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A week into my trip and think I've finally managed to get over my jet lag yay!!
Time to do the road to Mandalay....... 3 hour bumpy drive on roads which are hardly even roads but get to experience some great sights along the way including cows being walked down the middle of the road & locals seeing how many people they can fit on the back of one truck!!
Arrived to our hotel which was a little oasis, you wouldn't even know that you were still in the city (2nd biggest city in Myanmar). Our crew wanted to take us out for a beer so we went to the local beer station...... It was definitely an experience! Early night was then required as up at 4am for a flight over the city.
Wind direction decided that we would be flying from the monastery launch site where we were watched by the local Buddhists & families, balloons are not a common thing in Mandalay so always lovely to see the children's faces as the balloon takes off. It was a stunning morning and we managed to fly low over the city waving at everyone as we went by and also saw the Mandalay Golden Palace. When we landed we were surrounded by locals so it was time to test out my new Polaroid camera, the children were very excited when they saw pictures of themselves printing and even more excited when I told them that it was a present for them! Amazing that something so small can make them smile from ear to ear.
During the day Richard and I wanted to explore more of the city and find a supermarket as they sell smoked salmon.....the only place is Myanmar that does oh and marmite!! We ended up going out on a motorbike which is always exciting when you have the crazy locals to contend with! It took us 3 hours to find the supermarket as I kept getting us lost (grid system not the easiest to understand) during this time we ended up in the middle of a busy market literally driving through the middle of where they were selling, we did get some strange looks. It was a real top gear moment haha!
When we did finally manage to find the supermarket it was a sigh of relief from me as I stupidly managed to burn my leg on the motorbike exhaust earlier on in the journey so wanted to find a pharmacy and dress my leg. By this time the swelling and blisters had already started forming..... I am sure a few of you are laughing by this point as you know that this is typical of me & I can't go anywhere without hurting myself!
Then it was time for a night out at City Cafe which offers a mixture of local & western food but most importantly good cocktails which was required after my injury!
The next day after another beautiful flight it was time to head back to base in Bagan......peace & quiet compared to the crazy busy city but always great to visit somewhere different.
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