Day One, Two & Three of my tour of Burma.

I arrived in Yangon after a very tight connection between Koh Samui and Bangkok, but very efficiently Bangkok Airways had someone waiting at the gate to escort me to the international gate for my Burma connection through some back routes so I made the flight easily. But my luggage didn't. I had already worked out the connection was tight so had packed emergency clothes in my hand luggage so it was fine.

Arrival in Burma excluding the luggage issue was very smooth and quick to get through immigration. So I grabbed the first taxi I found to the hotel that I had double checked was where we were meeting (as there were two different ones written on the joining instructions). Of course it was the wrong one, but a phone call later, bit of money changed, another taxi, I got to East Hotel, the correct one. Met with the local guide Me-ure (no idea on the spelling so using phonetics) and also my roomie Anne. She's very nice, works in higher education on the finance side, experienced traveller and has lived abroad - a bit older than me but younger as well as younger mindset than the rest. We got to know each other quickly, especially as the first night our room was pretty open plan with just some large beads separating the room from the loo (see picture!).

I'm the youngest in age the group but the 17 others are all great but it takes a bit of getting used to being in a group. The good bits is everything is organized, from your wake up call to dinner suggestions. But you are hearded around and the big group lunb and dinners are not always my thing so have managed to avoid them some of the time- fortunately Anne feels the same!

So Day 1 we visited fairly early before it got too hot, probably one of the most famous places The Shwedagon Palace - the most revered Buddhist temple in Burma. Full of locals making offerings and prayer with so much gold. The central stupa is 90m tall and covered in gold leaf. (see photo). At the very top, it is covered with over 13 000 plates of gold, measuring 1 sq ft each. The very top is hung with bells and jewellery and studded with 1100 diamonds and other stones with the very top of the orb topped with a single 76 carat diamond! It's very peaceful with bells chiming three times every now and again to symbolize the giving of gifts.

After this magnificence we then took the bus and wandered down Pansoden Street, with old British colonial buildings, then on to visit a reclining Buddha at Chaukhtatgyi Paya before making our way on to the airport to have lunch near by, change money and pick up my bag that had arrived. We took a flight on Yangon airways - who reassuring tell you on the plan 'you are safe with us' (see photo) to Heho. On the way to the airport we passed along the street where Aung San Suu Kyi house is, the street had restricted access until she was released from house arrest. We were advised not to take any photos. It's strange though, wandering around on the surface it does not feel at all like a repressed regime. We also passed the old parliament administration building where all the government including Aung San Suu Kyi's father were assassinated. The building is now empty. We also saw where the university campus used to be, but due to the student uprising, the university was then split up with separate buildings around the outskirts of the city.

Day 2, we spent most of the day on long wooden boats visiting Lake Inle on the Shan Plateau. We're 3000ft up so much cooler here eapecially at night and early morning. The housing is a lot of simple wooden or woven bamboo houses all on stilts. The main income is through agriculture, fishing and artisan crafts. We therefore visited paper and parosol makers, skilled weavers (silk and lotus!), metal work as well as cheroot making - the local cigarette/cigar - I did get one but haven't tried it yet! The fishermen have a unique rowing style which involves standing at the back of the boat on one leg and wrapping the other around the oar. This allows them to look down and see the fish and quietly move to them and also use their nets and woven conical fishing traps (see photo). The other fascinating thing was the floating gardens. Made on reeds, with fresh weeds from the bottom of the lake dredged up and placed on top. Over about a 9 month period the ground becomes a fertile soil and the main crops grown are tomatoes where they get up to 4 crops a year - so must be fertile!

Finally we visited Chaung monastery, one of the oldest in Burma and where the monks have taught cats to jump through hoops....yep I saw it with my own eyes!

Day 3 - back on the lake to visit a different part. After an hour we got out the boats and walked a short distance through bamboo forests and souvenir stalls to a mass of over 1000 stupas built between the 17th and 18th century. The generals pillaged them so most have been destroyed but they are now slowly being restored. It's only been open to the public for a few years and by the time we left at 11, the number of tourist boats made it look like Piccadilly Circus. Apparently the number of tourists visiting Burma has doubled this January compared to last. A quick stop at a silversmiths - no purchases, and then back for a free afternoon.

Anne and I went to the best restaurant in town for a lovely meal (see photo) and then opted to go to a winery. I can't say I expected to do that on this trip. It's only been bottling for a few years. Lots of varieties and modern stainless steel Italian equipment. Wines were not the best but probably had potential and the Pinot Noir was gluggable. We had lovely views of the lake and countryside so watched the sun setting before getting our 6 seater tuk tuk back. There was another tour group with the same company at the hotel - apparently since I booked they have added lots more tours including a 3 week one. Anne bumped into a couple she had met on another tour and kept in touch with (small world), so we had drinks with them before having a light dinner of Green Papaya Salad and delicious ginger tea. Delicious but the salad was a bit fiery - a bit of runny nose syndrome!