Took a shared taxi ride to Pyin Oo Lwin, about an hour drive north east of Mandalay and up in the mountains. The city itself was an old British hill station and is known for it's botanical gardens and cooler climate.
I decided to get a room at a hotel outside of the main part of the city, which isn't too big itself, but I wanted to just relax outside of the noise and traffic (which included horse-drawn carriages among the motorbikes and cars). I walked around the city for about an hour. There weren't too many foreigners around. I think I saw 4 other foreigners at a European bakery/cafe.
There were a couple other hotels, and I walked into one to inquire about the price, but they didn't have a government license to provide accommodations to foreigners.
I finally found a restaurant that served Spirulina beer. It tasted sweet, and a little bit vinegary...maybe it was on tap for too long... The best beer has definitely been Myanmar, and then Mandalay, and then Spirulina so far.
Spent the rest of the day just relaxing at the hotel. Watched a couple of movies on the television, which only had two channels. What's interesting is that someone (big brother maybe?) has control of which channel is being shown. I was in the middle of watching a Reese Witherspoon chick flick before the satallite channel changed to the Keanu Reeves/Patrick Swayze surfer movie that I forgot the name of. It's funny because the whole city has to watch what this one person decides to watch for the night...
I'd spend tomorrow renting a bike to explore this small town, while figuring out how to get to the city of Hsipaw further northeast.
Buddhist Nuns
Believe it or not?
Horse carts are a popular mode of transportation in this small town
Simple Myanmar Cuisine (I forget the name, but it's pronounced "Lapadtamin"
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