Having arrived in on schedule at 10.05 and gone through immigration, I was met by a representative of the Ocean Pearl Inn who took two other people (a British guy by the name of Dave, aged 29 who worked for parliament and was taking time off to travel round Asia, and a Burmese gentleman who now lives in New York). The journey took around 40 minutes to reach the hotel. Fiona and James were not due to arrive at the hotel till around 3.00pm, so I decided to do a recce of the area, and wandered down to the river and look at the Pagoda. Unfortunately I had no US $ with me at the time, so was only able to view it from the outside. I then wandered around the area, people watching and came across a group of gentlemen playing a game of By the side of the port area under the shade of a tree. I also encountered a group of young monks playing outside what I presume to be a boarding house. I then walked back up past the hotel to see the.

Fiona and James arrived at around 3.00, and after a quick turnaround time, we took the walking tour suggested by The Lonely Planet guide.