Delivery Driver

I have absolutely no idea what is in the boxes, Google couldn't help me but it's gratifying to see that they come in different sizes.

Backpacker Bingo Burma Style

A change from the non la, the flag t-shirts and the erroneous ao dai but still the fun continues. Spotted in Myanmar we have:

The matching pair - extra points for this - longyi and "ethnic" shirt combo's coupled with matching beards. I give myself additional extra marks for them having the poor taste/confidence to actually wear these to the airport. Spotted in international departures in Yangon.

Wandering the temples of Bagan I came across this example; longyi, "ethnic" shirt and thanaka, I like to think he was haggling over the cost of a lovely hat to set off his outfit perfectly. He was in the company of another two similarly attired backpackers but they were cunning and I could never get them all together in the one frame.

Cambodia next, rich hunting grounds I think.

Yangon, Myanmar

There are no motorbikes in Yangon, they are banned. Coming straight from HCMC that took a bit of getting used to. Lots to see and find out. The danger of asking direct questions had been impressed on me but it didn't take much powers of detection to read between the carefully chosen lines of taxi drivers and temple guides.

Shwedagon Pagoda dominates the city, it's breathtaking







Elsewhere the reclining Buddha is stunning



The harbour is worth a look



The taxis are great feats of keeping things together, this is my favourite makeshift seat of the entire trip, our regular taxi had nice matching lino on the floor in a tastefull wood grain but that was no competition for the deck chair guy.

A great starting off point, well about the ONLY starting off point for a trip to Myanmar. We flew via Bangkok because the Vietnam Airlines flights only go via Hanoi at the moment making a longer and more expensive option. Visas on arrival worked well, there was a wait of about 45 minutes and minimum commotion.

Bagan, Myanmar

It's all about stuppas:

Thousands of them









and Buddhas of course







And some goats.

Amazing and exhausting and well worth visiting.

Myanmar, Inle Lake

Feeling a bit out templed after the visits to Yangon and Bagan we spent a day just lazing on the deck of our hotel room and taking advantage of the spa treatments and books before taking in the attractions that Inle has to offer. In truth some of the nicest things are sitting quietly and listening to the silence or glow worm spotting but they don't make good pictures so here are some other attractions.

The deck where the lazing took place
.

The pace of life is slow and hanging about seems to be a bit of a local passtime, not that I'm complaining.





Of course floating and rowing is a big part of life too.







The biggest draw is the Leaping Cat Monastery where, it is alleged, lots of cats leap through hoops. Maybe they do in the high season but we saw one half hearted leap.



Sleeping Cat Monastery seems a more appropriate name





However, it's a beautiful building and the views from the walkways are lovely



And if you really need your cat fix you can visit a stilted cat centre where they are reintroducing the Burmese cat. They're friendly and will happily climb on you and purr like small outboard motors. Meals and coffees are served here too.



If cats aren't your thing what about a pig?



Pigs - usually found around the edges of markets for a purpose unknown and unexplored. I particularly liked the ubiquitous Myanmar Shopping Bag.



and the dragonflies



and the buildings



and the twilights



Safe to say, I liked it all, if you haven't had enough of other people's holiday snaps feel free to click on through to flickr where there are more, oh so many more.

Myanmar, Pyin Oo Lwin

Pwin Oo Lwin, previously known as Maymyo, was the British Hill Station during their occupation of the country. It now houses a lot of government organisations and military training centres on the approach roads including the enigmatic Internet City("nothing happens there" said the guide and I can't find anything about it on the internet but it's big and it's there). However the provincial city itself is pretty unchanged and the air is fresh and cool. It's a bit like Dalat with British colonial architecture instead of French.

Flowers are one of the biggest exports and they travel downhill on motorbikes or trucks
while uphill trundle the trucks heading for China - it's about a 10 hour trip from
where these pictures were taken.





The colonial architecture is still very evident. This picture shows a house which is only
used for a few weeks of the year as a holiday home, that might explain why the croquet lawn
is in such a state.



Hillstations seem to bring out the enterprising in people, certainly the sign makers are taking full advantage of any opportunities to replicate well known companies.

Alas it rained so we didn't get a chance to see the Famous Flower Garden which was a real pity as it had a horse and cart constructed entirely from flowers at the entrance.

Mandalay in Myanmar

Mandalay in Myanmar, some of hundreds of pictures taken:

At a monastry in Mandalay, 1,500 monks queue for their main meal in silence

At a ceremony where novice monks enter the monastery for a short period









Mandalay is one of the centres of Buddha image creation, both bronze and marble










Lots of colonial buildings but I'll leave you with the Post Office which is typically British and was also typically closed when we wanted to use it.

Thre are more, many, many, many more on Flickr, feel free to click through to them. I'll post pictures from Inlay, Bagan and Yangon very soon.