First part

I am just back. the 4 weeks were extraordinary. Anyone who wants to escape civilisation - Burma will be a good place. Today I keep it short, as I am heading south tonight. Burma is somewhat alike china. When I arrived, the little airport was deserted. We entered this temple like arrival hall. After completing the immigration stuff, we changed compulsory dollars against FEC (Foreign exchange currency) The Government uses this artificial money to control the dollars. Once we left the hall, we were approached by taxi drivers and hotel guides to direct one to certain hotels. Bit funny cause there were far more hotel guides than tourists. On the way to the city I was greeting by big sign board - typical for the communist countries - saying fighting the evil, keeping social stability etc. the city itself is really run down. the whole city consists of Victorian styled building, but they haven' seen any painting for centuries. the sidewalks and the streets are in an extremely poor condition. It was dangerous to walk there at night time. holes were big enough to disappear completely. I stayed in a hotel for 5$. No fan no aircon and about 35 C outside. The first day. I visited al the highlights of the capital. After three days I left the city moving north. I went to Pyay, a small town about 200 km north of Yangoon. The road, a single line one, meant to be the best road in the country. It certainly is, I learnt later. Anyway, it was a bumpy 7 hours ride in a bus with air con/ Air con means, you can open the windows and that's all. In Pyay I checked in one of the only two places. I was the only tourist in town. for the night I found a lucky bar. A restaurant where a local girl band is singing and all these Burmese men eat and enjoy themselves. Next day I visited some ancient city places near by. In the afternoon I went to a nearby village to see the only Buddha with glasses. Don't ask me way he has glasses, I was told that the English made the glasses! In the evening I left for Bagan the most famous for hundreds of old pagodas. Within two hundred year they constructed more than 3000 Pagodas. This is one thing you wonder. There are millions of monks of any age. Monks are the social system. All the poor become monks cause they are feeded by the people. Every morning they walk around the village to collect food which is kept in a pot. Well, my bus dropped me in the middle of the night in a small village and I was told that another bus will collect em in the morning. Well I was waiting for three hours until 5 a.m. By seven I reached Bagan. Again I was approached by thousands of hotel guides. the day I spent by walking around enjoying the Pagodas. Although this place meant to be touristy place there were hardly any tourists. It was low season but I met only a couple of foreigners - maybe 15. Nevertheless this place lost most of its charm due to the commercial stuff. all kids are begging for money, sweets, ball pens (they know the words in any language)but they don't go to school. Those kids earn far more than adults could by ordinary job (about 10-15$ per months). The next day, I went to a famous mountain. I used a pick up, they squeeze in as many as possible, once I counted 50 people on a Toyota pickup. On the way back a got an upper class seat which is sitting on the roof. It is good fun for while but soon! the pain will outweigh the fun. I suffered for about 3 hours. Next I went to Mandalay. The second biggest city. The hotel was nice and cheap. Fan and satellite TV for 3$. The second day I hired a Mazda pickup the size of a Mini cooper. We went to see the main Pagodas and some ancient cities and monasteries. Well these cars are very old and you would believe that they still run. Anyway, on the way my taxi lost a whole front wheel. my driver told that he will fix it while I visit the city. I wasn't optimistic at all that he could fix that. But he did, four hours later we were able to head on. Soon we started I realised that he fixed the wheel but not the break unit. so I was sitting in a car with no breaks. Was no big deal cause those cars are dam slow and he lost the wheel again. However, this time I changed the taxi. Poor guy, this cars are everything they have. The next day I was heading further north but this part I will cover in my next mail!!!!

Second part

After a few days of daydreaming, swimming, sun bath, reading, eating, I am back on the main land. I went to Koh tao, a beautiful island and still quite deserted, we almost had the beach for ourself. On Wednesday, we went to the big fullmoon party on Kopayahn. It was amazing, ten thousands of people, various discos, bars at the beach. we got there with the rave boat - just sun a few beers and music although it is not my favoured music. But it was great fun. WE danced all night and got back onto the boat by 8 a.m. Back home we just recovered from this exhausting dancing excursion.

Now I am back in BK but will leave tonight, we are going to Chang Mai and even further north.

But I still need to finish my Burma report you are longing for - I hope.

Well, I think I stopped being in Mandalay. I went north to go to another less touristy place called Monywa. And that place was deserted. The first night I met an Italian couple but for the other days I was completely on my own. When I arrived, this threeshaw driver approached me. Of course, he told me that the guesthouse I intend to stay is closed. I did not believe him. then we started to discuss the price for a 1km ride. Well, he explained that he must take a detour cause they are not allowed to use the main road. I agreed on a price 150Kj (less than 1 DM). It sounds cheap but if you pay less far a simple rice dish in a restaurant and I paid already three times more than the locals. Anyway, in the end I would have been much faster by walking. unfortunately, my place was closed down just a month ago, so I had to move to the only other place. I got my room with air con. It was close to 40 C and humility close to 100%. In the afternoon I walked around the village which was very !

laid back and Burmese. I always wonder if there is actually no male working, they sit all day long in coffee-shops and sip tea. well, I really like the idea of this society: the women do the work but the men earn and spend the money. the next day I was sick and I spare you the details. In the afternoon, I really felt that I need to do something. so I went to the river. as I wasn't allowed to share a boat with the locals as for security reasons, I had to hire my own boat by the order of the government. I paid a hundred times more than the locals. On the other side I had to hire a taxi for myself, again. Finally, I got to the caves. There are thousands of caves with Buddhas inside. The place was completely deserted. As I couldn't stand the head I went home after the caves. The next day, I left to go to a place north east of Mandalay, a former British mountain station. that place was really nice as it was much cooler (1000m above see level). Even hear I saw only a few tourists. Once I got there I was approached by horse cart driver, well it was only one cause the whole thing is Mafia like organised. So it was hard discussion to get an acceptable price. I used the remains of the day to chill out. the next morning I took the train further up the mountain. And this train was unique although, I had to pay four dollars (to the government). but the scenery and the flair of the train were incredible. Especially, when we crossed the old viaduct. there was no real bridge just the tracks. the train has to crawl in order to reduce stress to the whole construction. Well, train needed 9 hours to the next hill station about 100 km away!!!!! Finally in Hsipaw I met a few travellers, mostly Israelis. I relaxed there for four days. Everyday we did some walks to popcorn and crisp factories, waterfalls, elephant camp etc. In the evening we met up with locals who were not afraid of talking politics. there was Mr Book - he owns a book shop, Mrs teacher, who still teaches English at an age of 83, Mr Johnny the monk, he gives you an insight into Buddhism and meditation. The place was lovely and the days wen by easily. However after four days, I moved on to Inle lake, which will be covered in my next report.

Third part

Back from the djungle and on my way to Laos. But I know that I need to finish my Burma report.

I think that I stopped the last time leaving the hill station. Well, I got on the bus in the morning 6 am and there was a Japanese guy - I was not alone for the first time!!! I was told that the trip would take something between 7 and 9 hours. In the early afternoon we arrived in Mandalay and I had no clue where or which bus station. Obviously it was not the main bus station and I could not find anyone who could understand me. Well, a Japanese guy and myself, we got a threeshaw. The driver told me that he will show a ticket office where I can buy my ticket for the next day. Half an hour later I got my ticket and we reached our hotel. For the bus, I was told that they will collect me at 5 a.m. at my hotel. I had no idea what kind of bus or the bus company. Sometime, it is required to trust! I spent the afternoon with shopping! In the evening, I met some more Japanese for dinner.

The next morning, I had to wake up the hotel staff to open the door. They forgot to wake me up as well. well 3$ for a room with satellite TV what kind of service can you expect there! At 5 a pick up picked me up and we collected some more people. By 5.30 we got to the bus station. When I saw the bus I knew that this ticket was a big mistake. Anyway, I relaxed and tried to think about something that could have been worse. Finally, by 6.30 the suffering started. The seats were uncomfortable, my neighbour tried to take up the whole seat and slept using my shoulder for his head, etc. I was happy when we arrived Inle lake. I got off the bus and was approached by at least 15 hotel guides. For the last 10 km I had to take a pick up. After 30 min the pick up was filled up with people, and we left. They started the car with a manual ignition. I was used to this and I have seen and used many slowly cars but this car was worse. It took me 40 min in this dam car. |And of course, just when we arrived, it started to rain . Inle lake is one of the tourist spots in Burma but this place was as deserted as the others. I got my room with a balcony and river view. Then I had a look around in the village and dinner later on. The next day, I got my breakfast and decided that I would do the typical lake tour. So I hired a boat and a guide for about 7$. I told them all the things that I wanted to see. In the end, they showed me what everyone gets to see. First I went to a local market in a small village. Coming from the lake, you would never think that you can reach the village cause there is a kind of grass growing on the water. However, the guys know the small channels that are kept free for the boats. Here I met the first tourist. Next, I went to see a monastery that is built in the middle or the lake. there live about 10 monks and 18 cats. As the monks haven't got much to do so they train the cats to jump through rings! Must be very exciting for both the cats and the monks. After that I saw some more villages, some souvenir shops. I was back by 4 p.m. and just pleased with the trip. I had expected far more. Anyway, in the evening, I tried to figure out what I would do for my last days. As the weather was to bad for hiking, I decided to go south. There are a few places that were just recently opened to tourists. I bought the bus ticket and left Inle lake the next morning at 11 am. This time there was another German girl in the bus so the 18 hours bus trip wouldn't be to boring. At 5 a.m. the next day, we arrived in Bago (city in the east of Yangoon) where we had to change bus. We ended up to take a pick up as they refused to tell us where the bus would leave. After a sleepless night, I enjoyed another 5 hours ride. We changed a couple of times pickups. Still I don't know why. With each change the car and the road got worse. Finally it started to rain. As the roof was leaking everywhere, we got completely soaked and wet. At 11 a.m. we arrived the city Kaiyito. There we wanted to see the golden rock. On top of the mountain there is golden rock with a little pagoda on top - one of the holiest sites in Burma. Oh I forgot my travelmate - the German girl - had been in India before and since then she is Buddhist. I think a bit freaky but at least I had someone to share the suffering. In Kaiyito we took another pickup to get to Kinbun the village next to the mountain. We were -again- the only tourists. The guest house was nice and the hot coffee was just delicious though it was instant. Well, to shorten the whole story. We couldn't climb up the mountain as it was raining the whole day. Even the trucks wouldn't drive up. So we left the place the next day, to go even further south. We spent the whole day with sitting in some pickups, getting wet, hungry and cold, changing pickups etc. In the evening we arrived at our final destination. And it was raining. The next morning, I did a quick sightseeing tour in the rain and catch a boat at noon to go up river. The girl stayed there cause she wanted to go to a mediation course.

The boat trip was nice and we arrived the city by evening time. I tried to explain a taxi driver where I wanted to stay while he tried to explain that the place is closed cause it is under water. Well he took me to a different hotel. I had dinner and went out for a beer. I found a bar with life music. Girls were singing and rewarded by some men with flowers. All these unattractive middle aged men, dancing around the girls - such a disgrace. The next morning I visited a small village and monastery. The ride on the pickup was enjoyable for the first time as I had a good laugh with locals, Even the brake down of the cars was fun. They fixed something in the gear box - just using pocket knife, hammer, an old tyre etc. just incredible.

In the evening I catch the bus back to Yangoon. The road was just opened for tourist so there were quite a few check points where I had to hand over my passport. so no chance for a sleep.

Ok I stop here as I have to go. Tomorrow I am heading to Laos. If I have the time I finish while I am still travelling. If not I do it when I am back in Germany. ( I am going to be back home on the 7th of October!!