Ngapali Beach

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Wow! have we ever lucked out !!

We are at the beach staying at the Yoma Cherry Resort , a government hotel that is absolutely lovely . At $120/night it is our splurge and our holiday within a holiday . Our room looks onto the beach and has double glass doors as well as shutters if one desires the sound of the waves rather than the sight . We have our own lounges out side the doors on the teak deck or walk 20 feet take 3 steps down and we are on the beach !! Wow!! We are in the main building which has the restaurant terrace , where breakfast is served , and a bar as well as a second floor observation deck/room .There are only 5 rooms in this building 3 facing the Bengal Sea .The other 8 rooms are in the garden area which is lovely ... but we are very happy where we are .

The staff is friendly and as helpful we have found throughout Burma . They sponser an English language school as well with classes for various ages at different times . The staff speaks English well and have invited us to visit the school in the evening when the adults practice conversation.

We are on a cove and and many boats are anchored here . Last night @4:30 they started to load up and motor out to sea . They have an incredible number of men on each large boat and 2 smaller boats seemed to be travelling with them . We discovered that they fish for red and white snapper , tuna , mackeral , barracuda ,tiger prawns , prawns ,squid and many many small (tiny) fish which the women spread out on nets over to tarps to dry during the day . Yes they do smell for a while but not repulsively .This morning @5 they started to return and it was fascinating to watch them unload ,set the catch out on tarps in baskets and sell there product . The scales were showing that the baskets of tuna , which isn't a large fish here , weighed about 25 ? must have been lbs as it did seem that 2 people were usually lifting them . Meanwhile little fires were built here and there where small fish were being grilled and I think people were warming up .A few women were selling other food to the fishermen and it was obvious that wives were there to greet their husbands . When everything was unloaded a basket or 2 were divided into equal portions . Suzanne thinks that was there pay . I hope not ... maybe a portion but for 14 hours work it wouldn't be fair.

Needless to say I did take a lot of photos and our waitress was able to tell us what the fish were.

What an interesting morning !

Now for the conclusion of Inle Lake . Our last full day we went to the market which is held on a 5 day rotating basis . The one in Naungshe (sp) is the largest and it was fascinating . The people come down from the mountain areas both to sell and to shop . One can buy everything from food to gold , plastics to silver , forged tools to cloth goods . Things are local , from China and from Thailand . There were also many "restaurants" within the market which were busy places . I guess people were in town and you have the opportunity to eat someone else's food ...

In the afternoon we booked a cab to go to Taungyi which is the capital of the state up on the mountain . A richer place with government workers , military and many Chinese who are developing the area. We had a lovely lunch , went to the zoo , poorly treated bears I think , then then .....on to the German winery in the area . Not bad wine . It turns out it is the wine we have been drinking since our arrival . Another good day and an early night as we had to be up at 6 to get the plane to come here .

After breakfast this morning I went looking for an internet cafe and although the hotel had told me there was one 15 minutes walk away it turns out they only had Wifi...as does the hotel but the Wifi/iPad doesn't seem to want Travelblog traffic. So I ended up catching the public bus (?) down the stretch of beach about a 10 minute ride to another hotel which has a business centre...The bus was fun and I do seem to have smiles and help from folks whenever I venture out . Maybe it is my hat ! It makes me smile too.

Enough for today . I haven't heard from some of you yet . Thanks to those who have comments to share . It is time for me to find my way back to the hotel and see what Suzanne is up to . Hope all is well ...

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Comments

[R&C]

Shirley et al are here.
They found us yesterday. They arrived Sat. All pretty excited. Had a beer with them, visited & gave them a few ideas of places to eat & things to do. They are coming back this am to meet 1 of our neighbours to go to the market & shop for silver jewelry. So all is well with them. They are happy with their room & food & drink. They are lucky to avoid some COLD weather again this wk. They are having high wind chills again in MB & SK. Our friends from SV arrived & came for a visit Sat. Busy times now. Nice to get home news. Your trip sounds exciting as usual. Good for you girls. Your beach vacation sounds terrific. Enjoy. love,

[Lynn]

Wow, you accommodations sound wonderful!!! A holiday within the holiday sounds like a good idea. I\'ll have to keep that in mind for our travels. When you return, we\'ll have to go for coffee. Bring pictures.