Yet again, the posts have uploaded in the wrong order!

I don't know if it is due to the smaller ones uploading faster and there for nip in before the bigger ones, but I will give a brief outline of our Myanmar trip so far and I'm afraid you'll have to juggle your way through the posts while I try and work out a way to re order them!

Ticked off:
Yangon; Hpa-an; Mawlamyine; Ngapali Beach; Pyin Oo Lwyn; Hsipaw; Mandalay
Still to go:
Inle Lake; Bagan; Back to Mandalay before flying to Bangkok

Mawlamyine

Lovely lovely Mawlamyine! What else is there to say? Three huge golden rocks balancing a top one another with a magnificent Pagoda perching on the pinnacle, all piled on top of a mountain with spectacular, panoramic views - making the two and a half hour slog to the top worth the pain; the worlds largest reclining Buddha measuring 250m in length; the Kyaikthanlan Paya, a stunning pagoda with panoramic views of the town and river, especially spectacular at sunset; divine riverside Burmese restaurants; a lovely huge hotel room over looking the river with wonderful sunset views and a lovely morning sun; the delightful Ogre island (where tourists aren't allowed at night as that's when the Ogres come out!) On the island we were shown around the rubber band factory, given bread from the pastry factory (both very small rural and locally run 'factories'), welcomed into numerous homes for Myanmar snacks, lunc hand tea, shown family businesses making all beautiful wooden sorts from walking sticks and musical instuments to pens and smoking pipes. All in all, a really wonderful town and experience!
Unfortunately, wifi is not strong enough here so I am not able to attach photos to this post but they will come later on!

Hpa-an

As we arrived in the rural town of Hpa-an we were greeted by a frenzy of friendly locals, albeit utterly surprised and bewildered at our existence! The town is a tiny market town that doesn't seem to attract many tourists - much to our amazement. Surrounding the village there is a panorama of picturesque countryside that spans from mountains and caves over the rice fields and extensive pagodas to the river which flows out to sea. The caves house galleries, centuries old, of Buddhist paintings, statues and monuments. Truly breathtaking, these caves are a reason enough to visit Burma. After slowly wandering through the entrance of the cave, with walls adorned with clay markings in red and gold, its well worth trudging through deeper into the mountain while slipping on bat shit and the threat of Gollum jumping out at any moment, to find a tiny thread of light peering through the other end. As we drew closer to the small hole that was our exit, we were greeted by the sun setting over a secret lake and a single fisherman diving in to catch his supper which made for a delightful picture. Together with a solitary hut that perched on the lake side accompanied by a little old lady and her two dogs made an idyllic setting. The gentle walk back topped off an already magical day.
In the mornings there is a delicious and lively market housing all fresh foods from bright exotic fruits and vegetables to fish still flopping and chickens still clucking - although not for much longer! And after stocking up on fresh fruits, we climbed aboard the little fishing boat, seating six in big reclining car seats, we sailed down the river towards the sea, to a coastal town called Mawlamyine. Stopping once at a beautiful, tiny village to see a traditional wedding, it was unfortunate that everything was put on hold as we proved to be more interesting than the happy couple! And only a few hours later, we arrived in Mawlamyine, the colonial capital during the British rule of southeastern Myanmar.

Hsipaw

While we had plenty of things to do planned here, we ended up spending all our time running the streets with our water guns feeling quite cool. We dressed up in 'camo' (by camo i mean tie-dye!) and with our water guns we jumped out at the unsuspecting, and where people were blasting music from huge speakers danced and helped ambush mopeds, tuk tuks and open pick ups. And although both Bianca and I have been sick the few days after it, it was well worth it, even if we should have waited one more day to celebrate the biggest day while we were in Mandalay.

Thingyan (Water Festival)

Leading up to the Myanmar New Year, this year on the 17th of April, there are 4 days of celebrations. This includes soaking anyone, anywhere, whatever they are doing, holding, wherever they are going (unless you are a monk who seemed to be exempt from the soaking). It is a lovely way to cool down in the sweltering heat, but its importance lies in the representation of washing away the sins of the previous year and starting a fresh, sin free year. While Bianca and I got involved with water guns, unfortunately they didn't match up to fire hoses and huge buckets that were thrown at us. And although we had an amazing time running down the streets being the fun tourists (most got unbrellas out or stayed inside) it was unclean water, often from the river, and it is now no surprise that we have had to spend a few days in bed while our bodies try and rid themselves of the water that managed to squeeze its way into our tummies! At least we can safely say we're sin free though!

Where to go?

Bianca and I had planned on next travelling up the coast to Sittwe, an island just further north of Ngapali Beach, and from Sittwe to Mrauk U where Chin villages still have traditional woman with tatooed faces. This was planned to be a highlight of the trip and it was much anticipated. Unfortunately, due to violence in that area it has been closed to tourists, and with much disappointment we carried on our trip to Pyin Oo Lwin, a town in the northern regions of Myanmar.

Pyin Oo Lwin

We had heard wonderful things about this town, and were hugely disappointed when we arrived. This may have been down to the fact we had just travelled from the wonderful Ngapali Beach or we had to miss out what we had anticipated to be the highlight of the trip, but we wanted to leave as soon as possible! We ended up only spending an afternoon and a night here and didn't really give it a chance, but were pleasantly surprised with the lovely Hsipaw that was the next stop.