Another trip update!

Again, this is written by the good writer in the family. . . Brandon! Miss you all :) Here's the latest. We piled into Tun's early eighties corolla and headed for the airport. Security there was nearly nonexistent, starkly contrasting with airports in the states, and instead of overhead announcements for final boarding, men would walk around the single terminal with signs. The building was small, hot and had big yellow signs in the bathrooms warning guests about drinking the water.      The plane was equally hot and small, but we arrived safely after a short flight and touched down just as the coast appeared underneath us. A shuttle was waiting. We bounced down the dirt pavement roads wide enough to accommodate one large vehicle, but certainly not two. We passed small huts, weather worn government buildings that looked as though they'd been through war. Fields were full of mats with fish laid out for drying. We arrived at the resort like a van full of dignitaries, or maybe celebrities. Workers scrambled to open our doors, whisk away our luggage and thrust papaya juice into our waiting hands, encouraging us to sit in the shade and relax while they proceeded to check us in. Our room was their biggest! Thanks mom and dad B! An impressive two bedrooms, two bathrooms, large front deck with unobstructed ocean views.  Another private patio with private third shower if you should feel Inclined to be naked outside, which you almost always feel like being in this heat. In addition, our room had a dining area, multiple tvs and two sitting rooms. Everything from the furniture to the floors to the toilet seats was dark rich teak, and the gentle sound of crashing waves endlessly permeated through the walls.        The ocean outside is Like a clear blue tourquiose and the white sand beach comes all the way up to our front deck. The resort keeps a row of bikes at the ready for tourists wanting to explore. It was the first thing we did. Trying to find a bike with sufficiently inflated tires and seats at the right height was challenging work but bye and bye we set off down the bumpy road. After coverings a quarter mile my bike chain fell off and so we used my camera strap and I had Byron tow me back to the resort. The locals either scratched their  heads in confusion or broke out laughing at the sight of this. Back on the road we visited a nearby resort with an impressive looking restaurant at another resort with amazing sunset views from your table. We decided to eat, even thought we knew we'd pay 5-10times the cost ($10a person) compared to a local spot ($3 a person), but we were told the sunsets here were a must see. The view delivered. The food did not. Either cold, dry, undercooked or just plain wrong. Oh well, like emilynn's parents reminded us, this is Myanmar!        After a deep sleep we awoke naturally, as anyone on vacation should, to see the sun still was under the horizon. I guess we're still a little jet lagged. We took advantage in the form of a morning stroll on the beach. The ocean was bath water warm as it rolled up and down the sand and over our toes. We caught the sun rise over the dense green jungle, and watched with interest as two blue crabs fought over a piece of fish and then headed back, collecting shells and bits of coral on the way.          The resort has a breakfast Buffet every morning and it's quite good! We loaded up on crepes, omelets, fresh fruit and a variety of other things and set out to snorkel. We'd chartered a small fishing boat the night before through the resort to take us over to pearl island where the snorkeling is said to be the best. We set off under the guide of two locals, all tan skin and white toothy grins. The snorkeling was great, with schools of fish eating off the coral and darting about. We saw angel fish, parrot fish, and countless more.         Upon returning, famished from Hours of snorkeling, we decided to try our luck at a local restaurant and leave the resort dining for the suckers. This decision paid off! The food was excellent and we filled ourselves to overflowing on curry, enormous tiger prawns, whole bbq'd tilapia, rice and vegetables.