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Today has been even better than yesterday. Bagan is quickly becoming one of our favourite places we have visited. We woke up this morning sore after the Tour De Bagan yesterday. After breakfast we came back to the room and had no idea what to do. We could hardly walk so there was no way we could rent a bike again. Chelsea then suggested hiring a horse and cart for the afternoon. Liam was unsure at first due to the cost but we are only going to be here once.

We hired the horse and cart from 12pm to after sunset. It cost us 13000 kyat which is about 15 USD. We bought some supplies from the local shop, 2 large bottles of water and some crisps (which Chelsea ate before the horse and cart had even come to pick us up) and relaxed in our guesthouse until noon. We had told the owner of our guesthouse where we wanted to go and he made some suggestions of where is good for sunset and he then told the driver of the horse and cart our plan.

We were very excited to have our own personal horse and cart and were really happy when we finally set off. We cannot remember the name of driver we had but he was really nice, a little quiet and shy which is good for us and he spoke good English. The horse was named Su Su, she was a big mare and was in much better condition than some of the horses that walk around Bagan. She was very obedient and liked to be stroked and scratched on her head.

Riding around Bagan on the horse and cart was really fun and feels like the only mode of transport worthy of such a special place. It is a little bumpy in places but most carts have a big cushion in the cart but it is slow and quiet and it really feels like you have gone back in time. For ninety per cent of the day we were the only people in sight and the atmosphere is unique, dirt roads, barren landscape and thousands of temples.

We went to the opposite side of Bagan today, it is vastly different from where we were yesterday. There is no main road running through the temple complex, it is all dust and sand tracks, We were glad we didn’t cycle because the sand was really deep at some points. The area is very peaceful, apart from the last two temples we saw; we had the whole place to ourselves all days. The temples themselves today have also been better than yesterday. They were in much better condition and most had large wall paintings inside dating back to the 11 and 12 century. Each one we visited became our favourite. We started at Lzagawna temple and then went to a cave monastery a little further on. This was interesting and a site that we didn’t previously know about. We then took a dust track further and went into three adjoining pagodas with lovely and original wall paintings and on to Tayokpyi Paya. This was our favourite temple of the whole place. It is set in a cluster of different temples and Paya’s and we were the only people there. The building was beautiful and the interior and exterior was still intact and was really intricate. Within the same cluster there was also a large white temple that was really different to all the others. Inside had been recently painted and was not to a very good standard but the exterior was really nice and we were shocked to come across a white temple in the midst of all the brick ones.

After a couple of hours riding and viewing temples our driver said we can go for a rest and took us to a tiny village called, Min Nan Thu. It seemed to be a kind of service station that the horse and cart drivers take their customers to get out of the heat of the sun. It was small working village that had a little restaurant at the front. We shared two cold lemonades in the shade and enjoyed the view and people watched. After we had finished our drinks a lady offered to show us the village. We were unsure but she led us around and started to explain and show us how they hand make clothes, peanut oil, cotton and jam, all of which comes from home grown produce. By this point we realised she was going to want some money if we went any further so we said thank you for showing us and walked away. Sure enough the girl still asked us for a present or tip but we said no thank you. It seems to be a common thing here where you will walk into a temple or attraction and a local will just follow you around without you asking and start speaking to you about the temple and then expect to be paid afterwards as a ‘guide’.

After our break we went to Sinbyushin complex. This is an abandoned monastery and as there was no one around it was a little creepy. The ride up to it is beautiful though and lined with trees.

We then went on to our actual favourite temple of the day, Pyathada Pagoda. It was quite a way away from the others, was quite large and no one else was there apart from a couple of local kids selling postcards. The inside was quite typical with large Buddha shrines but what made it special for us was the view. You could climb inside, up some steep stairs to the very top and see for miles over the plains of Bagan. It was stunning and we stayed up there for ages taking photos and sat admiring the view. It was really special and amazing to have it all to ourselves. We imagine at sunset the whole place would be packed but it was silent and peaceful. We didn’t want to leave but we knew we had a couple more stops before sunset. After a while another couple of people came so we got a rare photograph together at the top.

The next two temples were a bit of a disappointment. One was the largest temple in Bagan, Sulamahi Pahto and because of this and only this people flock there in the hundreds. We had to navigate past several coaches just to get the arch entrance. Then we were surrounded by people and locals trying to sell you things from all angles. We had a quick walk around inside, saw that there was actually nothing there and left. The next one, Thabeikhmauk was much nicer but again too many people. We had been spoiled by the peacefulness of the earlier temples. This one however did have amazing original wall paintings inside, basically on every available wall. There was one main section that was protected by metal caging but we could not get a very good look at it due to a large tour group of Germans taking up the whole area. The rest of what we did see though was incredible. There were large paintings of Buddha and people worshipping, elephants, dragons and a large religious scene.

Our next stop was sunset and it was a great way to end the tour. We climbed up Buledi pagoda via its stairs on the outside and from the top had a view over most of the plains. It was beautiful we could see so much more than our sunset yesterday. At first as we were quite early there was only us and a few Russian ladies sat waiting for the sunset but it is obviously a popular spot as loads of people turned up 10 minutes before the main event, but that didn’t detract from us enjoying the sunset. We sat there or way over an hour watching the sun get lower over the silhouettes of the temples until it disappeared behind some mountains on the horizon.

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We went straight out form dinner once we had seen the sunset and as we were passing asked to get dropped off at Weatherspoons again. Today we had the Burmese classic, a fish finger sandwich. It was truly awesome. We spoke to the owner Winton, he recognised us from our two previous visits he used to live in England and we think he cooks is favourite English dishes and well as the local food, he was really raving about fish finger sandwiches in England. We are getting our western food fix whilst the options and quality is good, we will soon be back on local delights.

Cycling around the dust plains of Bagan

Today is Liam's Dads birthday so we just want to wish him a really happy birthday! Loads of love xxxxxxx

We were up, had breakfast and had rented at bike by 7.45am this morning. Chelsea was really excited to get her first glimpse of all the temples, Liam was tired and didn't speak for at least an hour after he got up. Breakfast is on a roof terrace and was surprisingly nice. Toast and Omelette and a variety of fruits, juice and coffee. We paid 1500Ks each to rent a bike from our guest house for the day. We packed a big bottle of water, sun lotion and a blanket and set off on our temple hunt. It didn't take long to find some. We had planned to cycle into Old Bagan and see the main temples there and the old city walls. We planned to see some main important temples and any smaller ones that interested us on the way but it seemed that every cluster of temples interested us so we stopped off at most temples on the way. 

We were overwhelmed by the sheer amount of them as we cycled down the road. Leading off the main road are many dusty tracks that lead to clusters of Payas or temples. The first set we came across were beautiful. Down a small sandy track were a cluster of three larger buildings and lots of smaller ones in the distance. When we arrived we were the only visitors apart from a man with his horse and cart and a man selling his paintings of the plains. Some of the buildings you can enter and they still have the original paintings on the wall and shrines to Buddha. We cycled around these sites and then crossed the road to another immediate cluster. This one was a lot bigger and once inside a local man said there were stairs up to get views from the top. We climbed up the narrow stairs and the views from the top were amazing. The whole area is flat and there is nothing but trees, temples and the spires from Payas everywhere.  

We are not sure about the climbing up on these old buildings. Before we came here we were against it as some are ancient relics however some of these buildings have hand rails to aid you climb and locals insist you view from the top so we are not sure what the protocol is for walking up them. 

Slowly we began to guide our way through the maze of religious buildings. The scenery in Bagan is stunning and can only really be appreciated in real life. The photos don't accurately portray the vastness and openness of the area. You can freely ride down any dirt path and come to deserted buildings. This is what we enjoyed the most. It is so easy to find a secluded spot where you are the only tourist in eyesight. We didn't expect to be able to find areas like this in such a popular place but it is so vast that regularly you can freely be left alone to wander in the quiet around the beautiful landscape and potter in and out of hundreds of temples. It is really something special. 

The main temples and Payas however are altogether a different story. They are all crowded with vendors selling cold drinks and souvenirs. They are a lot more persistent than we expected and a lot of them use their children to sell their goods who do a good job of making you feel bad if you say no thank you. Mainly people sell lacquered items, postcards and sand paintings as well as books and jewellery.  also some people dress their children in traditional dress and they will pose for a photograph and we also saw minority groups sitting for photos and charging. Along with the many touts there are also many many tourists. At the the main temples we went to their were bus loads of tour groups and music blaring out. It is a different world to the quiet and serene areas you can venture on your bicycle. All the major temples such as Andana Pagoda, Thatbyinnyu Temple and Shegugyi Paya were like this and despite their architectural beauty the feeling you get when visiting is totally different. That been said however they are still most defiantly worth the visit as they are stunning buildings with interesting interiors. 

After cycling down the road from Nyaung Oo to Old Bagan we had seen a lot of sights and it was reaching midday so we decided to stop for a cool down and a drink. We found a roadside vendor and sat in the shade with a big bottle of cold water. Liam tried a sugar cane juice drink and Chelsea had a strawberry ice cream and we sat for around an hour cooling off and relaxing out of the sun until a child tout came to try and sell us postcards, bus tickets and her own drawings she had done. 

We then decided to cycle through old Bagan and along Anawrahta Road back towards home. This road is a lot newer but seems to have less traffic on it. We stopped off at a few small sights and cycled around the dust roads instead of the main road. In this area there is a maze of dirt tracks that connect all the buildings. The only issue is that sometimes the earths so dry that the sand on the paths is too deep and so your bike sinks and it is too difficult to peddle. 

We then decided to check out Shwesandaw Paya, usually a sunset spot. It was around 1pm so we were the only people visiting apart from the touts. This one has steep steps up to the top and a handrail. We walked up a few tiers and admired the view. The stone was baking hot so we navigated from shaded spot of shaded spot and sat for a while half way up in the shade admiring the view. All the sights are religious so you are required t take off your shoes before you enter. As the roads are so dusty it makes no difference to the cleanliness of your feet and it often feels quite nice to walk a round barefoot. Also keep in mind that shorts and spaghetti strap tops are not permitted, as are wearing socks so if you plan to wear a shoulder less top take a shirt or shawl to wrap around your shoulders. 

By his point the heat was unbearable and our legs and bums were sore so we decided to make the 5-6k ride back in one. Most of it was uphill so it was a bit of a struggle in midday heat but we were rewarded with our ice cold air conditioned room and a shower when we got back. 

After relaxing and showering off all of the days dust we decided to go back out to watch the sunset over the temples. We didn't fancy the mass of tourists on the main sights so decided to find a quiet spot just for us two. We set off quite early as we were not sure what time the sun set and managed to find a quiet spot we had been recommended . It wasnt high up but the views were beautiful and we sat for more than an hour alone watching the sun go down. The sky was orange and the silhouettes of the spires looked lovely. We never expected to come to Myanmar on our travels and are really overwhelmed and happy that we are in Bagan. It is a dream for both of us and watching the sun set over the plains and buildings was amazing. Definitely something we will do everyday we are here. 

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When the sun finally set we were starving as we hadn't eaten all day and we cycled back into town in the dark. We were surprised to find that they have street lights on the main road and we decided to go back to Weather Spoons for some tea. It was so small and friendly yesterday and the food was so delicious we couldn't resist. We both had a rare treat and had a burger and chips. Anyone in Bagan craving some home comforts should visit Weather Spoons. He is a local man who has lived in England and he does both traditional Burmese foods as well as Western dishes. The burger was gorgeous. Homemade and better than most burgers you can get in the UK. The owner, Winton is extremely smiley and friendly and the atmosphere is lovely. A perfect way to end a perfect day in Bagan. 

Our overnight bus pulled into Bagan bus station two hours late. Overall it had took almost 11 hours. We were both shattered and when we got off the bus we were surrounded by locals wanting to take us to our guesthouse. We quietly thanked them and walked off but some were quite persistent. Our guesthouse was supposed to be picking us up but they were no where to be seen. One of the friendlier locals explained that they had been here earlier when the bus was supposed to arrive and let us use his phone to ring them. Sure enough they had been there and were not coming back. The man whose phone we used offered to take us and we agreed a price. The bonus of this is that the mode of transport he used was a horse and cart. There were half a dozen of them huddled together belonging to different people. We hoped on with our luggage and were driven through a sleepy Bagan by Tu Tu the horse to Inn wa guest house.

Arriving at 5.30am we were told our room would not be ready to check in until noon. We expected this and got prepared to try and sleep in the reception area when the owner told us we could us the roof terrace if we wanted as it has reclining chairs. We took him up on is offer and went to get a couple of hours sleep under the stars. We abundantly applied DEET and found two of the chairs he was talking about. The problem was that it was freezing, the days are so hot here it's hard to believe it can get so cold. We couldn't sleep and sat there shivering for and hour or so until the sun started to rise. Another employee of the guesthouse then appeared and signalled for us to follow him. He took us back inside down a couple of floor and into what looked like his own bedroom. Maybe it is a communal staff bedroom we don't know but we finally managed to catch up on some sleep with an American lady who was also sleeping in there.

We woke around nine and decided to go for a walk and get some breakfast. There is a market more or less opposite so we started there. We struggled at first to find somewhere to eat until we stumbled on a small local place that had a handful of people in it. As usual for Myanmar it provided unlimited free tea and we enjoyed that whilst looking over the menu. Chelsea ordered veg fried rice and Liam ordered ginger salad thinking it would be nice and refreshing. He was wrong. Basically he got a plate of entirely grated fresh ginger in a coleslaw type consistency with some nuts sprinkled on the top. The first few mouthfuls were nice but it soon became hardwork eating just ginger. Chelsea got a large portion and did not finish so Liam gave up on his and finished off hers.

We spent the last couple of hours before we checked in sat in the reception area researching our next couple of moves for Myanmar. We have managed to book our next two guesthouses and plan to get everything booked before we leave Bagan. After 4 nights here we are going to Mandalay for 3 nights then 2 nights in each Pywin Oo Lin and Hsipaw before moving onto Inle lake. We looked through the guide to Bagan and it's temples and highlighed some that we definatley want to see. We plan to see these and spend the rest of our time finding quieter Paya's and exploring less crowded areas as there are a lot of tourists here on big bus tours.

We finally got to see our room at 12.30 and took a much needed shower and had an hour relaxing before going out to explore again. Our room is ok, it has air conditioning and sporadic hot water and costs $30 a night. This time we walked the opposite way to before towards a large temple called Shwezigon Paya. It is is similar in layout to Shwedagon Paya in Yangon, with a large golden pagoda circled by more shrines and temples. It was a lot less busy than the one in Yangon apart from a few locals and monks, we had the place to ourselves, it was very peaceful.

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Bagan feels very low key to say it is such a popular and important religious place. The roads are narrow and half dirt roads and the shops and restaurants are often just small wooden huts. There is a lot of traffic and lots of rickshaws and horses and carts, as well as huge buses and motorbikes hurtling around. The people here are friendly and often say 'hello, how are you' when you walk past. One little girl today excitedly said hello and wanted to hi-five Liam which was cute. Like Yangon it is like stepping back in time with it's dusty streets and wooden buildings, we are very excited to start exploring tomorrow.

We came back to the guesthouse again to recover before going out tonight. Liam was in serious need of an haircut and let Chelsea run wild with the nail scissors and she has actually done a good job.

Tonight we went to a restaurant called Weatherspoons. Thankfully different from the Uk chain we had a couple of Myanmar curries, one fish and one beef to share with rice and it was delicious. They came with a tomato salad which had a peanut style mayonnaise sauce on it with nuts sprinkled on top. It was really quiet place and had a good atmosphere. It was really nice to sit there with a good meal and relax after such a long day. Tomorrow we plan to rent bicycles and start exploring the area. There are 4000 temples altogether around the plains here so we will see what we can. You pay 10 dollars each to enter the archeological Zone and that allows you to explore and see all the sights for up to a week. We are looking forward to a few nice days here.

We got up bright and early today and went down for breakfast. The guest house turns their adjoining mobile phone accessory shop into a dining room at breakfast and puts tables and chairs out in the middle of the shop. We had another full day in Yangon as our bus to Bagan didn’t set of until 6pm so we decided to go on the circle line train. We walked down to the train station at 9.30am and the sun was baking hot even at this time in the morning. We called off at the shops to get some water and sweets and after being directed by a friendly man arrived at the station at 10am. We asked an employee where we can get a ticket for the circle line and he directed us to a little office on the platform that has a sign stating ‘foreigner ticket’. You have to go inside and a man hand writes you out a ticket that looks like it was printed 100 years ago and states that you are traveling from Yangon to Yangon and it costs $1 each. The circle line is basically a local train that goes through all the suburbs of Yangon that local people use to get to outer villages and it goes round in a big circle and takes around 3 hours.

The train was due at 10.10am so we only had to wait 5 minutes. There were around 10 western people waiting for the train at the front of the platform and the rest were locals so we decided to move further down. The carriages are self-contained and have two long bench seats down each side. On the platform a mum showed her baby us and smiled, asking us if we were traveling the whole circle. Lots of people were very intrigued by us and stared and smiled, not only are we different but they probably think why do these people want to pay to go round in a circle on the train for three hours?

We boarded the train and all the seats in the shade immediately get taken up by locals who use the train as part of their daily lives. We sat down and were immediately stared at and smiled at by the people sat opposite. This continued throughout the whole journey with people saying hello and waving at us.

The train journey itself is one of the best things we have done so far. The scenery on the journey is diverse. You go through the outskirts of the city and can see locals living on the track, drying their washing and sat on small plastic chairs and blankets going about their daily lives. You go through the villages and farmlands and the countryside is beautiful, lush green fields with wooden huts scattered throughout.

There are really rural areas, cows and farms, temples and monks as well as some quite urban sights. There were a few areas with huge piles of rubbish and at one point we passed a car dump-it sight with a plethora of cars piled up as far as the eye could see. The lady sat next to Liam had got our attention and pointed outside. We both looked but couldn’t see anything so turned around and smiled but she insisted we keep looking outside. She wanted to show us the cars; there were mountains of cars just thrown on top of one another in a huge heap that went on for ages.

The best part of the journey was when we reached a market stall. The whole station was covered in people selling their items from the farms and the entire floor was covered in baskets and huge bags of fruit, herbs and vegetables. When we came to a stop it was a frantic rush of people trying to get their bags and baskets onto the train. Huge baskets of vegetables came hurtling through all the windows with people running on board to drag them through and within 30 seconds the whole carriage was packed with people stuffing bags under seats and piling baskets on top of one another until the whole floor area was covered. The women sat with their herbs and vegetables sorting the new shoots from the old whilst waiting to get off at their stops and the train smelled amazing.

The people that were already on the train smiled and laughed with us, we must have looked shocked and amused at all the goods pouring in through the windows. Whilst sat on the train the main bulk of traffic that gets on and off are the vendors. They sell all sorts, dried fruits, tea, cold drinks, pastries, rice, ice creams, oranges and betel leaves. There were even people with baskets selling religious DVD’s and a man with a basket full of stationary. Surprisingly he went down really well. The ice cream lady had a polystyrene ice box filled with homemade ice creams and she was delighted when Chelsea decided to have one and watched and smiled all the way through her eating it. It was half strawberry flavoured and half a green unrecognisable flavour that tasted like aftershave and cost 50Ks (0.04p).

After 3 hours our bums were sore and we were hot and clammy but we had enjoyed the ride immensely. It is a lovely way to meet local people and to get an insight into the daily lives of people who live in Yangon and the surrounding villages. It is such a vibrant country and all the people are extremely friendly and smiley.

We walked back towards our guest house and decided to go for lunch. On the way back we walked through a huge flock of pigeons and were laughing and skirting round them. A man was smiling at us and he threw a big hand of bird seed at our feet and laughed at us when all the bird came flying towards us. There are vendors here where you can buy a plate of seeds to give to the birds. We went into a little eatery that was full of locals and ordered unknown dishes from the menu. Liam ordered Sham noodles which were traditional noodles with nuts and chicken and Chelsea ordered potato poori which turned out to be a potato curry, a yoghurt dipping sauce and two fried bread flatbreads. Of course we had several cups of yummy tea, that goes without saying when eating in Yangon.

After lunch we had a few hours before our bus to Bagan. We went for a walk through some streets we had not explored yet and admired temples and old crumbled building of the former colony. Throughout the city there are huge colonial buildings, some still in use, others left to ruin which gives the city and charming faded beauty. Walking through Yangon is like stepping back in time, it is really exciting.

When we were too hot to walk we went to our guest house and waiting an hour. We had to be at the bus station for 5.30pm and it takes about an hour in the taxi to get to the bus stop. It costs 7000Ks to get to the station. One driver refused us and wanted to charge more but his friend agreed to take us for the right amount. Make sure you show your driver your ticket so he can take you to the exact bus stop as the station is HUGE. It took us a long time to get their as the traffic was bad but a large bulk of the journey was navigating inside the bus station. It is like its own town. You can buy anything there, new pots and pans, chairs and tables, food, get a hair-cut, the place is vast and incredibly busy with cars bumper to bumper and people walking and trying to sell bus tickets. We reached our bus stop and boarded almost immediately. The bus cost us 15000Ks We has seats on the back row so could stretch our legs out but neither of us managed to get much sleep. The roads are in quite bad condition and the bus continuously beeps it horn to signal any oncoming traffic. We made regular stops to drop off locals and one 30 minute stop a few hours in to go to the toilet and get some food. That being said though it wasn’t as bad as we imagined and we just tried to sleep the whole journey, it was air conditioned and you got a toothbrush and toothpaste and a bottle of water each.

After yesterdays impromptu drinking session, this morning was a complete right off. Liam was fine but Chelsea was unable to move. This continued until Liam had had enough and managed to drag her outside around 12.30pm.

We just went for a nice walk to see what was about and grab some lunch before we had to go pick up our Thai visas we applied for yesterday. All was going well until Chelsea was suddenly overcome with nausea and threw up in the street. Luckily being in Yangonn you could hardly notice and she also felt a lot better immediately. She still however was not at the eating stage so Liam bought her a nice fresh watermelon from a street stall for her to eat. There are a lot of fruit stalls on the street and you can either buy the fruit to take home by the kilo of you can buy it cut up andput in a little bag to eat there and then.

Liam then called into another local restaurant and ordered blindly off the menu. He was pleasently surprised when he received his meal, it was noodles with some lightly curried meat with a bit of a sauce and some bashed up niuts sprinkled over the top. It was very good. Chelsea also managed to eat half a naan bread and the whole meal cost 1400k, less than £2 including unlimited tea which we both love. The tea here is amazing and you can just keep refilling your teacup from the kettle in the middle of your table.

From there we got a taxi ride to the Thai embassy to collect our visa and had no problems. We came straight back to the room after as Chelsea was still not right. We decided to organise a couple of errands whilst we were back so bought our over night bus journey to Bagan which we will take tomorrow night and also changed more money. We are paying a lot more in Kyat than we thought we would be so decided to change another two hundred dollars. The down side of this is we now have a carrier bag full of money that we will have to transport to Bagan. Kyat is also awful money, one the money is mostly in a terrible condition and filthy and secondly the bills are all the same size no matter if it 100 or 1000, and they look more or less exactly the same, so you have to treble check each note every time you pay for something.

Tonight we decided to go out for an Indian. There was a restaurant we tried to find on our first night but couldn't but our friends yesterday told us where it was and today we managed to find it. The walk there is about 20 minutes and is complete madness. There are so many people and every square inch of the path is taken up by a stall selling food, sugar came juice, weird snacks, mobile phones, clothes, fruit and veg, it is bedlam.

It can be overwhelming but it is also very entertaining trying to work out what things are and we seem to be just as much of an attraction to them as we are constantly stared at, but the people are all nice and smile and say hello. It is really refreshing. There are a lot of Betel leaf vendors, they use the leaf and fill it with several different pots and chew on it like tobacco. It turns all their teeth red and is very popular.

On the way we bought 4 street snacks from a lady who was making them right on the side of the road. We got two things that looked like spring rolls but had something inside we couldn't recognise and the other ones were what tasted like a fried ball of either cous-cous or semolina with herbs and spices inside. They were gorgeous and she gave us some chilli dip. The street snacks are 100K for two items and they all look yummy. It's hard to resist them when you are walking past them all the time.

The restaurant was amazing once we found it. We got a Thali with rice and five different vegetable curries as well as the main curry that we ordered. Chelsea had chicken (which to be fair looked more like a sparrow leg) and Liam had mutton which just fell off the bone. We both enjoyed it immensely and the huge portions went down a treat. Chelsea could only eat about half of hers but if you manage to finish it they come round and top it up for you for free.

By the time we walked back it was dark. We walked past the Paya in the centre on Yangon and stood on overpass taking photos of it light up gold with all the traffic as it looked beautiful.

The walk back was even crazier than the way there. There were hundreds of people out and we were walking single file down a ten foot wide path due to all the vendors. We walked on the opposite side of the road this time and came across a huge night market selling fresh flowers, another selling fruit and veg and then some more selling fish and seafood. They just lay it all out on the floor on large bamboo plates.

We were approached by a young man asking us if we had any spare time to talk to him so he could practice his English. The people are so excited to talk to your, especially when they find out your from England. We chatted for a while and then carried on walking. Once we had navigated our way back we decided to go for a cold drink at a bar next door to our guesthouse. Cold drinks seem to be hard to come by but there are also a lot of power cuts so that could be why (we are averaging 4 a day). We sat and talked before coming back to the room.

It is our last night in Yangon tonight as we get the night bus to Bagan tomorrow. We get another full day in Yangon and we have loved our three days here so far. It is more expensive than we imagined, but definitely worth it. Coming to Yangon is like stepping back 20 years but we think that is a great thing. We are also really looking forward to Bagan. We have planned 4 nights there so we can take our time sight seeing and relax a bit as well.