Ka Pai Kiwis

Last night we visited the walking street, which is shut off to traffic at night and becomes a street food market. Very popular. There was also a stage set up with performers belting out the tunes and a massive dance area which was jam packed. The dancers seemed to alternate between free style and what could be the Thai gay gordons. It was a lovely family atmosphere for young and old alike.  We are sorry to leave Chiang Rai and our lovely hotel, I think we may return one day. Today we headed to Chiang Mai. It is at least 15 years since were last here, I’ll bet it has changed.  It was a nice ride down here, good roads except for about 30km of roadworks which happened to coincide with a torrential downpour. Joy.  Much of the road is new which has confused both Tomtom and maps.me but we got here.  We have another nice hotel and we will stay here for 2 or 3 days to recharge and also to take care of some chores like new tyres.  It seems like forever since we had a day...

It was our last day in Myanmar today. We got up early and visited the local market. It was big, busy with every imaginable food stuff available. Lots and lots of fruit and vegetables, mostly local but some imported fruit from China.  There was a large butchers shop and a fish section. The fish were obviously fresh as some were still wriggling.  The market is an almost exclusively female domain with a few lads running errands and lifting loads.  Min Min pointed out the way that the women dress signifying which “minority” they come from.  We then returned to our hotel for breakfast and set off on the 160km ride to the border.  Min Min decided he would like to be the pillion for 1 hour. He was a very good passenger but after 45 minutes he called it quits, the pressure on his head from Robyns helmet got too much.  The road was great, winding its way through the hills. It was a very good road and a fitting end to our Myanmar experience.  There are quite a f...

Min min drew this for us, our journey today. A man of many talents! It was a day of up and over and down, repeat, repeat, repeat....... Many hills and valleys we crossed.  It is feeling very remote. The road was narrow, bumpy and windy for the whole 330km, so pretty slow going but mercifully not many potholes. However the scenery is spectacular so lush and green with so much to see along the way. The women of this hilltribe wear the large silver band around their waist  Corn drying in the sun. The last 50ks was a sealed wide road with lots of twists and turns. Myanmar is a wonderfully beautiful country and still fills us with a sense of awe.  It is raw and largely undeveloped except for a few tourist hotspots.  Min Min has been a great guide and has allowed us the freedom to ride on ahead if we want to, unlike some other tour guides where we have been obliged to closely follow the car. We have been able ...

Our day began today with photos with the hotel staff and their best wishes for our continued safe journey. Then it was a visit to a temple overlooking Taunggyi.  The temple was very cool and we had a nice wander around.  A Myanmar dragon.  The view over the city was great. Taunggyi is a very nice city, spotlessly clean and modern. Friendly people made us feel welcome.   The city sits right on the edge of a hill. We returned back down the hill for gas, the ladies at the gas gas station kindly offered us water for our journey so of course we posed with them for photos.  We then we headed off on the 125km to Namsang. Once again easy riding on good roads and light traffic. As we wound into the hills the scenery got better and better with frequent stops for photos. This area used to be notorious for poppy growing and was a part of the golden triangle but any sign of that trade is long gone. The area was also the scene of a n...