Australia to Mandalay Burma

Hi All, I am back on the road again - this first month I'm travelling with a mate of mine Paul Keenan - Bertha and I will meet up in Japan early May. When we arrived in Bangkok the taxi driver wanted 900 Baht but I got him down to 500 so I've still got my bargaining skills. We checked into a dodgy hotel near the main railway station and next day went to the Myanmar (Burma) embassy for visas - paid extra for a one day application. Thursday afternoon we took the bus to Kanchanaburi near the Burmese border, to the Bridge over the River Kwai. We walked over the bridge and went to the war museum. Over 100,000 POW'S died building the Rail line between Rangoon and Bangkok, most were British, Dutch, Australians, Americans and Malays. Back in Bangkok we travelled and stayed at a hotel close to the airport as we had to be there by 5am. Arrived Rangoon OK and booked into another dodgy hotel - always the budget one in the Lonely Planet's book - looked around the city and the waterfront - got wet as the water festival was on for 4 days - the Burmese girls picked on the foreigners. Went by train to Bago and then up to Taungoo. The trains in Burma are something else I can't understand how they stay on the track - heaps of bolts missing off the fish plates that bolt the rails together . The rails have a 75mm bow in them so the train goes up down when the fish plates are opposite each it even bottoms out on the springs and when the fish plates are half way along on the opposite track it rocks and rolls - apparently they do have a lot of derailments. When we arrived at Taungoo we copped a drenching because of the water festival. Stayed in a hotel a Doctor owned he took us around the town the next morning while we were waiting for the next train. In Tha Zi we stayed in a hotel and met some Dutch girls who were going to Inle Lake - we decided to get the same bus with 5 Spanish girls, 1 French, three Dutch girls and a Dutchman all of us wanting to catch the bus but it was a holiday and the bus didn't turn up. We then took a ute taxi with a canopy for 7 hours - 12 back packers 1 driver and 2 offsiders - 2 girls in the front with the driver 4 on the roof of the canopy with all the back packs 2 standing on the tail gate and the rest in the ute - cost us US$100 between 12 so it ended up being cheap except the road was winding dirt dust and rough Paul and I got to sit in the ute and talk to the 4 Spanish senoritas. It's rough on the road but somebody's got to do it. Stayed at Inle Lake right on the water where the long boats leave from. 6 of us organised a long boat for the next day with the driver able to speak English. Went to temples, markets, saw the long neck women of Burma with the brass rings around their necks went weaving, cigar making, gold & silversmith, umbrella and blacksmithing villages there were 4 guys on the sledge hammers not missing a beat forging chopper blades. Paul and I hired bikes and went to the hotsprings. Next day we went to Bagan and saw every last temple in a horse and cart - 2500 temples in Bagan. Then on the slow hard seat train to Mandalay and ran into all the people who were in the back of the ute to Inle Lake. We found out we could not cross the border into Thailand as they closed all land borders a month previously. We caught an overnight bus to Rangoon and then flew onto Bangkok and Chang Mai. Travelled onto Chang Rai and Chang Khong on the Laos border right on the Mekong River. Stayed in a hotel that overlooked the river - had this character running it who took his guitar out while we were having a beer. We have sampled all the different beers over here, haven't had a bad one yet but they are all heavy even had a Myanmar stout but it was like poison 8%. Took a longboat across the Mekong got our visas for Laos then booked a trip on the slow boat to Luang Prabang. It was a 2 day trip we stopped over night at Pak Beng another dodgy hotel no power - genset broken down and the town water went off but we survived. Next on the river went down through some rapids in 150 ft longboat about 140 back packers from all over the world on board. Had the Spanish salami that the girls gave us, bought some cheese and baguettes. The French taught the people of Laos how to make decent bread. In Luang Prabang hired push bikes went to all the sites around town and then on to Vientiane where we are at the moment. Cambodian visas tomorrow - planned on 2 weeks Myanmar, 1 week Laos and 1 week Cambodia we are still on schedule. Wellsy