I was told to get the taxi to pick me up at least one hour before I needed to be at the airport, I thought really?  It’s only 20kms away but the traffic can be really bad apparently and yes it was and so was my taxi driver. 

He was driving a small Toyota no bigger than a dodgem. My suitcase filled the boot. He looked like a very quiet guy, he was about 60 something I would say and he smiled and said “Good morning ”

Well looks can be deceiving because he was a fucking lunatic. I’m not easily scared but this guy was reckless, he was not a smooth quick driver but he was irratic. He’s changing lane and getting know where fast, blasting the horn and flooring the wee Toyota till it screamed for mercy and then we were back on the brakes once more nearly putting us through window. 
I’m in the back seat and there’s no seat belts and so I’m bracing myself against the front seat hoping that we don’t make contact with anything. Not a good way to start the day. 

Well we do arrive safely at the airport and in one piece and as I hand him the fare, he gives me this big smile and just laughs. What a fucking nutter……

There’s an old train that takes 3 hours to go round a circular track which passes through the city centre and out to the outskirts. It’s one of the main things tourists will do here because it gives you a city tour and it also takes you out to the very edge of where country meets the city.
Like a lot of old cities in South East Asia there is poverty and I don’t think I’ve seen so much rubbish polluting the rivers and it’s just about everywhere.  On the edge of the railway there are small villages and because no one comes to collect the rubbish they just set fire to it. The toxic smoke is really dreadful.

The train doesn’t go that fast because the rails are twisted and so it shoogles quite violently at times in parts.
It’s well used and there are people moving their produce from one stop to another. Sometimes it takes longer than a normal stop takes to load everything. In fact I was on the steps and I got stuck there for about 40 mins because they had brought on board so many bags of fresh fruit and vegetables.

I was beginning to get cooked here in the doorway, hence the reason for looking so happy………………….

At many stops someone will jump on and sell fruit or drinks so you will never go hungry.

Where there is a river they have a toilet sitting over the water and so the shit goes straight into the water where the fish will recycle it for you and even better than that there are vege patches being irrigated by the very same water.

It’s a great shame to see the country side and also seeing that many people living in poverty such as this.  I have of course seen this before but I feel that the amount of folk living in squalor here is greater, but it’s not as bad as India of course because that’s on a level of its own.

Tomorrow I move on to Mandalay and I’m hoping that I will enjoy that city more. Although the food here has been great and I did enjoy the shoogly train…………

So I went back to this wee restaurant today because the food was great and the lime pickle that they have is the best lime pickle I have ever tasted and to be honest I think it is the highlight of my trip to Rangoon. 

Mutton curry with chapattis, lime pickle and other vege side dishes and all this was less than $4.

After going to the temple earlier and being a little disappointed with what I saw I decided to go for a wander and I discovered many wonderful old buildings which look like they date back to the time when the British used this as getaway from Blighty.

I liked this one below because it’s where the rich people pay their taxes apparently or it could be for Fat people I’m not too sure.

After you begin to look you just see more and more places that look familiar in design at least. I do like the Colonial Architecture and of course you can see it in many parts of the world from a time when Britain ruled the waves, ah those were the days………….

This for me was way more interesting than going to a temple and it’s better for the Scottish metabolism and hip pocket.

It’s a special time of year for Christians around the world but I’m still baffled at how they manage to keep the faith,  after all look at the poor Philippino’s as once again they take a massive hit from Mother Nature for the umpteenth time and to add insult to injury pilgrims were killed in a bus crash.  If there is a God then he has a very twisted sense of humour.

But as I don’t celebrate the festive season I miss out on the stress of having to buy presents and do the things that you are supposed to do at the time of the year, you know the kind of thing,  like being nice to your fellow man………..I find it just as easy to do it all the year round unless they piss me off.

Instead I went to see the Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon along with several thousand locals and a few tourists. It’s supposed to be over 2500 years old but to be honest I didn’t get the feeling that it was, but I’m no expert.

Mind you I think I’m getting a little templed out these days because I don’t seem to find them as interesting as before. Then again I thought the detail around the dragon/dogs arse was quite good.

Before 

After

This was delicious 

It’s been as long day. 3 am was a very long time ago and that was also in another country and another time zone. It’s just after 7pm in Myanmar and I’m on the balcony of my guest house having a local brew before I retire for the evening. This will be my night cap for sure. In fact I haven’t even drunk a third of it and I can feel the sleep knocking at my eyes. 

I’ve had some delicious local food but feel fat, but I don’t care ’cause it was great. Tomorrow I will walk it off as I explore the many places that Rangoon has to offer.  From now on I will refer to the city as Rangoon because if you use Yangon then you are apparently following the military junta’s wishes, and far be it for me to follow anyone’s wishes.

 I’m listening to my taxi driver in Rangoon talking on the phone and it  sounds just like a Glaswegian when he’s blootered😆😆

 I think I’ll be able to get the hang of this language 😂

I must admit I’ve been a bit apprehensive about flying Malaysian Airlines due to the recent events, I mean they still haven’t found the one bound for Beijing a few years ago. 

The security didn’t seem as strict as I’ve been accustomed to, but the paperwork to enter Myanmar seems never ending.  They seem to make it a little difficult. 

Well I’m not going to fly Malaysian Airlines again unless I have to and that is the only reason I flew them today,  because I had to.  The plane was old, the crew were soor faced and the food was terrible. When we landed at Rangoon it felt like we had no shockies at all, either that or the runway is full of pot holes. 

But I’ve made it to the back of the taxi at least and I’m now heading to my hotel where I think I will eat and drink some beer.