Buddha's by motorbike

We eased ourselves into the travel thing in Myanmar, with a short bus ride (2hr) covering about 60km to Bago. All went smoothly (so to speak), the bus left from a seemingly very random spot, and even though I think we paid a foreigner price, it was still cheap. The potholes in the roads were crazy and the number of broken down trucks and cars on the sides of the roads was a sight. Plus there were the overcrowded pickups, with people and monks on the roof, and clinging on the sides, I was glad we weren't traveling in one of those! Also, trucks with no bonnets etc.

monks going to lunch

The road distances aren't very big, it's just the pace is sooooo slow, it must be so frustrating to live and try to do things here.

smells good

Upon arrival to Bago, we decided in about the first 2 minutes that it didn't seem a very appealing place to spend the night. We were mobbed by touts, particularly from the Emperor Hotel, and it was all a bit too much. We sought refuge in a guest house, and once inside, they were so friendly and we chatted to the motorbike driver to plan our day, to see the sights before heading to Kinpun for the night. There is a US $10 fee to gain admission to the sights, but wanting to avoid this we arranged to be taken to the "back entrances" and give the motorbike drivers most of that money instead of the government. So, we set out on the backs of the bikes and had a GREAT time. They had done this before, they stopped at all the right places in order for us to get some nice pics, and we avoided all the entrance fees.

a happy monk

We saw a nice Paya, 4 seated Buddhas (where we had to make a quick escape on the bikes as we were being chased for the camera fee), 2 big reclining Buddhas and a cheroot (cigar) factory. This was my favourite stop, there were about 20 ladies, young and old, sitting on the floor underneath a house, churning out the cigars. The cigars are tobacco and bark and are wrapped in a leaf, with a bark and newspaper filter. They don't make much money, they work mostly just to supplement their husbands income, very long hours and make about 1000 cigars a day. Despite this, they seemed happy, and welcomed visitors, which I think is probably the highlight of their day. Also, it was just to observe, there was no hidden obligation to have to buy something which was nice.

monk's robes

The rain was coming, the guys on the bikes were betting each other when it was going to start to downpour, so we made our way back to town. But alas, Matt's bike ran out of petrol, so while waiting, Matt became very popular with a group of school girls looking out from their school window...Although he won't admit it, he loved the attention and was oblivious to the fact, that his bike was back, full of fuel and ready to go - and that we were all waiting for him. The bike guys had a bit of a chuckle, when we couldn't get his attention, finally he turned around to see us all waiting, and maybe broke some hearts as he said farewell to the girls.

a scary looking man

Like in Singapore, there is an Indian influence in Burma, and that means tea shops! We enjoyed a yummy tea and some samosas while we waited for the bus to Kinpun. So, the guys on the bikes helped us catch the bus, and we were off to our next stop.

the four seated buddhas of bago

its just in the middle of the town

see it is big

the big one in bago

wind chimes at the top

alot of monks eating alot of rice

the first of many signs

at least there's one helmet

the four seated buddhas

nic and her driver

he was just built

no arch support

we have couple shirts on

the big buddha of bago

she wasn't very happy

this lion guard the big payas

making the smokes

making the ciggies

rolled on the thighs of virgins

they love their korean TV

on they way to the rock

you see this alot

no money for cars

a car sans engine cover

a girl at a tea shop

they don't even bother to remove the stickers

in the pick up to base camp