Day 40 - Burma (Bagan)

I forgot to mention in the last post that everyone below stairs are so deferential to the point of it being embarrassing. They bow their heads and refuse to look you in the eye. It's kinda nice to be treated as special but a bit difficult as it is so subservient. Hey, I'm nothing special. And they are sooooooo polite. Is the lift ok for you sir? Can I carry your tissue for you sir?

Same deity like treatment in the place I went to eat last night. The spicy pork curry with a cold beer was absolutely excellent.

Myanmar beer pictured - Burmese wife beater. Dependable but to be consumed with caution. It catches up on you. 

Oh, and while I'm at it, if a rough bar in Burma, in the rough end of town can have a proper toilet, then the rest of Asia ought to be ashamed of itself. 

Spent the entire day on a boat from Mandalay to Bagan 10 hours in total. No big stories to tell except the inevitable crispy red skin by late afternoon but it was nice to plod lazily along the mighty Irrawaddy river looking out at fishermen, villages and pagodas in the sun. Tea on tap, bread and jam for breakfast. Light rice lunch. Quite the most excellent way to make the journey and well worth the $42 it cost me. 

The only blot on an otherwise splendid day was sitting on my sunglasses after coming back from the loo. I styled it out for 10 minutes before retrieving when no-one was looking. The experience proved to be to the severe detriment of said eyewear. Went wonky for the rest of the day. I'm pretty sure no-one noticed. 

Mandalay to Bagan ferry courtesy of Malikha River Cruises - recommended. Very cool early morning. Caught me out and by late afternoon I was deep fried.