Maree, Gavin, Keith, Peter & Jan. Burma was superb, good for trekking, much more relaxed than i thought. For westerners anyway, in the permitted areas.
Some highlights of the cycle tour:-
The 14 hour train ride - from Yangon to Mandalay - the most uncomfortable train ride ever, but a wonderful experience - so bumpy that my feet lost contact with the floor on several occasions. Glad I didn't need to use the toilet. So after a night of no sleep, a bike ride from the host dusty planes up into the mountains and high cool plateaus - arrived late at sunset.
Inle Lake was great, hired a boat for the day - like a eastern version of Venice. They also float there crops and grow them out on the water.
Some incredible landscapes, up in the hills, its a little cooler so there's plenty of green. A plateau with gently rolling hills, patchwork of reds, browns, greens and water buffaloes wallowing in the mud - people working the land.
Back down on the planes the weather is very hot, sun is strong - cycling sort of cools you down - but the sweat pours when you stop - noodle soups for lunch - learnt that drinking endless amounts of fanta feels good to begin with but eventually leaves you feeling bloated and dehydrated at the same time.
Bagan is the cultural centre of Burma, with 400 temples (some big!) dotted across a huge plain by the banks of the Irrawaddy river. They're all in various states of decay, very atmospheric and charming, a good contrast to the very pristine temples in other areas of Asia.
Had dinner with a family peter made friends with back in 1992. They're now famous within Bagan doing a roaring trade in the local souvenir market. Very kindly, they gave us all present, we were very humbled, so i gave them my good travel knife. Nice to be with a local family for the evening.
I was the only member of our group to eat the mutton and the following day i became spectacularly sick whilst on the bike. Wrenching over the handle bars, pulling onto the side of the road in front of the locals - "aliens have landed and one of them is being sick". It was going to be a macho challenge to complete the days bike ride, but gave up when i filled a plastic bag during a drinks stop. Couldn't hold it in! Stylishly grabbing the bag just in time while sitting with my friends at the restaurant table.
So, decided to hitch-hike by the army checkpoint, then in Burma in the middle of nowhere particular, a group of Burmese nuns offered as a lift and an overnights stay at their church. Arrived, very nice on the outskirts of town, dozed and slept for a while outside. Father John was Burmese and reminded us of Lenoard Roseter, definitely a character in his own right. Originally i had visions of white robed matrons converting me - alas, wasn't like that. Everyone was very kind, we were lucky to be the first westerners who'd stopped there in a long time, and so we were treated like honoured guests. Had to be careful, because we could be in trouble for staying at non-approved government places - and our hosts could be too - turned out ok, things are different here - the village chief and local police dropped by, we signed stuff and were allowed to stay. Had dinner with Father John and the local English teacher (very nice guy) and very well spoken in English. Police did follow us if we left the church, but we told not to worry about it - its unjust the way things are done.
A few brave people talked politics - its a great country to visit - safe for a tourist in the permitted areas. The Burmese people I met seemed genuinely happy to meet me, including a policeman and army people. Dig under the surface, and all the Burmese would prefer to live in a free country. There are some bad areas that no tourist visits, and there are some bad officials, corrupt army people and the real threat of violence. The people I met were very nice.
So back to Thailand yesterday - taking it easy here in Bangkok - off the hotel pool, shop, drift down the river on a boat, bla bla bla.
Rough Route
- Yangoon - worlds most shaky train ride
- Thazi - towards the hills
- Kalaw - hill station, cooler
- Inle Lake - wow, huge lake
- Kalaw - back again
- Pindaya - side trip, fantastic scenery
- Meiktila
- Pyin-u
- Shwebo
- Monywa
- Pakokku
- Bagang - 100s of temples on vast plain
- Popa
- Mandalay
- Pynmanna
- Bago
*route information not accurate - will update route later