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Published: October 29th 2017
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Mountains
As seen from the bus as we came from Bagan to Kalaw Kalaw. 26th October The hotel has intermittent WiFi so fingers crossed I'll get some use.
The 9 hours predicted on the bus was less than 7 as it was full soon after leaving Bagan, we even had a half hour lunch stop. Many of the passengers were tourists going to Kalaw or on to Taungii.
I'm feeling dizzy and nauseous but it's not surprising as the last 2 hours were over mountains with constant switch backs. If I don't travel well normally, what chance do I stand here?The guide for tomorrow was at the hotel to greet me and discuss the route for trekking. It is 4 hours up and down mountains. Even before coming away I wondered whether I'd cope and my itinerary said only 3 hours! I cancelled it, what a woos, but no sense in burning out and missing more of the trip. It's cool and damp here so I wore my fleece for the 10 minute walk to this noodle shop, Pyae Pyae. It was recommended by the hotel girl when I asked about Shan noodles and I later found it recommended in the Lonely Planet guide.
The noodles were delicious and
I'm having a banana milkshake to follow.
Tomorrow I plan to just walk around town for a couple of hours and take the train about lunch time.
27th October
I awoke at 5:30 a.m. as usual and went for a walk around the town to see if I could catch the sunrise. Luckily it was not far up the hill behind the Monastery where I could look over the town and to the hills in the east. I saw a Chinese style temple, a convenience store and some other hotels. One of them had a balcony by the front entrance with seats, it was perfect for sitting with my camera and watching the sunrise. As with most places, the town woke up as the sun came up and the streets became quite busy. I returned to the hotel to have breakfast and wait for my guide Yuyu.Yuyu was still my guide for the morning in spite of me deciding not to go on the Trek to Myindike. For her it was like a day off or so her boss said later. Yuyu told me that even at 22 she gets back ache walking up the
mountains and pains in her knees walking down. Funny that Khiri calls them the Shan Hills because they are most definitely mountains. We had fun together walking around the town especially the market where I bought some souvenirs. Yuyu treated me to some snacks made of rice powder, garlic, spring onion and tofu. We had tea at two different stalls with her friends and she bought a bag of green tea for me to take home. This is a gift from her because her mother has a small area of tea where is she lives and works. Yuyu explained that the women pick the tea and the men transport it so they carry the heavier loads. Father is a carpenter. At the moment Yuyu is staying on the edge of town with her cousin’s grandmother. However her cousin is currently away at University. They go for just three months at a time because it is so expensive.
We did climb the hill to the monastery School to admire the view of the the town. Like me she has an interest in plants and fauna so we tried to name some of the trees and flowers for each other. Yuyu
pointed out the route I would have taken to Myin Dyke, it was over a very steep Mountain. The monastery like others that I have seen, was full of dogs. When the bell rang they created an even bigger clamor. I said that they should be used to it but apparently it hurts their ears.
Coming down we used the road around the back rather than the direct steps.
I really appreciated this calmer morning and we had half hour back at the hotel before being taken to the station.
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