I arrived just after lunch on Saturday the 6th. My short time in Bangkok allowed me get a wedge of pristine brand new dollars, which is only what the locals will accept, ready for the next 3 weeks or so over here. I read horror stories prior to arriving of ATMs not taking western cards so ensured I was prepared. I had also got an "evisa" and that worked a treat, straight through immigration with no issues. I then tried an ATM to get a little local currency and that also worked. The horror stories I had heard were misplaced. The first thing that hit me was the heat, it was a lot hotter than Thailand. I also noticed that the majority of the local chaps had horrendous teeth... Stained with some sort of redness. I've since learnt that they chew something called betel nut. It results in red saliva being created and then consequently spat on the ground. Nice. Once I checked into the hostel I went for my usual little bimble to get a feel for the place and grab my first meal out here. The infrastructure is interesting. You have your glorious temples scattered around the place, then you have quite a lot of expensive flashy looking houses that wouldn't look out of place in Miami or LA. The military/government buildings are also quite well maintained. Then you have a lot of run down rough looking buildings followed by a load of "shacks" with people living in seemingly primitive conditions. However, all of these buildings are amongst one another, with the people who occupy them living in what seems like pretty good cohesion. I found a restaurant, after first dodging the outrageous amount of Chinese made motor bikes steaming around the roads and random cows just strolling around the streets. It's very easy to navigate the streets as it's a grid system that the Brits brought in with streets simply identified as "53rd Street" etc. I ordered a local beer "Mandalay lager beer" which wasn't too shabby at all. I was then contemplating what to munch. I'd decided on some noodles but didn't know whether to have pork or chicken. It was then that a chicken literally hopped past my table. The chicken looked happy and healthy so I decided it was the chicken id go for. I'd already heard stories at the hostel of the lack of hygiene out here and people getting sick as a consequence but I enjoyed my first meal and I can confirm a few days later I'm still feeling good! Although I will probably stay clear of the dodgy looking street food I've seen knocking around! I returned to the hostel and got talking to a couple of great blokes and lady from Denmark, Jakob, Alex, David, Lucus and Olivia and another from the UK. Craig. We decided to stay up late for the champions league final so drank until then, with a load of others from the hostel. "Mamma" who ran the hostel had agreed to let us watch it at hers. She was unequivocally one of the nicest ladies I have ever met. If the world had more people like her then it really would be a better place. It was a good craic that night, but a late one with the time difference. I just about remember the game and then hit my rack.

Next morning I was a little delicate but got out and amongst it. I went to the "Grand Palace". The palace was originally built in the 1850's and has quite an impressive moat surrounding it. It was ruined by fire during WWII when it was originally used to house British troops prior to the Japanese using it as a logistics hub, before the allies finally burnt it down. What stands now is a replica that was built around the 90's. I have to admit I was substantially underwhelmed by the palace. It was in shocking state and even when it was brand new, as a king I'd have been pretty disappointed with it I reckon. It was basically just made out of corrugated iron and wood. You'd at least have a touch of marble incorporated in the design if you were king, surely?! It cost 10 dollars for a ticket which allows you to visit 5 different attractions with the money undoubtedly going towards the Generals Christmas party I imagine… After that I walked about 3 miles back in 35+ degree heat. I put some water down during that walk but still had a headache when I got back. Dehydration from the night before antics... I got back had a cheeky nap and then met with the 5 Danish and other Brit and headed to Mandalay Hill for sunset.

The hill is 240m high but with steps all the way, it was quite easy to get to the top. The 360 degree views of Mandalay were exceptional, definitely worth the 40 minute stroll up. On the way up you had various different shacks with locals selling all sorts of things. I'm pretty sure they live in these shacks. I didn't see many toilets on the way up though so naturally I wondered what exactly I was stepping in on the way up as you have to walk barefoot all the way. At the top it was quite busy. It turns out locals that are learning English and also monks head to the top to practice their English. I had about 5 different conversations, all similar sort of questions asked. I was a magnet for these people even though I was attempting to be stern faced! I thought it was good though, mixing with the locals and learning about them. I managed to maintain my patience and have at least a 2 minute conversation with all of them. I wandered over to the Danish lads who were chatting to a couple of locals and a monk. It turns out that a few of the locals could apparently dance and wanted to show us what they could do. They put some music on and banged out the robot dance which was not what I was expecting when I first went up there! All in all, Mandalay Hill was definitely worth a visit. Just 70 years pervious though, when the Gurkhas stormed the Hill to take it back from the Japanese, I'm sure it wasn't such a pleasant place. A Gurkha battalion stormed the hill engaging in fierce hand to hand fighting all day and night, and they were joined the next day by two companies of a British battalion. I saw a memorial plaque on the way up which confirmed this, it mentioned the Royal Berkshire Regiment. I couldn't even begin to imagine what that was like. I played football against the Gurkhas a few years back and it's the first time I've ever played against a team that use the formation 1:10. Literally 10 of them running around like headless chickens with the keeper just about managing to keep his position! I don't mean any disrespect to the Gurkhas here… They have been a loyal and formidable part of the British Army for 200 years now (200 this year) and have been involved in every main conflict since then, winning 26 Victoria Crosses on their way, the highest won by any unit in the whole of the British Armed forces. They just struggled to kick a bag of wind around on that specific day!

The following day the British and Danish contingency along with an American girl, went on a bit of a tour of the ancient city. It involved loads of different temples, watching 1400 monks get fed in one go at a Monastery, a meal by the river, a walk along a really shabby long wooden bridge and then an argument with the taxi driver at the end as he tried to play silly b*****s with the price. We stood our ground though, with Alex leading the way and only ended up paying what we agreed at the beginning which was a good result for us. We all then decided that we would head to Bagan next and would go by bus the following day.