Paradise Nyaungshwe

... are also the huge floating gardens where they grow for example tomatoes and chilli that are sold as far as Yangon. They just put some soil and weed from the bottom of the lake for the roots and those plants just float on the water. I sure don’t know much about agriculture but that looked very special. We were also taken to many rather touristy places where different kinds of handicrafts made by the local people were being sold. We didn’t buy ...

... and others are work shops,weaving and black smith,and silver smith and Pa daung woman house and ciggar work shop,and The most exciting is canal to Inndaing pagodas,seem like Vietnam creek,at here pagodas were mostly by shan style,long neck and much rings around pagoda neck.<br>and especially you have to check at your hotel where the market day is ,if you get time for Namp pan market day ,much crowed and interesting.<br>

... poblets i pagodes (per si encara no n'hagues tingut prou amb Bagan). M'esperava alguna cosa mes interessant. Tot el que veig ja ho he vist durant els tres dies de trek i amb l'aventatge que no hi havia turistes i era possible fruir de l'autenticitat local, aqui no se sap mai si les visites als mercats i jardins flotants son realment autentics o es mantenen com a simple distraccio pels turistes.<br><br ...

We had a 5:15 wake up call. Once again, I did not sleep well the night before travel. I am going to have to get over that! We had our last De (wait for it) Lightful (I hope you caught that one Joe!) breakfast at 6:00 and were in the cab at 6:30. We arrived at the airport at 7:00 for our 8:30 flight. Checking in and security takes no time here. They do not care about liquids, so we were able to keep our water. We landed in ...

Today, I go sight seeing properly. Lake Inle is a huge lake that can only be viewed on a day long boat trip. Everyone in the town offers you a tour but I end up organising it with my hotel. It starts early, 7:30am. I walk down to the jetty to meet my guide for the day and off we go around the lake, The lake itself is surrounded by mountains and in the morning haze, they are hard to make out. As the day goes on, the haze lifts and the view is stunning. First stop is a market. It's ...

... a boat for only 10 dollars for the whole day. He proposed a different tour, avoiding the tourist haunts and exploring the villages. It only costs about 8 bucks more and it would prove to be money well spent. The tour started at 8 the next morning and ended at 6 in the evening, truly a full day. We heard the other tours were short and the commision stops many. We started our tour through a local village. There is a sort of ...

... a great sense of humor, was beyond confident in planning and ad hoc recommendations, knew just what to do and how to make it happen, and had a great grasp on the county's past, present, and maybe future. Part of this is due to his high degree of political knowledge and in fact activism which only gradually came out over the next two weeks. His stories of defying the government to deliver supplies to the cyclone devastated delta only increased our admiration. Much later he ...

... Nyuangshwe. Star Flower restaurant in Nyuangshwe makes a delightful mojito from fresh mint grown in their garden. The second day I alternated between riding a bike and resting and reading in the cool shade. I rode out towards the hot springs and then turned around when it seemed the torrential downpour might never stop. I worried that I would have to walk the bike all the way back if the roads became any muddier. Instead the ...

... sure thing is that they are being rapidly reduced. The worst thing is that the money from this irreplacable natural resource isn't going to the Burmese people but to the Generals and the Chinese. We also passed quite a few road gangs grading the road. They were equipped with virtually no machinery and were reduced to bashing boulders with sledgehammers. Whether these were forced labourers who knows, but by all accounts forced labour is quite common in Burma. After a few more hours we ...

... of the Shan tribe. When we tried to improve our vocabulary and pronunciation, we got a glimpse of why the country was so appealing. After several similar queries, I realized I had a glaring gap in my basic word repertoire. I asked how one says "no". She was at a loss. Wondering how my question could be unclear, I tried another tack: "Suppose we meet on the street. I tell you I am looking for the temple, and ask is it up ahead? In fact ...