Golden lands: part 2

Ok so following on from last time

We left Hopin on the only transport available which was a truck full to the brim with goods and it was on top of these we had to sit crammed in with twenty other misfortunates. It was really really uncomfortable and also incredibly hair raising as we made it closer to the lake and had to cross a mountain road deep with mud and ruts. It got to the point where as we tilted to the side we all had to hang on to each other so no-one fell off the top. We also took it upon ourselves to trade medical insurance details incase one of us survived and could help the other in the event we rolled over. 6 painful hours later we rolled into Lonton and disembark at a gorgeous lakeside chalet. I was so glad we had made the journey plus after much haggling we managed to get the price of the room down to $5 each. Now things in Myanmar don't always go to plan or in accordance with the normal rules of traveling. This is further complicated as most towns have electricity for maximum of two hours a day or none at all. So come 5.30 it is pitch black and a torch is your most prized possession. Just setting the seen for you.

Where there are no other tourists it normally works in your favour as you have the bargaining upperhand but in lonton miles from anywhere this did not happen. We had just finished eating dinner when the guy running the guesthouse runs over and says we have to leave. He doesn't speak much english so someone translates and says one of the army generals wants to stay and therefore we cant. Great we think. Hotels in Myanmar unlike most places have to have a permit for foreigners to stay there, and we are banned from staying anywhere else. Lonton not surprisingly only has one such hotel and so essentially we have just been told we have nowhere to stay and because the way the trucks work we were stuck there for two days. To add to this confused situation, some random woman turns up and says we can sleep on her floor. At this point i am knackered, not feeling great and on a short fuse especially as i was just looking forward to some much needed sleep as i hadnt slept well due to the dreadful room in Hopin. I was so pissed off stood there in the dark, not having a clue what was going on or how to go about doing something about it. To cut it short it turns out an army general (who lived in a mini fortknox overlooking the town dracula esque) wasnt coming to stay but he owned the guesthouse and said we couldnt stay for the price we had haggled for. So an hour later crisis over and we are a little more out of pocket than we would have liked.

Indawgi despite all this turned out to be incredible in the main part as it was completely unspoiled by mass tourism. Its main hope being its not on any tour operators radar. Day one we rented a rowing boat and some extra rowers and went out to the amazing floating Shwemyzu pogada. Although Anya was disappointed as women weren't allowed onto the island. This took pretty much the whole day as it was alot further than i expected and also our hired help took to letting me do all the work when we weren't looking. Second day we were so lucky as Jean a really nice Swiss guy showed up and after finding out we weren't planning on doing a motorboat trip due to the huge expense said we could go with him. So we had a whole day feeling like proper pioneers hitting really small villages that maybe get one or two outside visitors a year. The looks on people faces were amazing and everywhere we went we were greeted after the initial shock by big shouts of 'Mingalabar' my new favourite word. Basically it just means hello in Burmese but everyone loves it when a foreigner speaks in their language and its such a great ice breaker in situations when the locals just didn't know quite what to say or do.

Our time here went so fast and we headed back to Myitkina after just two days. The journey back wasn't so eventful as the road had dried out somewhat and the train being 3 hours late worked in our favour for once allowing us to jump aboard and make the distance without losing another day. Next up came a four day river trip down the Irrawaddy to Mandalay. It was really cool as travelling in this way is such a joy. We took three different types of boats and properly got a taste of local life watching people at work on the riverbanks doing everything from farming to panning for gold. Anything just to scrape a living. In this part of the world the forestry has been relatively minor so for most parts the banks were unbroken jungle with the occasional small wooden village. I would have loved to have gotten off somewhere and explored but there was nowhere for us to stay and we would have probably gotten the locals into trouble with the police.

Most foreigners i met who lived in Myanmar even in Yangon said the secret police was just a fact of life and most days they get followed by someone. Also anyone we spoke to would probably get a visit to make sure nothing subversive was going on. On indawgi when we did the boat trip the generals daughter was sent along to keep tabs on us and as soon as we got back she was straight up the hill to give her report.

Our river plans were messed up a bit when the government boat we planned to take broke down and instead we had to wait an extra day for a private boat which cost 8 times as much. Like most places there was a local price and a foreigner price but here it was ridiculous. $5 for locals and $60 for foreigners. Its not like we got a room or anything just a chair. We made the most of it though and relaxed in the sunshine with rum and cokes for the whole day and also managed to scavenge a row of seats to sleep on that night.

Arriving in Mandalay was a shock and also the only let down for me in the entire month. So far up to now i hadn't been hassled but Mandalay is tourist central and touts were everywhere. The city was also really dirty and crazy as it is one of the few places where people can afford bikes and cars. We did a trip to Sagain hill which is the biggest Buddhism centre in Burma and then went to Arapura bridge for sunset. The bridge is the longest stilt bridge in Burma and was amazingly beautiful. By this point amazing sunsets had become so routine but this was the best of the lot.

Next day we got up at 4am for sunrise on Mandalay hill which was alright but the city was pretty boring other than that so i headed off to Kalaw that night. I only had just over a week left and wanted to get in the three day trek to Inle lake as well as the fire festival i had found out about the day before. It turns out i was really lucky to get a seat on the bus at short notice and after a couple hours sleep i joined a group of people heading to Taunggi. The festival was insane, basically just really drunk men messing around with fireworks and fire in the attempt to get some wacking great balloons off the ground. The evening ones were pretty dangerous as the balloons had crates of fireworks hanging below and the fuses seemed to be random. This resulted on a few occasions in some of the fireworks going off before the balloon was clear of the ground which got everyone running for cover.

Next day I set off with an English couple and an Argentinian couple with our guide on the three day trek to Inle lake. The walking was pretty spectacular taking in forest, rolling hills, farmland, tribal villages and another round of friendly people. First night we slept in a tiny village and had the best food, and the next one in a monastery. Being woken up at 5am by the chanting of the monks was so nice and a real experience, added to by the misty morning over the hills outside. Some of the colours were stunning and at points it felt like walking through a painting. I had never seen anything like it.

Getting to Inle i also lucked out as i got an amazing room for $10. It was by far the nicest i have had to date and plus everyone from the trek was staying at the same place so we shared the cost of a boat trip around the lake. I can see why the lake is so popular and cruising around stilt villages and floating gardens made for a very enjoyable day and another chance to top up the tan. I think i saw a cloud once in my entire trip and every day it was so hot at least 35-40. It made made me feel even better when i got news of the utter misery in England.

Two really good days were spent at the lake but time was pressing and the ancient temples of bagan awaited. On the bus was a girl from hong kong i had met earlier so we shared a horse cart ride around the temples. It was really amazing, the site is so huge and did not feel overcrowded which was the problem at Angkor wat. Most temples were fairly similar but you could climb quite a few of them which due to the really flat terrain resulted in amazing panoramas especially at sunset. There were two main areas and the second day i rented a bike to check out the others which was a bad idea. It was so hot i only made it to five or six before i felt a bit dizzy and went back to lie in the air con.

I managed to watch a few games of football that night which is so surreal when you are surrounded by monks, who once they realise your the only one cheering for villa actually turned around every time arsenal scored pointed and went 'aaaahhh' right in my face. Monks here are really different to the rest of asia.

I then was left with a 15 hour night bus ride on an abysmal bus that kept breaking down, plus every time i fell asleep we reached a checkpoint where i had to get off and show my passport. So annoying. But i did get to see the new capital Napydjaw on the way back to Yangon. Never have i seen such a complete farce or felt utter hatred towards the ridiculous government in Myanmar that grows fat off the hard work of people who have nothing. 5 years ago the Military government consulted astrologers who told them that Myanmar's problems were due to the bad spirits brought by foreigners to Yangon. So the solution was to waste an incredible sum of money building a new capital in the middle of the jungle to which foreigners are banned from visiting. Its the only place in the entire country with 24 hour electricity and driving through it was lit up like Vegas complete with massive shopping centres and hotels but nobody to use them. Even the roundabouts had flashing lights and ridiculous lit up sculptures. There were row upon row of streets that had street lighting but no buildings had even been built yet, it was so maddening and surreal at the same. I could see the Burmese on my bus felt physically sick at what they were seeing but fortunately the huge new boulevards with no traffic allowed us to escape in record time.

This brought an end to my Burma adventure and it was utterly perfect. Honestly it was the only time i have felt sad leaving a country and if it wasnt so much hassle to stay there i would have done. Anyway as soon as the government falls or the restrictions are relaxed i am so back there.

Sorry i forgot to mention about going out clubbing in Yangon on my last night. There is pretty much no nightlife but the only place listed in Lonely Planet turned out to be completely empty. I only found this out after already having payed to go in. They then refused to give me money back instead giving me two free beers which i drank in utter bemusement whilst watching a midget dancing to some hard core house music which apparently passed for entertainment. So so funny and wierd i wasnt even positive that it was actually happening. Lol!