Competition entry

I was advised to take a taxi to the falls.
Ever in search of a more authentic experience I shunned that advice and set out with just the name of the ‘secret waterfall’ written in English and Burmese, Dee Dok.
Catching a public bus to the waterfall was a challenge in itself. Several frustrating hours were spent wandering around Mandalay looking for a bus stop that does not exist. The buses are actually just pickups that have no set route stopping wherever the passengers want. Hailing one down and sitting on the roof, I eagerly anticipated the clear waters I had been promised. No space is wasted and people were crammed into the back more tightly than the caged chickens that lined the roadside, standing on the tailgate holding a ragged piece of rope or like me sitting on the roof.
I had to jump off the still moving truck as the roads became too poor and the truck turned back to the city. I was pointed in the right direction and a local uttered the single word, motorbike. The tiny village had several men sat outside with motorbikes chewing their tobacco and periodically spitting out redness. It seemed almost too easy. It immediately became apparent however that the language barrier may be a serious issue and miming a waterfall is harder than you may think. Eventually I found someone willing to take me and got on the back of his dusty, old bike. We drove through stunning countryside following a river-a good sign for finding the waterfall.
After 45 minutes or so of winding, pot-hole ridden, isolated roads, even the motorbike could go no further. They pointed out a path in the middle of nowhere and said ‘up’. A dusty hike up the rocky mountain with barely a trace of a footpath under the relentless midday sun certainly whetted the appetite for a swim in cool clear waters.
Framed by jagged mountains Dee Dok cuts through the green and brown of the shrubbery in swathes of clear turquoise. The waterfalls are in several distinct stages each with inviting pools in which you can swim. The upper levels can be reached by climbing makeshift bamboo ladders nailed into the rocks in a rather haphazard manner.
If the blue waters were not appealing enough after several hours of sweaty, dusty travel the waterfalls were almost deserted. No other foreigners and only a few Burmese students shared the secret paradise with us. It is unsurprising that so few people make it there however, getting there is not easy. The journey is worth it though… who wants things to be easy?