Myanmar (Burma) - A country like nowhere else!

Shwedagon Paya in the heart of Yangon

The oldest women in the village outside Began

The temple at Mt Poppa, reminds us of something from the Hobbit!

Yangon.
First stop in Myanmar was Yangon. We found the city noisy, polluted, run down and dirty but the people were amazingly kind, helpful, honest and welcoming. We visited the incredible Shwedagon Paya, an overwhelming temple complex of multiple golden stupas, the largest of which is encrusted with thousands of diamonds and jewels. It’s floodlit at night and the glow can be seen all over the city. Sadly Mike got food poisoning and was so sick further exploration was limited and he had a miserable overnight bus ride to our next destination.
Bagan.
We tried to delay our travel but Myanmar has become so popular this year (especially with French tourists) we couldn’t find room in guest houses for another night. The road has been improved so our bus arrived early at 3am, so we had to pound on our guest house doors to get the night watchman to let us in! They were also full but found us a mattress and blankets so we could sleep in the lobby!
The Bagan UNESCO heritage zone covers a 26 square mile area with literally thousands of temples dating back centuries in varying states of repair. It’s similar to Cambodia’s Angkor Wat but less touristy. Many temples have ornate carvings, murals, hidden stairways leading to terraces where you can view amazing sunsets/rises. We rented bikes to explore the closer temples one day and then hired a horse drawn cart for the outlying ones. Our driver also took us to tour a local village where the way of life hasn’t changed for centuries and to a village that specializes in making lacquer ware. We also toured Mount Popa, a tower-like mountain peak topped with temples which the locals consider the sacred home of 37 “nats”. These are the spirits which were worshipped prior to the king demanding a change to Buddhism 1000 years ago. Rather like Catholic saints, there’s a nat for every occasion, including to pray to if a snake enters your home or the one for drunks.