Myanmar: Round trip Part 3 + Thailand

Let's continue :-)

Day 33

Heading to the mountains

30.1.18

Today, we had another bus ride ahead of us. We drove for ten hours from Bagan to Kalaw in the mountains with a minivan. It was immediately noticeable that it was a few degrees colder than what we were used to from Myanmar. From Kalaw, we continued to Pindaya, a small relatively non-touristy village in the mountains that is famous for its 'Caves'.

In the evening, we dressed up nicely for dinner with our new Longys :)

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Day 34

Reaching for the sky!

31.1.18

Today, we had a trekking tour planned. Our guide took us through Pindaya, past the Buddha Caves, through various Danu villages, and up to the top at an altitude of 1700m.

We made a stop at a monastery. Today was a special holiday in Myanmar: Fullmoon Day. The residents cook especially delicious and elaborate food and share it among themselves. They also bring it to Buddha in the monastery as offerings in the early morning. We were allowed to taste some of it. Of course, the main ingredient was rice again and it tasted very delicious. But later, the children from the surrounding villages were allowed to take some of the offerings, as Buddha couldn't eat everything alone.

The offerings for Buddha on Fullmoon Day

The special holiday meal

After visiting the monastery, Verena was missing a sock. :-D A dog seemed to have taken one of her socks from her shoe and ate it. She must have had tasty cheese socks! :D

After a very steep ascent, we had lunch with a local family who warmly welcomed us and cooked a feast for us.

Yes, that's one way of cooking. Maybe I should give my kitchen back? :-D

Salad, soup, fried noodles, bean chips....

A cup of green tea is a must here :)

So that's how cauliflower grows

We must mention our dear tour guide, who told us a lot about nature (trees, tea plantations, fruits) and the surroundings, but also told many 'lovely lovely stories'. He described to us the legends and fairy tales of Pindaya in such detail and with such embellishment that we almost forgot about hiking because of all the talking.

Our dear guide

The caves

The trek led through the forest, past tea plantations and caves, and through various villages, with a panoramic view of the valley.

The tea plantations

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Day 35

Off to Inle Lake!

1.2.18

And....action!

After arriving in Thailand, we took a minivan and a longtail boat to the island of Koh Mook. Koh Mook is a smaller island near Trang. After checking into our bungalows, we explored Charlie Beach and finally got our mango shake mmmmmmhhhh..... We will miss these fruit shakes! The beach here is beautiful with giant rocks and fine white sand. :)

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Day 40

Breakfast, beach, shake, beach, sundowner with cocktail, showers, dinner, sleep

6.2.18

We have nothing to add to the motto of the day. :)

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Day 41

Pirate cave

7.2.18

The alarm clock rang early, we wanted to paddle our kayaks to the Emerald Cave before the tourist rush. Due to the tides, it is only possible to kayak through an 80m long dark tunnel into the cave in the morning. It is said that the pirates once hid their jewels and treasure here. Behind the tunnel, we found a sandy beach with jungle. Very impressive and mystical.

Afterwards, we took a walk to the other side of the island and I tried to organize the Advanced Dive Course for the next day, but it wasn't easy. Finally, Tu, the dive instructor, came to us to plan the formalities and gave me a thick book that I had to learn a few chapters from by the next day. And that during the vacation! :-D

Afterwards, we treated ourselves to a few relaxing hours at the beach and a delicious dinner.

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Day 42

Verena and Jana separated for the first time!

8.2.18

Today, I started my dive course. We met at 8:30 and took a longtail boat to Koh Wean, a nearby island. There was a Dutch person with us, and 2 others, a fisherman as the boat driver, a dive master, and Tu. Here, we first dived into a cave and then explored sunken train wrecks. We had great visibility and saw many amazing fish and corals. I also had to take a few 'exams' along the way, but as expected, everything was quite relaxed. For the third dive, we went to another island (Koh Kradan) with a fantastic reef.

Nemos :)

Christmas tree worms

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Day 43

Koh Rok and Sivalai Beach

9.2.18

For today's planned dives, we first took a 1.5-2 hour longtail boat ride to the Koh Rok Marine Park. Two French people joined us today. The water here was very clear and we had great visibility. I was able to take some good underwater photos for the first time. We observed a cute turtle and many colorful fish and had two amazing dives. Luckily, I also passed my dive course. :-D

A lobster

Verena spent the day at the beautiful peninsula of Sivalai Beach.

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Day 44

The last day on the island

10.2.18

A bit of sadness is slowly creeping in that our vacation is already coming to an end after such a long time. Time really flew by. We absorb all the positive energy and take it home with us. :D

We spent a lovely last day, enjoying the beach, pool, and delicious food.

Having dinner in Phuket before our departure, we enjoyed some delicious fruit shakes and toasted to a very beautiful vacation! <3 <3 <3

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