We were vaguely aware of New Years Eve celebrations going on during the night, voices singing in Burmese and a few fireworks being set off. We awoke at 5.00am and both felt a little better.
We had one more journey to make in the uncomfortable orange beach buggy, through the dark lanes of Mrauk U to the jetty at the river to board our boat at 6
.00am. It was a different boat from the one we had come on but equally comfortable. As we set off there was a glow in the eastern sky and we were soon treated to a lovely sunrise. We picked at the offerings in the breakfast box provided by the hotel and settled down to enjoy the 5 hour boat trip ahead of us. In contrast to the grey skies of our outward river journey we now had a clear blue sky. As the sun rose it became pleasantly warm. After an hour or two we made ourselves a coffee, added a measure or two of whisky, and toasted the New Year.
We were soon back at Sittwe which also looked very different in the sunshine. Gone was the mud, replaced now by dust. A car met us and we were driven to the tiny airport. There were no facilities at all at the airport and so after going through the rudimentary check in, customs and immigration procedures we wandered out of the airport and back down the road to an open air café we had noticed earlier. Before we were half way there the proprietor approached us, urging us to come to his café
. We didn't really understand his eagerness as we were going there anyway but then another lad approached us and tried to persuade us to change our minds and go to his café. Then another lad arrived and another until there were five in all, each pulling us towards their particular couple of tables. We spent a pleasant hour watching the world go by and smiling as more unsuspecting tourists were ambushed by the café boys. Eventually we returned to the airport for the flight to Yangon.
We should have known by now that the flight would be delayed (having come from misty Heho first thing in the morning). It arrived an hour and a half late (minus Christmas decorations), and took even longer than we anticipated to get to Yangon, as we called at Thandwe on the way. This did give us a lovely birds eye view of Ngapali Beach and our hotel there however, but Keith’s idea of spending the afternoon by the hotel pool in Yangon went out of the window.
It was 6.00pm when we arrived. After the bicycle culture of Sittwe and Mrauk U it was strange to be back in Yangon where bikes and motorbikes were prohibited. Only taxis, buses and trucks used the roads here. The room and facilities at the Park Royal now seemed luxurious to us and we were pleased to find that the internet service was actually working. We returned to "149 Food and Drink" where we had eaten on previous nights in Yangon
. The dark street down which it was situated and down which we had hesitated to venture when we first arrived seemed just normal to us now and we didn't even bother to take a torch. Neither of us had a huge appetite but we managed a bit of food before returning to the hotel. We had another 5.00am get up ahead of us and so retired early after watching the first half of Manchester City v Sunderland (and subsequently being glad we didn’t stay up for the second half).
The Air Asia flight to Bangkok was just 30 minutes late but many of the passengers had connecting flights to catch and there was much commotion about this. A group of Americans were particularly agitated and annoying. They moved themselves and their luggage to the front of the plane at the last minute before landing and one of the women in the party (despite being shouted at by the seated flight crew) was up on her feet and heading for the door whilst the plane was still taxiing to the stand. We rather uncharitably hoped that they missed their flight anyway
.
Arriving back in Bangkok was a bit of a shock to the senses after a month in the backwaters of Burma. There were ATM machines for a start, the hotel receptionist asked for a credit card (we’d almost forgotten what one of those was), there were no potholes in the roads, motor vehicles were well maintained and appropriately right hand drive, and after being in a country where even the men wear full length skirts, the skimpy apparel of people walking the streets was quite an eye opener. We booked into the On8 Hotel again and alongside the tea bags, peanuts and complimentary water in our room we had mixed fruit flavour condoms! What a very different country this was.
We were determined to do something with our afternoon in Bangkok but by the time we’d settled in it was lunchtime and for the first time for a day or two we felt a little peckish. We settled at a street café for a beer, a pizza and some serious people watching
.
It was many years since we had been to the Royal Palace and so later we set off on the Sky Train to visit it. At a jetty on the Chao Praya River we joined a lot of other tourists on one of the overcrowded express ferries that race up and down stream. We alighted near the palace and found our way through the food stalls that covered the riverside and the nearby street market. When we reached the palace we discovered that it was in fact closing in 10 minutes and they wouldn’t admit Keith anyway as he was wearing shorts. We weren’t too disappointed. The tourist count in Bangkok seemed to have increased hugely over the last few years. The heat and the sheer number of people milling around were starting to become oppressive and so we decided to retrace our steps. By the time we arrived back in Sukhumvit somewhat hot and bothered we just had to flop in a café for another cold beer.
Being creatures of habit we planned to eat once more at the Suda Restaurant
. The same old lady as usual served us and it was packed with travellers. We tucked into some delicious Thai food, something that we had really missed. After eating we went for a wander around the Sukhumvit area marvelling at the brightly lit streets, the crowds of people out and about and the number of places still lit and open at 9.00pm! In fact it was after midnight when we got back - how decadent.
Our flight to Kuala Lumpur wasn’t until midday on Tuesday and so we were able to get up at a fairly civilised hour for a change and enjoy a full breakfast. It was an Air Asia flight once more and was the standard 30 minutes late leaving Bangkok. We lost an hour too on the route and so it was 3.30pm when we landed at Kuala Lumpur.
Yesterday Thailand had seemed very modern after Myanmar, but spick and span and comparatively affluent Malaysia was a real contrast. As we purred along the freeway in an expensive and softly upholstered black Mercedes limousine we thought of our driver of the ancient minivan in Myanmar, Mr Win, and wondered if even in his wildest dreams he ever thought of driving such a vehicle as this
.
We were back at the Crowne Plaza. At check in we enquired about a late checkout for the following day and were offered a package for £32 which included, cocktails and canapés in the club lounge this evening, full breakfast in the morning, free internet access in the room, upgrade to a top floor room with view of the Petronas Towers, afternoon tea and pastries tomorrow and a 4.00pm checkout. Why not have a treat for the last day of the trip we thought? In no time at all the bags were deposited in the room and we were stuffing ourselves with food and drink in the club lounge.
This somewhat spoilt our evening meal which we had been looking forward to enjoying at the open air food stalls on Jalan Alor. Nevertheless we relished our last opportunity for a while to be sitting outside at night watching the world go by. We had a couple of “last night” very expensive beers at the Irish Bar before turning in.
Next morning the breakfast buffet was as wonderful as ever
. We had no plans for the morning. The sky was blue and the draw of the hotel pool was strong. So our last few hours were spent relaxing in the tropical sun, admiring the futuristic designs of the skyscrapers that towered around us whilst watching chattering yellow parrots flit about in the hotel gardens.
We had time for complimentary tea and pastries in the Club Lounge before departing. When settling our bill we found that the upgrade had not been such a bargain after all as we had been quoted the price nett of the not inconsiderable tax. Still it was too late now.
The taxi driver who took us to the airport spent most of the journey talking about Premiership football. At the very attractive and modern airport check in took about 2 minutes and we then found a pleasant spot, on the viewing platform with the plane spotting geeks, to while away an hour or two watching the planes coming and going and the little trains shuttling passengers between terminals
.
The journey home went smoothly, on the big A380 for the 7 hours from Kuala Lumpur to Dubai and then, after 3 hours in Dubai, on the smaller and much older A330 for the 8 hour stretch to Manchester. It was dark when we left Kuala Lumpur, dark in Dubai and still dark when we landed in Manchester at 7.00am on Thursday morning. Gale force winds had been affecting the country and the descent and landing was very bumpy as the plane was buffeted by strong gusts of wind.
Back in Stalybridge, it seemed like only yesterday that we had been locking up the house and heading off on our travels. But we had packed a lot into the last seven weeks. After a lazy start on the beach in Thailand we had been on the go virtually non stop for the next month as we explored the sadly neglected but fascinating (and just now hugely optimistic) country of Myanmar. Christmas had come and gone, the New Year had come and gone and I had notched up six decades. What’s more that was just the start of the adventures we had planned. In less than two weeks we would be fleeing the British winter once more as we headed this time westwards to Central America.
Slow journey home
Sunday, January 01, 2012
Manchester, England, United Kingdom
Other Entries
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1Heading for the Orient once more
Nov 1448 days priorManchester, United Kingdomphoto_camera0videocam 0comment 0 -
2Arrival in Malaysia
Nov 1745 days priorKuala Lumpur, Malaysiaphoto_camera5videocam 0comment 1 -
3A weekend in Malacca
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4Transfer to a Thai beach
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5Balmy days at Bang Niang beach
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6One Night in Bangkok
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7Mingalaba Myanmar
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8On the pilgrim trail to the Golden Rock
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9Limestone crags and riverine towns
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10Ancient Temples by the Irrawaddy
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12Overland by dusty roads
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13Birthday on the lake
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14Christmas on the beach
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15Crumbling pagodas and putrid pork
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16Slow journey home
Jan 01Manchester, United Kingdomphoto_camera45videocam 0comment 2
Comments

2025-02-11
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marie
2012-01-09
glad you're home safetly.When's the next trip?Happy belated Birthday!!!
christine
2012-01-17
Welcome home for two weeks and enjoy the next trip xx