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Shahnavaz Mehta
Shahnavaz Mehta

Shahnavaz Mehta

traveled in 16 countries Read more
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  • Shahnavaz MehtaItalyTraveler

    Home Sweet Home - A New Chapter

    February 16, 2019 in England ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    I probably don't have much to talk about today as to be honest we got up, got the bus, got to the airport, ate our Speck and Cheese Ciabatta Sandwiches and then I spent the rest of the time updating and finishing the blog. We will be back in Manchester by 5pm.

    Well it's time. We are finally coming home! It's finally time to get a job (seriously if someone needs a Project Manager please let me know, we need money ASAP!) and start our normal lives again.

    Since booking our ticket home people have asked are you happy to go home? Honestly my answer is yes. I'm so excited to see my family, my friends, their babies, my incredible choir people, I can't wait to sleep in a real bed, to not have to eat out every meal of everyday, to sit on a sofa with a duvet, to cook, to know what I'm eating and know it won't make me so ill, to go to the doctors and check out my stomach as seriously its now been 3 months and it's not any better... But most of all I can't wait to begin my next chapter with my best friend, my partner in crime, my scuba buddy and the man who has stuck by my through thick and thin for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for the last 13 months and the last 10 years. Of course we have had our ups and downs but honestly who wouldn't. Neither of us are perfect, no one is but he is the only one that every minute of everyday I think about and get excited to spend all these incredible moments with. I am currently the luckiest person in the world. How can I be sad to be going home when I've had the most incredible honour of exploring this beautiful world. This isn't the end. This is just the beginning.

    I'm currently sat in the airport in absolute disbelief that we have just spent 13 months in 13 different countries, seeing the most incredible places, seeing wonders of the world, learning new skills but most importantly building a world of friendships and meeting the most incredible people. People have asked us was your experience life changing, what have you learnt, etc I've learnt that life can be really simple. People are people no matter where you go, we all love to eat, be happy and speak one language - beer. We are just one family no matter your colour, no matter the differences, the gender, the nationality. People are just incredible.

    I'm going to finish with a few quotes from my inspiration Mahatma Ghandi:

    "Be the change that you want to see in the world."

    "Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever."

    "Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes."

    "You may never know what results come of your actions, but if you do nothing, there will be no results."

    See you soon xx (Just landed and it's grey. Welcome to Manchester!)    Read more

  • Shahnavaz MehtaItalyTraveler

    Our Final Day

    February 15, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    We slept!!! We actually slept!! I don't remember putting my head down to sleep but I didn't wake up till 5am and then 10:30am. Heaven!! But I actually feel more tired from sleeping ha. I think I need a week to catch up on sleep.

    We had a rather slow morning which was nice and then just went for a wander. We came across a very cute Trattoria. So we went for a valentines 2 course lunch with wine. We are going to have zero money when we get back so we are making the most of it now! The lunch was really yummy. We noticed that the service for the Italian customers was impeccable. As soon as they were seated they were given a basket of bread and water for the table. We were barely given a menu... I must admit this is now our second day here and I'm not finding Italy very welcoming... I've not had a single person smile back at me. Anyway I didn't let the terrible service ruin our meal. When all the various items arrived we had a really lovely meal.

    Our first sight seeing spot for the day was the vertical forest of Isola. We then jumped on the metro and visited the Duomo. In case you ever go and get a ticket for the Duomo from the ticket office ignore the ladies that give you a ticket number and tell you to wait. I honestly don't know why they do that when there are ticket machines further in. We had already waited half a hour for our number of 365. It was only on 277 when we discovered the machines. Within 2 minutes we had purchased the ticket and were out. It was about 5pm by this point and inside the Duomo it was freezing. My whole body ached. Although it was beautiful I just couldn't help but want to leave.

    After the Duomo we went to the Gallery and spun on the famous bulls balls for good luck before heading to GROM for a hot chocolate.

    For dinner we went to Pizzeria Piccola Ischia. I would 100% recommend it here. They serve delicious Napalese pizza for only €7.50 and wine for €5.50 for 1/2l. We even treated ourselves to a tiramasu which was served in an espresso cafetiere. It was to die for!

    By 10pm I was once again fast asleep, but unfortunately didn't sleep through the night. I was up at 3:30am with huge stomach cramps. I don't think our stomachs are used to this much dairy 😢    Read more

  • Shahnavaz MehtaItalyTraveler

    Ti Amo

    February 14, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Since stepping on the flight last night everyone has been talking to me in Italian. I've now been in South East Asia for 13 months and been very much used to people not speaking English, but normally from gestures and the situation I've been able to understand what people are generally saying. But here in Italy for some reason I've found it almost impossible to understand anything. You would have thought as Will can't mostly understand and speak Italian that they would speak to him or he would save me from these embarrassing situations but unfortunately not. They always want to speak to me and by the time he's realised he's missed what they are saying. Why they always speak to me I don't know! I've now learnt how to say "I'm sorry, I do not speak Italian", which to be honest seems to complicate the situation further. Haha

    It's sooo cold here!!! We've come from 37 degrees to 12 and I honestly don't know how I'm going to cope with it. I'm wearing a coat, thermals, a tshirt, a wooly hat, a scarf, 2 socks and trousers on top of my thermals. Help!!!!

    Today's plan is actually quite hectic... As usual! We are going to get up at 7am, leave at 8am. Check into our new airbnb by 9am and then join a walking tour at 10am. Myself and Will were up and ready but we waited for Niranjan to have his breakfast and tea and we didn't get the bus until 8:45am. We checked in by 9:45am but were running very late for the tour. Luckily they had a rough itenary online with timings for each site and were able to catch them up by the second site.

    The tour was FANTASTIC!!! The guide was a typical Italian and reminded me of our friend Nello. He was so expressive and gesticulating everywhere. His pronunciation was like that of an actor, you had to be careful not to be too close otherwise you would have lost an eye and been covered in spit. He was hilarious and although shattered he really kept us stimulated. We visited Church of San Nazaro In Brolo, Statale University which used to be an old public hospital. Then we visited the outside of Duomo Cathedral, Vittorio Emmanuel II Gallery and then had a break for lunch where we had Panzerotto at Luini and a huge slice of pizza from Spottini.

    Next stop was Theatre and Square Alla Scala. The Scala Theatre was built to replace the previous opera house that was burned down. The rich Milanese were desperate for a replacement, so they funded an immediate reconstruction. The main reason they wanted one built so quickly? The only place they could legally gamble was at the theatre during shows. Often the guests at the shows wouldn't even watch the Opera, they were there simply to gamble! So, far from starting life as a place of culture, the theatre was rather the opposite! However, there fortuitously happened a 40 year period in which several wonderful operas debuted at this theatre, including works by Rossini, Verdi and others. Such a critical mass of notable works couldn't help but change the atmosphere, and soon the theatre had become the centre of opera in Europe and the gambling was forgotten about.

    Next was the merchants square. While at merchant's square our guide told us an interesting story. When merchant's ran up too many debts which they were unable to repay, the town would break in half their stall to prevent them from trading any more. In Italian this is known as "banco rotto" (lit. broken desk). Over time this became a single word: bancarotta, from which English gets its word bankrupt. In fact, of all the countries in Europe there are only 5 who don't use a derivation of this word!

    Our final stop on the tour was Piazza dei Affari or business square. The reason that Piazza dei Affari is famous is that its the site of the Italian stock exchange Borsa Italia. The second reason its famous is for a 2011 piece of modern art erected in the courtyard directly in front of the stock exchange . This artwork was gifted by the sculptor to the city of Milan. The artwork? A giant hand, with every finger cut off except for the middle finger. As the hand is facing away from the stock exchange towards the onlookers the message is clear: a giant "screw you" from the banks to the little people. After all, when this artwork was erected Milan was right in the middle of the financial crisis and the people of Italy were suffering. Modern art at its finest? You decide.

    Finally it was time to sit and get warmed up so we took refuge in a nearby coffee shop. What looking at what to see and do next we found our haven. GROM. If you have never been to GROM when in Europe you have to make it your aim to find one and go. GROM serve the most thick, hot and heavenly dark hot chocolate. So obviously that was our next stop. It was just heaven! I finally felt fully warm. Refreshed and happy to keep going so we then visited San Maurizio Monastero Maggiore which was beautiful hidden gem within the city. The church was covered in beautiful frescos. If you've been to Milan and not seen this church you are missing out. We then went to the Castello Sforzesco which was free to walk round in the early evening and then our final sightseeing for the day was the Sempione Park. It was a really lovely park and really picturesque with the evening light shining on the trees. It was now getting very cold and to be honest it was beginning to get painful. We were joining the Milan Couch surfing hangout but it didn't start till 7:30pm so we still had 2.5 hours to kill. In most countries that would be fine as you would just visit a cheap bakery or cafe or find a shop to take cover in. All the shops were ridiculously expensive so we felt we couldn't even walk in with the attire we were wearing, all the cafes were either crazy expensive or shut and after walking for a while it felt like we were just on barron streets. After over an hour of freezing we finally found a little bakery were we sat and ate a lemon custard croissant and escaped the cold. The croissant and sit down was just what we needed. I began to get a little too comfortable and almost fell off my stool when I nodded off for a second.

    It was finally time to go and meet the Couch Surfers at Cafe Ethniko for Aperitivo. I had never had this before. Aperitivo is where you buy a single drink which then gives you access to the buffet food. We spent about 20 mins looking through the menu and trying to translate the cocktails. We finally decided and went to the bar and saw an incredible looking cocktail that
    ... ordered. I instantly made a new friend and asked what his cocktail was and had a little try. That was the one for me! Will was so jealous that he ordered the same. Honestly the cocktail was the size of a fish bowl and it was soo fresh and fruity. Yum. The evening was really fun. We met lots of other couch surfers either living in Milan or visiting Milan for a weekend break. Will was able to practise his Italian and it was such a lovely evening. By 10pm we were shattered and headed back to the airbnb and honestly I don't even remember going to sleep. I'm pretty sure I just passed out due to exhaustion.    Read more

  • Shahnavaz MehtaItalyTraveler

    Bye bye Yangon. Hello Milan!

    February 13, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 9 °C

    At 8am we got up, felt very very sick, shuvelled down food in attempt to feel human again, showered, went to pick up some bakery goods for lunch and splashed out on a taxi to go to the airport. I suddenly became very hyperactive, god knows why. I must admit I'm very excited to go home and this lack of sleep is beginning to just crack me up I think.

    The airport was absolutely bizarre... From check in to immigration to security there was absolutely no other customers. Just us. It was like walking through a zombie game waiting to get attacked by the Zombie Staff. It was bizarre. Even when we went to the gate and ate our bamboo sticky rice, avocado and bakery goods there was still only a handful of people there. Can I just add this was such a winning lunch. So tasty! Also I love that it's always possible to get hot water from the water dispensers here. We were able to enjoy our sachet of coffee that I took from the hotel 😊

    At 2:45pm they called us for the flight. You could see everyone looking around thinking well it doesn't take off for another 45 mins so we have time as there's only 10 people here. No one moved confused by the whole situation... They announced the flight 4 times and everyone slowly got up one by one looking around in disbelief that we are about to take a flight with 10 people... We were very wrong. We entered the plane and it was full! The plane had clearly done a pick up somewhere else and then come to Yangon. It was the weirdest experience ever.

    We were soon in the air and as usual I was already planning what films to watch, what free alcoholic drink I get etc. I'm not sure if I mentioned but I get so excited when we take a long haul flight. I hadn't done one till our first trip to Mauritius. It was the first time I had alcohol on a flight and I remember and even now get sooo excited about getting free drinks, food and watching movies. I'm a simple human being 😊

    My excitement was soon taken over by restless tiredness but I found it impossible to get comfy and after 11 hours we soon arrived in Milan. We jumped on a bus to the Central Station where we met our Savior, Niranjan from Couch Surfing. He was really sweet and made us tuna pasta for dinner and we stayed up chatting till about 1am. Will was literally passing out midsentence so it was definitely time to go to sleep as tomorrow isn't even going to be a day of rest...    Read more

  • Shahnavaz MehtaMyanmarTraveler

    Good Morning Yangon

    February 12, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    At 2am we arrived at Yangon Bus Station which is far from the city center. As we couldn't check into our dorm bed anyway we decided to sleep in the bus operators waiting room. Will went to the loo and the bus driver said I could go upstairs and sleep, I waited for Will and then we went up. When trying to go upstairs the guy started speaking Burmese at me and showing a poster written in Burmese. I honestly didn't have a clue what he was saying until I went upstairs. It was clearly for ladies and children only! Exhausted Will didn't care and just found a spot anyway on the lino floor. I wouldn't say it was the best sleep but it was better than none. At 7am we got up to an empty room and headed to our hostel.

    We got the local bus to the hostel and it was sooo packed but I love travelling with the locals. They are sooo smiley here it makes me so happy. On the way from the bus we stopped at a local Tea house for breakfast of dumplings, somosa, puri and lots of tea. The streets were packed with locals as it was independence day. The main street was flowing with market stalls and hundreds of Burmese. Luckily when we arrived at the hostel we were able to check in so after a quick shower I felt normal again.

    It was our last day so we were determined to enjoy it! Luckily it wasn't as hot as in Hpa An so walking around wasn't as difficult. We had a fab noodle soup for lunch, had a few goodies from the bakery and walked around the colonial area of Yangon. Of all South East Asian cities, Yangon has the highest number of colonial era buildings. Hundreds of late 19th century structures remain on an area of several square miles in the downtown area. It was really interesting but by about 3pm the heat and tiredness were hitting me hard. Will found a barbers so had a quick hair cut and his first clean shave which gave me time to have a rest. We then jumped in a taxi and went to our last tourist stop for the day, bogyoke market famous for its textiles and where we were hoping to by the last few presents we wanted. Annoyingly the taxi driver didn't actually tell us it was closed until he took us there and we were leaving the car. Quite annoyed and in need of a sit down we went to the near by glamorous shopping mall and had a coffee.

    For a while myself and Will have been eyeing up Xaomi Products. We have the Xaomi MI Band 2, but I lost mine in India and Will's has broken slowly over the last few months. The mall had a Xaomi Store! We were like kids in a candy store looking at all the cool gadgets. We aren't one to buy things generally but when we got home we were planning on getting new bands and I was actually going to get the brand new Amazefit watch for Will's birthday but I didn't have enough time. After A LOOOONG time in the shop going back and forth we bought the watch. In the UK its £80 and it was only £40 so we couldn't resist the bargain. So we are now proud owners of the Amazefit!! We were both very excited. We were honestly in the shop for 1.5 hours trying it on, deciding whether we really wanted it and finally setting it up.

    To celebrate our last night we went to the top of Sakura Tower, enjoyed a £2.50 Singapore Sling and the gorgeous view of Yangon City. At that moment in time nothing could have ruined how perfect it was. Or so I thought... As you know we booked our flight home but the cheapest was to fly direct to Milan and then go to Manchester. As we are going via Milan we decided to book 3 nights in Milan to enjoy a holiday within the holiday but we are massively low on funds so we booked quite a cheap airbnb. Guess what... While enjoying our night of cocktails I recieved an email from the host saying he is booked up and can't host us. This booking was an instant book and so the payment had already gone through! Basically it turns out he has 2 listings of the property and hasn't actually updated the sexond/ isn't aware of Instant Booking. We instantly started looking for an alternative but everything was looking to be €50 a night. Now for the normal Jo reading this you're probably thinking, that's what I would expect. It was giving us a heart attack thinking about it. We got on the phone to airbnb and they said they need to talk to the host before they can help us, they said they would be in contact in 2 hours. It was now 7pm in Yangon. Having slept on a lino floor last night the plan was to go to the hostel soon and have an early night. At 9pm obviously they didn't call back and so I messaged on the support app. I was then quoted 4 hours. This would take us to 1am Yangon time. We were getting very panicky and unfortunately we really let it get to us and it did ruin the very end of the night for us.

    Anyway looong story short I couldn't sleep a wink and at 3am a couch surfer got in touch and said if we are still desperate for a place to stay he can host for one night. Relief!! I then reduced the search for just 2 nights stay and found a room for £80 for 2 nights and just went ahead with it. At 5am Will woke up saying he couldn't sleep and I was able to tell him the good news that all was sorted! Proud of my nights work but absolutely exhausted I attempted to sleep. We had made plans to go to the Market in the morning before the flight but there was no way we were in a fit state.    Read more

  • Shahnavaz MehtaMyanmarTraveler

    Day of Relaxing?? Nah!!!

    February 11, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    After yesterday's epic hike to the top of Mount Zwegabin our calves were in agony. We had a slow start to the morning packing our bags, checking out and attempting to find couch surfing hosts or affordable accommodation in Milan which will be our very last stop before heading home on the 16th. We messaged a lot of hosts and fingers crossed we find someone as accomodation is ludicrously priced!

    Once all the admin was done we jumped on the motorbike for our last ride. First stop was Kaw Ka Taung. We were both really hot and hungry when we arrived so we sat and It was a small cave with lots of Buddhas inside and surrounding. What was very different about this cave were the small embossed Buddha silhouettes that pertruded from the cave walls. Above the caves were pagodas exposed on enormous high rocks. Hpa An has some really beautiful scenery very similar to that of Phong nhã and Tầm Coc in Vietnam and it brought back some really happy memories. We decided to walk up to the top and see the views. Why is everything here vertical steep steps!! Our calves screamed in paid the whole way, but it was worth it. There was absolutely no one at the top and we had the complete rock to ourselves. I think we went a bit delirious with the heat as we found a broom and had what I now call an Ellia Moment. I rode my nimbus 2000 in the air and Will swept up the top of the pagoda haha

    Next we drove to see Kyauk Ka Lat Pagoda another very impressive sight. Again the pagoda was built on a huge exposed rock but this time in the middle of a lake. Again the climb up involved steep stone steps but luckily it wasn't so high. At the top was a very tiny area where locals were being blessed by the Monk and it was a memorable sight to see.

    Our next and final stop was Hpa Pu Hill for sunset. It took quite a while to get there and on the way we drove through local villages and were greeted by lots of small children ecstatic to see foreigners but the road was a dusty red sandy dirt track. When we arrived were covered head to toe in red sand! We were both very tired by this time and really achy but that never stops us, so up we went. It was a painful one hour vertical steep staircase up. Along the way we passed some tourists on their way down and they said unfortunately access to to the top isn't possible as the last part of the climb was broken bamboo ladders. Once we got there Will was keen to see if it was possible. I can confirm it was possible, but and this is a very big but, with a high risk of catastrophic collapse. I was proud to get to the top and vey relieved that it didn't collapse under us and I must admit it was worth the terrifying state going up. We even asked Ellia and Karin if they went up when they came and they said "What you went up there, you're crazy!".

    The view was perfect for our final evening in Hpa An and due to it being so crazy looking it stopped others coming up resulting in us having the top to ourselves.

    The day so far was definitely the calm before the storm as what came next was quite stressful. The plan for the rest of the evening was to quickly get down, ride back to town, grab a quick dinner from the night market and then go back to the hotel to pick up our bags before jumping on our final night bus of the trip back to Yangon. That was the plan...

    We stayed up a bit longer than expected and had to walk very quickly just making the bottom before it was fully dark. We jumped on the bike and the lights had stopped working. This was our worst nightmare and what came next is something we said we would never do. We had to drive back with no lights. It was our last trip on the bike, we had been riding for 13 months and we had never had an accident. You're probably thinking why didn't we just phone the hotel and get them to come and pick us up but by the time they would have come and then brought us back we would have been late for the bus so we just jumped on, I put on my head torch and shone it with my phone in front of Will to ensure people in front could see him and off we went. . We drove very slowly, stopped a few times and eventually got to the night market which was 1 minute from the hotel. Phew!! It was the stupidest risk we have taken on the trip but luckily we were safe. We enjoyed chicken nuggets, sweet and sour noodle soup, a banana and strawberry milkshake and a coconut pancake to celebrate our survival.

    When we got back to the hotel the owners were very nice and let us have a quick shower in a spare room and even took us to the end of the road to catch our bus.

    As I mentioned this was our last night bus and I must admit in terms of its comfort and features it was by far the best. It was like being in the presidents airplane from House of Cards with huge leather seats with plenty of leg room and even an individual media centre with films on! I was like a kid at Christmas. Although exhausted I couldn't get to sleep so I watched Escape plan with Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger in. It was actually a really good gripping and easy watch film. I didn't sleep perfectly but I think I got a few naps.    Read more

  • Shahnavaz MehtaMyanmarTraveler

    Hpa An

    February 9, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    For once we arrived at the more sensible hour of 9am, but once again we got little to no sleep. On the way to the hotel we stopped for tea and naan with lentils. Along the way to the hotel I was getting a really friendly vibe from all the locals, even more than normal! Everyone was saying hello and was super smiley, it was like being in the country side up north 😊 We were too early to check in so we just chilled out in the lobby for a while reading our books until we could. The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing and doing our laundry.

    In the evening we went to a cute little cafe for a salad and milkshake, walked around the local lake to watch sunset and finished in the night market. Unlike a lot of nightmarkets we have been to this one was really good with lots of freshly cooked food and all very tasty. We had an amazing sweet and sour chicken noodle soup, some freshly cooked chip shop type chips, a couple of meat skewers, some very stinky Tofu stuffed with tea leaf salad (bleugh) and a strawberry milkshake yum yum yum.

    The next day we got up early and were feeling adventurous. As it was early and not as hot as midday (only 33 degrees 😢) we climbed up Mount Zwegabin. We've done a lot of hiking on this trip and to be honest as we've been ill a lot our fitness level isn't as good as it was but somehow this hike felt impossible the entire way up. The hike was vertically up steps for 2 hours with little relief in terrain and it was scorching hot and humidity levels were rocket high. We were drenched head to toe. We were hoping it would take us less time but it was impossible in this heat and humidity. Towards the top we met a lot of college students who were all litter picking. They were so proud to be looking after the enviroment and really helped our mood for the final half an hour push.

    Once at the top we came to the pagoda and sat and rested for a while. A lot of locals were also at the top in tour groups. They were a good laugh and even offered us chicken bread. Now chicken bread isn't quite what you think it is. It's a very sweet croissant type bread stuffed with sweet oily hairy chicken strands. No it doesn't sound appealing and it wasn't great but we can't be rude about it. Although Will was sat there sniffing it for quite a a long time. All the ladies were giggling at him as if he was about to eat an alien.

    The hike down was just as tough to be honest, slightly quicker, but long, hot and very steep. By the time we finished the hike it was definitely time for lunch but we decided to wait till our next stop for lunch.

    Our next stop was Saddan Cave famous for its size in the area and when you exit the other side it leads to a lake where you can get a boat through caves, along the canal and through rice fields. It was unexpectedly really beautiful and very relaxing. For lunch we ate bamboo sticky rice and an avocado. I must admit I just can't get enough avocado!

    Everything took much longer than expected today so our final stop for the day was the famous bat cave. We arrived over an hour before sunset and were the only ones there. You can't actually go into the cavern of the cave, but it is famous for being a viewing point where you watch millions of bat's leave the cave after sunset fly all the way to Mawlalmyine to feed and come back every morning. When the bats start flying out, they start beating drums (actually jerry cans) and using brooms to make a swishing sweeping noise so that the bats make interesting patterns in flight. We even joined in making the sweeping noise with our mouths once the ladies stopped as it was just fascinating to watch. It is an incredible sight! I wish I could upload the videos! If you are interested just let me know and I'll send it to you on fb or WhatsApp. Its beautiful to watch.

    For dinner we went to Wadee Restaurant which is full of tourists but although very very slow it provides incredibly tasting local dishes. We sat with Simon who we met at the Saddan Cave and had a really good chat about travelling. I'm going to really miss meeting like minded people so easily. As we are getting to the end me and Will went all out and feasted like royalty. We had Prawn Curry, Chicken and Potato Curry (just like my mums at home), tea leaf salad, 2 banana milkshakes and a beer to share. We finally won a free beer too, it was a great day. I wish England had this beer game it so fun. Basically you have the chance to win cash or free beer by looking on the inside of the bottle lid.    Read more

  • Shahnavaz MehtaMyanmarTraveler

    A Day Of Real R&R Shared With Friends

    February 7, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Today we all decided to have a day of real R&R. We had a very lazy morning reading our books over breakfast. Then I went for a leg wax while the others chilled out in a garden. The waxing was the strangest one I've ever had. They had clearly never waxed an Indian person and they were just fascinated by our thick hair haha But I must admit it was thorough! The girl even had another girl next to her to check no hairs were left. In addition to the oos and aaahs coming from them while waxing once they got a bit more comfortable they began taking selfies with me! Definitely the most bizarre time to take a selfie but it was fun and they did an amazing job. The only thing is that they took FOREVER!! Normally it takes 30-45 mins. They took an hour and half.

    Eventually I went to meet the others and then we went to the local market for veggie shan noodles. It felt like 100 degrees in the market so we were gasping for juice and so went in search of specifically strawberry milkshake. It was super tasty!!

    Then we planned to go for a well deserved massage but this time at Gemini's. Will and I had bikes so we went to pick them up while Ellia walked. When we got to the bikes Will's had gone! Luckily a lady from the waxing salon came to help and Ostello Bello had CTV. Unfortunately they couldn't see the face clearly but could see that 3 foreigners had taken 3 bikes one of which was Will's. The odd thing was that Will had put the lock on so they wouldn't have been able to use the back wheel. Eventually we got to the masseuse and were given unlimited biscuits, tea and snacks. Yum!! The grandfather that welcomed us was a very sweet old man that spoke basic English and was very proud of showing off his family. He was 73 years old, he had 9 children and 14 grandchildren and 4 houses for his family all next to each other.

    For me the massage wasn't great to be honest and Venus was 100x better. There were some good bits but it was mostly too soft. When finished they gave us avocado shakes, more biscuits, snacks, fruit and water.

    Karin was suddenly feeling very sick so her and Ellia got a lift back to their hostel and Will and I went back to ours for a freshen up. For dinner we went to Ostello Bello so that we could see Karin and Ellia to say our goodbyes. I can honestly say we've made 2 fantastic friends here and we can't wait to visit them in Switzerland!

    The next day me and Will had another chill day before getting the sleeper bus in the evening to Hpa An, our final new destination. We had a slow morning and read our books over breakfast. Checked out at 12pm and went straight for our Venus Massage. I'm so glad we went back there as the massage was the best I'd ever had. I think I fell asleep at points because I was so relaxed!

    For a late lunch we had the famous Burmese Rice which comes with various rice toppings including chilli soya beans, dried anchovies with dried onions and dried shrimp paste. It sounds crazy but it was tasty!

    We then jumped on our sleeper bus by 4pm and were on our way. It was going to be a looong night... 16 hours bus 😭    Read more

  • Shahnavaz MehtaMyanmarTraveler
    1

    Boat Trip Around Inle Lake

    February 6, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    After such a lovely boat trip after the walk and talking to the Canadian couple we decided to team up with Ellia and Karin on an whole day boat trip. At 7am we went for breakfast and then jumped on the bikes to the ferry port. I must admit my bum was still hurting from cycling yesterday so I'm looking forward to sitting and relaxing on the boat.

    First stop was the Ywama village which is famous for silver making. Ellia and me even bought ourselves some new earrings.

    Next we spent an hour at the market at Phuang Daw Oo Pagoda where we bought a few goodies to bring home, ate Shan noodles and drank endless amounts of tea.

    Next was a stop at Inn Paw Kon Village where they make lotus Silk. The stems of the lotus flowers produce a fine web like thread which is then woven into thread for garments such as ladies scarves or robes for the monks. It was really amazing.

    Then we stopped at Nan Pa Village where boats and cigars are made. Why the combination I have no idea. Ellia, Karin and Will tried the sweet, banana and strong tobacco cigars. It was weird sitting around them while smoking and smelling the soft scent of banana around me.

    After lunch by the river we walked to Shwe Inn Dein Pagoda which was surrounded in small stupas, almost like a mini Bagan. The site is believed to date back to the days of the Indian emperor Ashoka, who sent out monks in the 3rd century BC across Asia to spread Buddhism. Centuries later two Kings of the Bagan empire, Narapatisithu and Anawrahta built pagodas at the site. The site contains hundreds of pagodas, collectively known as the Shwe Inn Thein pagodas. Most are from the 17th and 18th century; the earliest one with an inscription dates to the 14th century. We were all hot and slightly delirious by this point. We were constantly giggling, hiding behind stupas and jumping out, Ellia even found a broom and randomly started clearing up the leaves and then pretending it was a nimbus 2000. I can't explain why we suddenly went crazy but it happened haha

    After what must have been a good 2 hours we headed back to the boat and had a quick stop to see the long neck ladies. Honestly I don't know why they still make this a stop on the tour because I don't think I've met any tourists that like it. Its like going to a human zoo and its all faked for tourists. Long necks in this area don't really exist and the ones that do don't wear the necklace all the time anymore and can take them off. Or so I've been told. One of the ladies made us hold the necklace claiming it was 8 kg. It was barely 2kg!!

    The next and final stop for the day was the Nga Hpa Kyaung also known as the Jumping Cat Monastery. In the past it was famous for its active cats that would jump through hoops during scripture readings but now the cats are much more lazy and do as all cats do and just lie around in the sun. I can't remember if I've said previously but we always carry balloons and give them out when we see tiny children. As the monastery wasn't that impressive while wandering around we gave some children balloons. They were sooo excited and jusr ran round the outside of the monastery screaming with enjoyment. It was sooo cute!!

    Our tour was supposed to be finished by 4pm but we must have been very slow at each of the stops because it was now 5:15pm. So we asked our boat driver of he would go slowly so we could watch sunset and he happily did so! He also slowed down everytime we went past the iconic one legged fishermen so that we could take pictures with sunset. It was a really picturesque and relaxing end to the day.

    When we arrived we went to Ellia and Karin's hostel Ostello Bello's roof top bar where me and Will played a quick game of the Burmese version of Caram and then we sat and chatted to a few other tourists. I had a really yummy strawberry mojito or so I thought initially. After a few sips my mouth was suddenly full of glass bits so I quickly took it back!! Luckily no harm was done!

    For dinner we went back to the local restaurant for grilled fish, fish steamed in banana leaf and tea leaf salad. It was the best dinner I've had in Myanmar. Cooked to perfection. Absolutely loving our time hanging round with these guys they are fun, funny and so down to earth. Hopefully we can go meet them in Switzerland!!    Read more

  • Shahnavaz MehtaMyanmarTraveler

    Massage and Wine!

    February 5, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    All I can say is after 5 days trekking I think we deserved today. We had a very lazy start to the morning of Avocado's and egg on toast, banana and honey pancakes and lots of tea and coffee for breakfast while chatting to a canadian couple till about 12ish. Then we had a massage at Venus and would 100% recommend it as your are greeted by the sweetest ladies and given endless tea, biscuits and snacks at the beginning and end. The massage was just what we needed and we felt great afterwards.

    We then went to pick up our laundry. I was so excited to have clean clothes again! For lunch we met up with Karin and Ellia at Pancake Kingdom before heading on the bikes to Red Mountain Vineyard. My bike was awful with zero suspension or gears and the 45 min ride felt like it took hours. I was in pain when we arrived but it was soo worth it. The views were just beautiful. We did the wine tasting and there is a reason you've never heard of Burmese Wine haha We watched the start of sunset and then cycled back.

    For dinner we had fresh grilled fish, avocado salad, tea leaf salad, stir fried vegetables and rice. Yum yum yum.    Read more

  • Shahnavaz MehtaMyanmarTraveler

    Tea, Great Company and a Boat Ride!

    February 4, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    At 4am all the villagers entered the monastery to give offerings to the monks. Had we known this happens it wouldn't have been so annoying. However, to wake up to the clanging of metal plates, cutlery, very loud talking and the smell of food at 4am was just mind boggling and how some people around us slept through the whole thing I will never know!

    At 6am we all went for breakfast and let's just just say there wasn't quite the spring in our step there had been on previous days. Ellia had hurt her ankle, everyone had quite a disturbed sleep and Pauline had sun stroke from the day before so had been sick all night. It wasn't a great start!

    By 7:30am we were on the road again with the end in sight. Today we have about 4 hours to walk, then lunch and an hours boat ride. After about half an hour of walking Pauline decided she was too ill and jumped on a motorbike for the remaining journey to the boat.

    Today's walk went through even more chilli farms, through tiny villages with more adorable children, down a steep rocky path along what would be a river in rainy season and a red gorge. I think by the time we got to the gorge we were slightly dilerious as we came up with a story about it. We decided the colour of the Gorge was due to a tourist long long ago getting too nea the edge falling in and splattering their blood and staining the soil. In addition the size and shape was due to a battle of dragons and one was defeated and fell straight into the ground making the shape of the gorge. As I said... I think the heat got to our heads!

    Unfortunately this walk only had one tea stop but we powered through knowing we would get our tea at the end! After entering a final village we soon came to the end of our walking and were definitely ready for our lunch. Lunch was definitely one of my favourites. We had avocado salad, tea leaf salad, wilted watercress, peanut curry and rice with a fried egg and a celebratory beer. It was super tasty.

    After a relaxing hour Pauline joined us and we jumped on our boat and this was possibly my favourite part of the whole trip. For some reason I expected a really rubbish and short trip but it was sooo nice sitting on the boat in the sun, gliding down the still deltas towards the lake and seeing all the villagers going about their day to day lives. Once we got on the lake we saw the famous one legged fishermen which was a unexpected highlight. When we arrived we were all very relaxed and up for a celebration so we went to a local restaurant for another celebratory beer.

    At about 4pm we all got quite sleepy and were in dying need of a shower, it's now been 4 days since I've had one, so we all parted ways to our respective hotels.

    I jumped straight into a steaming hot shower and was in absolute heaven!! So much so that I probably stayed in a bit too long and ended up using all the hot water. Will was not a happy bunny. For the first time in 3 months we put took all our clothes to a laundrette to be washed properly and then went to meet everyone for Dim Sum Dinner.

    When we got back to the hotel we sat and watched Chris Tarrants show about trains in Vietnam and it brought back so many amazing memories. Thanks Ed Avern who is the Assistant Producer who contacted us and asked for some tips and then for sending it to us. A perfect end to the day.    Read more

  • Shahnavaz MehtaMyanmarTraveler
    1

    It's All About The Tea

    February 3, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    I slept like a baby! It was possibly the best sleep I've had for ages. I got up early, watched sunrise and got back into my smelly clothes. I've not showered for 2 days... Eek!

    For breakfast we had Indian Puris, pumpkin curry, guacamole, melon, oranges, coffee and of course more tea. By 8:30am we were all packed up and on our way.

    The morning was spent walking through more villages farming chilli's with the first stop at about 11am for... Guess what?!... Yes some more tea!

    Pyu thought we were barking mad but happily gave us endless amounts of tea at each stop. During the break everyone tried beetlenut Catechu. We had already tried Paan in India so didn't partake and I'm so glad we didn't. It just looked ghastly. At one point Ellia was just spitting out what looked like yellow bile. Why everyone is so obsessed with it here I will never know!

    The next 2 hours were tough because of the heat and longing for a break and lunch. There wasn't much in terms of scenery to entertain either and for the first time we saw other tourists. They did not look like they were having fun at all compared to our constantly laughing group.

    Lunch was quite a let down to be honest compared to the other days, probably because there were quite a few groups. Again we were the noisy laughing group compared to the solem and barely talking ones. So glad we had such a fun group as it really makes a difference to the experience.

    After lunch and tea we had an easy 40 mins hike to the next stop at the river where Pyu, Ellia and Karin went for a dip and the rest of us just chilled in the shade.

    The last part of the day was definitely the best in terms of scenery but worst in terms of heat and feeling sluggish. But Pyu knows exactly how to make us happy and after hiking up for a while and seeing a beautiful view we stopped for Tea. The little shop where we stopped had a fab selection of snacks so we all sat on sun loungers, in the shade eating snacks and drinking plenty of tea while listening to Pyu sing and play the guitar.

    From there we had about half an hour left of walking before reaching the monastery. When we arrived there were quite a few groups and so we weren't expecting such a quiet and comfortable night as before. As soon as we arrived we freshened up, grabbed some beers and headed up to watch sunset before dinner again. We ate, had tea and got told a new bedtime story from Pyu and got to bed for 9pm ready for our early morning start of 6:30am tomorrow.    Read more

  • Shahnavaz MehtaMyanmarTraveler
    1

    Who Needs Sleep When You Can Hike??!

    February 2, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    As I mentioned we arrived at 2:30am. Now, normal people would have booked a room already in hope they could check in and get a good night sleep and rest the next day. We aren't normal people. As we felt like we were running out of time we decided to skip the sleep and a day off and hoped we could sign up to a 3 day hike to Inle Lake. A bus would take 2 hours but that wouldn't be so fun would it?!

    Jungle King Trekking office didn't open till 7am so we had quite a few hours to kill. So we took refuge on a freezing tiled floor in the reception of a hotel. At the time it felt like the worst decision we had made this trip. It was so miserably cold I felt like I wanted to cry and obviously I didn't sleep a wink, just felt miserable. Finally at 6:30am we got up and went in search of breakfast. It was warmer outside than in!! We had egg pancakes and talked to locals about football and then sat outside Jungle King waiting for them to open. Luckily we were able to sign up to the trek for today and our morning sleeping on the floor worked out!

    We had 2 hours before the trek started so we went to visit the local market, ate some breakfast and freshened up.

    At 9am we met the 4 others that would be in our group and Pyu our guide. 3 Swiss, 2 Brits and a French on a 3 day adventure. Within seconds we were all laughing, making jokes and bonding. I think it's going to be a great group!!

    The morning hike took us up through villages and along pathways leading upwards towards the hills. It was a straight forward start. We took a short break while a heard of water buffalo's headed down the hill. We were even entertained to a bull fight to which I quickly hid behind Pyu just in case!

    At one point Will's mi band fell off so we both went back to search for it. Luckily we soon found it and then went back to find the group. Now the next thing that happened was the start of a regular event for our group. The group were waiting for us in a little village and had somehow been invited for tea by a little old couple!! We sat for about half a hour drinking lots of tea and chatting to the old couple using our guide as a translator. It was such a unique experience!

    After about another hour or so we stopped for lunch and wow what a spread!! We had guacamole, veggie noodles with a fried egg, tomato salad, watermelon and oranges. Oh and green tea! Yum!!!

    The afternoon was definitely my favourite part. We walked along the top of the hills through hundreds of fields growing beautiful red scarlet chilli's and you could see the valleys far below on both sides. It was really gorgeous.

    When we arrived at the village where we were staying myself, Pauline and Will soon started to feel the effects of not sleeping but we powered through by having a well deserved beer, sunflower seeds and watching sunset as a group.

    For dinner we had another incredible feast by candlelight of aubergine, morning glory, catfish curry, beans and rice. Oh and more green tea! There was a gorgeous little kitten in the home that would just wouldn't leave Will alone. The evening was finished off with a bedtime story about the Dragon and the Prince of Myanmar from Pyu.

    We were all tucked up in bed at 9pm. What an incredible day.    Read more

  • Shahnavaz MehtaMyanmarTraveler
    1

    Gokteik Viaduct

    February 1, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    As I said before we are really keen on taking the most famous train ride in Myanmar, the Gokteik Viaduct from Hsipaw to Pyin Oo Lwin and the day has come. I must admit I was pretty terrified of the ordeal after hearing it commonly derails and can take twice as long to get there. Unfortunately we have planned quite a tight schedule and booked a night bus to Kalaw which leaves an hour after the trains arrival time so fingers crossed all goes well!

    We arrived at the station with plenty of time to spare and we were soon on the train. As soon as the engine started the nightmare reality soon began. I have never been on a train that rocks so much!!! It was absolutely crazy (seriously Google YouTube videos), I'm not surprised it derails so often. Within about 10 mins you soon got used to the rocking and all the tourists on the train were having a blast attempting to stand and walk around this rickety train.

    There were various stops along the way giving us time to grab snacks and stretch our legs. It wasn't till around lunchtime when the highlight of the trip appeared and wow was it fun! The viaduct is 689m long and approximately 102m high. Everyone was hanging out the windows and doors to get photos and honestly if this was England it would be a health and safety nightmare but it was great fun!!

    After the viaduct the train passed through more farm land, villages and temples and it was a perfect time to read our books. The train was now very quiet with some reading and others sleeping until we finally arrived in Pyin Oo Lwin surprisingly on time!

    Andrew kindly picked us up from the train station and took us straight to the bus agency and it was all very smooth. For dinner we had the apiciest noodle soup I've ever had and we soon got on the night bus. After the last night bus I was very worried about not getting sleep but surprisingly I did and at 2:30am we were in Kalaw!    Read more

  • Shahnavaz MehtaMyanmarTraveler

    Tree House Sunrise? Yes Please!

    January 31, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    With very little sleep in the treehouse we crawled out of bed at 6am but it was so worth it. The sun peeping over the misty mountains was just beautiful. We all then drank plenty of coffee and tea, ate a feast for breakfast and were soon off to finish the rest of the hike. Today the hike was mostly down but very very steep down a slippy, dry soil jungle route. In fact so slippy that at one point Will was very carefully attempting to go down when he completely lost control of his feet, slipped along the path, looked like he'd stopped and gained control, clearly hadn't and summersaulted off the path and down the hill breaking a tree with his bum to save his fall!! I was behind and just watched the whole thing in slow motion. We were all really worried but I must admit I was so scared of doing the same thing that it took me a while to rescue him! Luckily he was OK on the end just a scratch on the bum and a hole in his underpants! Phew.

    After the crazy slippery downhill slope things got a lot better and we just walked along the river and it was really pretty.

    For lunch we stopped in a little village and were again presented with a feast of food but unfortunately my stomach was playing up a bit again so I kept it very light.

    The final section was rather long and tedious over fields in the burning sun with very little sun but the group were good fun so time soon passed and it was soon over!

    When we arrived in town we decided decided to stay out and go straight for dinner and a shake before checking in again.

    The evening was spent trying to plan the adventure from Hsipaw to Kalaw via the Gokteik Viaduct train ride to Pyin Oo Lwin which all the locals seemed to say was impossible to do in a day without going all the way to Mandalay. Luckily on the hike we met some tourists who simply said "Contact Andrew in Pyin Oo Lwin." To which we asked, how??! They said just Google it and it comes up. Well they were right!!! So we rang "Andrew from Pyin Oo Lwin" and he was able to sort out everything! It's going to be a looong day tomorrow.    Read more

  • Shahnavaz MehtaMyanmarTraveler

    1 day ill so shall we sign up to a hike?

    January 29, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Of course!!

    So Tuesday we spent in bed until about 4pm when we left for dinner. We just went back to Mr Shakes and I had Chinese Egg and tofu noodles. Just what I needed, plain food.

    Then we signed up for a 2 day 1 night trek. Some would say we are barking mad and maybe we are but are fed up of feeling ill and want to be in nature and around other people to get us out of feeling sorry for ourselves.

    The next morning we packed up, checked out, had breakfast and got a pickup to Mr Bike to begin our hike. Within 10 minutes we were all chatting and having a laugh on the pickup truck. There were 13 of us, 6 Brits, 3 Germans, 2 Dutch, 1 isreali, 1 Irish and 2 guides (Mr Forest and Mr Candy). No I'm not starting a joke 😂

    The walk started off quite leisurely and to be honest I was feeling pretty good. We walked through local Shan villages, stopped for tea and lunch, which was fantastic, but then the climb began. We started at 400m and went to 1400m above sea level through a hot sweaty jungle. Normally in England if doing such a climb it would be quite gradual but this was up the whole way. It was tough in the 28 degree heat. We were all drenched in sweat!! It was quite tough and although I was at the start to begin with I soon moved back beginning to feel quite unwell. But I pushed through and we got to our Tree House, where we were staying for the night, at about 4pm. It quickly got cold and luckily me and Will were fully prepared with layers, coat and our hats from Rishikesh, unlike others who were just starting out on their backpacking trip and were shocked it was cold in SEA.

    It was a really fun evening of drinking lots of tea to warm up, then having a feast for dinner and finishing off with Burmese Rice Wine around a fire.    Read more

  • Shahnavaz MehtaMyanmarTraveler

    Hsipaw

    January 27, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    It's time to move on! Sure we aren't feeling 100%,more like 60% but it's time to get out of Mandalay. And to add to the stomach pains I've also got huge swelled burning rashes on the back of my thigh... I have no idea what they are...

    Luckily we were able to have quite a slow morning of having breakfast, reading our books and showering as check out wasn't till 12pm. We then sat in the lobby for another half an hour before getting a taxi to the bus station and we were soon on our way. Luckily the bus was much better than previous ones but by the 5th hour my swollen legs were in agony. We soon arrived in Hsipaw at about 9pm and checked straight in. We hadn't eaten lunch but were still feeling ill so just went straight to bed. Food can be tomorrow's problem.

    The next morning I woke up, went downstairs to the loo and wow what a temperature difference. It was freezing and foggy! Uh oh what have we done. We went for breakfast and were greeted to a huge buffet. Feast time!!! And that I did 😊 omelette, potatoes, vegetables, pancake, custard and a muffin. I was hungry what can I say!

    Feeling a bit better we showered, did our washing (I honestly can't wait to not have to do bucket washing anymore). By the time we were ready the glorious sun was out!

    Ready and with no proper plan we headed out in search of some trails to go for a leisurely walk. We first walked to Little Bagan which had a few ruined temples which was quite cute and then we headed out into the rice fields and farm land. It was so peaceful! We walked and we walked having lots of rests for water along the way and eventually came to a hot spring. The spring was full of men bathing so we decided to wait until it clears and had our jam sandwiches (which we made at the breakfast buffet). It took quite a while but eventually the men cleared out and women and children went in. I ended up playing with two little girls and it was great fun! They were so adorable.

    Our next destination was to walk to a waterfall which would make the walk a circular route. Quite a few locals said there wasn't really a waterfall as it wasn't wet season but we went for it anyway. We had a quick look on Google maps and saw from the satellite View that there were a couple of direct paths which would save us an good hour of walking, assuming they exist. As it was already 3pm we quickly got going. The route took us through rice fields and gorgeous wild flowers growing across the fields. It was so peaceful and beautiful. When we arrived at the waterfall I was so glad we went, it was really picturesque. The waterfall was like strands of long hair spread across a mountainside.

    We then walked back as quick as we could as it was getting very late. We walked through more farmland, even an aubergine farm but once we got up a hill we saw a devastating sight of huge piles of rubbish being burned. It was horrific. Just as sunset was beginning we got to the top and it could have been a veutiful view had it not been for the choking burning scene of plastic. We arrived back just before nightfall and arrived in front of Mr Shakes which is renowned for its shakes in the area. Well we were starving and thirsty so it was perfect. We both had a green vegetable curry with rice and a pineapple, passionfruit, coconut and rum shake. The curry was super spicy and the shake was sooo strong with rum. Wups, probably not great for our stomachs. We sat and chatted with two other travellers and are getting so sad to be going home. Well I am looking forward to going home but wish it was just for a month to recuperate! Will was starving still so we ordered fried dumplings and a coconut, oreo and banana shake. I think that tipped us over the edge. Let's just say I didn't have a great stomach in the night... But I must say it was a great day out.    Read more

  • Shahnavaz MehtaMyanmarTraveler

    1 day ill, 1 day scootering, 1 day ill

    January 24, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    I'm not sure if our immune system is just trashed from India or what but I ended up spending Thursday in bed in agony with my stomach. It was a day of eat, sleep, eat, sleep, eat and sleep. In the late afternoon we went to Man Myo Taw and i attempted to eat a Pork Bao and Will ate a Bao and Kyae Oh (pork noodle soup). Then I had to go straight back to the room and had another nap. For dinner we found a hip new roadside pop up restaurant and I ate a bit of bolognese while Will had smoked pork ribs. They were yummy but I couldn't eat much.

    The next day I was a little better and I was sick of being in the room so we went on an explore. To be honest I probably did a bit too much but hey it was a great day at the time. We hired the bike and headed straight to Mandalay Hill. I must admit we didn't do the 45 mins walk to the top and instead rode the bike up as I don't think I could have handled the heat. Then we went to see Sandamuni Temple, Shwenandaw Temple and Kuthodaw Pagoda and although quite templed out each one was very interesting and different and very photographic!

    On the way to Inwa, an ancient city, we stopped at a local restaurant that enticed us in by their freshly cooked dough bread sticks. I had tea leaf rice salad and Will had Shan noodles. The bread sticks were sooo tasty we bought 3!

    It was then quite a long ride to Inwa but it was really cute. It was like a mini Bagan and although completely out of the way definitely worth the trip.

    Our final stop for the day was the beautiful and famous U Bein Bridge. We had bought ourselves a present in Bagan of a sand painting of the U Bein Bridge and so my hopes were quite high of seeing it in person! And I wasn't disappointed. We got there quite early so was able to walk from one end to the other and half way we chatted to a very friendly Monk. Then we sat and waited for the spectacular picturesque sunset. Sure there were a lot of tourists but it was really lovely.

    It was then a long journey back to the bike rental and as the train station was only next to it we planned to walk to the station after to pick up our tickets for tomorrow to Hsipaw. When we arrived at the rental place he offered to take us to our hotel! Gutted... That would have saved us the 30 min walk back... Ah well we needed to go to the station anyway so off we went. Upsettingly it was a lot further than we thought and the ticket desk was closed. The train to Hsipaw only goes once a day and is at 4am. The ticket office opens at 3am and we have heard it can be very busy. Defeated and very upset that we now have to get up at 2am we wandered back. Will went to get some noodles for himself for dinner while I went in search of some snacks for the looong journey ahead of us. All set and packed we jumped into bed dreading the journey ahead. You're probably thinking, well if you dread it that much why are you bothering. The train ride is supposed to be incredibly scenic, we want ton experience some longer Burmese train journeys and goes over what was the largest viaduct in the world at the time of its construction in 1901. Well that was the plan...

    I'm not going beat around the bush here so please turn if away if you're squeamish. At about 11pm Will had a crazy fear and couldn't get comfortable. We were both up from 12 and decided the train would be a terrible idea and so I booked another night in the hotel. At about 2pm he projectile vomited everywhere (well into the toilet but it was violent!). At about 7pm I was then being sick everywhere. It was not a good sight. We didn't bother going for breakfast and just spent till about 2pm in bed napping and feeling sorry for ourselves. By this point we were feeling slightly more human and decided it was time to move from Mandalay and so we booked a bus for the next day to Hsipaw instead of the train as it leaves at 2pm instead of 4am and only takes 6 hours instead of a minimum 12!

    We decided to go for lunch at the grilled fish place but it was closed so we ended up at Ned Kelly's and had a veggie burger and veggie panni. As it was a nice change from our hotel room we decided to stay and even felt well enough for a quick came of pool. Haha one day I might actually learn how to play this game 😂 I'm shockingly terrible, but it was good fun and raised our spirits again. At about 7pm we headed back with supplies of crisp and croissants for dinner. Gosh we live a fun life!! Fingers crossed we are better tomorrow for the journey.    Read more

  • Shahnavaz MehtaMyanmarTraveler

    Oh the road to Mandalay...

    January 23, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    "Oh the road to Mandalay Where the flyin'-fishes play An' the dawn comes up like thunder outer China 'crost the Bay!" - by Rudyard Kipling

    I must admit after the last bus I was not looking forward to this journey but it was completely different. The bus was a mini bus and had zero room for moving and honestly that was way more comfortable for me! By 1:30pm we were in Mandalay and even got dropped off at our hotel.

    I was exhausted still from the previous journey and had to take the afternoon to catch up on sleep and I'm so glad I did. I woke up really refreshed!

    It was now early evening and we hadn't eaten since breakfast and we decided to make the most of having a long evening and have a date night. We had dinner at a street stall selling steak and fresh fish, it was soooo tasty. Then we went to a nearby rooftop bar that happened to have happy hour for the next two hours. Woohoo £1.50 cocktails and beer, well I won't say no! At first the place was completely empty but then we met Molly and Chrissi from Essex and it was a really lovely evening. I'm going to miss meeting other travellers and just exchanging amazing stories of people's journeys. It's so interesting. We got a bit carried away with the happy hour and then ended up ordering dinner at the bar too. Guess what was on the menu?! A PIE!!! I knew it might not be the best but I had to try it. I must admit it was definitely more of a pasty than a pie but it was tasty 😊

    Another fantastic memory in Myanmar. This country is just full of highlights.    Read more

  • Shahnavaz MehtaMyanmarTraveler

    A More Relaxed Day in Bagan

    January 22, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    As yesterday was rather hectic today is going to be a lot slower.

    We woke up pretty early as breakfast was served above our room and it got quite noisy from 5am onwards. After a slow breakfast, we got ready and then began planning our next steps. It was time to move onto the next city tomorrow so we booked our bus and accomodation and was finally done around 2pm and was in need of lunch again! We tried finding a local market but it didn't sell cooked food as it was too late in the day so we went to a recommended restaurant. I had aubergine and shrimp curry and it was yummy!

    The rest of the afternoon was spent scootering around more temples and a local village. For sunset we found another hidden temple which we climbed to the top of and the view was just stunning.

    For dinner we went back to the night market for Myanmar dosa and noodles.    Read more

  • Shahnavaz MehtaMyanmarTraveler
    2

    Bagan in a day!

    January 21, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    OK I probably say this for a lot of things but I think that was the worst night bus experience I'd ever had. Even for the really bad ones I've generally been able to nap even for 20 minutes but last night I got a grand total of zero sleep and I mean zero. We paid extra for the luxury reclining VIP seats and sure the seats were big but every ergonomic feature in the chair, from the head rest to the feet rest, were in completely in the wrong place for me. I was in agony. I couldn't reach the foot rest, I couldn't cross my legs, I couldn't sit up, I couldn't slouch, I tried even putting my legs vertically against the window. It just couldn't work, so I ended up just talking to all my friends in England via WhatsApp to keep me company. At 4am the bus pulled up, an hour early, and the hoards of taxi drivers came to the door. Obviously they were charging double the price and as our hotel was only an hour way and we had nothing else to do we had a quick free coffee at the bus stop and then headed off walking. Within 1 min a taxi driver offered to drop us off at the price of K6,000. We happily jumped in and the hotel staff were already up. We had another coffee, dropped off our bags and hired an ebike for the day and went off to watch sunrise! Well we might as well.

    Bagan's temples aren't as accessible as they once were and they now have a few dedicated sunset and sunrise mounds. However, being the rebels we are we wanted the old authentic experience so we found an old ruined temple, climbed to the top and waited for sunset with a few other tourists who found the spot. Wow wow wow!!! I can see why people come here. When the black night curtain revealed the red crescent sky over the iconic thousands of temples it was just a dream and then just when you thought it couldn't get better hot air balloons rose into the air and joined the beautiful picture. Peaceful heaven.

    After sitting for a couple of hours, making and eating our avocado sandwiches we set off in hunt of more temples. As I've said before we have seen a lot of temples but I'm not sure if it was the coffee or what but we were super on it we must have seen over 50 and gone into 20 and for once we were actually willing and happy to pay the K25, 000 but not a single person asked us to. At first we thought it very odd but there had been a 3 day festival and we think all the staff were on holiday too! Well it was a great day for us. It was so fun going in and around the temples. Although at about 3pm my steam began to run out so we sat and drank and ate the best coconut I've had in a long time!!

    Going back to us driving an electric scooter. The idea we love but the execution is not great, it is undersized and back heavy resulting in a very unsteady and unbalanced vehicle. Generally we were OK but Bagan is very sandy and when going anywhere off the beaten path it was less than ideal. We had a couple of nearmisses including when Will took the corner too tight and ended up driving up a sandy Bank to which I had to quickly jump off and hold the bike otherwise we both would have been thrown off. Luckily we were going slow and all was well.

    Outside one of the temples we met a really sweet lady who was proudly selling her husbands sand paintings. So far on this trip we've barely bought any souvenirs for ourselves or others but these were so beautiful I couldn't resist. We then went to the temple she said her husbands workshop was at and met him in person and he signed our paintings for us. He was unbelievably humble and sweet, so we took a picture together.

    On the way to even more temples we went through a market and picked up a Myanmar version of a Dosa which was delicious and via some more temples headed to our sunset point. Again we were able to find a very quiet spot on top of temple and it was so so so beautiful.

    For dinner we headed back to the market and ate tasty pork noodles.

    When we finally got home it was 8:30pm. The staff at the hotel were so shocked we had been out all day and quickly showed us our room, gave us hot water and said we must go to bed now and after a gorgeously hot shower to get rid of all the sandy muck I did.    Read more

  • Shahnavaz MehtaMyanmarTraveler

    The Not So Circular Train and Night Bus

    January 20, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    We booked our first night bus for Bagan for tonight so today was about getting rest and planning around getting to the bus station which is pretty far from town.

    We had quite a lazy morning having breakfast, chatting to the other guests in the youth hostel and sharing ideas. It got to about 11am and we still hadn't showered or packed to check out, so we quickly did. By this time it was now time for lunch so we joined a German guy for Shan Noodles (it's like an Asian bolognese, seriously delicious).

    After lunch we picked up our bags and headed off to the circle line. Now we were prewarned, it's not actually a circle anymore but it was more beneficial this was anyway as it took us half way to our bus station for our night bus.

    For the first half an hour the journey was quite fun and the train wasn't too crowded but after it got very crowded, hot and stuffy. It was just one sweaty mess. The locals were very sweet though and there were some adorable tiny babies. One watched Will in amazement while he was eating an orange and then took a segment. He was adorable! Would I recommend the journey to others? It's an interesting way of watching locals go about their day but if you have been to any other SEA Country then no you don't need to do this. It was about 2 hours long and that wasn't even the whole way.

    We arrived at Insein Station pretty early so we stopped for an overpriced stir fry veg but the owner was really pleasant and chatted to us for a while and instead of getting a taxi recommended that we get a bus all the way to the station. Perfect! Even though pretty early we jumped on the bus and that was much more comfortable.

    We arrived at the station with plenty of time so sat and read our books waiting for our bus. When it came it looked super luxurious and fancy... But looks can be deceiving...    Read more

  • Shahnavaz MehtaMyanmarTraveler

    Country Number 13 - It Feels Like Home

    January 19, 2019 in Myanmar ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Unfortunately we had to book a dorm room as Yangon is pretty pricey for accomodation. The guy above me decided to get up and pee every half an hour, so sleep wasn't on the cards for me last night.

    In the morning we had Burmese paratha with green lentils for breakfast and sat chatting to other guests in the hostel. It was nice to be back in a social atmosphere. We jumped in the shower and wow we had proper towels, free shampoo and shower gel and hot water and proper toilets. Heaven heaven heaven!!

    Very refreshed and raring to go we left the aircon into the steamy streets. Wowzer, it was hot! Its was hot in India but this is super humid and muggy again. Back to the life of sweating continuously again haha As soon as we stepped on the streets we both breathed in really hard and smiled. We looked at each other and both felt like we were back home in South East Asia. There were street sellers everywhere selling fruit, veg you name it. I grabbed a watermelon as soon as I could. Then we did our usual of sitting on tiny stools, pointing at people's food and asking for 2. The food is so fresh, light and tasty again. Yey!!! We were the only tourist enjoying the local life and sitting in the market watching the locals go about the day. Locals were so happy and smiley here it was so nice. They'd all wave and giggle at us as we passed.

    Along the way we got a new screen cover for my phone, got a custard volovant from a bakery and then went to visit Sule Pagoda, which was really beautiful inside.

    We wandered to the independence monument and then to Kandawgi Park. There was a flower market on at the park and it was so beautiful to see all the orchids and array of Myanmar flowers arranged around the market. We carried on walking to a viewpoint and finally got there just in time for sunset to watch the lights of the Shwegadon Pagoda glow in all its golden glory over the lake. We then walked to the Pagoda, had a delicious Bein Mont (a delicious sweet pancake made from rice flour) and saw the pagoda from the outside and wow it was impressive but we decided not to go in this time. To be honest we must admit we are a bit Pagoda'd out...

    For dinner we went to Aung Mingalar Shan Noodles and it was just a perfect end to the day. The food was fantastic, the waitress was super sweet and funny and we had our first Myanmar Beer. Well you can't beat that.

    I'm not sure what it is about South East Asia countries but we feel so at home in any of the countries. The food is always so umami, the people are always so happy to see you and help, we love going to the little ladies with their one dish pots and pointing and gesturing two, we love a good old haggle, even the humidity although absolutely killer and makes us sweat throughout the day doesn't make us hate it. It just makes us so happy and homely. We just can't put our finger on it. It's amazing to be back and I feel so honoured to be spending my last month in such an exciting country.    Read more

  • Shahnavaz MehtaIndiaTraveler

    An Extra Long Day To Myanmar

    January 18, 2019 in India ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Today is our final day in Chennai and as we hadn't had a real bed in a while and check out at the hotel wasn't till 12pm we made the most of it and just lounged about, got our bags airport ready and then checked out. We had a few hours to kill but hoebstly there isn't anything to see or do in Chennai so we just ate a biryani, went to a juice place where I had a fruit salad and Will had a date and vanilla ice cream shake and we just sat and read for a while until we were falling asleep at our seat. We went to the airport early so that we could just sit there instead. There were various methods we could have taken but we decided to take the 1 year old metro line. Yesterday Imran told us that is still really clean, efficient and new because the locals don't want to take it, instead they all take the slightly cheaper local buses or trains. We didn't quite believe him as let's be honest no transport is actually empty in India... But wow, it actually was. When going down the esculator there was only the two of us until another family arrived a couple of minutes later.

    In half an hour we arrived at Chennai Airport with plenty of hours to spare, so we grabbed something to eat and then checked in. Luckily we ate before as once on the other side the choice was very limited and more expensive than in the UK!

    The flight was fine and we soon arrived in Bangkok at 2:30am where we found some chairs to sleep on before deciding our next move. To be honest I had some of the best sleep in a long time on the chairs. In the evening we have our flight to Yangon so we were contemplating going into town to sightsee but to be honest neither of us enjoyed Bangkok last time enough to go do a 2 hour return journey in,so we read our books ate and rested.

    At about 3pm we got the shuttle bus to DM Airport and it was loooong, but luckily AC'd.

    On arrival we charged our phones, had dinner and waited for the flight. When going to our gate it was absolute carnage. It was sweaty, hot and just a sauna of people with every square of floors and chairs covered with people. Air Asia had a few delayed flights... We went straight back up to the main section and found a seat there until last minute. Due to other delays ours was also delayed but luckly only by 20 mins.

    By the time we were in the air it was time to begin the descent with only an hour and 10 mins flight. And what a change. We had 20 mins to get through immigration, get cash and get to the bus stop for the last bus. Normally we would know it was impossible but we went for it anyway. Within 10 mins we were through!! We asked locals where the bus was and even a taxi driver and within 1 min we were waiting for the local bus. No scamming, nothing, just really smiley helpful people. We then jumped on a really modern bus with aircon and a local pointed put sights along the way. He was so sweet and even told the bus driver where we needed to get off so that he would stop for us. Within the hour we were checked checked in to our hostel and in bed. Absolutely amazing start to Yangon and our journey in Myanmar. Fingers crossed it stays this way, it could be our best month yet!    Read more

  • Shahnavaz MehtaIndiaTraveler

    Whistle Stop Tour of Chennai

    January 16, 2019 in India ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    In the morning we got up and packed for our final journey in India. We started the day with yummy Egg Dosa and then jumped on our train to Chennai where we met Matty and Anna again! The train was empty the whole way so we were able to take the window seat and chill for the 4 hours.

    When we arrived we went straight to our hotel, had a bit of a back and forth with the owner with regards to the cost of our booking due to added taxes but eventually we paid the amount we set out to pay. All four of us freshened up in our room for a while before heading out for lunch. As always we chose the most busy looking restaurant and just pointed until we got what we wanted 😂

    After dropping Matty and Anna off at their hotel we decided to split up and myself and Will headed on a local bus to Arulmigu Sri Parthasarathy perumal Temple Divyadesam and then to the beach. I must admit after being on the bus and the walk to the beach I was done with Chennai. Of what I had seen so far the city was really dirty, smelly and with huge piles of litter everywhere. Finally we got to the beach and wow it was huge!! It's actually the longest beach in the country with a distance of 3.7 miles and it was packed due to it being the festival of Pongal.

    At about 5:30pm we met up with Imran, a couch surfer host. He picked us up in his car and drove us first to the lighthouse to see the city view of Chennai, Santhome Church and then Usman Road which had the biggest jewellers I had ever seen, some buildings were 10 floors high!

    For dinner he took us to Murugan Idli shop where we tried Idli, Onion Oothappam Ghee Masala and finally filtered coffee. It was the best Idli we had in India! Super yummy.

    We then went on a little drive and listened to Tamil and Hindi music, including a tamil rock song! We drove to 10 Downing Street for a drink, but it was closed! I was gutted as Imran said it was free drinks for ladies on a Wed! Then we tried Bike and Barrel, which was also closed. We then realised there was a ban on alcohol for the festival. 😯 Ah well, instead we went to try Sweet Pan which is a local digestive and mouth freshener before he dropped us back at the hotel.

    I wish I'd known more about Couch Surfing before we came out, it's such a great way of meeting locals!!!    Read more

  • Shahnavaz MehtaIndiaTraveler

    A wander, sight seeing n lots of treats

    January 16, 2019 in India ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    After a couple of days of western food I'm in need of a change so I'm going to risk it again... Dosa, puri and Pudi Appam for breakfast? Sure! Yummy!!!

    Just as we were eating breakfast we both received confirmation of our visa so off we go in search of a printer to get our final admin bit sorted. We then went wandering, sat in a park to read about the dos and don't of Myanmar, saw a Hindu Temple, had a coconut and then it was time to indulge some more!

    First stop a chocolate shop. Now these specialist chocolates actually have pretty nasty tasting chocolate. They taste like the cheap advent calendar chocolate, but their cakes, we had the mocha cake, are pretty good and I went crazy and tried the hot chocolate which was equally scrummy!

    Next we went in search of some proper lunch and found another bakery. To be honest everything was over priced and not great looking so I just got a croissant to tide me over and Will got a Vanilla Éclair.

    For lunch we decided to head back to our breakfast place for biryani but it wasn't serving anymore so we ended up in an artsy cafe and had ratatouille baguette and overly peppered pesto pasta where we sat and planning Myanmar. Pretty excited for it now!

    Stuffed and high off sugar we needed to walk it off so we wandered along the beachfront, saw the French Monument, the old lighthouse and the famous Ghandi statue. Pondicherry reminded me a bit of Southport. It was very windy this afternoon and my flowy pants were just going crazy so we took cover in an Italian Gallery. No idea why it was in Italian or what the exhibition was about but hey ho it took us our the wind.

    We were both getting tired now and it was only 5:30pm so we began walking back, via gelato and decided to just have a small dinner of corn on the cob and channa puri. Hopefully my tummy is OK in the morning...    Read more

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