South East Asia trip 2014: FEBRUARY 12, 2014: CIRCLE TRAIN, CHAUTHTATGYI, SNACK-HOTEL/PARKVIEW CAFE, DINNER-L'OPERA

February 12, 2014

Another glorious day starting with another very nice breakfast. Hotel staff writes in Burmese-BOGYOKE MARKET. A taxi is secured and we're off to do some shopping. It's closed! Somehow I have the driver take us to the Railway Station. We'll do the CIRCLE TRAIN. Taxi 3000 kyats. We get tickets for the 9:05 train, cost 2400 k. We are the only tourists on the train. Are they (the locals) staring at us wondering if we are lost, crazy or both?? What a way to experience a small slice of local life. Interesting, sometimes depressing (lots of garbage lying on the ground) scenery. Look a market! Wow, all those colors and the food doesn't look too bad either. Not having done enough research I don't know if we should get off (we should have) so we ride to the end. Someone tells us we need to get off and sit at the small station across the way but I thought the train just goes back? We get off, are sitting when another guy comes over and motions us to get back on the train which we do. How lost can we get? Ah, the rain is heading back the way we came. But I thought this was the CIRCLE train?? In all our ride took 4 hrs. total.

Railway Station

Our tickets

Close to the tracks

Waiting for the train to pass

Trying to blend in!!

Small local station

Almost on the tracks!

More oval than circle

Working on the tracks

Back where we started. This is the waiting area in Yangon.

We get a taxi to take us to CHAUTHTATGYI. Taxi 2000k. A reclining Buddha housed in a metal roofed building. 6 story pagoda. Work on the image started in 1899 and was finished by 1907. The Buddha is half reclining, one hand propping up his upper torso. Donation 2000k. We get a taxi back to the hotel 2500k.

Info about donor U Hpo Thar

Footprint with description of the lives of Buddha

Listed here are all the measurements

I'm hungry so we stop at our hotel's PARKVIEW CAFE where I indulge in a slice of Black Forest cake and DH has minestrone soup! Cost $8 with drinks. Now what do you suppose we do next?? The pool, of course!

I'm being lazy and DH is working out at the gym before his swim time at the pool.

We have reservations for dinner for 7:00 pm-L'OPERA. Taxi 5000k and will return for us at 8:30 pm or so. We start off with a bread basket filled with a variety of breads and dips-tapenade, bruschetta, and garlic. We share a mixed salad with homemade Italian dressing. The portion is certainly large enough to share. I have tagliat nostrane which is broad homemade noodles with sausage & porcini mushrooms in a tomato based sauce and DH has vegetarian lasagna. Him-Mandalay beer. Me-green tea. Me-chocolate ice cream. Him-cheesecake. Bill $49. (now I know you're wondering why we are going to Italian or Mexican, etc. places to dine but 3 1/2 months of only SE Asian cuisine just doesn't cut it for us) Taxi back to hotel 5000k. This restaurant is a bit far from the hotel.