We left Chang Mai for the 1.5-hour flight to Myanmar. Much to Heather's horror, when we walked across the tarmac and saw a small propeller plane. We arrived safely at Mandalay Airport and went through immigration, picked up luggage, drew money out of the ATM and were sitting in a taxi all within 15 minutes.

The scenery on the way to the city was large wide roads with very little traffic, extremely dry and dusty but sprinkled with bursts of vibrant colours from the flowering Bourgenvilla. We arrived at Ned Kelly's Hotel & Irish bar not knowing what to expect, especially as it was so cheap at £24 B & B a night. However, we were pleasantly surprised - it was a really modern hostel, great "chill out" areas on each floor with computers, TV lounge, tea/coffee etc. Our room was a bit small with a private bathroom across the landing but was very clean and beds were really comfortable.

We headed straight up to the roof-top bar for food and a few beers and got chatting to a few people on holiday from England, so made for a pleasant first evening. All the staff were great and we are getting the impression that the Burmese are very friendly people and they love to practice their English. We are struggling just to learn hello, thank you and goodbye - the basics we try and learn in every country we visit. The bar closed at 11.00pm and we went to bed excited for what tomorrow would bring.

Largely due to Rudyard Kipling's poem, The Road to Mandalay, in which a British soldier reminisces upon the allure and sensuality of the orient, the city of Mandalay has been gilded in a romantic veil in the minds of many who, like Kipling himself, have never visited. Robby William's mentions the Road to Mandalay in his song Eternity and Frank Sinatra also had a song called On the Road to Mandalay!

At the end of the 19th Century, Mandalay was Burma's Royal Capital. It was built from the dismantled teak beams of the ancient city of Amarapura, 7 miles away, in 1857- the same year Macy's department store first opened in Manhattan!

The British annexed Burma in 1885 and used the Royal Palace as an army HQ until the Japanese conquered Burma in 1942 when they also used the Palace for the same purpose. Burma remained under Japanese occupation until 1945 and in 1948 the country gained independence from Britain.

We only had one full day so we booked a tour of the main sites and were picked up at 8.30am joined by a Danish couple, one French and one Swiss - it was a nice group and we had a great, although tiring day, only getting back at 7.30pm. We experienced wonderful pagodas, monasteries, a government run Buddhist school, local cotton and silk weavers, travelled by minibus, boat and horse & cart …….

Our first stop was in Mandalay, the Mahamuni Pagoda and its Buddha Image which is a major pilgrimage site as it is seen as an expression of representing the Buddha's life. Only men are allowed in to the chamber so off Dan and the Dane went to apply gold leaf to the image, whilst we watched on a TV screen outside. The Buddha is actually covered with a gold leaf layer of about 15cm.

Next stop was the Mahagandayon monastery in Amarapura and it is the country's most prominent monasastic college. The monastery accommodates 1000's of monks who study Buddhism and it takes 7 - 10 years for a complete education. We witnessed the silent line up of yellow-brown clad Monks file in to their dining room for lunch. We also went in to the huge "kitchen" and watched their lunch for the next day being prepared - never seen so many vats of rice, cauliflowers and other vegetables and everything being prepared by hand.

We stopped off to watch some traditional weavers using cotton and silk - amazing intricacy in their work and the complex patterns they follow. It was refreshing that there was no pressure to buy or even go in to the shop. Heather of course couldn't resist and bought herself a Longyi (traditional long wrap-around skirt). It's sad that the market is being undermined by cheap imported garments.

The Aung Maya Oo Monastic Education School was our next stop. The school was founded in 2003 by an enlightened monk who wished to give an opportunity for education to children in the northern regions severely affected by guerrilla warfare and to children from poor families in the Sagaing area. Observing that girls had more problems receiving education in Myanmar's monasteries than boys, he gave priority to girls. It was obviously break-time and a lot of the children were sitting in the playground watching English cartoons absolutely mesmerised whilst others were playing on swings - no computers, mobile phones, computer games.

Our final stop before lunch was Umin Thonse Pagoda or 30 caves Pagoda in Sagaing. There are 30 entrances to go in and inside the crescent shaped collonade are 43 sitting Buddhas and 2 standing Buddhas. It was built to mark the commemoration of 45 years Buddha spent as a Buddha before his death.

After a lunch stop, we were soon on the road again to yet another Pagoda - Soon U Ponya Shin on top of a hill surrounded by numerous other pagodas and monasteries. The Pagoda has a huge enshrined Buddha at 96 feet and is reputed to grant 14 wishes such as getting a promotion. Great views over the valley and river from here.

We were then transported across the river by boat and we all got on horse and carts to some more sights. There were quite a few vendors and Heather said to one lady that she would buy a necklace from her when we came back to the boat. She certainly wasn't going to risk that, so with a big smile on her face she followed our horse and cart on the dusty dirt roads by bicycle for about 20 minutes until we reached Bagaya Monastery - all for £3.00 and she gave me a bracelet as a gift!

The monastery was completely made out of teak, with 267 gigantic teak wood posts and stands in the middle of wide paddy fields, palms and banana trees. The monastery is decorated with lovely Burmese carvings and reliefs.

Our horse and cart then took us to Maha Aung Mye Bonzan monastery also known as the brick monastery and built in 1818. Inside there are lots of Buddha images and two mythological lions protect the entrance. The building is markedly different from traditional Burmese monasteries which are constructed with wood, not masonry.

We made our way back to the river with our trusted steed and onwards to our final stop which was U Bein wooden bridge for the sunset. The bridge is 1.2 kilometres long and was built from teak from the remains of a royal palace in 1850 - it is believed to be the oldest (and once the longest) teakwood bridge in the world. We were treated to a lovely sunset and a great end to a wonderful, although tiring day.

Dinner and a beer on our rooftop and an early night as our alarm is set to go off at 5.00am tomorrow.