We chose to sign up for back to back overland tours which are offered to all World Cruisers. This allows you to get off the ship, visit more intensly areas of interest, then get back on the ship at a port at a later date. This had us off the ship for a week. We flew from Ho Chi Minh City to Siem Reap, Cambodia for 2 days; Siem Reap to Bangkok for 16 hours; Bangkok to Yangon, Myanmar for an overnight; Yangon to Bagan for an overnight; Bagan back to Yangon for an overnight; and finallyYangon to Kuala Lumpur to meet up with the ship. Packing/ hotels/ visas/ passports/ immigration/ airplanes/ vans/ buses/ tour guides/ tours/ hotels/ restaurants.
That was our week. It was whirlwind, exhilarating, exhausing, interesting, hot, educational, fun,tiring,incredible, and unbelievable to name a few descriptive words. We were knocked out by all we saw. As I try to put it all together in a tiny package, I find it impossible. When I uploaded/ downloaded... whatever....my pictures..all 500 of them....:) you can see tried as I could, I had to use two blog spaces. The pictures tell it all better then I can say. We had an experience in one week that took centuries in the making. Our guides were excellent. Upon arrival to Yangon we slept at the Governor's Residence, a luxury hotel, in an area where you wonder how can this be possible. Our arrival was announced by the bang of a huge gong. We had all the luxury that the people outside will probably never have. We toured, we snapped pictures, we slept in air conditioned rooms and had wonderful meals. You constantly thank God for the life and the opportunities you were given. Our guide, went home each night. Did you know that every day the electricity goes off for 6 hours and you never know when it will happen? Think about that. Families live in one room. Extended families share a house. It is a different world and we were allowed to see such a tiny piece of it. They do not have the freedoms we have. We visited Shwedagon Pagoda which was a marvel. I was asked several times to pose for pictures, as many people visiting when we did never saw a foreigner before....so lucky...they get me! :) We also visited several other temples and a market. Enjoy the pictures and if you can, just imagine being there.
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