Day 3 of the tour saw us gathering at 5am to catch a flight to Bagan. The small prop plane thankfully made it! We were greeted with wet stuff falling from the sky – what a novelty! As we were parked away from the terminal the staff came out with large umbrellas for us. All was well until walking behind (not literally) a plane taking off. You held onto your brolly for dear life – didn’t want to do a Mary Poppins!
Our bags arrived after a while and then we were on a bus making a stop at a local market. The rain was rather unusual for this time of the year so was very muddy. A group of women had a good laugh as iI skidded on the pathway luckily I managed to stay upright!
Next stop was at a temple complex. There are 2000 temples in Bagan – hopefully we are not seeing them all!!! Many we damaged by earthquakes but they are definitely different in design! An early lunch was a must – food is similar to Thai but not so spicy. A quiet afternoon led to a 20 minute walk to ....... you’ve guessed it – a temple. It is actually very relaxing to walk around a quiet space bare foot. The temple started to glow -all that gold – as the sun went down.
Another day, another early start but this time it was at 5:30 because I was going to take a hot air balloon trip- it was on my bucket list! I felt I was being very brave because I don’t really like heights!! It was one of the most amazing things I’ve done! Lift off was effortless and suddenly we were in the sky and I was able to look down! It was so peaceful. There were about 32 balloons in the air so a very impressive sight. We drifted over the temples and villages for about an hour before a gentle touch down. Once we had clambered we were give a wonderful breakfast - champagne, cold meat, truffle cheese and fried eggs. It tasted so delicious and siting out in the open on a beach was a perfect spot.
The rest of the morning was spent cycling around – you’ve guessed it! Each place is very different so it makes the visit interesting. A good lunch combined with all the cycling will hopefully be the start of! my health kick!
Next day, 6/1 a couple of us took a tuktuk around some of the lesser known temples. It helped pass the time before we had to check out. Staying in a community village next.
The buildings have been made by the locals and are really lovely. We are overlooking a dam and much to everyone's surprise we saw 5 water snakes as we were leaning over the balcony enjoying a beer!
The community village is a concept of Intrepid’s and helps four villages. The idea is that the payment for our accommodation and food goes to the community all the people take turns in cooking and so far the money has been enough to bring electricity to all the villages. They are just waiting for the government to connect the power. The villagers now have running water -one tap outside per home. They have dirt floors and the only bedroom is for the married couple everyone else has to sleep outside. The food they prepared was very good.
I decided against riding a bike around the villages – I didn’t think I’d get me leg over the bar and as it turned out the terrain was very rough and rather muddy – 5 of us went in a tuktuk?! We saw women combing hair – cut from those entering the monastery, it’s then sent to China to be made into wigs. Helped, for all of 5 minutes, the ladies removing the peanuts from the bush, saw weaving and planted a tree – not sure if it will survive!
Have just arrived in Mandalay – not quite as exotic as the name sounds!
Our bags arrived after a while and then we were on a bus making a stop at a local market. The rain was rather unusual for this time of the year so was very muddy. A group of women had a good laugh as iI skidded on the pathway luckily I managed to stay upright!
Next stop was at a temple complex. There are 2000 temples in Bagan – hopefully we are not seeing them all!!! Many we damaged by earthquakes but they are definitely different in design! An early lunch was a must – food is similar to Thai but not so spicy. A quiet afternoon led to a 20 minute walk to ....... you’ve guessed it – a temple. It is actually very relaxing to walk around a quiet space bare foot. The temple started to glow -all that gold – as the sun went down.
Another day, another early start but this time it was at 5:30 because I was going to take a hot air balloon trip- it was on my bucket list! I felt I was being very brave because I don’t really like heights!! It was one of the most amazing things I’ve done! Lift off was effortless and suddenly we were in the sky and I was able to look down! It was so peaceful. There were about 32 balloons in the air so a very impressive sight. We drifted over the temples and villages for about an hour before a gentle touch down. Once we had clambered we were give a wonderful breakfast - champagne, cold meat, truffle cheese and fried eggs. It tasted so delicious and siting out in the open on a beach was a perfect spot.
The rest of the morning was spent cycling around – you’ve guessed it! Each place is very different so it makes the visit interesting. A good lunch combined with all the cycling will hopefully be the start of! my health kick!
Next day, 6/1 a couple of us took a tuktuk around some of the lesser known temples. It helped pass the time before we had to check out. Staying in a community village next.
The buildings have been made by the locals and are really lovely. We are overlooking a dam and much to everyone's surprise we saw 5 water snakes as we were leaning over the balcony enjoying a beer!
The community village is a concept of Intrepid’s and helps four villages. The idea is that the payment for our accommodation and food goes to the community all the people take turns in cooking and so far the money has been enough to bring electricity to all the villages. They are just waiting for the government to connect the power. The villagers now have running water -one tap outside per home. They have dirt floors and the only bedroom is for the married couple everyone else has to sleep outside. The food they prepared was very good.
I decided against riding a bike around the villages – I didn’t think I’d get me leg over the bar and as it turned out the terrain was very rough and rather muddy – 5 of us went in a tuktuk?! We saw women combing hair – cut from those entering the monastery, it’s then sent to China to be made into wigs. Helped, for all of 5 minutes, the ladies removing the peanuts from the bush, saw weaving and planted a tree – not sure if it will survive!
Have just arrived in Mandalay – not quite as exotic as the name sounds!
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