Blogs from Yangon, Yangon Region, Burma, Asia - page 2

Woolly says – We’d reached our last day in Myanmar and in the interests of keeping cool I had decided that today would be a day of indoor activities. First stop, the National Museum which was founded in 1952 with its premises at what was once the Jubilee Hall, in 1970 the museum was moved to a more spacious building and its current location. As Zoe was paying for the tickets I’d kept a keen eye on the bag checking area and had quickly realised that bags were going into lockers and no one was carrying anything other than there phones, before anyone could notice or question my presence in the ‘no mammoth’ rule which usually comes with the ‘no bag’ rule I scooted under the desk and into the first gallery. Having deposited ... read more

The day hadn’t started according to plan and by midday we were exhausted. Woolly says – Not according to plan! It had been a disaster. Travelling for us involves quite a lot of technology with laptops, camera’s, tablets and kindles (the kindle being especially important so that Jo can read me my bedtime story), all of them need wifi and electricity to run. Most of the time we achieve this but when a piece of the technology goes wrong its becomes a different matter, with Jo’s items we can usually find help at any shop that sells similar equipment but with Zoe’s we have to find one that sells her fruity product only. Unfortunately for us it was Zoe’s laptop that had decided not to charge, having asked our host for directions and followed ... read more

Woolly says – Our last day in Bangkok had been one of torrential rain and other than watching it out of the hotels window and sighing a lot there was little to do, luckily, we will be back in the city in a few weeks, so we can carry on with our adventures there then. Our flight from Bangkok to our next country was the quickest yet but it did give me a chance to hone up on Myanmar. Myanmar was formerly known as Burma and has had a troubled history which has involved being ruled by many including the Bamar, the Mongols and the British who took over in the 19th century. It gained independence in 1948 but following a coup in 1962 it fell under a military dictatorship. This has caused one of the ... read more

After staying in Kalaw, an old British Colonial town set within the cooler mountains, we drove back down the hair-pin bends to Nyaung Shwe, stopping en-route at Pindaya Buddhist Cave Temples. What an unbelievable sight they were - a wide high-roofed cave almost filled from top to bottom with approximately 6000 Buddha statues of all shapes and sizes. At Nyaung Shwe we board a “James Bond-style” longboat for a fast journey across Inle Lake to our lakeside hotel. WanderingPeter is feeling unwell with an upset tummy and so unfortunately has to stay at the Hotel the following day while WanderingAlison enjoys a wonderful day touring the sights of Inle Lake. The famous leg-rowing fishermen, water gardens, a lakeside temple with numerous Stupas & a lakeside market. WanderingPeter fortunately didn’t miss out too much as next day ... read more

The local life tour was billed as energetic but I can't say that I was. My guide was Si-tu, his nickname from when he worked in Dubai and he arrived in his car. We took a taxi past the University to near the Kyeemyindaing railway station to see craftsmen working on artefacts for pagodas. Mainly they were inscriptions in plastic, creating plaques with a machine similar to an electric die cut machine and metal, nailing and hammering the entrance signs over the gates for monasteries. Shops there also made umbrellas in metal for the stupas. On the walk to a station on the circular route I was able to photograph a roadside tyre change outfit. A car with a flat pulled right next to us. The driver had been a merchant seaman so spoke some English, ... read more