Wed 9th - Sun 13th April (Week 29)

Wed 9th - Got up at 4:30am, both still feeling very delicate, queasy and achy. A very uncomfy 6hr bus ride back to Mandalay, with no a/c and just a few windows open at the front of the bus - and we of course were right at the bumpy, overheated back ! Managed to survive without being sick, and just the one toilet stop 4 hours into the journey ! Had a few hours back at our hotel catching up on wifi, then caught the 4:30pm bus to Bagan. Much nicer bus with better seats and a/c, but a constant noise of music or loud Burmese sitcom on the TV the entire journey which consisted of shouting or screeching ! Arrived at 9:30pm, got a free pickup from our lovely, expensive hotel, and straight to bed.

Thurs 10th - Hired some bicycles and headed to a travel agent to enquire about getting to Kalaw/Inle Lake, but due to the Water Festival starting on the 12th, the only bus we could get was on 13th, otherwise nothing until 18th. So quickly booked the 13th, and then found a cheaper hotel for the next 2 nights in Bagan. Wandered around the market and bought a few little trinkets, then found a parasol workshop and bought a beautiful silk umbrella - although not too sure how I'm going to carry that around safely ! Now we know our travel plans, we were able to book a few more hotels for the rest to Myanmar, then spent a couple of hours relaxing by the pool. Cycled to the Shwezigon Paya for sunset and watched it being lit up beautifully as it got dark. Found a lovely strip of restaurants and enjoyed having a big choice of dishes as we've struggled so far in the less touristy places - and this was the first meal we've been able to eat since we got sick on Monday night !

Fri 11th - Got up hideously early at 5:40 for breakfast at 6. Checked out of the Umbra hotel and moved to the slightly cheaper Bagan Princess for 2 nights. Hired bikes again for the day and got going at 8am and it was already getting hot. Spent 5 hours doing a circuit of all the temples in Old Bagan, some on paved roads and some down sandy dirt tracks. Its just impossible to appreciate the scale of the plain and all the hundreds of temples scattered across. You cycle down the road and pass 20 in a few minutes - all beautiful, and all shapes and sizes. Looked in a few of the temples, but on the whole they were more impressive from the outside. Some were 200ft high, and most were built around 1100AD. The most impressive interior was at Ananda Pahto - lots of corridors with the walls full of niches with buddha statues inside. But our favourite exterior was Htilominlo Pahto - 150ft high, and very detailed and impressive. Came back at 1pm for lunch (1st full meal I've managed since Monday), and a few hours by the pool. Headed out again at 5pm and cycled to Buladi to watch sunset. Climbed up the steep steps and sat on the round terrace soaking up the incredible 360 views of the plain and all the spires and domes as far as the eye could see. Great shame they stop the hot air balloons in April as that would be amazing - but it is $300pp !!

Sat 12th - Started at 9am in our lovely spacious a/c minivan for our tour of the wider area of Bagan temples. Headed down to the temples in-between Old and New Bagan and saw some beautifully painted interior walls, gold domes, and a Rosetta stone with 4 languages on. Bought 2 traditional paintings - one of a 7-headed elephant, and one of sunset over the Bagan temples. Went to a lacquer workshop to see how they make all the intricately carved and coloured boxes and bowls etc, and was fascinating to watch. They just merrily carved all these detailed designs by hand onto the lacquered wood, no pattern, just all by eye and done so quickly, but so perfectly ! Carried on with a few more temples then stopped for lunch at 2pm. The afternoon was saved for all the bigger, more impressive sites, and they did not disappoint. Started with Shwesandaw Paya which is famous for its sunset views and we could see why. Really high with fantastic 360 views of the whole plain and all the temples. Then onto Dhammayangyin Pahto which was huge, but mostly all walled up inside, then Sulamani Kkyaung which was one of my favourites as it was so detailed and lots of interesting features both inside and out. Finished the day at Pyathada Paya with its huge terrace and sat and watched the sun set over all the temples. Perfect end to a wonderful few days in Bagan, and our last evening with Steph and Vivi as we go our separate ways tomorrow after 10 days together !

Sun 13th - Got up at 5:45 and caught the 7:30 bus from Bagan to Kalaw - nice spacious bus with a/c and the journey went quickly. We passed dry barren plains, then lush rice fields, then climbed a long, long hill to arrive in Kalaw at 2pm. Some passengers asked if we could stop for a quick toilet break at 11am (4 hours after our pickup) as it didn't seem they were ever going to stop ! Walked to Nature Land Hotel, only to find they didn't have our booking and were full, but luckily could accommodate us at their other hotel. Amazing room - with huge beds, ensuite, and separate seating room with TV - nice ! Seems a lovely little hill town, and very different weather from Bagan. Bagan was boiling hot and dry and dusty, and Kalaw is cool, raining and very green and lush. Headed into town for dinner and the whole town has a real Nepal/India influence so had a nice India meal. After a few false starts, finally met the guide we'd been emailing about the trek from Kalaw to Inle and all seems ok - except he's not well and so is getting his cousin/sister to do the trek instead !