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Today we're leaving to go to Bagan by bus. Another long bus journey but this one during the day so we'll see some of the countryside along the way.
We were dropped at the bus station & wait for our 8:30am bus. Don't be fooled by the word bus station. Get all images of the western bus station out of your head. Imagine a muddy section of land with buildings where each bus company has a desk, a chair & a phone. It's bustling with livestock, shipments of fruit & veg and lots of ladies with bowls the size of tables on their heads where you can stock up on everything from tissues to chewing gum to chickens feet and everything inbetween. It's chaotic but Mandalay station is nothing compared to Yangon. The size of that station is a mini city in itself!!!
We climb onboard after our bags have been snatched from us & loaded onboard (at least they're in the bus & not on top!). The seats look big and comfy and I was looking forward to what we'd see along the way. As we journeyed along the sights did not disappoint as you see great scenes of rural life. The paddy fields, people washing from the village well, people just going about their business. Most villages here have no electricity or running water so it seemed like the well was a bit of a social hotspot!
I still find it a little backwards how they have these little vehicles that look like mini tractors with the tractor engine up front but a pick up or passenger or box van type back section but they still use Ox & cart to farm!
The first couple of hours on the bus weren't too bumpy as we were back on the new highway. However after that we turned off and it changed dramatically. The road is now small stretches of unfinished Tarmac, then dirt road then road in the process of being built. Imagine this.....you're sat on a powerplate (one of those vibrating machines at the gym!). It's lost all rhythm and also has gained a tilt function so now more like you're sat in the middle of a spacehopper. The rhythm is so erratic one minute your bouncing so hard you nearly knock yourself out on the chair infront to staccato vibrations like you're driving over cobbles on your bike!!! 7 hours in total. By Myanmar standards that was a good road!! Lets just say the expectations for my cellulite to have improved are well up there after that journey!! :-)
We arrive at the bus station again & deal with the circling vultures in our crab like fashion again! Turning down the horse & cart we get in the back of a pick up to go to the hotel.
What a surprise we got that made us forget that journey instantly. This hotel is immense, not in size but location. The Kumudara hotel is a little oasis. We get to our room and have a view over the temples. I count 50 temples (yes I was that sad to count!). They're in amongst lush green fields & palm trees. I can safely say I will never see any other place that comes close to this view. Bagan is unique, there are over 1/2 million Buddhas in over 4000 temples in a 20 square mile radius. Utterly mindblowing.
However as we unpack the bags we realise we have a casualty. The laptop won't switch on. At least I'm travelling with man who could fix it if it could be saved. We fear the bumpy journey was all too much for the little thing. We didn't bring a screwdriver so head out in search of one. The hotel doesn't have one that small. We arrange to go out on a horse & cart to go see some temples & try and forget about it for a bit. We saw some amazing temples dating back to the 1100's. our favourite one you could climb the steep walls like a pyramid to get a view at the top. It put everything into perspective up there as you can see other temples for miles & miles. Big, small, shiny - all types.
We explained out problem to our horse & cart driver & he knew someone with a screwdriver. After a visit he let Sy borrow it for the night. On our return he tried for a few hours but couldn't get it to work. The biggest fear is that we didn't have a chance to backup the photos from that amazing day out around Mandalay & they might be lost. We still don't know & will only find out when we're back in Bangkok.
Nothing we can do apart from look after the hard drive so we decided to relax by the pool with this amazing horizon of temples. We thought we were being careful in the heat but oh my god were we wrong. After only 2 hours we retreated inside. For those that know Sy & I, we don't burn easy. 2 hours swimming in the pool and talking (not even real sunbathing as it was nice in the pool) we have both burnt badly. For me it is my thighs & belly as to be fair they never see the light of day in England. Sy unfortunately has blistered badly along his shoulders. We're looking after them but both feel like stupid numpties that should have realised what was happening. With temps of nearly 40 we should have hidden in the shade!!
So due to these factors we've been forced to stop and rest. Not too bad when you have this view to enjoy! Changed hotel to the Thiri Marlar for the last couple of days here. They have a roof terrace that is awesome. Enjoyed looking out to the mountains at breakfast. Going on a river boat to hopefully catch a good sunset tonight.
Another early start tomorrow on the bus to Kalaw. :-)
- comments
Spam Sounds amazing guys! Good to feel part of the adventure in from your updates. Go careful and don't forget the sunscreen! Xx
Andi Glad you guys are having such an amazing time! Great to read about your travels (despite the lack of RSS feed on this site!). Regarding laptop, I'm sure I'm teaching Sy to suck eggs, but even if the machine is dead you can almost certainly recover photos from the hard disk, so don't go chucking it away.
Arthur Great blogs, makes us feel as though we are there with you (at least in spirit). Please take care of the bodies and rest up occasionally to re-energise.