Today the ship arrived at Thilawa, Rangoon, Myanmar. The ship was scheduled to arrive at 6 AM but it was about 8 AM before we arrived. The channel to get to Thilawa was not very deep and places were so shallow that the ship had to wait on high tide.
Myanmar, called Burma by the British, is the name long used by its people for their homeland. The British name of Burma came from the name of only part of the people of Myanmar. Myanmar is also known as the "Golden Land" because of its rich soil and its wealth of minerals and precious stones. Japan occupied Myanmar during WW II. When General Ne Win seized power in 1962, Myanmar closed its doors to the outside world for over three decades. Myanmar is a country with a high majority of Buddhist and the home of many pagodas, temples and stupas. The main town near the port is Yangon. It was a 1 1/2 hour drive from the ship. The traffic was heavy. It used to be very expensive to own a car in Myanmar but today it is much cheaper, thus the roads have not kept up with the increase of cars. Until the late 1990's, Myanmar used to drive on the left side of the road but it was switched to the right side, but many of the cars and the busses, including the busses we used, had the driver on the right side.
At 11 PM, I left on a 2 day and 1 night tour called "Best of Bagan Temples". After 1 1/2 hour drive to the airport at Yangon we took a flight to Nyaung oo Domestic Airport near Bagan via Heho. The airplane was an ATR 72, a turbo prop built in France. It was a 60 passenger plane and with was a nice plane with lots of overhead bins. Bagan was once capital of the firs Myanmar Empire. It is mime to countless archaeological sites, stunning pagodas, temples and stupas. After we arrived at Began we had a visit to Shwezigone Stupas. In a Stupas nobody enters the interior. We made a walk around the site. Shwezigone was cover with gold leaf. After we left the site we drove to the Bagan Lodge, a 5 star hotel located in the country near the temples. At 7:30 PM we had dinner at the hotel. The rooms at the hotel are located in cabins with 4 rooms per building.
This was the end of the first day. See day 66 for continuation of my tour.
Below are pictures from the first day with the ship docked at Thilawa, Rangoon, Myanmar.
This picture was taken from the ship.
This picture was taken from the ship.
This picture was taken near the port from the bus.
This picture was taken from the bus on the way to the airport at Yangon.
This picture was taken from the bus on the way to the airport at Yangon.
This picture was taken from the bus on the way to the airport at Yangon.
This picture was taken from the bus on the way to the airport at Yangon.
This picture was taken from the bus on the way to the airport at Yangon.
This picture was taken from the bus on the way to the airport at Yangon.
This picture was taken from the bus on the way to the airport at Yangon.
This is a picture of the terminal at the Yangon Domestic Airport.
This is a picture of the flight attendant on the flight to Bagan.
This is a picture of the terminal at Bagan.
This picture was taken at a visit to the Shwezigone Stupas.
This picture was taken at a visit to the Shwezigone Stupas. At the stops are places to shop.
This picture was taken at a visit to the Shwezigone Stupas.
This picture was taken at a visit to the Shwezigone Stupas.
This picture was taken at a visit to the Shwezigone Stupas.
This picture was taken at a visit to the Shwezigone Stupas.
This picture was taken at a visit to the Shwezigone Stupas.
This picture was taken at a visit to the Shwezigone Stupas.
This picture was taken at a visit to the Shwezigone Stupas.
This picture was taken at a visit to the Shwezigone Stupas.
This picture was taken at a visit to the Shwezigone Stupas.
This picture was taken at a visit to the Shwezigone Stupas.
This is a picture of my hotel room at the Bagan Lodge.
This is a picture of the bathroom at the Bagan Lodge.
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