Day 12: Wed 11 Nov - Bago to Yangon (Rangoon)

Day 9: Bago - Yangoon (Cycling 78km) Breakfast at the hotel. We cycle 78km via Thanapin and Khayan. We stop for lunch in Thongwa. After lunch we transfer to Yagoon to visit Shwedagon Pagoda. Tour Ends.

84km, 28 to 33deg, fine with scattered cloud

After clearing the busy city of Bago we got onto a much quieter road, a handmade rough jobbie. Although our bottoms got a workout we didn't mind as it was really interesting ride. The countryside was wet and low and a combination of rice paddies and fish farms, mostly paddies. It seemed to go on forever, as it turned out it was about 100km (some in the bus) before we reached the other side. Accompanying the paddy fields and ponds were chicken and duck farms built over the top of the fish ponds. No waste involved there. That's one more reason I don't eat fish from Asian fish farms if I can help it.

It was harvesting season for the rice so lots of trucks of all description hauling bags of rice to the depots and beyond. It looked like a massive crop, harvested by both hand and machine. There were also 100s of temporary shelters alongside the road made out of bamboo poles and tarps. Our local guide said that they were villages displaced by the recent floods. The side of the road looked an awful place to live with stagnant water, mud and rubbish lying around everywhere, and the passing traffic. 

At the 84km mark we called it a day, and a tour, packed our bikes on the truck and headed for our motel. The transfer took about 2 hours through very heavy traffic and we understood why we couldn't ride. 

The Hotel, Bahisi, is situated in the middle of a residential and business area that looks fairly affluent or extremely poor, depending on the building you're looking at. A lot of the apartment blocks look like something out of Communist Eastern Europe, grey and not very well maintained. 

Our restaurant for dinner was an upmarket place 500m up the road. Nice food but the wait staff didn't seem too switched on. Maybe still getting used to our quirky ways. 


Tomorrow we will explore a bit of Yangon.

Baz pumping out the ks

A lot of rubbish lining the shore

The drinking-water man

Chicken farm over a fish farm

Flood refugees

A nice-looking local truck

Our guides; Win (L) and Boeun (R)

The finish in Yangon

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 14: Fri 13 Nov - Last Day in Yangon

Image
On our last day in Yangon; Bob, Kerry and I hit the streets on foot. Due mainly to its colonial past Yangon is an interesting place architecturally, especially around the city centre. Sadly a lot of the old buildings are being knocked down to make way for concrete and glass monsters. I suspect that one day they'll regret having destroyed a lot of the character of the place, however we've all done it regardless of what colonial country you're from.   Some of the nice buildings remaining are; The High Court, Town Hall, Customs House, The Strand Hotel, Railway Station, to name a few.   One thing we did discover is that the shops are not geared up for western tourists yet, unless you're into jade or amber jewellery. None of the normal T-shirts, caps, bags etc, well none which would fit most of us westerners anyway.   Had a nice coconut and custard cake with a cup of tea; A$0.89, can't complain about that.   Dinner this night was at a restaurant just up the road from the...
Read more

Day 16: Sun 15 Nov - Sydney to Hervey Bay to Hippo Farm

Image
Our plane was the first to land in Sydney after the curfew ended at 6am and thanks to that I had my bag and was at the Domestic Transfer Desk by 6:24am. Then the waiting truly began, till 1:45pm when I boarded a Boeing 717-200 (smallest of the jets) for the final leg to Hervey Bay.  As we approached The Bay so did a big storm resulting in the Captain deciding to circle over a very bumpy ocean; for over an hour!! I had two very irritable kids near me so that was fun!! Just so I will appreciate getting home even more, maybe.  We eventually landed safely, which is the best way to land and was picked up by my very patient and worried Darling Wendy.  Good to be home.   Not good visibility coming into Hervey Bay Aeroplane circle-work Lining up for a second attempt at landing Finally - on the ground after just over one hour of circle-work
Read more

Day 5: Wed 4 Nov - Kanchanaburi to Dawei, Burma (Myanmar)

Image
Day 2: Kanchanburi - Dawei (85km) Breakfast at the hotel. We cycle to see the death railways and follow the River Kwai Noi and head to Phu Nam Ron border. We cross the border to Myanmar and continue cycling to complete 80km. Then we transfer to Dawei. Dinner and overnight in Dawei.   85km cycle, fine and hot, 28-35deg Up very early for a wander around the resort and to take some photos.   Then had an amazing brekky in what was a very swish hotel.   Pity we weren't staying longer, but we have kms to get under our wheels, this is not a sit around the pool tour.  Rode away from the hotel at 8:15am onto a smooth (hot mix) wide verge. The roads here (Thailand) have improved dramatically over the last 10 years, so much so that they are now streets ahead of us, pun intended.  In addition, the motorists were much more courteous and every vehicle gave us a wide berth or waited behind us until it was safe to overtake. Similar to Europe really.   72km and a f...
Read more