Bagan is just fabulous. We have been here 3 days and for two of them we just hired bikes and pedalled our way around the area. There are supposed to be 2000 temples here and we have seen them all!! At least that is what it feels like. For the first day we just got on the bikes and followed the main route through the temples taking side roads whenever we saw something interesting. Many of the temples are being repaired. This means the local people have to collec...

On the road to Mandalay - we went by night bus and I slept almost all the way, so I actually can't tell you anything about the road. With only one day in the city we had to walk a lot to cover the palace, pagodas, monasteries and river but we did it. Another lovely city but two days would have made it easier to see city and surrounding area. The road to Mandalay poem actually is about the river not a road and that is how we left the city - so we should say the ...

Getting to PP airport was interesting. For the first time I went through the Red Light District, it was sad to see row upon row of girls just waiting for "clients". They were mostly sitting outside so called Karaoke places - It makes you wonder about all the other KTV places that you see in the provinces. The plane left Phnom Penh on time and we arrived in 1 hour 20 mins instead of 2 hours!! We landed at midnight and arrived at our hotel with Visa stamped etc et...

I am going to Myanmar for a short break with Ellis, a fellow volunteer, on Monday. To go there I need a visa which I got last week. As I needed it printed out I trotted around to a print shop here in PP. They could not have been more helpful and after a very short time I went up to the counter to pay for my one sheet of paper - 200 reils (5p)!! Just as I was about to hand over the vast sums asked for, a man just walked into the shop and shoved a phone at the wom...

Yesterday I went for my longest bike ride yet. Still only 1hour and 10 minutes but not bad for someone who really hasn't sat on a bike for 45years!! Its true - you don't forget how to ride a bike. Well back to my bike ride. I was just going to do my normal circuit when I noticed it had been blocked on the other side by people building a pump house. This surprised me as it showed an awareness of health and safety that I didn't think existed in Cambodia. Usually y...