda from People's Park

Since we traveled to Yangon over the weekend, we were able to attend church on Sunday morning with some Burmese believers. It was amazing to attend Immanuel Baptist Church, one of the oldest buildings in the city, and worship with believers who are a very small minority in their country. Their church has several services in different languages, so if you want to attend the English service, be sure to go at 8:30am.

After church we took a walk through the area adjacent to it, which is Maha Bandula Park, surrounded by Sule Pagoda, City Hall, Immanuel Baptist Church, and Yangon Region Court. Once our stroll through the park was complete, we headed down toward the river and Strand Street to eat lunch at the Strand Hotel. The Strand Hotel dates back to colonial Burma, and is over one hundred years old. The inside of the hotel is gorgeous, and it would have been worth it just to see the unique architecture and decorations. There is also a fine dining restaurant and smaller cafe, where you can get some delicious food. We chose to eat lunch at the smaller cafe, and were not disappointed in any way. Scott and I ordered some Burmese dishes and the kids ordered Western food. It was all amazing! The portions are very large, especially for the price, and we ended up taking enough home to eat for dinner the next day.

Maha Bandula Park

On our last full day in Yangon we intended to visit the National Museum, but since it was closed we went to the Yangon Zoo. It was a nice way to spend the morning since our kids love animals, but if you are not used to how animals are treated in non-Western countries, you may want to skip it. That afternoon we took a ride on the famous Circle Train, in part because our boys love trains, and because I wanted to get a closer look at how people live outside of downtown.

Some of my research about the Circle Train said that it got derailed often and was not terribly reliable. That was not our experience; we rode the train for about half an hour and didn’t have any problems. The entire journey takes about three hours, so perhaps those malfunctions happen later in the ride. The train is open air, with a few bench seats along the sides, but many people stand or even sit along the steps that are used to enter and exit the train cars. If you are used to traveling in various cities in Southeast Asia, this will not be a big deal to you. If you are thinking about trains in Japan before you get on the Circle Train, you will be disappointed. Also be aware that the train goes in two directions, but only leaves from each station at long intervals (maybe every 1.5 hours), so it’s worth asking about the train schedule at your hotel if you can. Otherwise, you might be sitting at Central Station for a long time waiting for your train. I would recommend knowing where you want to exit before you get on because the train does not stop for long at each station after Central Station, and there will not be much time for deliberation before the train moves on.

Circle Train leaving the station

We exited the train at Byak Htau Station and walked briefly through the local neighborhood. We decided to take a taxi to Inya Lake, since the sun was getting ready to set and we wanted to get some good views of the sun setting over the lake. You might want to take a taxi either way, since they are very cheap and it would be a considerable walk to the lake from that station.

We arrived at Inya Lake just before sunset and took a stroll along the lake’s edge. There is a nice walking/running/biking trail there, and it was full of people exercising. There are also a few food carts at the entrance if you want to grab a bite to eat. We ended up walking quite a ways around the lake, and even inadvertently walked past State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi’s house where she stayed on house arrest for almost 15 years. (There’s not much to see except the outside of the house. My understanding is that she does not spend much time there these days.) We ended our evening at a delicious Japanese restaurant called Fuji House Cafe and Restaurant. It’s located near the U.S. embassy, in case you are there and need a good place to eat for lunch.

Sunset over Inya Lake

My only regret from our trip was that we were not able to visit the National Museum. I had read that it is a great place to learn more about the history of Myanmar, learn about some of the people groups who live within its borders, and to see some important art and artifacts. Unfortunately, the museum was closed the day that we tried to go, which was also our last day in Yangon. There are varying reports online as to when the museum is open, but one of our hotel’s employees called for us, and assured us that it is usually open, just not on Mondays.

Here are some things to consider if you are thinking about traveling to Yangon: it’s not as modern as other SE Asian cities like Chiang Mai, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, etc. It’s also not nearly as expensive. If you’re okay with taking taxis everywhere, you’ll be fine in Yangon. There is a public bus system, but the only information I could find about it, both online and in the city, was in Burmese. However, taxis are very inexpensive, and I would recommend using them since you can go exactly to your desired location without having to wait on a bus route. If you don’t speak Burmese, it may be hard to eat at some local places. Our family likes to dine local whenever possible, but the couple of times we tried to eat at a small roadside restaurant in Yangon, the menus were only in Burmese and none of the staff spoke English. English is certainly not as prevalent there as in other cities, but other than eating we didn’t have any problems with communication.

We thoroughly enjoyed our long weekend in Yangon, and would recommend it to any traveler, with children or without. If you travel to Bagan or Mandalay Bay with children, please let us know about your experience!

Made from Scratch

Since moving to Thailand, I’ve had to learn how to make do without certain food items that I would usually use to cook. Often this isn’t really a big deal, especially since there is so much delicious Thai food with which to fill that void. However, after being here for more than a year, there are some things that we just would rather not live without.

This has forced me to make some things from scratch that, previously, I would simply purchase already made or use a pre-packaged mix. Here are some recipes that I’ve found to be both easy and delicious!

Pancake Mix

When we lived in the U.S. we ate pancakes quite frequently; they were a weekend favorite! I had made some specialty pancakes from scratch (like these banana pancakes and these apple pie pancakes--so good!), but for regular pancakes had generally used a mix. We can get pancake mix here, but it’s significantly more expensive than just making our own. This mix is easy to make up ahead of time; I usually double it and put it in a gallon ziploc bag. Then you can just use as much as you need when you’re ready to make your pancakes!

Waffles

As you can see, we LOVE eating breakfast food! In fact, we’ll eat it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a snack. Last year we ate mostly pancakes because we didn’t have a waffle iron. This summer I got some money for my birthday, so we decided to spend it on a waffle maker. Best birthday present ever! Now we get to eat our beloved waffles whenever we want. We’ve even discovered other uses for it, like making cookies or grilled cheese sandwiches--Yum!

Anyway, I had never made waffles from scratch before, so I tried out this recipe. It’s so easy to put together, uses ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen, and tastes great!

(Recipe is originally from Cuisinart)

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 ¾ cups milk

6 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 large eggs

Instructions:

Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and combine until well blended and smooth. Let batter sit five minutes. Use ¼ cup each side of a rectangular waffle maker, or 1 cup in a circular one.

Grilled cheese via the waffle maker!

Black Beans

Another worthwhile purchase was our slow cooker. When we first moved to Thailand we only planned to spend a year here, and I didn’t want to spend a bunch of money on kitchen appliances that we would only use for a short time. Once we decided to stay for a second year, however, I decided that a slow cooker would be a good purchase. It has been life-changing! We study Thai one evening (and on Saturday morning) every week, and getting dinner ready, eaten, and cleaned up before 6 was a bit of a rush. The slow cooker has made that so much easier!

Of course I had a slow cooker in the U.S., so I already have loads of recipes ready to use once we made that purchase. Something I didn’t know you could make in the slow cooker, though, was black beans! I had always bought them canned because I didn’t have a pressure cooker and thought that was the only real way to cook them. Plus, with cans just a few cents each, why not just buy them? Going a full year without black beans was a sad time for our family, though, because it’s a staple in our diet. So, I searched Pinterest for a good slow cooker black bean recipe, and now there’s no going back! Cooking the beans in the slow cooker was soooo easy, the flavor was great, and I can cook a bag of dried beans (which produces about 3.5 cans worth) for only $1! Once they’re cooked you can measure out the usual amount you need for a recipe (I did about the same as one can, since that’s what a lot of my recipes call for anyway) and put it in a freezer bag. Thaw them in the refrigerator for a bit before you put them in your recipe, and BOOM!

Enchilada Sauce

Enchiladas are a favorite in our family. We can get tortillas rather easily here (I’ve made my own before but I just don’t have the time/space to at this stage in life), but I had trouble finding canned enchilada sauce, so we just didn’t eat any for the first year. This year, though, I decided I didn’t want to live without enchiladas any more, so when a friend recommended this recipe, I went for it! Honestly, it’s one of the easiest things to make, and it tastes even better than the canned version! I made the recipe as-is the first time, but our kids found it a bit too spicy for their liking, so in the future I’m going to halve the amount of chili powder.

Caramel Sauce

Who doesn’t love a good caramel sauce (whether you pronounce it car-mel or car-a-mel)? It is one of my favorite things about fall, but it just isn’t easy to find here. Scott likes fruit crisps for dessert, so I made this Caramel Apple Crisp a couple of times. The crisp would be good without the sauce, but the sauce adds so much!! I was nervous about making caramel because I don’t have a candy thermometer or anything and our stove doesn’t hold at a specific temperature very well. You don’t have to really worry about those with this recipe, though. Pro tip: it tastes really good with vanilla ice cream!

Pie Crust

This recipe is from the Nestle website, and it’s the one I’ve been using for the last year plus. I had made my own crust before in the States, but I wasn’t very good at it and it was so much easier to just buy a crust from the store. I’ve had good luck with this particular recipe, though, and now making crust from scratch is rather easy! Last year I put the crust together using a fork or two knives, but while we were in Indiana this summer I made a point to dig out my pastry cutter. Makes it much easier to pull it all together!

Scott's birthday pie--Dutch apple!

Maybe you’re like me and are living in a new environment that doesn’t offer all the food items you’re used to, or maybe you’re just trying to get away from using processed foods. These recipes are all easy to make with easy-to-find ingredients. Enjoy!

What a Difference a Year Makes

We finally feel re-settled back in Chiang Mai after a wonderful summer in Indiana. Our transition this year has been a lot smoother than last year, in part because everything feels much more familiar this year than last. Our house, car, neighborhood, jobs, church, friends, etc. were waiting for us to come back and we were able to pick up more or less like we had never been gone. I’ve been reflecting this week on how different things were for us at this time last year. Even though there are certainly things that are not easy about our life here, there are many ways in which our life has become much more manageable.

First Day of School 2016 and 2017

One year ago this month we started learning Thai, which has made a huge difference for us. Before learning Thai, we would get nervous every time someone came to our house unexpected because we didn’t know how to communicate with them and ask why they were there or what they needed. Recently, a policeman and our neighborhood security guard stopped by late at night. Scott was able to hold a conversation with them, ascertaining what they were looking for and assuring them we didn’t have it. I can’t imagine how nerve-racking that would have been without knowing any Thai. We’re able to have basic conversations with many of our neighbors, too, which makes us feel more at home in Chiang Mai.

We’ve also spent the last year working on completing all the paperwork needed to live and work here legally. It’s required some significant hoop jumping, but we finally have all the key documentation. This doesn’t necessarily affect our day-to-day lives, but it gives us a lot of peace of mind in case we were ever stopped by police or questioned by immigration. Additionally, it allows us to travel more freely and, hopefully, more cheaply this coming year.

Through the generosity of some of our friends who have left Chiang Mai, we’ve acquired several key items that have helped make our life more comfortable. A few of these include: a toaster, cooking supplies, a comforter that covers our whole bed (!!), and an extra blanket and pillows for X’s room which will allow us to host visitors (hint, hint). We’ve also been able to make some key purchases to help us feel more organized and alleviate some stress. We found a slow cooker which helps me spend less time stressing about dinner on days that we study Thai. Our landlord agreed to pay for half of a kitchen cabinet, which we found on clearance. Having the cabinet means we can store food more easily and longer-term, and it has a small counter so that I can prep food a lot more quickly. It also allows us to use the plastic set of drawers that we were using in the kitchen as a homeschool/craft storage area, which means we don’t have to have as many piles of stuff sitting around the house. My OCD-self is super thankful for that!

Our new kitchen cabinet!

When we arrived here a year ago, we were basically in survival mode, trying to purchase as little as possible to get through a year. Now that we have experienced living here for a whole year, we know what we can still live without and what would truly make life easier. We’re thankful to everyone who has prayed for our documentation, donated to our family to allow us to make some purchases, and has been so encouraging to us over our first year in Thailand. We are looking forward to another year, especially with all these added comforts!

Take Me to Church

We will be on furlough this summer for the end of June and all of July. We are really excited to see everyone and especially update our supporters with stories and figures of what a difference their prayers and finances have made. If you would like to hear us speak at one of these events, here is our current schedule:

June 25: Rockville Christian Church (Rockville, IN)

July 2: Faith Southern Baptist Church (Clay City, IN)

July 9: World Gospel Church (Terre Haute, IN)

July 16: United Methodist Temple (Terre Haute, IN)

We’ll be giving about a ten-minute update at each church as to what our IJM Chiang Mai office has done in the past year. If you can’t make it to any of those, be sure to talk to us at the Race for Freedom on July 1!

If none of those dates work for you, please be sure to contact us and set up a time to connect with you personally.

See you SOON, Indiana!

Race for Freedom

We are so excited to be back in Indiana in just a few weeks! We are looking forward to spending lots of time with family and friends, and visiting churches and other groups who have supported us this year. We also have quite the list of food items that we plan to eat!

Another reason for our visit is to raise funds for our second year in Thailand. Our sweet family has organized a 5K race and kids' run to help us do that!

Race for Freedom will happen on Saturday, July 1, at World Gospel Church in Terre Haute. The kids' fun run will start at 8:30am, and it is available for all children up to age 12. The 5K will begin at 9am and is open to all ages. Our friend DJ Rerum (Darren Wagner) will be spinning some tunes to get our feet moving! Some local businesses have made donations toward the race, including Chick-fil-a sandwiches!! If you sign up by June 24, you'll even get a t-shirt out of the deal. All the proceeds from this race will go directly to our family, to help with our expenses during our second year in Thailand.

We would love to see each of you in person, to tell you about our time in Thailand and all the important work that International Justice Mission is doing. You can register using this link. Please consider joining us as we celebrate our own independence, and raise money to help those across the globe who can only hope for their own.

Ten Reasons You Should Visit Thailand

Now that we’ve committed to staying for a second year, you have plenty of time to plan a trip to visit us! Even if you’re not able to visit in the coming year, you should definitely add a trip to Thailand to your bucket list. Here are some of the things we love about Thailand, and we think you’ll love them, too.

1. The Food

One thing I love about Thailand is the huge variation of food available. Sure, rice is a staple in a lot of dishes, but you can certainly avoid it if it’s not your thing. There are noodles, soups, and vegetable stir-frys that will keep you satisfied for days. Thai food is so flavorful, too. You can get dishes with plenty of spice or none at all, with really rich flavor or something more bland. The northern part of Thailand, where we live, is also home to some unique dishes that you aren’t likely to find in other parts of the country. My favorite local dish is khao soi, a rich soup with delicious egg noodles. I never pass up an opportunity to eat some good khao soi!

Khao soi gai

If for some reason you can’t find a Thai dish that suits you, there are also dozens of international restaurants to choose from. We regularly eat Indian, Mexican, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese food. There are even U.S. favorites like McDonalds, Subway, and Starbucks. Even the pickiest of eaters can find something they like in Chiang Mai!

2. The People
Our office staff are some of the loveliest people you will ever meet. They are kind, compassionate, and dedicated to their work. We’re blessed to be able to get to know them during our time here. Our experience with people outside the office has also been great. Most Thai people we meet are very kind and gracious when we speak our broken Thai, and eager to help us if we have a question. Many Thai people love children, too, so our kids get lots of attention and treats, even from passersby. Thailand is known by many as the “Land of Smiles”, and we have found that to be very true!

X getting his picture taken by one of his many adoring fans

3. The Weather

If you’re a person who enjoys warm weather, it’s hard to think of a better place to be than Thailand. The coolest it has been here in Chiang Mai is the upper-70s (Fahrenheit) during the day, dipping only a little cooler in the evenings. It does get pretty hot during hot season, reaching around 100 on a typical day, but many locations have air conditioning available, and many neighborhoods have beautiful pools, which make swimming a very common and affordable pastime. Chiang Mai is near the mountains, so the heat is not nearly as sweltering as it might be in places like Bangkok. Rainy season lasts almost half the year, but even then it’s not usually a constant rain, just occasional rains during the day.

4. Elephants

There are many opportunities to see elephants in Northern Thailand, but our favorite is Elephant Nature Park. You can read more about our family’s experience here. Elephant Nature Park gives you the chance to get up close to elephants and learn more about how they should be cared for. Our kids loved being able to touch, feed, and bathe the elephants. Every time I see one, I am in awe of how amazing they are. They really are majestic creatures!

5. The Mountains
Before moving to Thailand I had visited various mountain ranges, but never lived near the mountains. To be honest, I was initially a little sad about how far we are from the beach, since I love the water, but living near the mountains has been better than expected. The mountains here are beautiful! They are similarly sized to the Appalachians and totally covered in trees.

It’s so fun to take a drive up the mountain and see all the beautiful views of the city and surrounding countryside. The weather is also milder in the mountains, making it a nice break from some of the heat of the city. Our family loves to go hiking in the mountains, and the views are hard to beat!

6. The Old City

When most people visit Chiang Mai, they stay in or near the Old City. We live about 20 minutes away and only go there about once a month, but it’s a great place to visit. If you stay in the Old City, you can walk everywhere you want to go. It’s home to tons of great restaurants, both Thai and non-Thai. There are plenty of tourist and historical attractions to see within the Old City, too. You can also see the old city wall that is still standing in many areas, with the moat surrounding. And it’s the best place to do souvenir shopping. Definitely a must-visit!

7. Outdoor Adventures
If you’re looking for some outdoor adventures, Thailand is the place to be! The most common ones are ziplining, bamboo rafting, and snorkeling. You can also ride ATVs through the jungle, hike a mountain, and climb a waterfall. These are just a few examples of all the fun adventures you can have outside of the city.

Ziplining with Flight of the Gibbon

8. Unique Celebrations

Once we knew we were moving to Thailand, we began to learn about Thai culture and were looking forward to lots of new experiences. The two things our kids were most excited about were Loy Krathong Festival (or Lantern Festival, as we call it) and Songkran (Thailand’s new year festival). If you’ve seen Tangled, the scene with the lanterns being released in the sky is a pretty close representation of that part of the Lantern Festival. You can read a little more about its history here.

Songkran is the Thai new year festival, celebrated in April. Originally, people would sprinkle water on each other in order to bless the other person for the new year. Over time sprinkles turned into sprays, and today it’s an all-out water fight! People line the streets manned with buckets and water guns and dowse anyone who passes by. Even people driving by on the street are not safe! The kids had been waiting for this ever since we moved to Thailand, and it did not disappoint!

X enjoying Songkran

9. Affordable Travel

Once you get to Thailand, travel is very affordable. Songthaews (large red taxis) are available to take you anywhere you want to go, and are quite reasonably priced. There are also taxis, tuk tuks, and Uber in the city. Additionally, flying within Thailand is really cheap and easy. You can get to a beautiful beach in just a few hours from our airport in Chiang Mai. Food and lodging are also affordable, and make it easy to enjoy many areas of Thailand without having to break the bank. Out of all the Southeast Asian countries we’ve visited, Thailand is the best place to get the most bang for your buck!

10. Seeing Us!

Okay, this is probably the least convincing reason to visit, but we would love to see you! We’d be happy to give you a tour around the city a bit and show you what our life is like in Thailand. We can give advice as to the best places to eat and to visit, and we even have an extra bed you could stay in, if that’s what it takes. 😉

Round Two

When we accepted a fellowship with IJM, our plan was to spend 12 months in Thailand, and then return to Indiana and pick up right where we left off. At the time we left, one year felt like a very long time to be away from everything that we knew, and we didn’t anticipate being away for any longer than that. However, once we arrived in Thailand and fell in love with both the people and culture, it became easier to think about staying for more than 12 months. The staff asked us to consider committing to another year, and after much prayer and consultation, we said yes. We are now planning to continue working with IJM Chiang Mai until June 2018!

Many people have asked why we decided to stay for a second year. First and foremost, we feel we are fulfilling a need that the office has. The staff have worked very hard and made big improvements in their English, but another year would mean even more improvements for everyone. In addition, the office anticipates hiring several new staff members in 2017, and all those staff members will need to study English, as well. Having the same instructor for a longer period of time would be beneficial in many ways.

Learning English in our classroom

Secondly, we have gotten some confirmation that this is where we need to be for this time. Our employers in the U.S. have been supportive of our work here, and for that we are exceedingly grateful. Some future plans that IJM has will make our staff’s English abilities even more necessary, and having us for a second year will be a great help in that regard. Since we already sold our house and one of our vehicles, it seemed like staying for a longer time was more logical than returning at a later point in the future.

Finally, Chiang Mai is a pretty easy place to live. We’re not saying that everything about living here is easy, because it certainly isn’t, but when we compare it to other possible locations around the world, there is a lot to be thankful for. We can eat at McDonalds, Subway, Burger King, KFC, or Starbucks if we are missing Western food. We also have access to most things we would want at local stores, so in many ways life looks the same for us here as in Indiana. There are many other expat families here who have shared experiences of raising kids abroad, and we are starting to feel like we have some community in Thailand.

If you have been missing our faces, don’t worry! We are still coming back to the U.S. in June for a brief furlough. We will be spending time with family and friends and visiting with supporters to update them on all that has been happening at IJM Chiang Mai. We’ll also be doing some fundraising for our second year. If you’re interested in more of those details, you can visit here. We plan to visit and speak at some churches, as well, and will let you know more of those details when we know them. If you think your church or other group would be interested in hearing about our work, let us know and we would be happy to talk!

Thank you to everyone who has encouraged us and prayed for us as we weighed this decision. We are grateful for all the prayer and support we have received these last nine months, and look forward to seeing all that God does through our staff in the coming year!