Day 31 - Mawlamyine

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We took a different approach to our discovery of Mawlamyine and went to have a look around the various pagodas. The majority of them are located on a ridge that overlooks the town. Although not as impressive as the pagodas we have seen elsewhere, these were none the less worthy of exploration. There is a large monastic population here in Mawlamyine and one of the suggested routes cut straight through the monastery region. The monks were out and about with their daily lives. It was easy to spend a couple of hours wandering around here and the pagodas. The main road we took was very narrow and I think only motor bikes or very small cars could fit down the quite steep hill. The road was largely made of fired bricks. Interesting paving.

As we rounded a corner heading back towards town we found ourselves outside an internet café. We had seen quite a few internet cafes but they had always been closed or had no connection. We decided to try our luck and were pleasantly surprised when we told that it was working. The connection only lasted for about 30 minutes but that was enough time to catch up on emails and general news.

Mawlamyine is definitely a place to visit if you are interested in saying how the everyday people live. It has a busy bustling little port, markets and a large monastic community.

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