Part 1 - Bangkok & Myanmar
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Part 1 - Bangkok & Myanmar
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I was up just after 5am and got my stuff together then left to catch the sunrise I was a little ahead as it was about 5.25 and sunrise was 6.14 and I had 4km to run as I wanted some exercise after yesterdays electric biking. I headed out through town and turned towards my chosen temple, the road was good if a bit dark in places but I mainly used my head torch so that cars and bikes could see me. There seemed to be a lot of traffic and after about 7 minutes I decided to check how far I'd gone and the map showed I was going the wrong way towards the airport. So I turned around and got back to the junction at about 5.45 so now I had a few km to do in 30 mins but the heat was hitting me and I had already starting walking a bit because I was tired. I kept going and of course if you read yesterday's blog you won't be surprised to hear that there was mud which slowed me down as I couldn't run through it. I checked the the map again and I had 3.2km to go so maybe I had misjudged how far it was and there was only 20 minutes I was already tired and it was hot so this was going to be tough. Kept going past more mud and the sky was bright so I could see which is not what you want when you are chasing the dawn, walked a bit more and checked the map and I was still going the right way but the map was still showing 3.2km which meant it didn't update so it was probably only 1km but only 15 minutes to go and soon after I got my first glimpse of the pagoda and then soon after I could see how many people were in it and it looked like maybe there was no space so I'd have to ask people to move down. Got there about 5 minutes early and there was loads of motorbikes parked in front, but when I got up the monument it was ok and I found some energy to haul myself up to the higher part and walk round for a better view. Sunrise was a bit disappointing overall but it was nice seeing the hot air balloons and having them in pictures. Got back down and walked back stopping to climb another temple for a different view and I did some pressups there for a Facebook challenge. Back in town I bought a few things like some Myanmar green thin trousers with pictures of elephants on and then decided not to rush for the 9.30 bus instead I'd relax and get the midday one which was at 1pm so I went to see a lacquer work place which was really expensive.
Packed at hotel and got picked up 12.20, a bit later than they said and in small pickup truck. There was a Vietnamese girl called Dwan who wondered if it might take us all the way, thankfully not and we had a small minibus, not as comfortable as the coaches but faster and we made good time stopping for a break at 2.20 where everyone hot off to stretch legs and go to the ok offices toilet. I walked past a few other buses and saw a small toddler who saw me and started crying so that proves I do have a face to make babies cry. Her Mum thought it was quite funny, as the toddler was shouting something between crying maybe calling me a monster or something. Bus driver continued to drive fast but at least it was a new vehicle and the steering wheel was on the right (meaning left) side. We soon stopped to pick up some Myanmar people who squeezed in the back with their items (no livestock thankfully). Later we stopped again and most got off to be greeted by a toddler who at least didn't cry when he saw me. Arrived fairly late and I looked on maps.me and the hostel didn't look far and started walking when the driver said they had a pickup to take us so we waited then got on and got dropped off last so maybe we could have walked there quicker but it turns out it was a fair distance as again some of the blocks are massive. Hostel was ok, but the food was really overpriced, I did my usual things and then had a look around and went to the rooftop which was empty apart from one girl from England, she was eating cheese biscuits as she missed cheese, turns out its really expensive and crap in this part of the world. Went back down and found a shop nearby at the English girls recommendation and had a pot noodle and a steamed chicken dumpling, I also grabbed a beer for later. Back at the hostel there were a few people around and I ordered 2 for price of one cocktails, but I didn't like their selection so they agreed to make a screwdriver which the bartender had never made before even though its just Vodka and orange. I found a few people to talk to but most went to bed pretty early until it was just me and an Israeli guy called Sam who couldn't go to Malaysia or Indonesia as they don't recognise his country. We called it a night soon after.
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