Thanks to the computer game Civilization 4 and a short video narrated by Leonard Nimoy, I had a vague idea of the existence of the Shwedagon Pagoda before I took off my shoes and socks at its entrance and handed them over for safe keeping.
Yangon was our introduction to Myanmar. Though it is a decent sized city of over four million and until recently Myanmar’s capital city - until the government relocated elsewhere, much to the populace’s joy - our drive through its darkening streets from the airport to our accommodation told us the city was going to be very different to the in-your-faceness of Bangkok.
We might have been cycling down the dark main street of Nyaung U without any lights on our bikes but at least we were cycling the right way down the dark main street of Nyaung U without any lights on our bikes. We were learning the exhilarating way that when it comes to road rules the Burmese have a laissez faire attitude.
When it comes to choosing where to stay in Don Det, what you are really deciding on is the quality of the view from your hammock.
The Pyramids, of course, are among the world’s premier tourist attractions but one of the pleasures of travel is stumbling upon a ruin little known outside of its immediate locale. It is just there, minding its own business down a side street and available to poke around or clamber on, often without having to pay an entrance fee.
One day one bored, crazy monk living in a monastery in Burma rounded up all the local cats and started making them jump through hoops. Word spread and boat loads of tourists started to arrive to witness the spectacle.