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So it was our last morning in Burma, it would be sad to leave but we both knew expense prevented us from staying longer. We met up with Kratos outside and enjoyed breakfast in the already quite stifling heat. Zdenek eventually joined us being fashionably late as always. Before our departure from Mandalay airport we wanted to stop off at the U Bein Bridge, one of Mandalay's premier tourist attractions. The bridge is officially the world's longest teak wood bridge which crosses a lake roughly 10km south of the main town. It is apparently quite stunning especially if your lucky enough to catch the monks crossing from a nearby monastery.
The taxi driver who we negotiated a fare with yesterday turned out to be a bit too punctual arriving 30 minutes early. Luckily we were packed so we loaded up into what looked like an old Cortina where we were crammed in like sardines. We reached the bridge after about 20 minutes being greeted by hawkers and food stalls. The bridge did look striking against the backdrop of the lake especially as the sun reflected its vastness in the still water. On crossing we could see the local farmers were shepherding the cattle through shallow areas of waters. The little calves looked anxious as they were nearly submerged in some areas... Barely keeping their heads above the water. The sun was reflecting off the lake causing a glare and the umbrellas were out protecting the locals from the sun.
A few monks were crossing the bridge but not in the numbers Laura was hoping and as there was numerous people constantly on the bridge it wasnt quite the photo op that she had hoped for. We walked across it regardless as enjoyed the stroll whilst looking at the surrounding countryside. Laura was quite the attraction and kept getting stopped for photos with local girls. By the time we had crossed then returned we were all quite hot and so we decided to hit the road to our final destination, the airport. Now, to call it Mandalay airport is a little misleading as it is about 40 miles outside the town, literally in the middle of nowhere. Inside the airport, there is nothing, I mean I have never seen an airport so sparse. I saw one duty free shop and one little cafe... As well as a liquor shop that looked like it had held one hell of a party, there were smashed bottles everywhere. It was a surreal experience but at least you got checked in early.
Luckily our aeroplane was on time and soon enough we were in the air heading back to Bangkok. It took about 75 minutes flight time before we landed at Don Mueang airport and it felt good to be back in familiar territory. The convenient shuttle bus was waiting for us (which had more than doubled in price). It was still the cheapest option so we jumped on and headed to Mo Chit as we needed to go to the bus station to secure tickets to Chiang Mai. I knew it would be busy as new year celebrations would start at the weekend but we were unable to book the bus before returning to thailand as it can only be a week in advance... luckily we had the foresight to book accommodation ahead so now it was just the matter of the bus.
The bus dropped us at the bus station and Kratos and Zdenek managed to secure a night bus to Chiang Mai for that evening. However, when I enquired about the 11th all I got told was 'full'. The woman told me all buses were now full to Chiang Mai until next week. My face dropped and I got uncharacteristically angry. It was a little embarrassing because I was so frustrated not being able to get a bus considering I booked accommodation ages ago. The weekend was the Songkran new year festival (13th-17th April) and locals were obviously flocking to Chiang Mai as it is the popular place to go. Think going to London or Edinburgh for our new year!
Laura calmed me down and explained there would be other options, even forking out to fly if we had to. I knew I over reacted but I had planned for this but obviously transport booked out quicker than I had anticipated. We decided to chill out for a second and so we headed to a local stall where we ate some below par noodle soup, before we parted ways from the boys and headed back to our usual hostel. On arriving they explained nearly all transport to Chiang Mai would be full as everyone goes there, including 70% of tourists. We rested up for the rest of the evening drinking free tea and coffee knowing we would need to find an alternative way to get up north. Laura was a bit annoyed as the dorm was full (rarely is here) and she was the only girl with five boys, this is fine in theory but on arriving she complained it stank of sweat, beer and shame... and to be honest I had to agree with her....
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