Daily wake ups to raspy, cracked crows of roosters, and drifts into slumber with symphonies of cats brawling...
I hung around Nyaungshwe and ran into some people from my trek group. We rode bikes around neighboring villages, waving to buffalo and people bathing in the canals. I decided at the last minute I would catch a night bus to Bago to make a connection to Hpa An. Night buses are usually ideal because it saves on accommodation money, and this one dropped off at 5 am, and the next bus I needed was at 7.
Once I reached Bago I hung out for an hour and a random mini van approached the stop with two other foreigners in the back. "This faster than bus", the man at the stop told me. "Just pay 2000 more" (roughly the equivalent of $2.) I politely told him I wasn't paying any more money and in that case would wait until the bus came at 7. "Ok it's fine" he said, and motioned for me to get in. I squished in and was grateful I did because the minivan ended up taking a scenic route, stopping to pick up and drop off local people to villages I wouldn't otherwise get to see so closely. We passed several parades, where Burmese music blasted and processions of colourfully well dressed people dazzled down streets. (I saw two elephants being ridden who didn't look as amused though :( )After several hours the driver stopped the car in front of a sign that read Hpa An 8 km with an arrow to the left. He motioned for me to get out and I said that this was not Hpa An. He only spoke a few words of English, but said "taxi take you 1500". A local walked by who spoke some English and I told him that I paid for a bus into town so that's where I needed to be dropped off; at least at the bus station. The driver kept trying to get me to get out, but I was firm. He just didn't want to backtrack the 8km to drop the other travelers off at their destination. After going back and forth several minutes (girls gotta stand up for herself or will get taken advantage of left and right) he agreed and I was in Hpa An! The drive outside of town was stunning, green and lush with towering mountains, and the town nestled beside a river. I checked into a family run guesthouse and walked around town a couple of hours until the humidity was just too oppressive, and I returned to the guesthouse balcony to cool out a bit. There I met a couple of travelers and walked to find dinner with them; one recommended a woman who sits outside of this pool table every day and creates wonderful dishes. I devoured the noodle dish and tofu-pocket she made, and later went back to hand wash my clothes and get some sleep. The next day, Mirilla from my guesthouse and I set off to do some exploring and had to rent a motorbike to do so. "Can you drive it?" I asked her. I told her I was afraid of them and only had experience driving the Ebike. Hesitantly she said that she would, but that she didn't have very good vision. I prayed we would arrive unharmed, and clenched my jaw every time she picked up speed or passed someone on the road. First we stopped at Kawtkathaung cave, then explored Lat ka na village and dipped in their swimming hole. We were the only foreigners there and almost immediately a middle aged woman starts splashing us repeating "heyyyy! Mingulaba!!!" Kids joined in and we engage in a magical splashing frenzy, unable to see anything but water; laughing and smiling so hard my cheeks were sore. Then the paparazzi began and Mirilla and I posed for endless pictures with everyone who asked. A family wanted us to eat lunch with them at a spot nearby and we joined them; they showed us pictures on their phones and tried to describe things that we had trouble understanding, but appreciated anyway. Later it was motioned that they wanted us to come to their home. Two teenage daughters would ride on motorbike with Mirilla and I would ride in the large tuk tuk with the rest of the family. We sat in the hot, motionless tuk tuk for what felt like ages and I had no idea what was going on. Someone handed me a baby, more and more people climbed in, and a mom kept repeating things to me in Burmese that I didn't understand. Finally we left for their home and Mirilla was there waiting. We communicated mostly through charades and laughed a lot, and it was time to say goodbye. They gave us hand made purses and we took more pictures. Mirilla and I rode on motorbike to Lonepanyi Garden, where 1000 Buddha statues perch, then down a scarier (as in less maintained) road to the majestic Sadan cave. Mingulabaaaaa! We happily sang to everyone we passed, usually gettin get it back just as cheerfully. The area surrounding Hpa An might have been my favourite in Myanmar and i was disappointed I didn't have more time to spend there. Pre-arrival I'd decided to book flights to play it safe because at the time I didn't know how feasible it would be to cross over land out of the country (later I met people who had crossed into and would go back out through thailand.) I had to catch a night bus to Yangon later, (as I would fly out of there the 30) which I wasn't thrilled about because I was almost out of kyat and didn't want to pay an atm fee to take more money out. The blanket on the bus had bugs that feasted on me, and it dropped off at an awkward hour, I think around 1 and I asked the taxi driver to take me to the airport so I could sleep there for free. As I write this I'm still kicking myself, for I left my beloved Lifestraw bottle in the damn taxi. This was one of my most necessary traveling items, able to purify any water I came across, which would not only keep me constantly hydrated but also save money on water and plastic which is sadly strewn or burned everywhere in SE asia. So it was I slept in the airport, missing Hpa An. In the morning I decided I would go to a park , but would miss any big attractions in the city because I had to lug my large bag and day pack around which was restricting in the heat to say the least. I was able to haggle for a cheap ride to the park, and read there, briefly played with some kids, and napped in the shade. My flight was to leave at 8am the next morning and I didn't have enough money to book a room, so I would just enjoy another cozy airport snooze. By afternoon I decided to walk back to the airport, maybe 5 miles or so. My bag dug into my hips and left marks, I was pouring in sweat. Taxis and tuk tuks pulled up alongside me and asked if I needed a ride. I shook my head and said "I walk". They laughed in disbelief before continuing on their way. I found a place with AC to order noodles and luckily the portion was generous enough to stretch it over two meals. I walked the rest of the way back to the airport and there made friends with a girl from Denmark, laughing at our follies of the day and then falling in and out of sleep on the gaping metal chairs. I wasn't ready to leave Myanmar, as there was so much I missed and this country's tourism is only to expand quickly. I wanted to explore more, meet more local people while the cultural connections are still rich, unlike Thailand where it was hard to break away from a westernized customer-like relationship with the people. Next stop would be Luang Prabang, which I knew little about, only that it was the gateway to the north and I wanted to do some trekking. But first things first, a shower, meal and a proper rest.
