Missing Bangkok already

Pomegranate juice available at street stalls. Fabulous.

Nights out in Thong Lo

We revisited a few old Thong Lo favourites like Fat Gut'z, Krung Thong and Wine Republic, but also tried lots of new places like the Iron Fairies, Mellow, Apotek, Supanniga and Phuket Town.

Isan sausage

Fishcakes

Watermelon martini

Drink matches my nails and iPhone case...

Phuket dishes (which I didn't like at all - that strong shrimp sauce seems to be in everything)

Nice decor in the restaurant though

The fabulous (Bangkok) Beatles playing their usual Monday night gig in Fat Gut'z. That's a signature cocktail called Arisan Maru (kaffir infused aged rum with honey, lime and a chili on the side)

TWG in Bangkok

Bangkok has really extended its tea salons since my last visit. My favourite is Twinings, but TWG is also pretty good.

Somerset Apartments, Thong Lo

The last week of the holiday was spent in Bangkok, this time in the trendy residential neighbourhood of Thong Lo in a serviced apartment sun by the Ascott/Somerset group. Thong Lo has no hotels, but quite a few new residence towers, cafes, cocktail bars, restaurants and the usual Bangkok street stalls that David loves so much. 

Our apartment block

The pool

A bit messy now, but here's the sitting room

Bedroom

Our street in Thong Lo

Tea at The Savoy, Yangon

Not the best cuppa I have ever had in my life, but I loved the setting.

 "almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea"

Food and drink, Myanmar

I don't feel that I have much of a sense of the food in Myanmar. We did try a few things that were interesting: samosa tok, mohinga (thin rice noodles and fish broth), dosai)

Dosai

Stuff that was a bit like bird seed...

Cocktails at the Strand Hotel with Chris Candlin

Currency this summer

US dollar, Thai baht, Myanmar kyat, Malaysian ringgit, Hong Kong dollar and Japanese yen

Bogyoke Aung San Market, Yangon

We really enjoyed this market. It's the place to go for lacquerware, fabrics, gems and all sorts of other curios.

Main entrance

Eco bag with Burmese letters

I bought a map in the market to help us plan the next trip!

Lacquer bowls

Somerset Maugham and George Orwell both travelled here and wrote about Burma. We bought these books here.

Jade bowls

Lacquer boxes

Lacquer cocktail stick pot

Central Yangon (Rangoon)

After our visit to Shwedagon Pagoda, we popped back to the hotel to change and then got a taxi to the centre of the city to take in some of the other highlights. The roads were surprisingly good, the driving not too crazy, the taxis have seat belts and the drivers are very nice and very honest. The fares were only ever a few thousand Kyat (about 1000 Kyat is a dollar). The roads were pretty congested and we spent a lot of time in taxis, but the views outside were fascinating.

Approaching the Sule Paya

Sule Paya

Independence Monument

Law court

City Hall

Mahabandoola Road

A street off Mahabandoola Road

A street off Mahabandoola Road

Friendship Restaurant, Dagon Road

We ordered some kind of noodle dish. Also on the menu:

• Chicken bottom
• Crap thumb

Hmmm

Myanmar 2: Shwedagon Pagoda

Wow. I was completely blown away by Shwedagon Pagoda. Honestly, how had I not heard much about this before? It's one of the most incredible places I have ever visited.