Up early and packed very quickly for our 9 am departure. We sit around the big beautiul wodden table and share our last breakfast in Yangon. With time to kill, Jules and I wander down Inya Rd to check out the street stalls we've driven by in the taxi or Dave's and Alex's 4X4 everyday. The kids know, by the way I ask, that they should come with us for one last adventure. They've seen enough and the draw of a puppy and Dave's as yet unused games console is too strong. It was fun, just Jules and I investigating a local market - just like old times. The market sells fresh fruit and flowers and a variety of other bits and pieces. Each rose is individually wrapped in netting like a paw paw at a ... read more

A week in Myanmar and I'm yet to try the mohinga for breakfast. I'm more an eggs and bacon guy than a fishy onion noodle soup kinda guy in the mornings. Smashed a socialy unacceptable number of choc croissants at break fast today and Milla matched me one-for-one. I'm so proud of my girl. Had to fuel up for our trek down the mountain and it is hard to leave this veiw. Cool breeze, blue skies and a golden temple on the mount. Not too shabby. We follow a path from the resort and weave through trees and vines. We cross a tiny road and dodge the odd motorbike heading up the hill. Spiderwebs glisten amongst the trees and these unusual funnel webs litter the side of the path. It's fairly steep in parts and is ... read more

Today was one of those "pinch yourself" days. One of those days when you feel like you've created lifetime memories. Bagan is brilliant! It didn't start well when we woke before the sun rose in order to experience a Bagan sunrise and while getting ourselves organised, Milla locked the room key in the room safe and set a pass code unknown to all. But it didn't stop us, we had a 6.30 deadline and a pagoda to climb. Shwesandaw Pagoda was erected in 1057 and is a steep bugger! It has a spectacular view across the Bagan plains and the 50 other people atop the pagoda can't detract from the magical moment we shared this morning. As the sun rises, 20 odd hot air balloons rise and drift across the sky and amongst the dramatic silhouetes ... read more

Another day, another taxi-ride tightrope. Today I made an audible "whoah whoah whoah!". I don't want to harp on about the mayhem of the roads, but it is a key part of the travel experience. After your border control experience, it's your first real interaction with a country. Mum and Dad still talk about our taxi-ride from the airport when we took them to Budapest airport. This Hungarian guy had obviously just been watching the 2004 Hungarian GP and was driving like a lunatic. He was Morgan Freeman in Driving Miss Daisy, compared to these burmese commuters. Every car, bus and bike on these Yangon roads is driving like Jason Bourne in The Bourne Identity. My audible plea came as we entered a 6-9 lane "motorway" and almost got T-boned on the passengers side crossing the ... read more

The Boxing Day flight might have caused an abridged Readers Digest Christmas, but the usual travel stress and queuing was non-existent. The Uber to the airport was traffic free, the bag drop and check-in was swift and airport security and immigration went smoothly. We avoided the body scanners, which they claim to be "random". But the two travellers selected while we were being processed were quite fit looking young ladies. Interestingly, the border patrol officer making the random selections wasn't a bloke though. She was a short haired burly broad with a keen eye. Might have been under instructions from her colleagues to gather some good sorts for the training database. We breezed through with time to kill and I may have inadvertently shoplifted a headphone jack from the duty free shop. Stashing the passports away ... read more