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Inle Lake, Myanmar
Inle Lake is south-east of Mandalay a quick flight over a patchwork quilt of colourful fields, small villages and of course golden pagodas… I love the little airports here, everything is done by hand and printed sheets. Personal service from the time you get to the desk, a little sticker so people know what plane you are on and bags hand delivered to you at the other end of your flight! A 50-minute drive on windy roads through the mountain with a very nice but very nervous driver, I was going to offer to drive for him, I don’t think he liked the mountains bends much… The first view of…
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Mandalay, Myanmar
Flew into Mandalay this morning. As I only had a day here, I hired a guide and a driver to show me the sights. First stop was the U Bein Bridge that stretches across the Taungthaman Lake. Built in 1850, the 1.2km bridge is believed to be the oldest and longest teakwood bridge in the world – it’s a bit wobbly so well believe it… Next stop, was an unexpected one to the Maha Ganauon Monastery, to watch the donations procession for the novice monks – everyday people from across the world arrive to donate food, clothing etc to the monks. This is their only source of food and essentials.…
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Bagan Myanmar
Bagan was on my bucket list for a long time even though I had no idea where it was… I had seen photographs and thought 1 – one day I will find out where that is and 2 – will go there! When I decided on a side trip to Myanmar, my research revealed the location of the photographs I had fallen in love with years ago – it was Bagan! Now I was excited, I couldn’t wait and even giggled when we were coming into land (I know, even this hardened traveler can still get excited…). I hired an E Bike as soon as I got to the hotel.…
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Yangon, Myanmar
I have just spent the day walking Yangon, Myanmar flat (I’m finished!!). Yangon is not what I expected, it is quite modern from the airport great roads not one motorbike in sight (they are not allowed in Yangon) and the buildings change as you get closer to the river, tall narrow buildings with lots of trade. Hassle free to walk around, hardly any tourist around except for Shwedagon Pagoda, which is incredible, it is so over the top it makes Disneyland look bland… I took a trip across the river to took a trip across the river to Dala, but had to keep my wits about me there, scam artists…
