I know it's Christmas, but there was really no room at the inn!!!

Over the years I have become more planned in my travel and try as much as I can to book ahead. Wether it be driving into Las Vegas, heading into Agra or Yangon, I've had a booking. I must admit Bagan defeated me! No-one returned my emails and I called 7 places and they were all full! 

So after a roller coaster 11 hour overnight train journey, where at times you thought the train would come off the tacks as it was rolling so much , all I wanted was to have a kip in a lovely bed.  So I shared a taxi with the Swedish couple on the same carriage as me and we headed into new bagan. They had made a reservation months ago and I tried their hotel,  but it was full!  So then I spent an hour with the taxi driver going round town and everywhere was full, as this is the peak of peak season.... Eventually on the outskirts of town we find a new luxury hotel and its $70 a night - a ridiculous amount to pay and as I have planned to stay here for four nights my plans changed,  as there is just no rooms just before new year... So I have an unexpected couple of days in Mandalay as a consequence and another bus journey!   

Still it's worth it to be staying here, as this is the jewel destination in burma's crown - thousands of temples are dotted across the plains and its my wonderful challenge of the day to cycle to as many of the as I can !!!! 

And the monk asked if I like Justin Beber!

I hired a motorbike driver for the day to take me round all the ancient temples and stupas in the area and luckily I had picked a great guide, as he was a volunteer English teacher. We headed off to the ancient sites , but I was soon distracted by women carrying hay bales on their heads and was soon wearing one myself! We drove around the ancient sites and met a Japanese couple. The woman had lived in northern Myanmar, near the Chinese border for five years working with an NGO - how amazing!

We then went to the school where he teaches and it was hilarious. I took an English lesson and my class of 14 year olds was  very inquisitive. As usual the girls sat at the front, but amazingly it was the novice monks in the class that asked me the most questions, from what was my ambitions to do I like Justin Beber!!! One girl asked if I could sing, so I produced my iPod and they listened to Adele and take that!!!! 

I asked then what they wanted to be and it ranged from doctors, soldiers, teachers and of course Buddhist monks. It was such a fantastic opportunity to speak to the class, and their overwhelming questions were around why I wanted to come to Myanmar, how did I get here and if I liked it. 

I love it !!!!

Be careful what you wish for - it is Christmas after all!

So Christmas is here and I spent the day going round all the local temples and hanging on during motorbike rides out to the countryside.  Pyay is a pilgrimage town, with a huge temple in the centre.  Luckily there's a lift, so you don't have to have a vertigo moment coming down the steep steps !

So I head to the temple first thing and back again in the evening for sunset. There's a nice view point from the side of the temple and I sat and watched the sun slowly setting. I was thinking how great it would be if some monks were around, as they would make a fantastic  foreground in the sunset pictures..... then about twenty monks descend and they want to take a picture of me!!! Merry Christmas

And all be upstanding for the national anthem

 

Just to escape the afternoon heat I headed to the 3d screening of the life of pi and was amazed that the screening was on English with no subtitles. For just over a pound I joined the Sunday afternoon cinema goers and got my 3d glasses as I took my seat in the middle of the stalls and yet again not another traveller in sight. Just as they do in Thailand before the trailers start you have to stand up for the national anthem. 

The next day I embarked on another six hour journey heading north to the pilgrimage town of Pyay. I was lucky enough to be sat next to a someone who lives in Pyay and spoke really good English, so we chatted for a lot of the journey, but as all warm buses make you do, there was a lot  of snoozing as well! 

The scenery was beautiful, with palm trees and rice fields and scattered towns and villages along the way. 

Eventually we get to the bus station and hilariously i had to squeeze my large western arse into a tiny side car seat and cling on as I was precariously cycled through the city to reach my new temporary home - the lucky dragon hotel. 

Where's my sunset gone?

After being spoilt with night after night of amazing sunsets, I am now sitting outside a coffee shop in Yangon with only cars and buildings for a view. 

The scenery today on my bus trip was beautiful, starting with rolling hills, topped with golden stupas to lush rice fields and thousands upon thousands of rubber trees. 

Let's take Yangon out of the equation, but elsewhere there's not a huge amount of cars on the road. There's always a motorbike with a whole family being transported whizzing past or a horse and cart and a motor taxi.  

I need to rant for a minute about taxi's. I hate the fact that you spend more for 30mins in the taxi than you do for your 6 hour coach journey. Why does that always happen?!!!  

No women allowed on top pagoda

It seems so unusual that there is segregation here. On the boat over to ogre island women were not allowed to sit on the top, but had to sit in the section by the engine or at the very front or back of the boat. I have been segregated before on boats in Kerala, but I was amazed that there are also many temples where it is either forbidden for women to go into the main temple or walk around the top pagoda. In all the Asian countries that I have previously visited I have never come across this gender segregation before in the Buddhist faith. 

Beware the ogre island

I rejoined my American travelling companions and we headed with the famed Mr Anthony from the lonely planet guide and we headed off at 8 am to catch the first ferry to Ogre island. It recommends that you get a guide here as the island is as large as Singapore and has 200, 000 inhabitants, it has not yet been granted a licence to have foreigners staying over so we must get the 3. 30 ferry away! So we have a packed agenda of visiting the rubber band production, the pipe maker, the walking sticker maker, (slightly tempted) and the chalk board maker, who sells across the whole of Burma. 

What a beautiful island and so untouched, but that is the beauty of travelling here as soon as the international barriers are down is that it is all so unspoilt on the surface. 

I tried my hand at using the mangle to dry and stretch rubber, took some lovely pictures of the villagers and then on route to our next destination I asked to stop to take a picture of the local national league for democracy office. With the large pictures outside of Aung San and his daughter, it is amazing to think that two years ago this was not allowed. Amazingly the family give me a NLD flag, which is a wonderful treasured gift. 

Before we head back to the ferry we pop into a local orphanage, sponsored by some American families. There are 36 children here and they warmly welcome us, but sadly we had to rush to the ferry to ensure that we got off the island in time. There's only enough time for a quick rendition of  " ha ha ha he he he" and then we drove like the clappers to get back to the ferry and made it with 5 mins to spare!