Lets get it out of the way right now. I'm on the road to Mandalay. There you go I said it. Even though Rudyard Kipling wrote it he did not go to Mandalay. The only place in Burma that he went was Moulmein, down south near Hpa an where I was a couple of weeks ago. The taxi ride here was OK and he delivered me to the door. If I had taken the bus I would have had to pay more for a taxi from the bus station so it really was a good deal. The driver was delivering milk...

I came all this way to take the train over the Goktiek Viaduct and there has been a landslide and the train line is closed. I will wait here for a couple of days cos there is a chance they clear it and I can take a train that way and back again. Miss Lily organized a bus for me and a girl from Hong Kong to come down to Pyin Oo Lwin. It had already left Lashio so they had to ring the driver and get him to come and pick us up. It was an OK trip, just 4 hours and he...

this morning I decided I was going to check out the town. A couple were trying to decide to go trekking and asked me if I was trekking. I said "No I can afford the bus fare", jeez yesterday I paid $1.50 and it would take me 3 days to walk that far. It was ******* down as usual and I left to check out town and I think they did go trekking. Later in the day the rain went and the sun came out and it was really hot and steamy, glad I didn't go trekking. Down near the...

You might have to bare with me it has been a looong day. I am in Hsipaw, say si por, or here in a different dialect ti bor. The bus from Nyaungshwe to Hsipaw cost me 17,000k ($17) including tuk tuk to the bus stop. The bus stop is about 20 min drive from town at and intersection. There are all sorts of shops and bus stands there and no one speaks English. Lucky I had my ticket so I just showed it around. The bus was 1/2hr late arriving, I don't know where it st...

I have been trying to find a couple of people to share with for the trip on the lake with not much luck. This morning I met a couple of Taiwanese girls who were willing to share. When we got to their boat the driver wanted an extra 3000 and I had to sit on the floor. That wasn't going to happen so I told them to go and I would get a boat. Five minutes walk up the road and a boatman approached me offering a boat for 15,000K. I checked he was going to all the place...