"On the Road to Mandalay...."

It was in February 1999 that my husband and I took the brave decision to take a holiday to Myanmar, originally known as Burma. Brave for political reasons and for facing the unknown. Very few foreigners had visited this country.

And we were so glad that we made that decision. We discovered a place with friendly and interesting people, culture, scenery, history and religion.

Our journey started in the capital Yangon. It was a safe place to wander around and observe street–life, visit markets and enjoy meals out. We were two of only three European tourists the day we visited the beautiful Schwedagon Pagoda! Gold leaf stoupas sparkling in the sunlight.

Having been colonised the architecture was different in the Old Town. We saw Victorian buildings along the waterfront and enjoyed Afternoon Tea at the Strand Hotel. What was then an old and dated hotel has now been sympathetically renovated and modernised and worth a visit or even a stay!

We boarded the river cruise, the Orient Express 'Road to Mandalay', the start of our next adventure. It was wonderful to sail along the Irrawaddy River from Yangon to Mandalay and watch local people going about their daily lives – cooking, washing clothes, farming and fishing. The river is the lifeline for the people.

We experienced sunrises and sunsets, pink and orange tones - sunrise at Bagan looking over the vast area of 2700 temples and stoupas was magical. A romantic boat ride for the two of us to watch the sunset was very special. At Bagan we saw the pilgrimage buses jam-packed with locals making a once in a lifetime visit to the temples to make their offerings, receive their blessings and to say their prayers. To feed the monks is an aspiration of the local people. At Amarapura we observed the alms giving of food to 1000 monks at one Monastery. However, I understand from those that have visited more recently it’s a very different experience and some tourists are disrespectful which is such a shame. At Sagaing, Myanmar’s spiritual capital where there are over 600 monasteries we saw the pink-robed nuns.

At Mandalay we sadly disembarked the ship. Our guide took us to see the Golden Palace, one of the few remaining teak buildings. We also walked along the longest teak footbridge in the world, the U Bein footbridge. There are lots of wonderful sight-seeing experiences to enjoy from here.

Myanmar holds very special memories; it truly is a hidden gem. My advice would be to visit sooner than later and enjoy its charm before major tourism takes a hold.