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Saturday, August 1, 2015

Trang - Sea Adventure

Trang has both mainland beaches and a whole string of offshore islands; the province features an archipelago in the Andaman Sea consisting of more than 46 islands.

With an abundance of blissful attractions mixed with cultural heritage, Trang Province is truly a fascinating tourist destination with numerous jungles, mountains, waterfalls, and beaches.

Upon landing we took an airport shuttle to bring us to the city. (90 Thb per pax)

Mandalay Morning City Tour

Coming from Bagan the night before, we arrived Mandalay toll gate at 2:00 am, but since there was curfew till 3 am, our bus had to wait for an hour before entering the city. (Note: Curfew was already lifted since August 2014)

Mount Popa - The Mt Olympus of Burma

During our second day started with a sunrise tour in Old Bagan,

we went to Mt Popa resort - to see vantage view of Mt Popa and monastery.

Capturing Sunrise and Sunset in Bagan and Mandalay

Visiting Mandalay and Bagan is incomplete without witnessing the sunrise and sunset amidst the great planes of 4,000 temples and pagodas !

Temple Run in the Ancient City of Bagan

Upon our arrival at the new Bagan bus station, we spent 15 minutes of haggling to get a Jeep to bring us to Manisanda Hotel, the agreed rate was 8000 Kyats. This probably is the only bad experience we encounter in our trip. Those barkers have guts to offer us high rates, and yet they are not the one who will be driving! Hope the Bagan tourism office can impose some regulation on this, perhaps a fix rate or a published pricing list, to give tourists a smooth welcome experience.

On the Road to Mandalay

Mandalay is the second-largest city and the last royal capital of Burma. The city gets its name from the nearby Mandalay Hill. The root word has been speculated to be: "Mandala" (meaning, circular plains), "Mandare" (believed to mean "auspicious land"), or "Mandara" (a mountain from Hindu mythology).