Blogs from Mandalay, Mandalay Region, Burma, Asia - page 4

This pretty much sums up the advice guidebooks give about getting ill in Myanmar. The Lonely Planet states outright 'local medical care is dismal and local hospitals should only be used out of desperation.' Having spent a fair bit of time in hospitals over the last few days I think that is a dramatic exaggeration and quite frankly insulting to the doctors here (the ones I met at least.) This said, being ill is never pleasant, contracting a tropical disease thousands of miles away from home where no-one speaks much English is very unpleasant. Travellers are advised to bring a complete supply of medication from home, including antibiotics if possible. Well, trying to march into a GP surgery in the UK and saying you want a bunch of drugs even though you're not ill is never ... read more

Arriving a few days before Thadingyut (Festival of Lights) meant that we had a really easy first week with two days off school. I was really interested to see my first Burmese festival, the internet having promised ceremonies, processions and the whole city brightly illuminated at night. The reality, however, was a few Chinese lanterns being released and a few fireworks (but this has continued for the last month so it might not be festival-specific). It might be the fact that we live in the Chinese quarter of the city - our employers certainly didn't seem to celebrate at all. We made use of the mini-holiday though to see a bit more of Mandalay. This time to the main tourist attraction, the morally-complicated Mandalay Palace. Like many places in Myanmar, it was rebuilt (supposedly) by government-dictated ... read more

Ηταν ενα αλλιωτικο Κυριακάτικο πρωινό. Ειχαμε πλεον αφήσει τους τοπους τους μαγικούς για να βρεθούμε στο Mandalay. Ο τελευταιος μας σταθμος στη Μπούρμα. Σκόνη , κινηση, ζέστη, φασαρία. Ανακοινωσεις με μουσική απο τα ηχεία. Και το lonely planet συντροφιά για να ανακαλύψουμε τις κρυφές του χαρές. Η δικτατορία δεν άφησε τις χάρες να λαμψουν, τα κλειστά σύνορα σε τουρίστες κρατησαν τη χώρα πίσω.Πρόσφατα επεισόδια μεταξύ μουσουλμάνων και βουδιστών ηταν η αφορμή για να λαβει μετρα ασφαλείας η κυβέρνηση και να απαγορεύσει την οποια κυκλοφορία απο τις 9 μμ μεχρι τις 5πμ. Και νάσου η οπλισμένοι εξω απο το hotel με το που σουρουπωνε. Διαβάζοντας κανεις όλα αυτά δεν μπορεί ίσως να φανταστεί το ποσο φιλήσυχος λαος είναι οι Μπουρμεζοι. Περηφανοι, αξιοπρεπεις. Ο φοβος υπαρχει αλλα η καταπιεση δεν τους εγιβε συνηθεια. Δεν εγκαταλειπουν την ελπιδα τους ... read more

This is the country to visit before it starts to feature more on the tourist trail. The country is unspoilt with the majority of the people using small motorcycles as their main means of transport. The people are really friendly and welcome the visitors to their country with open arms. Our trip included a 3 day stay in Mandalay, a two day trip down the Irrawaddy River, 3 days in Bagan, 1 day in Kalaw and finally 3 days by Lake Inle. I was intending to do a blog at each stop but this proved impossible as the IT facilities were just not capable of performing. Rather than bore the readers with a day to day blow of my visit I have decided to post a selection of my best photographs as they are much more ... read more

I am sure that Bob and bing wouldn,t recognize the place...maybe the people and the climate. But the landscape is definately changing. but before i continue that I shall conclude our time in Yangon.Suzanne and I did the walking tour in Colonial downtown.The wide streets are a welcome change from the crowded sidewalks in Chinatown .The buildings really are beautiful .We had a Burmese lunch but the grease used is more than my stomach can toleraTe .After a cool down in our A/C room we headed out to the Shewdagon Paya the main pagaoda in the city.It is Quite magnificent and the Burmese have a right to be proud of it.We stayed for the sunset hope to see the flash of colours that thediamonds and jewels are said to exhibit but we weren,t that lucky.We did ... read more