Stories on the road

This story starts early morning in Yangon bus station, where I saw Buddhist monks collecting their food, men and women wearing a longyi, having red teeth from chewing betel and thanaka on their faces, you really feel different here, as if you entered a part of the world you had no idea existed.

A bus took me to Mawlamyine, I looked around and decided to go to Hpa-An instead. On the 2 hours ride, with the cutest girl behind me playing with my hair, I saw something that fascinates me, the karst mountains, formations that emerge out of nowhere from the flat ground and the pagodas on top of them. It’s amazing how their faith gets them to built pagodas everywhere, even in the most inaccessible mountains.

Next day I saw beautiful green rice fields among the karst, people working, limestone caves, with Buddha images and pagodas inside. Somehow I ended up returning to Mawlamyine.

While I was walking a young guy and older man passed me in a motorcycle, they asked “American?” I said “Venezuelan”. They stopped, the older man said “I have never met someone from Venezuela before”, “we don’t come around here often” I replied. He asked me about my plans for next day, I told him I would go to see the biggest reclining Buddha by bicycle, he said “Nooo, it’s too far, you cannot go by bicycle, we will take you tomorrow”. I asked how much would it be?. He said “We don’t want money, we want friends”.

8 am, my 80 year old date, his nephew and me went on the bike to the reclining Buddha, a massive 180 meters long sculpture. There was a festival at the time, markets, food, people and monks. Mr. Myint took me to a shop, where we ate a delicious green tea salad, a woman in the shop put some thanaka on my face. I went inside the Buddha, where you find a lot of dioramas about Buddhism. On the way out Mr. Myint or “uncle” as everyone calls him, and me, went to eat again, this time, some rice served on a leave with a great sauce.

This date was not over, we went to a tea house to meet his friends, talk about my country, about meditation, Myanmar and politics. We also went to a temple where uncle prays and meditates everyday. We sat there, in front of my totem, the lion, to pray, so we can meet in our next life. This was one of those days where I’m so grateful to have my backpack and the will to travel and experience this wonderful world we live in.