It's Thadingyut festival this weekend which is an important date in the Buddhist calendar. It represents the end of Buddhist lent and a time when the Buddha 'returned from heaven to earth'. It is also a full moon day and a symbolic end to the wet season. On the Friday, I wear my longyi in the office and take in a cake for all my Akhaya colleagues. At six o'clock on Sunday evening, I meet up with Savita and Ellen at Kyaik Waing pagoda just as the sun is setting...

Tonight the French Instiute is putting on a music night with rock bands, a circus act and a techno set. When I arrive home from work, I fall asleep and when I awake, I have to motivate myself to get changed and take the half hour journey into town to this event. I'm really glad I did! The event attracts a lot of foreigners/expats in their 20s to 40s and so I get into my 'young at heart' frame of mind. The entrance gates are protected by guards with rifles and t...

This has been a wonderful day of seeing a large number of fantastic pagodas at a range of sites Bago, formerly known as Hanthawaddy is situated 50 miles north east of Yangon. First stop Shwemawdaw paya A large pagoda complex, similar to the mighty Shwedagon pagoda in downtown Yangon and a popular place for locals as well as tourists. It is interesting to see unusual buildings like a pagoda built especially for birds and an astrology building for pilgrims to d...

Sunday feels like a different day of the week as it does back home. There are less cars on the road and things are just a bit more leisurely. My first visit is to the French Institute, which hosts a number of great events and this morning is a meditation class. Very relaxing and very enjoyable. I will learn more about mindfulness and meditation techniques whilst I am here in Myanmar as it it a good counterbalance to the intense and often chaotic lifestyle here i...