Dalama Adventures Tale of two corporate types ditching their jobs and traveling the world for 14 months... check out all photos, blogs & interesting tid bits at http://www.dalama.net

Another scorcher today, I was feeling a little better after managing to keep some toast in me, so we decided to rent a couple of bicycles to explore the ancient sites.  The hotel rented beach-cruiser type bikes equipped with baskets and bells.  We spent a whole 3,000 kyat for 2 bikes for the entire day - what a bargain, and I finally get exercise, which secretly was the reason why we got them.  It was as we've heard the phrase all over Asia... "Same, same but different" than yesterday's exploration experience... But on bikes, it was so much more intense.  To be cruising around on our own, through farmlands with ancient monuments jutting up all around us was kind of a surreal experience.  We explored a ton off the beaten path, where there were n o touts to bother us.  The maps of this area are not necessarily to scale, and many of the monuments are not named, so it's difficult to find our way at times to specific monuments.  But all we needed to do was stop off our bike, look like a completely lost tourist with our map, and out of nowhere would appear a local Burmese person anxious to help us along our way.  

We continue to be overwhelmed by their friendliness and helpfulness - it's truly genuine, and they look for nothing in return, but a chance to talk, interact and be helpful.  We've only had one negative experience here, and it occurred during our biking expedition.  We were at the Shwesandaw Paya for sunset, which is a bit of a crazy tourist scene - even during low season, because everyone wants to climb the paya for the insanely beautiful views.  There were touts all over, and very desperate for business.  We kept telling them no, we were not going to buy anything, and one tout get a bit angry when Darrin sternly told her "no."  As we got onto the bikes to ride the 5 k's back to the guest house, Darrin realized there was no air in his tire.  At first we thought perhaps we had rolled over a thorn or something in the fields that caused it to blow.  We set out to walk the bikes back in the dark, with mosquitos out in force. And then the most magical thing happened.  Out of nowhere appeared two Burmese girls on a bike, coming back from their day at the temple selling t-shirts.  They asked if we were ok, and we said we had blown the tire.  They suggested it wasn't blown, and to come back to their home with them, where they had an air pump.  They promptly led us off the road to their little slum living area, behind a temple, where they pulled out the air pump and fixed us up- such a completely sweet act of kindness, and reinforced just how wonderful the Burmese people are.  Despite our thinking that perhaps the angry tout let out the air, which was very easy to do, our view of these people remains untainted, and we appreciate their hospitality and kindness as we travel through their beautiful homeland.

We ended a great day with a birthday celebration dinner for Darrin at our highly anticipated Indian dinner spot - which held up to our expectations- home cooked thali, so flavorful and delish.  It was like eating with our friends in India... The chapattis and rice and all the fixin's kept flowing until we were ready to pop.  This restaurant's motto is no good, no pay... And they judge just how good you found the meal by how many chapattis they can stuff into you.  I think we must have eaten over a dozen, lapping up all the tasty curry sauces.