The Travel Tales of Julia Sheldon

July 13 & 14: Nyuang Shwe Recovering from the trek in luxury. We chose this hotel because of the bath tub. Excellent choice. We spent the vast majority of time playing cards, watching movies, and having baths. We spotted this really cute owl-filled restaurant, and ended up having the best meal in Myanmar. It was Western, but totally comfort food and super filling. We were very happy. July 15: Nyuang Shwe We loved One Owl Grill so much, and missed their incredible breakfasts (one of which was called Breakzit) so tried to go back but they were closed :( So sad. Instead, we went to another establishment owned by the same people. We thought they would have the same food, but no. Excellent coffee, disappointing food. I felt like wandering the city, and Andy went in search of WiFi.  This is the first temple I've seen under construction (as opposed to restoration). They use concrete! View across the river  Cute 'Welcome to Nyuan...

July 3: Mandalay We woke up at 6:30am to get a taxi to the airport. We were told there would be TONNES of traffic because it was Monday morning and it would take us forever to get there. Lies. Liza Minelli! We landed at noon, changed money to Kyat (pronounced more like chet), and got in a minivan from the airport to our hotel. Despite the toll road, it was a very bumpy ride. Seems like, for the most part, they build roads on sand; it is a temperate dry climate, after all. The first thing we noticed: pagodas. Everywhere! (3-headed dog statues near a pagoda) A1 hotel was all kinds of fancy: massive bed, huge TV (only 5 channels in Burmese, but that's okay), full closet with safe, desk, vanity, mini fridge, and phone. Noice! Also, breakfast was included. I showered and decided to nap. Apparently I really needed to sleep because the nap became 5 hours and when I woke it was 7pm. Dinner time! The food is .... weird. All of the street meat seems to be fried, and meats that...