26th January

Yesterday it was 32degrees, today it's 18, wet and feeling rather chilly. We're spending the day in the hotel room watching movies, sorting photos and updating the blog.

Today we finally managed to withdraw our first lot of kyat since arriving two days ago. There are four cash machines in town. These were only introduced to Myanmar in 2012 and are frequently broken. Sure enough, here in Dawei, two are broken and they don't know when they will be fixed, one just won't work and one was permanently out of cash. Thankfully when we went into the bank, they said come back in an hour and it would be full. We returned and could both thankfully withdraw money. Phew. It looks like we'll be able to stay in Myanmar after all!

Yesterday we hired our first ever motorbike and as Tony says, 'bezzed around'. Tony drove, with me on the back, around 80km in total visiting Maung Ma Kan beach in the morning then further south to Myaw Yik Pagoda and San Maria Bay, a 3km stretch of lovely sand just before reaching the causeway that leads to the pagoda.

Maung Ma Kan is the most developed beach and I'd read wasn't that nice. We also spoke to a couple we met as we hired the bikes; Kat and Tom, who also said it wasn't that great. It was the easiest beach to reach however and as we were just getting used to the bike, it was the most sensible first destination.

It was actually tropical compared to the overdeveloped beaches of Thailand. Yes there were shacks and restaurants selling food- we had a lovely whole bbq'd fish for lunch, and there were lots of locals enjoying the sand and sea and quite a bit of litter and leaves, but further up, there was nothing.

When we arrived, I had barely taken my shoes off when I was approached by a few young girls for a photo. They were then joined by their friends so that in total, there were thirteen girls wanting selfies and other photos with me! Quite a surreal experience.

Like the Chinese, they probably have an ongoing competition at school; who can get the most photos with a westerner.

As the tide went out, we noticed HUGE jellyfish being washed up on the shore. The first was around 50cm in diameter, ones which were washed up later were reaching 70cm. We decided then that we didn't want to swim in the sea!

Having read there were lots of beaches in this totally undeveloped region that we would have completely to ourselves, we set off for more 'bezzing around'. We headed south to the island with a pagoda and temple, reached by a causeway. Upon arrival, a monk visiting from Yangon started asking us questions about where we were from, where we lived, how long we had been married, how we met, why we married so late, how many times Tony had to propose to me, our future plans, how many children we wanted.... you name it! They are certainly not shy about asking questions. He also asked if we would go to visit him and help his English students practice when we reach Yangon. We carefully took his business cards and said we would.

After the pagoda we headed to the bay we had passed which, other than for two children from the fishing village who decided to join us along with a pack of dogs, we had to ourselves. We couldn't stay long as it was over an hours journey back to Dawei and the sun was starting to set. It was beautiful though and the sky was just starting to turn a lovely colour.

After a quick shower we headed out for dinner, going straight to the tea house, hoping for a biriyani. He was closed. Gutted. It seems that many cafes/restaurants make one dish at lunch and when that is gone, the shop or restaurant will close. There was a restaurant just down from our hotel. It wasn't very good and quite expensive. As we were about to leave, Kat and Tom who we had met that morning walked in. We ended up staying for more 40p beers with them and swapping travel stories. They are travelling in a Land Ranger across Russia, Mongolia, some of the Stans and through SE Asia. Again, like Jay who we met at Tiger Leaping Gorge, they spoke highly of Mongolia, further fuelling our desire to visit.

As they are leaving Myanmar in two days, they very kindly donated their guidebook to us and gave us some onward travelling tips and names of trekking guides. We reciprocated with a map of the Bangkok travel system and details for Udas, the amazing Nepal trekking guide.

We'd planned on heading out on the bikes again today to explore more deserted beaches but the weather made us rethink our plans.

Hopefully the sun will be back out tomorrow.

27th January

Another great day on the bike. We did around 80km round trip again, heading north of Moang Ma Kan to Nabule beach. At the end of the 12km stretch of totally deserted sand, was a beach peppered with huge boulders, the largest having a little pagoda on it. On route to it we stopped and two young men approached us wanting photos with us.

After time alone by the boulders, a large group of visitors turned up to visit the nearby restaurant and the large golden pagoda behind the beach. We decided to head off given there was a vast stretch of deserted sand just a short distance away.

We stopped off at a little shack for lunch. We asked if they had any food and they said fried rice. We took two portions.

Whilst waiting for our food, a lady from a group of Burmese visitors came over and brought us some salad which they had brought with them. It was beautiful. A man then came over and brought us some of their curry, explaining it was typical Burmese style. Again, this was lovely and quite similar to a massaman curry flavoured with tamarind and cinnamon. They were so kind just to offer us their food. It reminded me of the couple in Chengdu who stopped us in the hotpot restaurant and asked if we liked the food, and then gave us some fresh fish dumplings to eat as they had been given a box as a gift. Such friendly much appreciated gestures.

After lunch we simply sat on the beach. These are some of the least developed beaches in South East Asia and we feel privileged to experience them before they do start attracting lots of tourists. No one else was around for a couple of hours until two local fisherman came out and started dropping their nets in the water.

As we set off to leave, a pig and her three black piglets came down onto the beach. They were so cute, cue lots of photos from an excited Leanne. Two local children were quite intrigued and followed us as we took photos. I think they felt a little left out so I offered to take one of them. Oleg decided to join them too. The kids round here, in fact the world over, seem quite taken with him, especially when they see his passport!

On the one and a half hour drive back, a young man on another motorbike came past at speed, shouting hello to us. We remarked he wasn't holding back. Two minutes later we witnessed him come off his bike. We pulled up as another bike did. He got up but I thought he was concussed and his arm was pouring with blood. I jumped off and offered him all of our tissues and poured water over the cut. That's when I realised there was a large gaping hole and he definitely needed stitches. I asked the other bike if they would help him back and they said yes. I took this as gospel given the passenger was a monk. Two minutes later Tony spotted him in the rear view mirror, driving alone. He came past us and smiled. Again he was somehow going at speed but then he slowed down. I knew then he really must be concussed. He wobbled around and then stopped by a wall. We asked if he was ok but he gave the thumbs up and waved us on. Again, a short while later he came up behind us but we sensed all wasn't good and by this point we were concerned if we weren't careful, he'd be taking us out with him so we tried to put some distance between us. Tony, through the mirrors, unfortunately witnessed him come off again. Thankfully two girls had been near him and they stopped. We got to the next village and I tried miming someone had come off their bike and was on the floor and needed help. I was never good at charades and I wasn't understood. Thankfully a van then came along so we stopped them and they seemed to understand more. I was also hoping they could put the boy and the bike in the back of the truck and get him home or to medical care. I was worried about him. A few minutes later he was whizzing past us again. This time he didn't smile and wave, or even acknowledge us. We lost sight of him due to the speed he was going. I'm hoping he is ok.

It served as a reminder to not drive dangerously fast and to wear a helmet. The motorbike accident that we witnessed in Tanzania in our first fortnight of travelling occurred because the driver was speeding and he may have fared a bit better if he was wearing a helmet! Both there and here in Myanmar, good medical facilities are not available and as such, these two men won't be able to access brain scans to help determine the treatment they require.

When we reached Dawei we went to a curry and rice family restaurant and got two small bowls of veg curry, two bitter soups, a plate of raw cabbage, cucumber and lettuce, two plates of rice and a plate of spinach plus two beer glasses full of tea.... for just over £1. Cheap dinner!! I can't say it was amazing though, although the soya bean curry was nice.

The night has been finished with us watching 'The Theory of Everything'. We are definitely making use of the movie channel!