From Mandalay To Yangon

On Friday me and Axel took the bus from Mandalay to Bagan. This time there was only the one breakdown - quite a result! Bagan is a vast complex of ancient temples and is often regarded as a highlight of the country! On Saturday we visited the most popular structures by horse and carriage - a slightly surreal but popular way of exploring the area.

Thanks to the efforts of Rambo the horse, I found the temples interesting, if less spectacular than those at Angkor. There are some great views though as temple after temple spans into the distance. Our favourite temple was climbable, and Axel put safety aside as he shimmied around the uppermost rim of the ancient structure.

We would have probably decided to move on from Bagan on Saturday, but Rambo's owner gave us some exciting news - the circus was in town! We therefore had the laziest day ever on Saturday as we waited to see what would happen in a Burmese all night circus performance. Anticipation built as the day drew on, and the terrifying roar we heard as we neared the location of the circus only added to our excitement. At first we thought it was a lion, and as we both turned around and gazed into the drizzle drenched darkness behind us, we both expected to see a set of rapidly approaching eyes and claws! When we heard the roar a second time, we concluded it was just a very angry sounding elephant - and probably one that was tied up. Disappointment was just around the corner, however. After struggling to find the circus, we asked a local where it was - and we were duly informed that the circus had been rained off! Only in Myanmar could a little rain cancel an event in a tent!

The day had been wasted, but my time travelling has taught me that there are people in the world with much bigger problems than spending the occasional wasted day on a 365 day trip. In theory we could have waited another day in the hope of catching the following day's circus, but with bus breakdowns so common, we decided to aim for an early arrival in Yangon to ensure we did not miss our flight on Wednesday.

As it turned out, we arrived in Yangon with plenty of time. Not only did we have our first long distance Myanmar journey without a breakdown, but our driver thought he was Michael Schumacher! I've experienced a fair few scary bus rides in Vietnam and Cambodia, but this guy was crazy - especially compared to the usual calm Burmese bus drivers from our previous rides. We had high-speed dips, tyre-testing bends, one near collision with a lorry, and a sharp emergency stop before a collapsed tree. When the bus finally arrived in Yangon (much earlier than planned!) it was a relief that we were still alive!

With little else on our to-do list, me and Axel have struggled to occupy our time on our final full day in Myanmar. In fact the highlight of the day has been joining some young locals in a modern day popular pastime - the video game Counterstrike!

Overall, Myanmar has been a great experience - but the words of a guy we met in Bangkok have stayed with us for the entire journey; "Leave all logic behind at Bangkok airport". Myanmar is the country where right-hand drive vehicles are driven in the right hand lane. Myanmar is the country with a 45 Kyat denomination note (with a picture of a half-naked man in a spacesuit). Myanmar is the country where the largest denomination note - the 750 Kyat - was declared as defunct overnight, totally bankrupting millions of people. Myanmar is the country where motorbikes are banned in Yangon, cos someone on a motorbike once shaped his hand into a gun like shape and aimed it a General. And after playing Burmese Stroke for our entire journey, we finally were informed today that playing cards, even for fun, is illegal.

Tomorrow me and Axel fly back to Bangkok. Assuming I can get my debit card up and running again, I shall join Axel in a farewell night out, and then make my way all the way down to Malaysia. I haven't given myself long for this section of my journey though - I plan to be in Australia just a week later - something I have put zero thought into thus far! South-East Asia is closing to an end.