Return to Nam

We had decided to go back to Vietnam as we still felt we had undiscovered land to explore there, plus we had managed to convince my parents to come and visit us for two weeks and couldn’t think of anywhere better, with the vast range of different landscapes and the mentalness of Hanoi, we thought it was a perfect stamp for them to acquire on their passports and a ideal reason for us to return.  

 We entered Vietnam on the Mekong from Cambodia, heading to Can Tho for the floating markets and a riverboat canal trip along this bustling water way. Our trip started like any other with the meeting of  locals, the border brought us into a Chau Doc so we had to get a bus to Can Tho, we hopped onto some rather amusing bike taxis and were cycled through the streets to the local bus station, being dropped off at local bus station we climbed onto a mini bus and became enthralled at watching some women eating some hard fruit/veg, dipping it in chili then munching away, my staring was caught out and suddenly some of the said fruit was being pushed into my mouth, yum…. no not really, I still had no idea what it was and thought it was some sort of gherkin, later finding out it was unripe mango (we think). 

Our stay in Chau Doc was short and sweet but was definitely worth it, we hadn’t yet managed to get to a floating market and I really wanted to experience one, we thought the Mekong was the best place to appreciate this with it being such a huge run way for passing trade. We booked a 5am start with a local tour, securing a boat for the two of us and a driver. As sunrise crept in our first stop was the wholesalers market which was full of roaring trade and sellers, Sam noticed on the top of each boat was a stick with fruit/veg attached, soon realising this being what was being sold, after that we headed to a more local market which was a number of women selling a range of goods, so many squashes, toiletries and other goodies. We got right into the middle of all the selling and it was so nice to hear the women chatting away, pushing each other’s boats out and selling like crazy. The floating market was different to how I first imagined and in my mind it would be more a market style on the river, whereas what we found was just loads of boats selling loads of goods, no order, slight chaos but it worked none the less. It made me think of the scooters in Hanoi and to us it looks like there is no order but to the Vietnamese people they know the order and that’s how it works. 

After our market trips we had a wonderful boat ride through the back canals of the Can Tho river, it reminded me of the boat trip we took at the start of this trip in Kerala, souring through the waters, surrounded by palm trees, the backwaters were beautiful and we got off a few times for walks through orchards of jackfruit and bananas. The palms encased the river paths and it was so relaxing (even when it rained) to be away from the roads and people, just us and our boat, I imagined a life of when people only used the waters as their main passageway enjoying the calm we were feeling, wondering if at one time that calm wasn’t present due to the waterways being more like the roads are now in current day Vietnam. The waters is such an incredible beautiful way to travel though and one that makes a complete sense of ease due to the surrounding nature, we pulled in at a local home stay and were treated to a breakfast of pho (traditional Vietnamese breakfast) which was so good, we took an hour to enjoy the surroundings and watch local life pass by. After breakfast we headed back onto the bigger passageways and our lovely boatman shared fruit with us and made a number of different gifts out of banana leaves, constantly surprising us with something new. We arrived back at land at 1pm and headed back to our hotel for an afternoon of rest before our bus journey the following day to Saigon, HCMC. 

We took a morning bus to Saigon, again a quick stop over to catch a flight to Hanoi to then head to Sapa that evening. We stayed one night in Saigon, my main experience of the city being from our last trip where I enjoyed our stayed but could feel the more business side of the city, it felt ‘cleaner’ and that economy flourished more in this capital rather than Hanoi, it reminded me of the difference between Mumbai and Delhi, it definitely had a Mumbai city feel to it. We didn’t do much apart from arrive, ate and had a small wander before resting up for our long travel day the following day. 

We arrived into Hanoi in the morning and headed straight to the train station, we hadn’t managed to get to Sapa last time due to us only being away for three weeks and had other places on our route so we knew this time it was a must on our list. We booked our night train for that evening and planned 3 days in Sapa, leaving on the 3rd day back to Hanoi for my parents arriving. We secured a carriage all to ourselves, bonus and enjoyed our first experience of Vietnamese trains. The journey went well apart from the unknown time of waking up and therefore being up and down from 4am, however it was comfy and we got some sleep, we arrived into a town next to Sapa then you get the bus up to Sapa itself. We sorted our bus journey and arrived at the Sapa Cozy resting up for the day enjoying wandering around, working out where to get the best cake and tea in the hills. Sapa really reminded me of Dalat, we had visited Dalat last year which is another hill town, both have a real back in time feel with everyone going about daily life, living in the hills like the life down below doesn’t really exist, Sapa had more of a tourist hub feel due to it being a main stop on the travel trail, however in both towns it’s the hills that have the adventure and the town is just sleeping nest. We decided against doing any trekking, we wanted to get on a bike and really explore that way, we had read about the Ta Throm Pass and this seemed a perfect day out and an ideal way to see the beauty of what Sapa holds. 

The Ta Throm Pass is a mountain pass through two mountain ranges, and it was possibly one of the most beautiful sites of our whole trip. The green was like a postcard and the scenery just rolled on and on, never a dull site and always a new landscape to enjoy, whether that be waterfalls, rivers, farmers working, hills, random cows being walked from one village to another or the small delicate looking homes in the middle of nowhere, it was just spell binding to witness and I sat on the back of the scooter dazzled by the spectacular view.  The pass runs for miles and we had chosen to head to a particular village, which would take us a few hours, then turn around and head back, at no point was there a boring moment and the sun blazed down on us making the ride complete, we hopped on and off taking photos, going for river side swims and lazing in the heat of the day, as afternoon started approaching we headed back happy with the feeling we had really seen the Sapa countryside, we ended the day with tea and cake, a standard Sapa requirement and wondered how tomorrow could come close to the beauty we had already indulged in. 

The following day didn’t go as planned and we ended up heading back onto the Ta Throm Pass, finding a nice spot to put our blanket down and enjoy the views again, I got my diary out and Sam found his book, taken a few hours to relax with the gorgeous greenery before heading back to go for our night train. We were so chuffed with our few days ad felt humble with the experience we had, definitely feeling we got what we wanted out of Sapa.

We woke the next morning at 6am, it was Sam’s 30th and we had a day planned in our favourite city, Hanoi, we were booked into a swanky hotel and headed there from the night train, smiling knowing we had two weeks of nice stays and luxury in front of us, travelling digs being left behind, Ma and Ron were on their way. 

I had a number of plans for Sam’s birthday, hoping to make it memorable in every way, I had got a number of videos from friends and family, all of them wishing him happy birthday, and had a street food, bia hoi food plan mapped out. We arrived at our hotel and enjoyed a morning of coffee, birthday treats and relax before heading out for breakfast, Sam was overjoyed with his videos and smiled at the efforts people had put it. 

Our plan was to hit 6 street food restaurants and then whatever beer hoi we passed, we then had a chart I made to score the restaurants so we could take M&R back when they arrived, giving them a real slice of Vietnamese food. Our first stop was delicious pho, Sam enjoyed a tasty pho bo as I sat on and watched, sadly street vendors don’t sell vegetarian pho, the first meal went down a treat and Sam rated it a top high score stating it was his favourite pho bo he had ever tasted. The day went on from there and although we didn’t reach the 6 vendors we wanted we did however manage 4 tasty meals, the best for me being the crab spring rolls and another restaurant that sold a noodle, salad, stew like meal that was really fresh and full of garlic and ginger. Vietnamese really do their street food well and although it’s classed as street food its different from our style of pop up eateries, there more local restaurants cooking traditional food.  We also embraced the bia hoi and found a number of local stops serving the famous 30p locally brewed beer. At around 4pm we retreated for a rest and were surprised with a birthday cake from the hotel staff, after a slice of that was munched down we headed back out to a craft ale bar Sam had read about, sadly it wasn’t as we had hoped, however Sam enjoyed two tasty ales, pleased to have tried out the craft scene in Hanoi, we walked our way back to a bia hoi street stall and spent the rest of the evening watching Hanoi life scoot pass and talking of Sam’s next 30yrs.

We woke early the next morning to head to the airport to meet M&R, there flight was in at 6am and we wanted to be there for their arrival, my stomach was full of butterflies, it had been 7 months since I had seen my parents and I was so excited for two weeks in Vietnam with them. Knowing this was a huge trip for them both (and probably the last big trip they have, mother hen doesn’t love flying) so we wanted to make it the best trip ever for them. We had planned the first week in Hanoi, doing day trips, Ha Long Bay and the second week relaxing in Hoi An. 

Seeing them come out of arrivals was magic, we embraced smiling and laughing, so happy to see one another, there trip had been long so we headed back to the hotel so they could rest up. Their expressions were just as we had hoped, amazed by the manic roads, scooters everywhere and so many people, their faces were a picture and we knew we had made the right decision bringing them here first. 

Our first week was spent exploring the streets of Hanoi, taking them to local restaurants and getting into the life of being a tourist in Vietnam. We headed to Tam Coc for the day which is classed as the Ha Long Bay on land; the day was really fun and nice to see a different perspective of the limestone rocks from the view at Ha Long Bay. We took a boat trip along a lazy river, in awe at our lady Lin rowing and the beauty of the views she was showing us around. So much green with huge beautiful rocks jutting out of everywhere, sitting in the boat was incredible and I felt like a borrower with the grandness surrounding me. 

We also headed to Ha Long Bay, which turned out to be great; however we had planned 3 days, 2 nights but there was a typhoon which meant a number of trips were cancelled, ours being one of them. We did however manage to arrange a 1 day trip which for me was possibly a better experience then the original trip planned. We were picked up in a private car and had an awesome tour guide, Nam. We then had a private junkboat to ourselves (junkboats are what are used for the big trips, so it could normally fit 15 – 20 people on), Ronnie was gob smacked and kept saying, ‘I can’t believe we have this boat just for us’, we laughed away as our boat shipped out of the dock ready for an amazing exciting day ahead.
The day was incredible and like Nam said if you haven’t visited Ha Long Bay you haven’t visited Vietnam, M&R enjoyed the day, and for Mum who loves boat trips she was in her element. We cruised through Ha Long Bay, enjoying a feast of seafood taking in the UNESCO beauty of the centre site and the spell binding beauty of the scene in front and all around us. 

We visited the caves in Ha Long Bay, attempted Kayaking but the rain poured so we chose to head to the bay and viewing platform, the rain calmed by this point and Sam and Ronnie decided to climb, mother hen wasn’t feeling great so we took the option to laze on the beach bay letting the boys do the walking work. The viewing platform is a great way to get a bird’s eye view of Ha Long and is worth the walk, it’s a hefty climb though and definitely one you need a good amount of energy for. We took the next hour relaxing on the beach, the sun came out and we swam in the sea and drank some coconuts. Mum perked up after a little snooze and came and paddled in the shore.  Our journey back let us all reflect, taking in the last hour as we slowly cruised back, so happy we got our day and so happy M&R had loved it as much as S and I do. 

The next day we headed out to Hoi An, we had booked our favourite villa, where we stated last time and knew this week was about total relax. M&R loved Hoi An Garden Villas and were overjoyed with their room. The whole week went amazing, we found hidden beaches, cycled loads, got some amazing clothes made, took a cooking course and eat so much delicious food, delving into the relaxing world of Hoi An. M&R looked at home in the cobbled streets, they looked like they were soaking in every moment they could and I could tell the beauty of Hoi An had reached into their hearts and stolen their love. We couldn’t have asked for a better week and were all sad to leave, we had our routine of beach, pool, pre drinks on the river then food and were still wanting more of M&R time, sadly everything must come to an end and we embraced our last few days with a lot of laughter, nice talks and reflecting over their time in Vietnam. 

We headed back to the big city for M&R flight home the following day, we said our goodbyes that evening, so thankful for the holiday and experience and so proud of how they had taken the last two weeks, I knew it hadn’t all been easy and had been a huge culture shock, but as they left but embraced us both stating it had been a trip of a lifetime and they were thankful for the experience. 

We had two days left and spent it doing nothing, we hibernated and slept, catching up in the afternoons with the lovely Mike and Ash again, roaming the streets, drinking bia hoi, catching up on the last few weeks and hearing about future plans. We found some great street music and ate at some of our favourite street vendors soaking up our last two days before we left the capital. 

Our time came to an end quick and we said a huge goodbye to M&A, knowing this time it would be a few years before we saw one another again and not just a few weeks. It wasn’t goodbye but see you later and we group hugged for one last time, talking of how many countries we had travelled together and how thankful we were for the friendship developed. 

As we walked back to our hotel that night the streets were empty, we hugged, I had a tear and we talked of the beauty of our time in this incredible part of the world. SE Asia has been more then I could have hoped for and I know it’s a place I will travel forever, it holds so much beauty and culture, it has everything I love about travelling and this trip has changed me, it’s made me look deeper at myself and made me aware of my strengths and my weaknesses, it’s made me appreciate this life I have and be thankful for it every day. We are blessed to have these experiences and I hope I never forgot that when I return to England, life couldn’t be better than it is now and I feel so grateful for that. 

Now though it’s time to fly away and head to Mexico for our last month.

Courgeous Cambodia

Cambodia to me has been the one place I have left feeling impacted the most, it was like a history lesson from the minute we entered to the minute we left, being able to see the devastation of war everywhere, from the population to the experiences of the Khmer people, Cambodia for me is a perfect example of the courageous survival of human kind.

From Angkor Wat we headed to Ko Tah Kiev island for 3 days at Crusoe Island, Crusoe island is a rustic island stay we found quite a few months back, maybe even last year and we both had been so excited for this experience of island life, Crusoe just looked a dream, it looked what island life should be like, rustic, laid back, hammocks and the sea on our door step, we had booked one of the bungalows, the vie.  When we arrived the sun was shining and the view stood up to its name, It was an open bungalow that looked straight onto a nook of beach and the ocean, ah heaven! We made our nest and got straight into the water, happy, smiling, and content. Ash and Mike were in the explorer cabin next to us and we all agreed things were going to be great, what more could you want then sun and ocean for three days?

Well without going into it too much, the rain come and Crusoe Island went drastically downhill, we did however manage to string some hammocks up in the only communal area and read and drink tea/coffee, so relaxing did happen, just in a very different form to how we had imagined.

We did however find some space when the rain stopped to go and clean some of the beach (in exchange for beer), sadly the beach is cluttered with rubbish and we managed to gather around 8-12 bags of plastic bottles before the drizzle started again, at this we jumped into the ocean and attempted to body surf the waves. For around 2hrs we played like children in the sea, laughing, joking, being swept under, riding on top of the waves and making the most of the storm brewing above us, making the sea a delightful playground.

That evening we were informed the kitchen had run out of food, at that point we knew we couldn’t wait to get off the island and head to our next destination, Kampot. We took a stroll along the beach that evening and went back to the restaurant we had enjoyed lunch at, having a feast of pizza and wine, it was nice to feel humbly fed with food and drink, retiring that night with the joyful thought of no rain tomorrow and a room that didn’t have sneaky mice stealing from you as you snoozed.

We took a taxi to Kampot the next day, Sam had booked us a floating bungalow on the river kampot which just looked so beautiful and M&A had a treetop bungalow out in the gardens of Bodi Villa. Kampot was such a lovely stay, really relaxing and just what we needed after our time on the island. For the three days we were there we just relaxed by the river, swam, ate and drank delicious wine. It was a great place for reading, writing and just enjoying the blissful calm of life in Kampot. Mike turned 29 when were there also so we chose to take a day trip to Kep, sadly the weather turned but we didn’t let it stop our plan, we took our scooters and travelled the hour’s drive to Kep market. Kep is known for its tasty crab and we found a perfect shack to enjoy a tasty feast. It was like a northern day at the beach, the rain was coming down, blustery winds and cool in the air, for us though it made it feel like home, both being from cold countries we embraced the chill and enjoyed the gusty day at the seaside.That evening we headed home in time for our firefly tour, we had no idea what to expect for our evening boat trip but we certainly were not dissapointed. The four of us heading out on a priavte boat, docking up at the side of a mud drawn road, we all looked at each other as if to say 'what the hell' but our lovely tour guide got us walking and took us through a muddy puddle into a bushy area, at this he pointed out one firefly and the moon, great we thought one firefly, oh and the moon! but then suddenly a tree in front of us just flashed, like a christmas tree, the lights of the fireflies intermittently going on and off, we all gasped with happiness and our tour man started singing happy birthday (in Cambodion). With a huge roar of laughter we all broke down, totally unaware of how he knew it was Mikes birthday, we sang away though and enjoyed such a magical moment. Another 30mins passed and we enjoyed the array of activity these little insects brought us, smiling with wonderous joy at each flicker of light, another one of the worlds wonderful creatures. Our tour came to an end and we headed back to Bodi for an evening on the pontoon, drinking wine and talking about Mikes 30th plans ahead.

The following day we packed and headed for our next stop in Cambodia, Phonm Phen, we had decided to take two days to explore the capital, taking in the museums and history of this wonderful country we had been travelling and taking so much richness from. I had started reading a book recommended to me about the Cambodian civil war which for me was a great way to prepare me for the horrific sad information to be given at the museums. My knowledge of history is dire and so I am aware of the Khmer Rouge regime but wasn’t as fully aware as I should have been, by the end of day 2 though my brain felt like it could have exploded with the sadness, terror and stories heard of this devastating period and the impact it still has today.

We started the day by heading to S21, this used to be an old high school before the Pol Pot regime took it over and used it as a prison, we chose to get a guide for the few hours we would be spending there, our guide was a women who had lived through the regime and told us her story of how she had lost her brothers and sisters due to the child labour camps and starvation they suffered as children,  her parents had also been killed for no other reason than being from the city. Her story was like so many others and my heart broke at the information surrounding us. The high school – prison – museum held such strong messages and a proportion of it was still in the same structure as it had been in the 1970’s. In one part the walls are lined with images of child soldier’s, innocent faces turned evil for power, brain washed by a man clearly unstable in his own mental health all for a notion of sheer madness, I read somewhere that even if you wore glasses you would be killed. We learnt that over half the population were killed, that’s 1 in 2 people were murdered for no reason, I don’t even know If I can still digest the information now but I know I feel utter admiration for Cambodian people, their courage to carry on is inspiring after such a brutal attack on their society. We entered one part of the museum which was dedicated to foreigners caught up in the attack, one guy was from Newcastle, my home town (as most of you know), it didn’t have much information so I chose to read some more on the internet, it again was another tale of horror, he was seized whilst yachting and was taken to S21, captured and tortured and made to admit he was part of the CIA,  this was a method the Khmer Rouge used when killing, by people admitting they were part of the CIA they then felt they had allowances to kill the said victim, none of it makes sense, the Pol Pot genocide was one of sick  intention and in S21 alone 14,000 people were tortured and killed.

From here we headed to The Killing Fields, I had no idea what to expect from this museum and was surprised at how well it was organised for such a horrific but important memorial site. The Killing Fields was another area people were taken to before being killed, there is a number of these all over Cambodia but the one in Phonm Phen is the biggest. The memorial is carried out as a audio tour,  each stop informing you what this area was and what was carried out here, the detail is to harrowing to write up and I think it’s more important to experience or read more about it yourself if interested. The emotion it stirred in all of us was indomitable and we all had to take some time out to regain ourselves and feel the sadness and devastation that was being stirred.  For me at first I didn’t really understand the true importance of people going to visit these museums and have these experiences but as I walked around I realised I was mourning the loss of thousands of lives, mothers, babies, fathers, children, families taken away for no reason, butchered for no reason, the killing fields was a memorial to these people to be remembered and never forgotten, it’s so important to remember these periods of history and stop civil wars and genocides like this happening again and if places like this do that then the message is being put out there and a nation is not being forgotten.

We took the evening and following day to be with ourselves and enjoy the feeling of being in PP after the devastation it suffered, looking at the pictures of how the city was prior to it being captured to how it was during and how it had been built back up now, booming with industry and travelers. I was proud to wander the streets and experience the culture, feeling blessed to be in this life and with the people I was with. Our last day in Cambodia was one of reflection and my time in this beautiful country had been more then I could have expected a highlight on the travel train, how it has opened my mind and eyes, making me feel a different appreciation for life and the experiences I am having.

We said our goodbyes to Mike and Ash, arranging to see one another again in Vietnam, they headed up to Kratie for dolphin spotting and we had to get ourselves to Vietnam for our time in Sapa before the parentals arrived. We took the mighty Mekong out of Cambodia, crossing the border to Vietnam on the river, entering back into familiar territory and excited for the next month of travel. 

From Sunset to Sunrise, the Temples of Angkor Wat

We entered Cambodia through the notorious land border Poi Pet, known for its shady scams and dodgy sales staff, Sam had prepped me to let him sort the visas and not freak out if his pointing finger ‘you’re lying’ face came on. All the guidebooks and internet reading tells you of the fake buildings and fake security staff in place, supposedly helping you with your visas and quick route into Cambodia, however what will happen is you will be over charged, money taken and still be waiting in the long line with all the other weary travelers and locals passing through. We managed to make it off the bus, our bus driver being so lovely and in his broken English pointing at the actual border control offices, as the scam men started to surround us demanding our time and notes, we pushed through no finger pointing but lots of no no no, NO THANKYOU.  We got to the border control and even there the guards tried their luck, stating they needed an extra few $’s to put our visas through, at this Sam informed them, no sorry, we don’t have it and with a few exchanged words our visas were processed and we were in the queue crossing to Thailand, phew. 

We caught the bus to Siem Reap to meet lovely Ash and Mike, the journey wasn’t too bad apart from the fact we found out just before getting on the bus our friends had gone into labour, meaning the whole bus journey was a panic of if they were okay and how the labour was going. We somehow managed to get 10 seconds of internet at a random service stop and a beautiful picture of baby Heidi came through, we were over whelmed with emotion and both were teary eyed at the happiness we felt our besties had a brood but sadness at feeling so far away when such a special moment was occurring. 

We arrived into Siem Reap in standard SE Asia fashion with the bus turning into a dark dodgy bus terminal and a 100 tuk tuks awaiting our arrival, we bartered a price and then got on our way to our hotel. When we arrived we were greeted by the lovely smiles of our Canadian friends and instantly felt at home in their embrace.  The evening was spent settling into Siem Reap and making plans for the next few days, M&A had already been in Siem Reap for a few days and had bought the 3 day tickets to Angkor Wat, we knew we only wanted to do the one day, as with the one day you also get the previous evening, meaning we would buy our tickets the following day at 5pm, have that evening and the whole of the next day. M&A informed us they had done the two outer routes of Angkor but had saved the big temples for us for our full day together.  So with plans made we enjoyed the rest of the evening on ‘pub street’ drinking lots of wine, local 30p beer and a lot of good chats with two very good friends, we missed the fact a river of rain had flooded the streets and when we emerged from the bar at 3am we fell into a puddle and stumbled into a tuk tuk. We awoke the next morning with fuzzy heads and happy thoughts, I woke up earlier than the rest so went for a nice swim and enjoyed the morning sunshine on my back, after my swim I went and enjoyed breakfast catching up on my diary and filling in my last few days of Thailand. Soon the others joined me and we arranged a lazy day in Siem Reap before Sam and I hired some bikes and went for our evening cycle to Angkor. 

We arrived at Angkor spot on 5pm, we got our faces snapped and our tickets purchased and set out without any real plan, not planning to go in any temples, more just enjoy the cycle of what was to come and find a spot to watch sunset. I had no idea what I expected of Angkor and after being at Bagan (Burma) I had a similar image in my mind of the temples being smaller and quite similar and had no understanding of the distance between them all, some are miles away in a taxi (the outer route).  It was great to get a feel of the place before our main day and we nestled on a bridge at the end of the day to enjoy sunset. We headed back that night, prepared for our voyage into the mystic temples the following day, we chose to have a quieter night then the previous, meeting with a friend from home who was in Siem Reap also, we enjoyed a feast of Khmer curry’s and a few beers, oh and some tasty tea, heading to bed with full tummy’s ready for a 5am sunrise jaunt. 

We woke super early and were greeted by Mr Thom (who soon become Uncle Thom) for our days adventure, we chose to take a tuk tuk for the day at Angkor as our plan was to do sunrise to sunset and knew on bikes we wouldn’t make it, plus the sun gets so blazing hot at midday we wanted the shade of the tuk tuk and not the blistering heat on our faces. Uncle Thom was a total sweetie, he told us our route for the day, thankfully what we had planned and how he would drop us at each temple and wait for us as we explored. We joined the procession of tuk tuks and tourists and were dropped at Angkor Wat, the main temple in Angkor, everyone heads here for sunrise so as we entered it was slight chaos, everyone heads to the lake to watch sunrise, as the reflection of Angkor in the lake is spectacular, however it becomes a ipad, iphone photograph hell and for this reason we headed right as everyone to the grassy garden. We had our lovely trusty Indian blanket so put that down and settled ourselves for the morning, at that point Ash said ‘wouldn’t it be great to have a coffee’ with that James Bond (yep that was his name) came over with a list of coffee and promised he would bring it to us for our morning view. With coffee and comfort we were ready for a beautiful morning, or so we thought, sunrise was spectacular but sadly we had a child learning there ABC and was playing a very strange song out of his parents iphone, it did stop after a while but did leave us all laughing at such a random situation at such a beautiful spot. The joy of iphones and music, my definite travelling pet hate! We didn’t let it spoil our time though and managed to smile through it and embrace the beauty of what we were experiencing in front of us. 

Angkor Wat temple completely blew my mind and I was completely in awe of the beauty before me, Mike and I both had our guides/temple books which I would recommend to anyone visiting the temples, the books tell of all the bas reliefs (carvings/stories) engraved into the walls, stories of life times ago, wars, dietys and religious beliefs, they tell the tales of suffering and change and you can see the new carvings from the old, you can see where there has been change when the Khmer people left the Angkor complex and the temples were changed from Hindu to Buddhist carvings. For me the most beautiful carvings were the Apsara depictions, beautiful images of women nymphs/pixies saturated the walls, there were a number of similar images but everywhere the images embraced and flowed in groups and singular elements of these incredible women. I hadn’t ever heard the term Apsara but Mike soon explained they were seen to men as goddess and were worshipped for their beauty, I chose to do some further reading when home and loved the description of female spirits of the clouds and water, and they are youthful, elegant and superb in the art of dancing. How could these women not be respected and worshipped these mythical goddess sounded heavenly. Some of my other favourite carvings were the Rishis, Hindu sages, the representations was of old wise men, crossed legged like Buddha, with a long beard, looking wise and calm in his posture and positioning. My favourite statues led to a lot of laughs (and slight sex education lessons), these statues were the lungi and yoni, now some back history on yonis. I recently completed a course around feminist studies and working with vulnerable women, in this course we talked about what we called our lady parts and everyone had their hilarious name we all learnt as children. We were asked how we felt saying the word out loud and every one of us felt uncomfortable with the word, mine being ‘fairy’ which has always left me feeling awkward as I become obsessed with flower fairy’s and the magical world of fairy’s throughout my younger years and early twenty’s, therefore using the word fairy to describe my vagina and my best friend just felt wrong. After this course I chose a new word and one I would teach my child, that being yoni, so to see this word used to describe the fertility statues in Angkor Wat led me to informing M&A and Sam about my story of a change up in words. I went off on a wander around one of the temples to find one of these statues and joined a Chinese tour group as it was explained to them what they were, now this was amusing, as the tour guide poured the water and said some proactive words that made the ladies giggle and the men groan. The belief with the statues is that at one time the Khmer people poured water over the top of the lungi, the water then flowed into the yoni and out through a drainage system that led outside the temple, the people living outside the temple could then collect the water, drink it and wish for good fertility. It just made my mind spin how everything has such meaning and beauty wherever you step and wander. 

After 4hrs we exited Angkor Wat, hungry for breakfast and amazed at the humble amble we had just experienced. Our next stop was Bayon, we were welcomed by the most beautiful elephant trudging along, sadly carrying tourists on its back but the beauty of an elephant  a few steps in front of us was stupefying and I couldn’t help but let out a small gasp of excitement seeing its beautiful face and outstanding stature.  Bayon is a world of difference from Angkor Wat but just as magnificent and jaw dropping. I believe Bayon was built 80yrs after Angkor Wat by a new Khmer King, from far away the temple looks a pile of rubble but as you come closer it becomes a mass of smiling faces that at first glance could represent the familiarity of Buddha but when reading I learnt the images were to represent the Kings face, spread across 47 towers the faces envelope the towers, supposedly representing the 47 provinces in Cambodia at that time, the king watching down on all, creepy right? For me Bayon was a beauty but did hold a gothic eeriness and when learning about the kings faces I soon felt I understood why. Like Angkor, Bayon did have bas reliefs also which we attempted to understand but parts of the temple walls had fell into disrepair which was part of the beauty of this ruined attraction. 

Bayon is situated in the Angkor Thom complex; therefore we wondered the rest of the complex, enjoying various smaller temples and the terrace of elephants. We took a rest with a group of local boys who were playing in one of the pools and I enjoyed being splashed as they ran and jumped in front of me, giggling with excitement and happiness. 

Angkor Thom means big city and it was where the Khmer people once lived when residing in the Angkor complex, for me what astounded me was that is no evidence of settlement due to the residents using wood as there means to nest and live, stone was only for the gods and that’s why the temples were stone and still stand. When reading up about the movement of the Khmer residents there is no actual understanding as to why everyone left and therefore no records of how many people lived there.  Exploring these temples and  once distressed lands felt enjoyable but uncomforting knowing people were maybe run out of the home, their city and moved on to places nobody knows. 

We headed back to meet Uncle Thom for lunch then headed to our next stop Ta Phrom, known to all as Tomb Raider temple. Ta Phrom was what I was most excited to see, I had seen so many pictures and knew when planning this trip it was one of my top things I wanted to explore and experience and it sure didn’t disappoint. Ta Phrom is very different from the other temples as it has been left in a similar state to how it was found, piles of rubble, trees dominating the temple walls, nature taking back what belongs to it, land. The tetrameles nudiflora trees is what makes this temple so spectacular, it has literally been brought to ruins because of some of the trees, the roots engulf the insides of the temple and are beautiful to look at and photograph. We found so many nooks to climb into and climbed high as sun was coming down embracing the vast maze of ruins in front of us. 

After a few hours we exited Ta Phrom, with Uncle Thom telling us we didn’t have long for sunset and he would show us one more temple, Banteay Kdei, before our chosen sunset spot, he gave us 15minutes to explore our next one, which was a quick walk through, more beautiful apsaras, doorways upon doorways to walk through, another beautiful maze in the temples of Angkor. 

Like our morning jaunt we decided we didn’t want crowds of people so chose to ignore the guidance of the sunset temple and head to the kings royal bathing pool, Sra Srang to watch sunset on us. We didn’t pick wrong either as we enjoyed our time with a group of local kids, watching them play a game Sam played at cubs (therefore we learnt the rules from him), smiling and laughing like children should. As sun come down we reflected on what was an amazing day and how blessed we were to spend it together but also be on this incredible journey in this incredible place, one of the incredible wonders of our astonishing world.
 

Angkor Wat

Rishi

Apsara and Sammy

Bayon

Fertility Statue

Ta Phrom

Ta Phrom exploring.

Sunset at the Royal Pool.

 

Volunteering through the powers of Yoga.

So volunteering abroad, visiting orphanages and all the ‘gap year’ student ‘doing good’ has been a major discussion for me throughout this trip, not only with myself but friends who have come out to travel and other friends we have met along the way. Overall I am against it, but once I was a 23yr old, paying a lot of money to go and work in an orphanage in South Africa, although the trip didn’t work out due to a family bereavement and not one penny was refunded it set me on a thinking a stream, thoughts of where does the money go and what was the need for me to spend so much to volunteer, it therefore has been a question always with me and a way of thinking that has stayed. 

As most of you know my passion is children and young people, it’s my day to day work, it’s what I crave doing and what I hope to be part of for the rest of my working career, so therefore I started wondering whilst away, how do I volunteer but not cause attachment problems, have to pay stupid amounts of money or just generally be involved with a problematic organisation. 

I started to do a bit of research before coming away, I knew I wanted to stay in my current way of working with young people and preferably young girls, my research didn’t come up with much apart from the standard google search, pay £’s to volunteer, with this I put the search on the back burner and decided to look whilst away. 

Whilst doing my yoga training a part of the course was karma yoga work, we were asked to carry out a project with a group of people offering some form of karma work, this really got my thoughts going again of how I can use yoga to do this, therefore it’s not a long term piece of work but more of a workshop to offer skills, experience and knowledge, it just fitted perfect with my already way of thinking but also how I could offer volunteering throughout the rest of time in Asia. 

With this I started researching again and found a blog that had information on about different organizations in South East Asia, one that came up was in Chiang Mai, called COSA, Children’s Organisation of South East Asia, the organization works with young girls who have been or are at risk of sex trafficking, I just felt the organisation was perfect for the Yin workshop I wanted to offer and the age was an age I was used to working with, except for the language barrier I was ready to put an email together and offer my skills. After a few correspondences, a skype meeting was booked, I was so nervous but excitedly the meeting went well and we organized a date for when I would be in Chiang Mai and the girls would be off school. 

I was SO NERVOUS, my stomach went poorly, my mouth filled with ulcers and I just couldn’t concentrate, it was so weird but I just felt a bag of butterflies were in my stomach. Sam helped me through my nerves and after a bit of YIN practice and my workshop written down I was ready for the Saturday to come. 

Sam drove me to COSA which was just outside Chiang Mai, then Lori (center manager) met us and drove me to the shelter, after a brief introduction I was introduced to some of the girls and given the yoga mats to start the session, the girls were a mix between 7-17yr olds and had all tried yoga before, my challenge was the language, luckily for me one of the girls spoke English and helped me translate the difference between yang yoga to yin yoga.
I had put together a 50min session, knowing that at any time the session could be cut short due to the girls attention, understanding and experience of the yoga as it is a more therapeutic style of yoga and therapy in Thailand isn’t  something that occurs as it does in western countries. 

I felt so lucky though as the girls went through 45mins of the sequence perfectly, they chatted and giggled but at times there was such serene bliss in their emotions and asana posture it was a beauty to watch. The time when silence fell was just beautiful and I could see the depth of the yoga the girls had entered and how their minds had entered the yin bliss. 

At the end of the session I gave each of the girls a small hand out of what we had done and attempted to talk briefly with them about the practice; however they informed me they were very relaxed and pointed at Shavasana as their favourite posture. 

Overall I felt the workshop went well, the girls engaged and there smiles showed their enjoyment, the questions in my head still lay there and I felt that I was stronger in my decision about volunteering due to the conversations had whilst there. I did however feel so privileged to have the experience and the chance to offer yoga to the girls, when focusing back to my karma yoga I wondered what my aim was with the girls and realised the smiles on their faces were what my aim was and however they took the experience they all seemed to enjoy it.

Three stops through Thailand

Our trip through Thailand was done in two different parts; our first part was coming into Thailand through the busy lights of Bangkok from Malaysia. We left our beautiful Petani beach behind, choosing to cross into Thailand through the land border, then onto the sleeper train to Bangkok. The train journey was possible one of the best train journeys of the trip, where we even got our beds made for us and our food delivered to our seats, we arrived into Bangkok at 2pm a bit later than expected, but due to the comfort of the journey the feeling on the train was good and not the usual stress fueled feeling. We had 3 nights in Bangkok and had booked a hotel in advance as didn’t want to be stuck with accommodation near Khoa San Road, we had however stayed one extra night in Petani but had emailed the hotel saying we would be arriving a day later, however when we arrived at our hotel we were informed the room was booked, lucky for us next door came up trumps with a nicer room, balcony and cheaper, score, welcome to Bangkok. 

Our first day was spent recuperating and relaxing, we went to find Sam’s favourite Thai curry stand, which nicely still stood up to its amazing tastes, we took a walk down Khoa San Road and I got the standard traveler hair braid and a few other treats, as much as it was tourist trap heaven it was still so much fun to see it, experience the mentalness and dine on some tasty mango sticky rice and coconut ice cream, with our tummies full we headed back for a much needed sleep and fun the next day with two very good friends.

The following day was all about Chatuchak Sunday market, we were meeting our friends Ash and Mike, Ash had just arrived back from Canada after heading home for a week and Mike had been travelling part of Malaysia and into Bangkok with us, so we were super stoked to be meeting up with them again for some Bangkok silliness. We met the guys and spent hours venturing into the depths of the market, laughing at the crazy sales, vast amounts of tie dye clothes (yes I wanted them all) and hoards and hoards of home ware (honestly any nearer home and I would have been on manic buy). After the market we chose to head out to where Ash and Mike were staying and enjoyed some tasty broth at a ‘make your own’ restaurant. After numerous beers, laughs and experimental broth recipes we noticed the time was getting late and we were miles from home so jumped in a taxi heading back through the metropolis of Bangkok. 

Next day was visa Burma day, we spent the day heading back and forth getting our visas for our flight out the next day to Mandalay. We met Ash and Mike that evening, taking them to Sam’s talked about Thai lady to enjoy some Thai curry then for a tower at a hilarious locals bar, plenty of power ballads and a lot of beer, what more could one want!

After two weeks in Burma (http://claire-yvonne.blogspot.com/2014/08/beautiful-but-bewildering-burma.html) we flew back into Bangkok but headed straight out on another flight to Railay for some southern beach action. Heading to the southern beaches had been a real debate between Sam and I as Sammy wasn’t sure he wanted to head back to the beaches in the south, my only bargaining tool was he hadn’t been to Railay and it wasn’t an island like the other beaches he had previously been too. So with an agreement made we had 3 days booked to see some limestone cliffs, enjoy the clear blue sea and get back into some beach time. We arrived by night in an incredible long boat, Thailand dreams coming true, Sam had booked us into accommodation off the beach and after a hefty walk we found our stay up in the trees, jungle esk, we couldn’t believe our luck at this incredible find, sea view, up away from everything, amazing room and all for £12, deal. Our first two days were incredible and Railay was everything I had hoped for, beautiful ocean, stunning scenery, limestone cliffs surrounding the beach bay we were on, massages on the beach, warm swims, yoga in the mornings on our balcony, it was just idyllic and I couldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else at that time, sadly though things took a turn for the worse when I come down with sun stroke and my third day was spent hauled up in bed feeling sorry for myself.  We headed out of Railay the next day and I had luckily managed to get back to an alright way, trying to take the positive attitude that at least I had two beautiful days and now fully understand the beauty of Thailand’s Southern beaches.

Our next stop was up to Chiang Mai and we had 7 days booked to explore the hills of Chiang Mai, we arrived to a hostel we had booked, but soon left when we were shown our room, after a trail around a few hotels I managed to come across a real sweet stay and got a room on the 5th floor looking over part of the city.

Our days were spent wondering and visiting the wats, heading far out of town, getting lost and searching for hot springs, we clocked up 800kms on the scooter but everyday was a new adventure and so exciting seeing the beauty that surrounds Chiang Mai.

Some of our main adventures was to a place my brother recommended called Ngat Dam, which is a beautiful dam in a national park, you get the boat to a floating hut and spend the day swimming in the dam, relaxing and the evening eating at your hut, enjoying the silence around you.  It was such a special experience and so nice to drive out into the unknown and a new national park then sleep in a floating hut. The following day we headed to some incredible hot springs, which were so warm but so incredible, after not having a bath for 6 months to fully submerge and relax in the pools was just so soothing and was a perfect way to end a dusty scooter ride.

Another day I carried out my volunteering which was incredible (see volunteer blog post for more details).

Sam also got us to the Chiang Mai horse racing which in itself was just hilarious, we actually stayed most of the day, somehow managed to get a few winners and have a real laugh seeing the different way horse racing is carried out in another country. Overall it was a pretty surreal experience but a very different one at that and a very fun way to spend a Saturday, kind of felt like being at home but humid and sweaty!
Interestingly after the horse racing we drove back past the infamous ‘tiger kingdom’, which brought my thoughts to animal tourism in Thailand, and my thoughts on this in comparison to horse racing, I do admit it is one I struggle with as I have been brought up with horse racing through my step dad and as you all know my husband he loves a little flutter on the horses, so therefore as much as I don’t agree with aspects of horse racing I do enjoy going to the racing on derby day, however I don’t fully agree with the grand national and was pleased to hear the jockey being fined in 2010 for over use of the whip.

In Thailand a lot of elephant ‘sanctuary’s’ are present and as mentioned above tiger kingdom, my thoughts had been that with enough research I would find a elephant conservation project where we could meet orphaned elephants and it wouldn’t be so ‘tourist’ like where options of riding and feeding are, more like an environment where they are rehabilitated back into their natural world. Sadly though I didn’t find this and was just given leaflet after leaflet of riding, feeding, petting information, which as you all know is not something I am interested in. Tiger Kingdom is on another level, it’s a petting zoo where tigers are drugged up so people can have their photos taken with them, lying next to them, cuddling and petting them, its vile, its animal cruelty at its highest and is so sad the people of Thailand think every westerner wants to partake in such vile animal tourism, sadly though it’s the uneducated of us who feel things like this are acceptable and a great experience, now don’t get me wrong I was the 18yr old at SeaWorld watching the killer whale show, it didn’t click straight away but sometime after I realised that a great beauty of a killer whale shouldn’t be in such a small tank and certainly shouldn’t be on show for again us westerners. At the time I went to watch the show as I wanted to see a killer whale, I wanted that picture and I wanted that experience, how many I’s did I write there? But that’s the answer isn’t it, it’s always I, that selfish part of us that wants that experience, it means we forget the animals experience, how it can’t be right for everyday 2/3 people wash and bathe an elephant, humans wouldn’t like it so why would animals? I was asked the question recently do us humans think were better than animals, places like this could only make me answer yes, as otherwise why would we constantly feel the need to have this specific experience of touching, feeling and riding, after answering these questions and having this realistion I went back to our experience in India at the national park and there was no better feeling then seeing those 18 elephants in the wild, seeing them in their natural habitat and experiencing them in the way they should be living, therefore what difference would it make if I went to a conservation centre, it would never be as natural and beautiful as experiencing animals in the wild.

Chiang Mai really give a lot and at first I was intrigued by this city I had heard so much about, my first impression wasn’t that of wonder but I soon fell in love with the city and could see why people end up getting comfortable and resting their packs. Our 7 days were perfect for us, such a perfect amount of time for a great deal of exploring but with Cambodia on our minds it was time to move on and come head to head with the Poipet border, Thailand/Cambodia’s notorious nightmare land border.  

Beautiful but Bewildering Burma

We chose to have two weeks in Myanmar (Burma), a few people had recommended shorter and some longer but with our time in certain countries in SE Asia being limited we wanted to make sure we fitted everything we wanted to do in but with a good amount of adventure, and for us two weeks suited nicely for the places we had chosen to visit and the attractions we wanted to see.

We flew into Burma, we had planned to go overland but needed to maximize time, we found a cheap flight with Air Asia and bit the bullet and booked a return ticket from Bangkok to Mandalay.  I wasn’t sure how I would find Mandalay, I had heard mixed reviews but felt it attracted us more than Yangon, Sam and I always have a two-three day rule in cities, we both love the coast and country so much more and always find after two days in a city were ready to move, we had 2 full days to adventure Mandalay so planned our time well with lots of walking, palace adventures and cycling. Our first day was literally just spent walking; we walked for miles and went to some extraordinary sites.  We visited a beautiful teak monk monastery which was hidden up the back streets of Mandalay, walking there we got to speak broken Burmese to a number of different locals and send a lot of smiles out there such happy humble faces. The monastery, is a really old monastery but had such a relaxed calmness surrounding it, we spent some time just sitting down under the shade of a tree, enjoying the silence and observing the day time rituals of the monks who lived around it.  From there we walked to the main pagoda in Mandalay, I should say that Mandalay is filled with stupas and pagodas all over the city, there dotted every few yards/miles and its incredible to see as you bumble around. The main pagoda we had read about held a huge Buddha inside that had been covered with so much gold leaf over the years it now was washed daily (this started at sunrise and could last until sundown). When we arrived we were both blown away by what we witnessed, the Buddha was inside a room which I believe couldn’t be accessed by civilians, and however there was a carpet which was filled with Buddhists worshipping, sitting and being present in his royalness statue. There were also video cameras on the Buddha which allowed you to see the men washing it; we read that this water is then kept by some as it’s seen as holy. We sat for some time in awe of what was happening around us and really took in the spritualness that could be felt in the space.  We then decided to head to Mandalay palace, due to Burma only just being opened up to tourism a lot of crazy rules still apply, one thing being that tourists are only allowed into Mandalay palace from one entrance, we chose to take the long walk to the entrance, sadly when we got there it was 5pm and tourists have to enter by 4.30pm, oucha, we turned our bums around and went and found somewhere to eat, sadly for me the restaurants don’t cater for vegetarians and everything has some sort of pork in it, meaning it was a plate of rice to end the day for me and a mutton curry meal for Sam.

The next day we decided to hire bikes and cycle out to a nearby village then onto the world’s longest teak bridge, we started cycling early but the heat of Burma got the better of us and we had to take shelter in a park, we ended up being there 2-3hrs before being able to finish our cycle, sadly the cycle didn’t end how we wanted and the teak was pretty disappointing. We commiserated our long day out over a chang and a coke and headed on the long road back, achy bums and tired heads we decided to go for pumpkin curry and a lassi to end what had been a tiresome long day.

Sadly the day had not ended and we took a night train to Bagan, the night train was possible my worst experience of train journeying in this whole trip and I won’t deny it but I was slightly broken by the end. The train was cheap, so what did we expect, we definitely paid for what we got and ended up slouched on smelly chairs, ducking (and probably swallowing) a mound of insects, being blinded by the strong bright strip lights (that remained on all through the night) and being face on to the stranger opposite you.  We arrived at 5am that morning and I have never been happier to get my bags and run off the train.

Our first day in Bagan was a total wipe out, we slept and recovered preparing ourselves for the wonders we wanted Bagan to bring. Bagan certainly didn’t disappoint and it is probably one of my top visits on this trip so far, it’s hard to explain the grand beauty of what Bagan holds and also is completely bonkers to think such a land exists and has only just started being fully explored by travelers. Bagan once held over 4000 Buddhist stupas and pagoda’s, a number of them are now in ruins but still standing is over 300, this small town comprising of old and new Bagan, is arid and dusty but a wealth of religious buildings spread across the town, they spread across a vast plain of land and can be accessed by foot, bike and some car. Most of the pagodas and temples left standing can be accessed by all and a lot have secret stairs in which you can climb up high and breath in the landscape all around you.

We chose two mornings and one evening to really get the full beauty of Bagan, during the day the weather was too hot to be out and about so you really had to start as early or in the late afternoon. We read a few blogs on which temples were recommended and looked in the LP at what the main temples were, we also enjoyed a few that we just came across as we cycled around. The splendor of Bagan is that every temple is magnificent to see and for me I wouldn’t have cared if I had got to see the top temples as some of the most beautiful ones we looked at where smaller ones. Sam had told me how each temple held a Buddha statue in it and in my mind I had a Russian doll sized Buddha, how wrong I was when every temple we visited had giant ones in, some being up to 30ft. The grandness of the statues blew me away and at times we just sat at the front of one in awe of this amazing creation in front of us.

The evening we chose to head out was one of pure magic, we visited some incredible stupas, climbing high and exploring these dilapidated buildings, Sam had picked a temple called North Guni to watch sunset, the temple was behind a main temple recommended and therefore we hoped wouldn’t be as touristy. We got there for around 6pm and managed 30mins alone at the top of this temple, in front of us was a mist covering the plains and peeping out the top was oodles of pointy pagodas and stunning stupas, I sat silent for some time just watching and smiling at the experience we were having and how blessed we were to be witnessing such a beautiful moment of stillness and serene peace. At that moment my heart felt so content at what we were doing and why we were on this discovery of new worlds, at that moment in front of me was this mystifying magic world that my brain couldn’t comprehend how these buildings got there and had survived so many years of destruction and change but were still giving and allowing people like us to enjoy and embrace such special experiences like watching a sunset over a plain of glory. That night we ate tea and were both filled with content, overwhelmed at the evening and what Bagan had given us. We could have stayed longer in Bagan but had a night bus to Inle Lake, we caught the bus and arrived in good time to our hotel, sadly the time was too good and we had to snooze out in the owner’s office until our room was ready the next morning at 8am.

We got our room and again snoozed off catching up on lost sleep, we had planned 2.5 days in Inle Lake so had that afternoon wandering and eating, planning the next day to take a trip onto the lake. The town you stay in is right next to Inle Lake, all the boats go from Nyaungshwe driving up the river onto the lake, you mostly have 5hrs out on the lake, doing touristy trail stuff, visiting certain points, factories, seeing certain village lake life’s, as much as I enjoy this I also find it quite cringe as I always feel it would be so weird if tourists paid to watch me at work. For me the beauty of Inle Lake was just being in the boat and observes life on the lake and the rolling hills surrounding the lake. Sam and I you could be in the lake district the scenery was so beautiful, the difference was is that Inle lake is used to survive, life grows in the lake from the fish being caught to the hoards of tomatoes growing in the middle to the orchids growing for the fabric factory it’s a way of living for these people and not just a tourist hub like other lakes. We did visit one amazing factory, an umbrella factory and I was taught how to make homemade paper with pressed flowers, something I will definitely be crafting when home. The whole day was so fun and the surroundings was spectacular to see, the colors of the lake and the green of the hills just left such a palette of shades in my mind and it felt great to see life and beauty in the surrounding of Burma.

The next day we took a day train as Sam wanted to explore the countryside some more, the train was a 8hr train and the first 6hrs were so glorious, like Inle Lake the colours were beautiful and for 6hrs it was just constant landscape and colours to fill the mind, I was so pleased to be on the train and experiencing the iridescent countryside as just never imagined such a thing in Burma. Sadly the train was delayed and without going into it too much it became the journey from hell with drunk train workers, urine stench, toilet flow into the train, wet backpacks and the standard overcrowding, we got into our destination 4hrs late and exhausted, ready for bed, we tried to remember the train for what it had been and not how it ended as it had been utter glory to start.

Our last few days we headed back to Mandalay, we still wanted to explore the palace and climb Mandalay hill and I was dying for more of the pumpkin curry I had relished in when first there. Mandalay didn’t disappoint and we ended our Burma trip with a lovely day exploring, climbing and eating. It was great to see the palace as I was reading the glass palace (a book about Burma and Mandalay palace is a main part of it), I could see the books descriptions in the palace grounds and enjoyed seeing the photos of the king and queen and felt a real understanding to the events in my book now I was at the place it talked of. The pumpkin curry didn’t disappoint and we enjoyed a long evening in the restaurant soaking up our two weeks, writing in our diaries and talking out the highs and lows. 

Both times in Mandalay there was a curfew on meaning we had to be in by 9pm, this didnt affect us as much the first time but did open up a number of conversations about the limits and boundaries and the effect we felt at not being allowed out after a certain time. It also led us to discuss the reason for the curfew which was a religion war between Buddhist extremists and Muslim extremists, it was crazy to think that there was such danger that caused the army to man the street corners and although we never felt unsafe the presence was felt. Our 2nd visit to Mandalay really hit home when on the afternoon coming back from the palace we witnessed a number of people crowding round the moat which surrounds the palace, we couldn't work out what was going on and being intrigued took a look, only to find a floating body, our belief was this was a just one example of the behavior taking place late at night.

Burma has been a country I am so pleased to have come too, explored and experienced, I am not sure it’s one I would come back too but would be one I definitely recommended to others. It holds places of such joy, delight and wonder but for me it was hard and strenuous at times and really unenjoyable.  However the beauty and feelings Bagan gave me can never be taken away and without Burma I wouldn’t have experienced that uplifting high and pure joy as sun started to set over the vast plains of an enchanted land. 

Temples of Bagan

Inle Lake

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