Look at us all married and everything!!!

Nicky E Gardner's photostream

2011-08-21T20:57:00.001+01:00

Nicky E Gardner's photostream on Flickr.

That's about it, really...

2007-07-19T12:45:00.000+01:00

So, that about sums up our honeymoon and the first few weeks of being married. It's taken a while to finish, but that's because the other weeks of being married that we've had since have been kind of hectic!! We've got a couple of projects on the go at the minute which are quite time-consuming - the house needs to be finished, decorating-wise, and we're on a mission to get the garden sorted ready for spring next year.

Also, we've been given a VW Beetle as a gift so we have that to put back together ready for the Blue Ridge Runners show next September. Possibly a tad ambitious, but we'll see!! Mike and I have been very fortunate in the presents we've received to start our new life together, and we are eternally grateful to everyone who made our wedding day and honeymoon so special.

We'll keep y'all updated with the garden and Vdub projects as we go along, should be quite interesting I think!!

Anyways, catch y'all soon.

Lots of love,

Mike & Nicky Perry xxxxxx

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

2007-07-19T12:37:00.000+01:00

Our little garden had suddenly turned into a colourful mix of tulips, bluebells and cherry blossom, how cool is that? It cheered us up, that's for sure!

Many many presents!!

2007-07-19T12:32:00.000+01:00

The day after we came back from Asia we had the wedding presents delivered. Mike was like a kid at Christmas open all the boxes, bless him!! This is a good time to say thank you again to anyone reading this who gave us a present, they were all very much appreciated.

Yay, welcome home!!

2007-07-19T12:27:00.000+01:00

When we got home, we discovered that my folks had been in and made a little display of bits and bobs from the wedding - the guest book, the knife that we cut the cake with and one of the weights from the balloons. Nana had also bought us the cute celtic style clock that you can see at the front - very cool. :-)

Happy the cat!!

2007-07-19T12:22:00.000+01:00

Boost was very well looked after by my sis and new brother-in-law while we were away, she managed to convince them that what she really needed was pouches of Whiskas meat rather than just dry biscuits - she's not as daft as she looks, y'know!! I think Boost was quite pleased to see us though, especially as our return meant that she could lounge around on Mike's lap again!!

Awesome airport...

2007-07-19T12:14:00.000+01:00

Mike and I both reckon that this is one of the coolest airports we've been to - the architecture is kind of out there, especially when it's highlighted by the blue neons. Considering how many people were inside the building, it didn't feel at all crowded. And the food hall had its own tractor beam that meant we had to spend ages there munching on yummy noodles and mango with thai sticky rice!!

Not like Heathrow!!

2007-07-19T12:12:00.000+01:00

I think this is one of the best views I've ever seen from an airport depature lounge - this is at Krabi Airport in Thailand, waiting for the flight back to Bangkok.

Ain't it sweet?!

2007-07-19T12:07:00.000+01:00

I think that this is the last day of our honeymoon and we're waiting for a boat to take us back to Krabi. In which case, I think that the smiles are slightly hysterical due to the thought of going back to cold, grey Britain :-(

Don't think anyone could get bored of looking at this!!

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The view from here...

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And this is what we could see while sat out on our verandah, not too shabby!!

Old married couple!!

2007-07-19T11:09:00.000+01:00

The picture at the top is where mike has written in the sand, can't see it too clearly but he's an old softie really!! This was taken after we'd been upgraded to a superior hut type thing - very plush!

Aww, we wanna be togevver!!

2007-07-19T11:05:00.000+01:00

How sweet? Anybody would think we'd only just got married!!

Boost will be jealous!!

2007-07-19T10:58:00.000+01:00

My cat, Boost, loves to go out on the decking and lie on her back so she gets the sun on her furry belly - I think even she would admit that these kittens have got the right idea by crashing out in the shade!!

Here's the proof!!

2007-07-19T10:54:00.000+01:00

Just in case y'all thought we'd just downloaded some gorgeous pics from the internet to make you all jealous, here's a photo of us in the shade of a tree on the white sands of Rai Lay Beach. Not at all smug...

The other side of the bay...

2007-07-19T10:50:00.000+01:00

Mike and I spent pretty much our entire time here sun-bathing in the shade of the trees right by the water. I would also like to point out that I actually went swimming in the sea right over there under the cliffs - Mike assured me there were no sharks nearby and I believed him. I also made sure that he swam in front of me, just in case!!!

And now for something completely different!!

2007-07-19T10:43:00.000+01:00

Bit of a change in pace from rushing around Myanmar (not that I had any complaints about that - far from it!!). This is Rai Lay West, just along the Thai coast from Krabi. We arrived in one of those boats you can see in the background, I can't even tell you how tricky it was dragging overloaded suitcases across the beach to the resort!!

Time for a little smackerel of something...

2007-07-18T14:52:00.000+01:00

Firstly I'd like to point out that this wasn't all for me!! This is in a stupendous restaurant at Bangkok Airport - beats the Costa Coffee at Heathrow by a country mile!! We've got sushi, chicken curry, thai style veggies, rice and fruit sushi - all for about a fiver, bargain :-)

How breakfast should be served!

2007-07-18T14:45:00.000+01:00

This was taken on our last morning at Inle Lake. We'd had to get up ludicrous early every other morning here and been able to take advantage of the lovely fresh fruit and made to order omelettes - we made up for that, believe me!!!

Priceless...

2007-07-18T14:41:00.000+01:00

As they say in the adverts - there are some things that are beyond valuation and, to my mind, a sunset like this outside your window is one of them.

Dinner in the wine cellar...

2007-07-18T14:37:00.000+01:00

Here we have Mike and I on the left and Misuu, Thomas and Audrey on the right. The table is a longboat that has been lacquered and given a glass and Shan paper surface. The holes in the walls behind us are for bottles of wine - it has to be said that it was wonderfully cool in here, just as well because my brain started overheating with the bizarreness of the dinner chat!!!

Heading home for lunch...

2007-07-18T14:34:00.000+01:00

It took a lot of effort to look this much like American tourists!!

David Attenborough eat your heart out!!

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Mike really got into the birdwatching, not difficult though considering the breathtaking countryside we were in and the awesome variations in the species of birds we could see.

Time for some munch...

2007-07-18T14:26:00.000+01:00

It's true what they say in the Enid Blyton books - food really does taste better when eaten out doors!!

Off on the next mission...

2007-07-18T14:02:00.000+01:00

This is us with our taxi driver heading off very early in the morning to do some birdwatching. I think it's about 6am and already the heat of the day is picking up quickly. That being said, our driver and the guide were both wearing jackets!!

That's better!!

2007-07-18T13:59:00.000+01:00

And after an awesome massage, all is right with the world and scenery is too delicious for words.

The Wanderers Return!!

2007-07-18T13:55:00.000+01:00

Here we are after our waterborne adventure - a touch sunburned and tired perhaps, but definitely impressed with everything we had seen. Moments after this photo was taken we scuttled off for yet another massage at the Spa!!

The Jumping Cats...

2007-07-18T13:48:00.000+01:00

As a disciple of Terry Pratchett, the idea of a Jumping Cat Monastery really appealed to me. Where else but Discworld would you expect to see such a thing? Yet here we are, sat eating peanuts and drinking tea while the cats decide whether it is an auspicious time for chucking their furry selves through a hoop. One of the more surreal moments of our honeymoon....

Doesn't look particularly comfortable...

2007-07-18T13:32:00.000+01:00

...but the two ladies here said that they didn't really notice the rings anymore. The girl on the left has only got a few rings on at the moment - her family will add another 5 when she's about 19 years old. The lady on the right is wearing rings that weigh about 8kgs.

The Golden Kite...

2007-07-18T13:26:00.000+01:00

This is the restaurant in the middle of Inle Lake that we were telling you about in the blog - 9,000 miles from home and here we are about to tuck in to Bolognese pizza made in an actual italian pizza oven... We couldn't make this stuff up!!

Mike's new friends!

2007-07-18T13:21:00.000+01:00

Not sure how he does it, but Mike always seems to attract a following of the local children!! These three thought he was great, especially when we handed out the Werthers and Smints - although having never tasted either before, their reactions were kinda funny!!

The long route home...

2007-07-18T13:16:00.000+01:00

These covered steps run from the market place up the hill to the pagodas, the ladies have to carry their goods all the way up here and then off out into the countryside. At least this bit is covered as a respite from the searing heat. All of this is built by hand with supplies sourced locally or brought in by boat across the lake - upkeep and repairs seem to be an on-going project.

And here they are heading back to the village...

2007-07-18T13:12:00.000+01:00

Having their picture taken was something of a mystery to these ladies - it was kinda cool to show them the image on the screen on the back of the camera, it's not like they have that sort of thing back at their village!! You can also see how they carry their goods back home using a Shan bag with a wide strap to anchor the shopping on their foreheads.

Shan market with obligatory pagodas in the background!!

2007-07-18T13:03:00.000+01:00

These women have come down from a village situated beyond the pagodas at the top of the hill. It's a long walk down in this heat, yet they still wear black which confused me slightly!! I can't even begin to describe the smell that comes with markets in Myanmar - no matter where we went though, it always smelt the same!!

Even the Shan people have parking issues!!

2007-07-18T12:45:00.000+01:00

Given that these boats are around 25ft long, the precision with which our taxi chap manouevered into this gap was pretty flippin' impressive!! Unlike Taunton Deane and Sedgemoor though, we didn't have to pay for the privilege of parking...

How rural can it get?!

2007-07-18T12:41:00.000+01:00

I guess this is the Shan equivalent to Taunton cattle market on a saturday!! The cattle have all been brought to be sold and to the left of this was the bit where all the local goods were on sale.

More pagodas!!

2007-07-18T12:37:00.000+01:00

This is where we were headed - at the bottom of the hill where the pagodas are was a market that happened once a week. Not quite so touristy as the ones further up the lake. Time for Mike to practise his haggling skills!!

They don't hang around, y'know!!

2007-07-18T12:23:00.000+01:00

I think I could easily take to being a haulier as an alternative career if we ever decide to move to Myanmar!!

Everyday stuff at Inle Lake...

2007-07-18T12:20:00.000+01:00

Here we have some people going about their lawful occasion on the lake - seems kind of strange that the equivalent at home is jumping in my car to bez down to the shop or go to work. I know which way of life I would prefer!!

Catching lunch Inle style!!

2007-07-17T02:44:00.000+01:00

Now, you can all see how shallow the draught is on this little boat - how is he keeping his balance while doing all these manouevers with his fishing cage?! Obviously the lake isn't very deep at this point, but even so... Bit more skillful than putting a worm on a hook and chucking it in the water!!

I'm guessing they could row before they could walk!!

2007-07-17T02:39:00.000+01:00

We went for a jaunt across the lake to a market on our first full day at Inle. It took over an hour to get there, and on the way we went past several water villages. I guess in England these young laddies would be out on their pushbikes messing around, in Myanmar they're sedately paddling along with their supplies - makes knocking old people over far more tricky!!

Honeymoon Cake Mk3...

2007-07-17T02:31:00.000+01:00

On our first night at the resort, we strolled back to our little hut after dinner and found this waiting for us. The urn type thing is local Lacquerware - very impressive. The housekeeping staff had gone to a lot of trouble to make our bed look very romantic, bless 'em....

Inside the Lacquerware was the most delicious of the three honeymoon cakes that we were given, it was basically chocolate and more chocolate!! The flower wasn't edible, but the gold leaf that you can see on the top righthand side most definitely was. I have to admit that we ate every last bit of this one...

Check this out for detail...

2007-07-17T02:23:00.000+01:00

Even the menu itself was a work of art, I think we spent more time marvelling at the craftsmanship than we did looking at the view!!

Which, as you can see, is not exactly mundane!! I think we rated this the most beautiful place that we'd had lunch thus far in the honeymoon - and if you've been looking through some of the other photo's you'll know that that is high praise indeed....

When the restaurant looks this awesome...

2007-07-17T02:16:00.000+01:00

...y'just know that whatever is cooked and served inside is going to be pretty spectacular too - how right we were in that supposition! I'd just like to point out that it's not my weight that has made the steps bow like that - they're all carved to look like the boats they use around the lake!!

And this is us outside our little hut...

2007-07-17T01:57:00.000+01:00

Insert your own line about bridges - too far; over troubled waters; trip-trapping like them there billy goats etc...

How smug are we?!

2007-07-17T01:54:00.000+01:00

Having already perused the list of massages available at the Spa and ogled the view out of the huge picture windows, we felt it was time to record for posterity how cool we felt the whole scenario was!!

How could we not sleep well here?!

2007-07-17T01:49:00.000+01:00

This is the main room in our little hut on the lake - there was a little card from everyone at the resort wishing us a happy honeymoon and hoping we enjoyed our stay. Itg's kind of like a fairytale bed really, squishy silk cushions, mozzy net and nice cool sheets - what's not to like?

And here we are!!

2007-07-17T01:43:00.000+01:00

This is the pick-up and drop-off place outside the resort - behind us is a desk where a very nice chap checked us in and also gave us icy-cold flannels to mop our fevered brows. Just what was needed!!!

The engine was approx 1LRP...

2007-07-17T01:39:00.000+01:00

The resort, being a spa, was meant to be a place of tranquility and peacefulness - to help with this, the local leg-rowers were on hand to row the boats into the "lobby" of the hotel. Very impressive, all things considered!!

Our first glimpse of the Inle Princess...

2007-07-17T01:36:00.000+01:00

How cool is this? In the distance you can see the roof of the main building at the Inle Princess resort - the mountains in the background were shrouded in mist for most of the time that we were here.

Mike looking a bit windswept...

2007-07-17T01:33:00.000+01:00

Surprising how quick these boats went really, and the breeze made us forget that the morning sun was beating down on us - we both ended up a tad rosy by the time we got to the resort!!

Not exactly rush hour!!!

2007-07-17T01:30:00.000+01:00

This cheerful chappie is our taxi driver - he brought us from the town of Inle to the Inle Princess resort. Bless him, he always seemed to be around whenever we needed to go somewhere - even birdwatching at some unearthly hour in the morning!!

Yet another mode of transport!!

2007-07-17T01:26:00.001+01:00

As you may have realised if you persevered and read the blog all the way through, I wasn't overly impressed with the idea of travelling in one of these things. It's amazing what a body can get used to though!!!

On the way to Inle Lake

2007-07-07T13:24:00.000+01:00

This is the type of countryside that we encountered on the way from Heho airport to Inle Lake. It was quite arid but the trees and shrubs that lived here seemed to thrive in these conditions. It was very mountainous, mile after mile. Very different from the flat landscape between Mandalay and Bagan.

That's all for today...

2007-04-22T22:53:00.000+01:00

Well, we've got almost half way through the honeymoon now - my brain hurts now so I'll do the rest of the photo's on another day. For those joining us for the first time, I think I'd probably recommend starting right at the bottom of the blog and working your way up - it's quite a weighty opus so don't feel you have to read it all at once!!

The way that the blog is set up means that all the pictures we put on are at the end - we can't put them in where they should be, cuz that'd be far to easy!! So I'm afraid that you'll have to scroll up and down to look at the pictures when they relate to something in the text.

Enjoy the photos, catch up again soon,

Mike & Nicky xxxx

The Medicinal Plant Research Station

2007-04-22T22:48:00.000+01:00

After lunch at the Popa Mountain Resort, our guide took us to this place - it's Government run and covers quite a large area. All kinds of plants with healing properties are grown here and there is also a plant museum, which was quite interesting. It's a strange sight though, to see all these green plants and trees after driving through the relatively desolate countryside at the bottom of the mountain.

Hurray, we made it!!

2007-04-22T22:43:00.000+01:00

Here we are at the top in front of the bells that would be rung by people making offerings to Buddha. We're obviously a lot closer to the sky than we were, which makes this the ideal place to speak to Buddha - local people come up here a lot, in spite of the huge climb!!

Fast food Myanmar style!!

2007-04-22T22:39:00.000+01:00

This lady was set up part way up the Mount - she has a small stove and plenty of ingredients, and will cook up some fresh noodles on request. Much more appealing than KFC, I think...

A few of the natives...

2007-04-22T22:36:00.000+01:00

There are lots of monkeys living on the Mount - I have no idea what kind - but we were advised to stay away from them as the majority have rabies. Nice.

Our first sight of Mount Popa

2007-04-22T22:32:00.000+01:00

This is Mount Popa, there's a big temple on top of the mount - 800m above sea level, 777 steps to the top... It's 40c and we're going to climb it - Mad Dogs and Englishmen etc.

Looks innocent enough...

2007-04-22T22:26:00.000+01:00

What we have here is betelnut and its accompaniments - it's kind of the local version of marijuana I guess. The leaves are tobacco leaves and I have no idea what the white sticky stuff is, but the whole bundle is chewed for ages and the juices spat out at regular intervals - even security at the smaller airports were avid fans!!

On the way to Mount Popa 02/04/07

2007-04-22T22:20:00.000+01:00

We travelled by car from Bagan to Mount Popa, the landscape was quite desolate apart from palm trees and some very dry looking scrub. One of the reasons for this is that cutting trees down was a sign of rebellion against the Government a number of years ago, so much so that now if someone cuts a tree down in the area without permission they could get sent to prison for up to 6 years. This bit of reforestation is sponsored by part of Korea, bizarrely....

Pagoda!!

2007-04-22T22:17:00.000+01:00

There are many of these pagodas around the place - Bagan is well known for it. A well spotted photo by Mike....

Every good home should have one...

2007-04-22T22:13:00.000+01:00

A full-sized elephant with some people on-board in the front garden of the hotel, we would've brought one home to go outside the house but our suitcases were heavy enough already!!!

Our third residence - Tharabar Gate 01/04/07

2007-04-22T22:09:00.000+01:00

Having spent a few days on the RTM, we had a change of pace and stayed at Bagan for a few nights. A completely different landscape from that which we had seen while on the ship, very dusty and red.

Our last moments on the RTM

2007-04-22T22:05:00.000+01:00

These are the steps up to the village from the RTM, this children from the village know that Mike's leaving the ship to day so they've come to say goodbye when we go up to get in our waiting car.

Mike's old stomping ground

2007-04-22T22:02:00.000+01:00

In the galley, which hasn't changed since Mike's time - not much space in here but very well organised.

Whatever happened to the Likely Lads?!

2007-04-22T21:59:00.000+01:00

Ah, here they are - Mike, Kyaw San Win, Tun Tun Lwin and another chap reminisce on the crew deck onboard the RTM.

See what I mean?!

2007-04-22T21:56:00.000+01:00

Mike's the soggy one on the left!!!!

A romantic stroll on the beach with a few close friends!!

2007-04-22T21:51:00.000+01:00

After lunch and a nap on the ship, Mike organised a boat to bring us and some of the young 'uns over to the sandback opposite the ship. It was early evening and still baking hot, but these children had soo much energy I'm not sure how I kept up!!! Mike, I think, is still a big kid sometimes so he had no problem keeping them on their toes!!

Have some watermelon, dear...

2007-04-22T21:44:00.000+01:00

This is at the home of The Boss, a young girl that always takes charge of the younger children and makes sure that any gifts are fairly distributed. We were very honoured to be given tea and watermelon, although I can't even begin to tell you how much watermelon we ate this day!!

We wanna be togevver!!!

2007-04-22T21:42:00.000+01:00

And here we are with matching thanaka, as applied by some of the girls in the village - very fetching!!

Even thousands of miles away, Mike is well known!!

2007-04-22T21:37:00.000+01:00

This is the plaque that was put on Mike's set of stairs - I love looking at written Burmese, far more expressive than the english alphabet. It came as something of a surprise to Mike that he had still been working on the ship in 2003, he figured that he'd finished in 2001!!

Look what we can do!!

2007-04-22T21:34:00.000+01:00

Smaller boy being lifted up with his ears by his friend - not something you see every day!!

Some of Mike's fans!!

2007-04-22T21:29:00.000+01:00

How cool is this - Mike has been away for 4 years and still the children all remembered him!! There were many cries of "Mr Mike, Mr Mike!!" on this day, but none of the children were pushy or rude. Can't necessarily say that in this country, that's for sure.....

Steps by Perry!

2007-04-22T21:22:00.000+01:00

These are the steps that Mike had repaired with his donation. Having heard so much from Mike about them, it was amazing to actually see them "in person" so to speak!!

Us and a few friends...

2007-04-22T21:14:00.000+01:00

The whole crew of the RTM came and shared lunch with us and the monks. This was very special and meant a lot to Mike in particular, everyone was so welcoming and they all congratulated us many times over.

Happy the monk...

2007-04-22T21:11:00.000+01:00

They all seemed very happy with the food donation that Mike made, hopefully that means we'll have an auspicious life...

And here we are at the monastery.

2007-04-22T21:04:00.000+01:00

This is the important bit - the monks can't touch the donation of food until Mike and I had lifted the table up and down three times. While we're lifting the table, the monk is chanting a marriage blessing for us. Check out our groovy threads too, very comfy clothing that's for sure. The head monk is the one with the eye patch.....

This is more make-up than I wore on our wedding day, I think!! 30/03/07

2007-04-22T19:26:00.000+01:00

On the morning that we docked in Bagan, Mike and I went to the Buddhist monastery and had our marriage blessed by the head monk. To look the part and follow tradition, Mike asked a member of the house-keeping staff to come in to our cabin and put thanaka on my face. We both wore our new longyi too..

People generally going about their business on the river...

2007-04-22T19:21:00.000+01:00

This is why we were constantly distracted from writing our journals - with a vista like this how could anyone not be transfixed? The quality of light was so different this far down the river, it made us both wish we could watercolour...

The Festival of Light...

2007-04-22T19:13:00.000+01:00

It was very hard to capture this on camera - the little red and yellow dots are tealight candles in holders. There are about 2,000 of them and they were put on the river on either side of the ship - this would normally take place in November after the Buddhist Lent is over. It is meant to be very lucky for couples getting married.

We do scrub up well, I reckon...

2007-04-22T19:08:00.000+01:00

This is us in our cabin, all dressed up and ready to go to the Cocktail Party.

Looking very Agatha Christie on the top deck.

2007-04-22T19:01:00.000+01:00

This was the evening of the second day on-board ship - we were due to have a Longyi Cocktail Party on the top deck, it very nearly could have been a scene from Poirot...

And the arty version that Mike took...

2007-04-22T18:58:00.000+01:00

This was taken while we were sailing down towards Bagan on the second day of the cruise - very atmospheric.

The essential sunset shot...

2007-04-22T18:55:00.000+01:00

I think we could quite easily have taken 100's of sunset and sunrise photos - the quality of the light is spectacular, especially with the sun reflecting on the water. Very picturesque...

One of the best Asian meals I've ever had!!

2007-04-22T18:48:00.000+01:00

Here we have Kyaw San Win and his wife, Sam Ma Kyaw and his wife and Mike and his wife - hurrah!! This is at the Golden Duck restaurant in Mandalay, Kyaw San Win brought us here for dinner on the 28/03/07 - I probably won't ever be able to eat take out again, it just wouldn't be the same!!

Our first major Buddha!

2007-04-22T18:41:00.000+01:00

This is a Buddha image in the temple at the top of Mandalay Hill - very impressive and awe-inspiring.

The view from the top...

2007-04-22T18:37:00.000+01:00

Aw, anyone think we were on honeymoon!! This is at the top of Mandalay Hill, lots of gold leaf to be seen and a distant if somewhat hazy horizon.

How long does it take 2 Chefs and a Prawn Supplier to fix a Jeep?

2007-04-22T18:32:00.000+01:00

Sort of a moot point because Mike, Kyaw San Win and I scarpered and left Sam Ma Kyaw to get the thing recovered while we hoofed it up Mandalay Hill to look at the view!!!

Action picture!!

2007-04-22T18:28:00.000+01:00

"I think it's probably the grubnuts leaking oil over the donkey-flange...". From Holden Monaro's to WWII Jeeps - is there no end to this mans talents?

Hurrah!!

2007-04-22T18:23:00.000+01:00

And here's everybody outside the school with Mr Mike - a very happy and contented bunch of children, all very pleased to see Mike.

How well-behaved are they?

2007-04-22T18:18:00.000+01:00

The schools are all on summer vacation for three months, but the children came back specially to see Mike. They all sat very patiently waiting for the exercise and pencils that Mike had got for them - I have never seen such good children!! They have thanaka on their faces to protect them from the sun when they go outside...

The school at last!!

2007-04-22T18:14:00.000+01:00

How cool is this - this is the school that Mike and his colleagues on the RTM sponsored and helped with. It's in a very tiny village not far from where the ship ties up - since Mike last saw it, the downstairs has also been turned into a classroom. The chap at the door is the new headmaster.

Mike's friend and ex-colleague, Kyaw San Win

2007-04-22T18:09:00.000+01:00

This is taken in the dining room at lunch on the day we joined the ship. We had a delicious Burmese buffet, all overseen by Kyaw San Win (chap on the right) - he worked with Mike while he was onboard the ship.

Here's a sight you don't see very often...

2007-04-22T18:04:00.000+01:00

Look, this is Mike relaxing - it's not that frequent a phenomenon so be sure and memorise it!! Then again, in luxurious surroundings like this who wouldn't be able to relax?!

Look at us with an upgrade!!

2007-04-22T17:59:00.000+01:00

Here's a rather nice pic of us - we're now in our cabin on the Road To Mandalay (hereafter known as the RTM) and we're very smiley because the kind people at Orient Express have given us a State Cabin on the A-deck. The lid of the cabinet you can see here lifted straight up and a TV appeared out of it - very James Bond!!

And here are the monks that the food is for.

2007-04-22T17:52:00.000+01:00

There were 1,000 monks waiting for their meal here, they formed 2 lines and went in to the refectory with their bowls to collect their allocation. They only eat once a day, which is why they look as if they're taking it very seriously...

Your average monastery kitchen...

2007-04-22T16:39:00.000+01:00

This was the second stop of the day, a Buddhist monastery where they were preparing a meal for the monks (all 1,000 of them!!) - the food was paid for with a donation made by a local businessman, his son was going to be joining the monastery on this day.

My first taste of everyday Myanmar life.... 28/03/07

2007-04-22T16:32:00.000+01:00

This was a market that we stopped at after we'd all been picked up fom The Governor's Residence and flown to Mandalay. We were picked up from the vast airport at Mandalay and then taken to a couple of attractions on the way to the Road To Mandalay.