Days 153 and 154 - Last day in Yangon and home...

Yes, it's the final day. No idea how that can possibly have come round already.  

Some last shots of life in Yangon...

We made it a good'un by visiting the National Museum, which managed despite the dreadful lack of proper lighting to contain some spectacular exhibits.  

The main draw is the Room of Thrones, featuring an enormous golden throne for the king and, more interesting, a dozen or so smaller subsidiary seats (the bumble bee throne, the elephant throne, the peacock throne etc) which were apparently used for specific "kingly" tasks : accepting gifts, receiving dignitaries, promoting and demoting, ennobling, passing sentence of death - your everyday stuff, for which you need a special place to park yourself.  More down to earth is a floor dedicated to the various tribes of Myanmar : their particular festivals, costumes, musical instruments, sports and activities, illustrated both with rather comical mannequins and some lovely photographic portraits (which make you realise that the mannequins actually aren't so very far off).

Sadly no cameras allowed inside but this is the gentleman at the gate

Then to the airport for the long trek home...

And, well, that's that.  Last two flights (fifteen in all - conservatively 30,000 airmiles, plus Lord knows how many more thousands by car, bus, train, ferry, pony and trap, electric moped) brought us via Changi back to London at 05.45 on a cold, wiiiindy, dark Valentine's Day morning.  And so to the familiar joys of the Piccadilly line

  

 

and a weekend of rummaging around in our own stuff (bloody hell, where is everything?!)

A million thanks to everyone who put up with us and made it all so fantastic.  Highlights : Crater Lake and the Columbia river gorge; the Anthropological Museum in Vancouver; Levuka on Ovalau island and the scenery all over Viti Levu; snorkelling and the market in Port Vila, Vanuatu; Napier, Cape Spit and of course those lazy sunny days bouncing around on the St Helen's trampoline; wine-tasting in Mudgee and Hunter Valley, Australia Day in Canberra, and breakfasting with a view of the Pacific; beautiful, breath-taking Bagan.


Thanks for reading.