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This is the first time I couldn't find a location pre-loaded in the website's database! I must really be travelling now...😊 For the obsessive-compulsive types, I'm afraid the best I can do is indicate Mawlamyine since it's the next closest I could find.
Anyway as mentioned in my previous post, I couldn't take a boat so had to be satisfied with a (faster) 2.5h bus ride instead to the small town of Hpa An just north of Mawlamyine, still along the Ayerwaddy River. Definitely smaller than Mawlamyine, Hpa An is set in the midst of plains of rice paddies, and hemmed in by several hill ranges, all making for some truly picturesque landscape.
The beautiful scenery aside, this little relatively unknown town is actually of some significance to me. Let me explain.
Several months ago when I was reflecting over my job and life more generally, I came across a travel blog written by a Canadian ex-lawyer named Jodi Ettenburg. One specific entry of hers talked about arriving in Hpa An and seeing a large fire break out in the middle of the night. The scurrying around by all the people who were losing their worldly possessions to
Safe Food, Good Taste
Yes I'm sure glad the chicken is SAFE!the conflagaration was particularly poignant to her. And all I could think of was this:
What in the world was a Canadian ex-lawyer (read:
ang moh, in Singaporean-speak) doing in this small town in Myanmar??!?!
In any case it certainly got me thinking, and there was definitely a sense of "if she can do it, why not me?" And to cut a long story short, months later, here I am, in Hpa An myself. It's quite difficult to explain the thoughts that went through my mind as I overlooked the Ayerwaddy and saw the surrounding countryside and hills from the Shweyinhmyaw Pagoda from the corner of town, and reflected over this reality. But I think perhaps, some six weeks now into my travels, and for just the briefest of moments, I understood.
I've never met or spoken to Jodi before, and I guess that really shows the power of the internet, where even otherwise innocuous-seeming messages can get sent with such influence halfway across the world.
Anyway, for those who are curious, here's the link to that post:
http://www.legalnomads.com/2011/03/travel-and-perspective.html It's a great travel blog actually, with lotsa professional-looking photos, useful travel tips (safety whistle!), and
Inside a Temple
Murals on the walls explain Buddha's story. some inspiring stories too 😊 She also mentions staying in one of the only-two licensed guesthouses for foreigners in Hpa An, so I figure I'm fifty-fifty staying in the same one.
So Jodi, if you're reading this, thanks. And were you at Soe Brothers too?
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