Food posioning and bed bugs!

Mandalay wasn’t a highlight for me. It used to be the capital of Myanmar and has some awesome sights however it is very hot, the people are very poor and I got friggin food poisoning. This is the 8^th South East Asian country I have visited without getting sick so the odds were against me. Thus the second night in Mandalay for me was spent on a very dirty 2 star hotel floor. I managed to find enough internet reception to take a snap shot of toast. I then dragged myself to reception armed with a photo in the hope I would be sent something resembling the picture. The staff muttered between each other, I returned to my room to die and 10 minutes later 2 x pieces of toast arrived. Unfortunately all the bread in this country is sweet, which really isn’t very nice, so I laid there and pretended I was in my beautiful big king size bed at home with vegemite on toast – didn’t work but was worth the try LOL. At home I would have stayed in bed for 3 days, while travelling this isn’t an option. So in the afternoon I dragged myself up and caught a taxi to meet the rest of my fellow travellers to take in the remaining sites of Mandalay. The next morning while packing our bags to fly to Heho Ian asked what was covering the back of my thighs. Apparently our supper 2 start hotel also possessed bed bugs and I was covered in approximately 60 bites – time to get the hell out of dodge!!!!!

Ian doesn't quite fit under the shower head - opps...

View from our fabulous 2 star hotel

The boys showing off their 'Longyi's'

Myself and Lucy having Thanaka applied. This is bark that local Myanmar women use as sunscreen. They loved Lucy's skin. They advised me that the Thankaka should get rid of my freckles!

Outside walls of the Royal Palace

The old throne room...

   



Bagan to Mandalay

Leaving Bagan was very sad, it was even sader when we had to get up at friggin 4.30am AGAIN! It’s very dark at that time of day and a really stupid idea.

 

We had to board our boat to Mandalay at 5.00am so we could have the pleasure of the crews company for 11.5 hours, Yep that’s how long it takes to travel the Irrawaddy River. It’s a really long way and there is very little to see apart from lots of brown muddy water, the occasional fishing boat and more brown muddy water. We slept, moved seats, checked out one bank of the river, then the other…..

 

Eventually we arrived in Mandalay and a driver was waiting for us in a normal sedan car. For those who have been paying attention you will realise that there is 5 of us. The driver assured us that we should only be a party of 3.  After much ‘to and fro’ he finally conceded and rang for another car. He asked if we would all be staying together while we were in Mandalay then agreed a mini bus would be more suited to our needs while touring this city.

 

Internet is totally shit over here, I’m convinced Australia could be swallowed by the ocean and we would never know, unless it was reported on Facebook, then we may find out! Myanmar hasn’t had its borders open for long and it shows. All of us have been approached and asked to have photos with locals. Usually it’s me trying to take sneaky photos of them, however it’s now the other way around. And wait for it….. I’m not game to try the street food here…… I’m even travelling with some seasoned travellers who have eaten stuff that has made me cringe and they won’t go near it. It smells bad and we can’t work out what it is. The good news is that I can still fart, always a positive sign when travelling through South East Asia.

More Bagan!!!!!

Still in Bagan today and yes if you were wondering the weather is hot. For the second day in a row we had to get up at 4.30am. I have decided that this is a ridiculous time to wake up and why anyone is their right mind would arise as this time of day is beyond me. Yesterday it was to catch a plane, today it was to ride in a balloon and I have just discovered that tomorrow we also have to be up at 4.30am to board a boat…… I really am getting to old for this.

Bagan is awesome and should be one included as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Which would mean that there would be 8 wonders of the world J hmmmmmm.

It’s truly fan-tan-bulous and everyone should come here, but not in summer as you will die. It’s actually winter at the moment!

We started with a balloon ride over the ‘shiny temple region’. Then visited more pagodas. We were asked if we wanted to hire e-bikes to visit the pagodas. I assumed that an e-bike was an electric bicycle. Like a push bike but with a motor. This was not the case though, they were motor bikes. I’m terrified of motor bikes and I know Ian was laughing lots in his head. However I was a champion and rode that bike like I was born on it – ha ha ha 

Steve loved the bikes the most!

Wild Hogs 2 – Asian Assault

After lunch we returned to the sanctuary of our hotel. And I must say, it’s a mighty fine hotel. Much nicer than anyone anticipated that I would book! We had a mandatory rest period by the pool waiting for the temperate to drop a few degrees before venturing out again to see more temples.

Done..... Time to go to Mandalay!