Down the Irawaddy

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Our group loaded on to a ferry along with hundreds of other tourists--mostly Norwegian, French, and Danish-- and floated nearly 11 hours down the Irawaddy River to Bagan.



Before we cast off, our guide, Hubert, sang a song to everyone on the boat. This was the second time we were to hear him sing a Tom Jones number, "Green Grass of Home", or something close to that title. He even did the talking part. Our group started clapping after the first verse, thinking he'd be content with that, but he went on, and finished the entire song. All the Norwegians clapped. He announced his name, and started handing out cards to the delighted crowd.

On the river trip, barges and boats carried giant teak logs. There were other smaller boats, and a temple or stupa around every corner it seems.

Lunch was a choice between noodles or rice. We drank beer (and I've been drinking entirely too much of it) and laughed and had a wonderful time.

When we reached Bagan, thousands of fruit bats were flying from the trees, and heading over the river.

Since I've been doing a marathon blog session, I won't write any more and just add some photos to give you an idea of my experience.

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Photos

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Just before taking off on the river.

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Teak

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Teak shipment.

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Sunrise.

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Hubert sings "The green green grass of home" or some such song by Tom Jones.

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Notice the caption on the back of his jacket--I think he was one of the guides for a tour group.

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Laundry

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Sunset

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Bagan temples