The train from Bagan to Yangon/ Rangoon was meant to leave at 4pm, according to our tickets. It was actually at 5pm, despite the booking agency's insistence that it was 4pm. This was not a problem for us, as we set ourselves up in the tourist waiting room in the train station – an enormous room, high ceilings, with comfortable chairs, and no one else in there. Plus we had loads of snacks, pizza and beer to keep our spirits high.

The train arrived at 4 .40pm, and it was fancy. We had a carriage to ourselves – with eight chairs (which converted to beds), and two top bunks, it was all for us. We even had our own private toilet, complete with leaking bum hose, and a storage room for our big bags. It was pretty filthy inside, but otherwise, it was awesome. We set about making ourselves at home, opening the windows and leaning out of the door of the moving train, until it got dark. And even then we’d do it some more for laughs and giggles. Much beer later, we were basically having an extremely bumpy private party train experience for the four of us. During daylight, the passing scenery was gorgeous, and children would wave or run alongside the train for a while. At some point during the evening, El lost her sandal to the open door. It was good times.

Sleeping was not so easy, due to the fact that the train was so bumpy that we were basically about to fall from height onto the ground. Plus it was seriously cold and loud . As fun as the party train had been, we were glad to arrive into Yangon at 11am on Friday 8th. Jack had now developed a cold.

We took a taxi to our hotel, called Ocean Pearl 3. The rooms were not en-suite, and the place had a distinct Japanese feel to it. It was actually very nice and comfortable, clean, and with friendly staff. The downside was having to leap across an open sewer/ drainage area to get into the building. It was situated in downtown Yangon, and was therefore ideally placed for access to the city.

We cleaned ourselves up after the long journey, and napped. Jack and El went into the city and were very productive with seeing the sights, getting lunch and purchasing some new sandals for El. Plus blankets for all of us for the next train journey. Ken was productive and went out for lunch, investigating some electronics he needed. Jayna slept and was not productive.

Yangon, a large city in the south of Myanmar, was a draw for cultural value. We wanted to see what is sometimes referred to as the best temple in Asia – the Buddhist Shwedagon Paya – together with colonial architecture and vibrant markets.

We met in the evening and went out for beers, dinner and a quiet night. Wandering the streets was a truly Asian experience, and the mixture of cultures was obvious and pleasant . We noted just how cheap things were, and determined to go and investigate just how inexpensive the electronics were when we felt a little better.

On Saturday 9th, our one full day in Yangon was put to good use. Our day started later than we perhaps would have liked, while Jack ran around and purchased a ludicrously cheap lens for his camera. This led to Ken purchasing some electronics of his own, and us failing to find a pharmacy which could help with an infection in Jayna’s arm (collectively, we still weren’t doing well in the health department). Once we got going, we took a taxi to the stunning Shwedagon Paya.

We entered the Shwedagon Paya via the south entrance, up a series of stairs and to the main entrance. After paying the entrance fee, we were let loose for the day. The temple consisted of a giant golden stupa in the centre – made with actual gold – surrounded by smaller stupas, temples, images of Buddha, an occasional tree, bells, drums, statues, paintings and carvings. It was all done in incredible detail, with devotion and glorious colours. Like Bagan, it had to be seen to be believed. Luckily, there are plenty of pictures for you to feast your eyes.

We decided to get lunch from a nearby Indian restaurant, and walked there via two parks. The first was small with a pleasant pond. The second, known as the People’s Park, was more extensive . Here, we saw a plane which people used to be able to clamber around inside of (sadly no longer) which looked very old, with bubble shaped windows. The gardens were spacious and nice, and on our way out we saw an elephant fountain and flower plantations.

Lunch was a pleasant and extended affair. Later, we went back through the People’s Park, taking in the view of Shwedagon Paya, clambering up the towers into tree tops, and walking across the shoddy bridges linking the towers together.

A quick taxi ride later, we were at Kandawgyi Lake. It was getting late in the day. We’d planned to walk along the boardwalk for a while, to take in the views back to Shwedagon Paya, and the pleasant atmosphere by the water. We admired another replica royal barge across the water, and the Utopia Tower, a nearby landmark. As we were now short on time before the early sunset, we contented ourselves with a short walk along the boardwalk to a temple, and back to a viewing point where we could see the Shwedagon Paya main stupa in all it’s golden glory, with the sun setting nearby . We found out that this part of the boardwalk, whilst full of eateries, was dry. So we purchased some delicious South African wine and beer and sat, drinking, whilst watching sunset and darkness set in. It was a lovely end to a great day.

We returned to the hotel, and went our separate ways for the evening. Jack and El went out for some more drinks, whilst we stayed in and took advantage of the wifi – which actually worked – to do some work on the blog.

On Sunday 10th, it was already time to leave Yangon. We packed up and headed to the station, ready for the next destination – Lake Inle after another epic train journey!