Last day in Burma -- I don't want to leave as it is so peaceful here. Spent the morning on the Irewaddy river arriving upriver in Mingun Village. It is Valentine's Day and also, Saturday with lots of teenagers on a date. They enjoy cruising as they ride around on their motorbike or walk along the main drag (ok, path) through the village. The tradition seems to be that the young couples dress in matching outfits. This is another historic village where a King built the largest ringing bell, the largest Lions to guard the gates of the largest Pagoda and overlooking the largest lake. The trouble is that only the world's largest ringing bell made it. The lions are mostly destroyed from an earthquake. The pagoda is half built and unstable from earthquakes and no ... read more

We started the day with a horse-drawn cart ride through the ancient archaeological zone. Unbelieveable up-close views of the Bagan temples, as the sun glistened off the golden structures from the 9th - 11th centuries. We stopped at Damayangyi and Khayminga Temples. The ride was dusty & bumpy ride with authenticity including numerous stops for photos. We then visited a village Pub -- perhaps one of the first micro breweries in the world???? Palm sugar is used not only for beer but also, delicious candy. Ken, perhaps this could be Skull Camp Breweries next off-site location.......... Later in the day included a breath-taking view from the Nanmyint Observatory Tower which towers above the pagodas. The tower was built by the richest Burman who also built a luxury hotel next to the tower. All 3 of our ... read more

Walked around the main center of the city where government buildings are located. Independence Hall, Sule Pagoda -- many buildings are from the colonial era under British rule. Scott Market where locals hang out and to the much revered Chaukhtatgyi Pagoda, the huge reclining Buddha which is 236 feet long. For us, the most interesting part of the day was our visit to Dala Village. This is where the common people live (about 100,000) and is across the river from Yangon. To get to Dala we took the ferry boat across the river, interacting with the locals, especially the children who were selling bags of food for the sea gulls following the ferry and caught the pellets in mid-air. Once in Dala we took a tri-shaw ride (bike) through various parts of the village. Locals were ... read more

Ray & I will be traveling to Myanmar (Burma) leaving Charlotte, NC on Friday, Feb. 6, 2015. After 8 days in Myanmar we go to Bangkok, Thailand then on to Laos, Cambodia & Vietnam before returning on Wednesday, March 4. Ray and I are thrilled that my sister, Diane Bleday, who lives in Plymouth, MA will be joining us in Thailand. Diane will help me write the blog and will be adding pictures of her own. My personal interest in travel stems from attempting to follow in her footsteps as she has been an inspiration to me in many ways, including travel. However, Diane is way ahead of us in number of countries and travel experiences. Diane will have much to add to the blog but more important, will be a great companion to have with ... read more

We traveled to Gazientep today with several stops on the way. To get here, we traveled along a highway which was just within the border from Syria. We passed right by the village of Suruc and our driver told us that yesterday there were 2 mortars that strayed from Kobani (within a mile of Suruc) and did some major damage. He saw it on the news. I wonder if the fighter jets we heard the night before had something to do with that. We also passed right next to a large refugee camp that was in an old school building with high fences. I took a couple pictures as we drove by. The refugees are free to come and go as they please and many try to get work. The Turks don't like it because they ... read more