Thante Hotel Nyaung Oo Bagan

... In Myanmar I got this horrible pain in my right side and I thought I had either an appendicitis or a kidney infection. So I waited till I got back to Thailand and went to the hospital...x-ray and pee test negative for kidney infection and appendicitis. He told me it was probably food poisoning and the pain should go away soon. Three days later the pain was still there and I awoke ...

... ancient beaut and Angkor wasn't far from my mind, though the temples here were made of red brick and the setting wasn't as amazing. We headed to a well-know temple for sunset but beat a hasty retreat from the touts and tourists, and found our very own temple for a private viewing of the sun going down over the plains. The fields had been ploughed (by oxen) and are ready for planting, and the ground is hard and dusty.

... out front and waited. Catherine arrived. She had been ill all day. Celestine showed up (we were in front of her room) and she had been biking all day. We went to have green beer across the street. Bill had brought food colouring from home for this day! Celestine did not want to try it, but Bill forced her and Catherine was too ill! We had lentil soup, tomato salad, charcoal chicken (Bill loved it), is was a simmering pot of food over coals. We had a nice visit and were home at 10.

... have spelled names incorrectly)) We were able to find a lot from our new friends: places to go, places to spend more or less time, food to try, ice to trust (not Myanmar, but is OK in Thailand. I am going to have an iced tea as soon as we return to Bangkok!). Sarah and Catherine both loved Laos and agree that we should spend more time there. I think we are definitely going to try to do that. We stopped for the first time at 10:30. People were lined ...

... hotel tell us some nice temples to be at for sunset. We made sure we were at one. There were a few other people there, but it was really nice. The sun disappeared behind the mountain really quickly though. It was still beautiful to watch. We still had to bike home as well. We tried to figure out how far we rode, and think it was between 25 and 30 km. Most of the temples were off the main roads, down ...

... kyat (r*ughly $15, and three times m*re than what the b**k, albeit published in 2005, qu*ted... we've n*ticed since that all transp*rtati*n prices have been at least d*uble what's been rep*rted in the b**k), s* we des**ved s*me s*rt *f karmic retributi*n, if y*u c*uld call it, in the f*rm *f a hassle free ride. (On a siden*te: Speaking *f third-w*rld scams, we s*meh*w g*t COMPLETELY duped *ut *f 90,000 kyat, *r ~$75(0nly $50 if we had exchanged it at *ur h*tel) *n a currency ...

... nothing compares. Although others are bigger, or more famous, or more ornate, the combination of the place, the people, and the fact that we were just about the only ones there, really makes these stand out as a ruin experience. The standout experience in Jeff's opinion was shwee sup daw, another one of the big multi-terraced ones that you are allowed to climb and hence, a very popular sunset option. Very popular indeed as it was somewhat filled with Burmese tourists and young girls ...

... mostly tried to gear up for sight-seeing in the heat and dust. I just wasn't that keen to be honest. The only real way to get to see the temples is either by push bike (in this heat?!?!) or horsecart. Does any of my family recall how many times I can sneeze in a row? Well, Malx can certainly answer that question now!! We did eventually pysche ourselves up for sightseeing the next morning before catching our bus south. Now mum, I know you were really keen on seeing lots of photos ...

... worth it. The place was absolutely unbelievable - 5,500 temples built in 10th and 11th centuries in one broad plain bordered by a beautiful river. Great preserved frescoes and statues and the most fantastic sunsets over the temple ruins ...

... similar to Hacky-Sack. The ball is a hollow sphere of rattan, not fully enclosed, about six inches in diameter. It is really a non-competitive art performed solo or in teams, ideally of six. Just before leaving Canada, I'd caught an CBC Radio interview with Greg Hamilton, director of a film (The Mystic Ball) on this sport and his passion for it. I've always considered Dan a natural athlete. After just a few moments on the sidelines, he ...