Myanmar

Monday 20th June 2016 – We arrived into Mandalay about 7am. First stop was Gloria’s for coffee and pastries. Next we checked back into Kaung Myint Hotel whose staff were kind enough to let us have our room early. We slept until lunchtime and then booked bus tickets to Hsipaw for the following day. In the evening we went to a Thai restaurant which was memorable for the extraordinary fish they had swimming in their fish tank. It was the oddest looking thing I’ve ever seen – like someone had tried to splice a pink fish with a baby.

Tuesday 21st June 2016 – We left Mandalay at 1pm. As the bus swung round the mountainous roads Alysa’s powers of self control were tested to the limit by people noisily phlegm dredging throughout the journey while a rather annoying Frenchman insisted on giving us a detailed account of the area in barely intelligible English. We stopped for some food in Pyin U Lwin, a pretty town full of well manicured gardens and decorated horse carriages. As we neared our destination we saw the shaky looking viaduct the train crosses on its journey from Mandalay to Hsipaw – awe inspiring or terrifying depending on your point of view. We reached Hsipaw around 7pm and walked to our hotel. By the time we went to dinner most places were closed and we contented ourselves with a bowl of noodle soup from a somewhat hygienically challenged establishment.

Wednesday 22nd June 2016 – Before going in search of the nearby hot springs we had coffee at a little place by the river. Alysa’s coffee arrived watery and brown and when she asked if it was a cappuccino the owners reply was “yes, cappuccino, no froth” – brilliant! We never did find the hot springs but we did have a wonderful time looking for them. We walked across rice fields, through little streams and down muddy forest paths until we reached a river whose muddy banks were too slippery to ascend. Loads of different types of butterfly fluttered by the paths – a real lepidopterists paradise. Eventually we found ourselves in little Bagan – named for the little collection of old pagodas there. There we ran into the Frenchman we had met on the bus. He started to tell us the history of the place but we made our excuses and left. On the way back we passed a noodle factory where long lines of noodles were hanging out to dry in the sun like washing. As we reached the outskirts of town the heavens opened and by the time we reached our hotel we were utterly soaked. That evening we had a meal at Black House Restaurant by the river. The food was fantastic and the location idyllic.

Thursday 23rd June 2016 – I had been hoping to spend a night in the jungle in the mountains behind Indawgyi Lake but they had been mined by the KIA (Kachin Independence Army) so tonight would be the opportunity. We picked up some plastic sheeting that would serve as a tarp from the market in the morning and walked to a nearby waterfall we both wanted to see. The path took us past a Buddhist cemetery, a Chinese cemetery and then a fly infested tip (not marked on the map). The waterfall was lovely and perfect for a refreshing dip after a hot walk. On returning to our clothes we saw they had attracted a number of small bees. They were sweat bees and one that had gone unnoticed stung me as I put on my t shirt. After a bit of lunch I said goodbye to Alysa who was looking forward to unlimited coffee and pastries back in town and headed for the little river we had got stuck at the day before. Wading further up the river led to a little waterfall which could be climbed with the aid of a bit of rope. Eventually the stream bed led out onto the edge of a maize field – just when you think you’re in the middle of nowhere you find someone has planted crops there. Skirting round the field a bit led up a hill back into thick jungle and I happily slashed away at the undergrowth until the handle came off the cheap parang. It was getting late so I strung up my hammock, mosquito net and tarp, smothered myself in deet and settled in for the night, listening to the sounds of the jungle. Fireflies blinked their green light all around and bats that must have been roosting in trees nearby flew into the mosquito net which I guess was too thin to show on their radar. I was too excited to sleep much and instead rigged up my sarong with my headtorch underneath it to attract insects the way naturalists do on tv. Unfortunately, apart from a few very small flies nothing seemed interested in the light at all.