Weds morning after a dreadful sleep. Who knew that train tracks had potholes and huge bumps built into them?
Most of the train was made up of standard seats(wood w no padding). You could save $3 if you rode this way.
The sleeper car we shared with an Irish bloke named Brian. Brian is a retired Cinematographer and on his first solo voyage of his life. We all really hit it off and sat talking for hours in the first portion of the ride. Through the middle plains of the country we viewed farmland, mountains, village after village of smiling beautiful locals.
and skies calling me to swim into them.
Life was smooth and good. Then darkness came. People in this neck of the universe tend to use the sun setting to tell then it's bed time.
With the number of random visitations to our sleeper diminishing as the moon rose higher we decided to head for our individual bunks and get some rest. I took the top bunk. It's my opinion that the top is a quality bunk. Away from random night wanderers, a safe haven for my gear along side me and a bit more private.
It wasn't long after pulling up the single (hardly adequate 100 thread count) sheet which was generously provided to each bunk, that I felt a bit cold. I quickly dug through my bag for some alternate clothing to wrap myself in. I loosened my Longyi and pulled it down around my feet to provide a somewhat encapsulated feel for my chilled body.
When the sun is shining comfort abounds but in a drafty metal rail car the Burmese nights quickly chill one to the bone.
After quite a personal struggle I was prepared for a doze.
Then, ....remember my mention of train track potholes? I was almost catapulted over the rail of my bunk. These completely random zones of absolute earthquake style aftershocks would continue thru the night. Most would last 1-2 minutes but at one point, must've been after midnight, our sleeper was the scene of uhgs,ooohs,Sh.ts& holy F...ks as we were struck by what felt like a 7.0 on the Richter scale. I was surprised and quite delighted to still be atop my bunk and not laying on the floor for this one. After it passed all you could hear in our car was hilarious laughs. Some coming from our disbelief while (at least in my case) others coming from fear of where the next shockwave will have me end up.
This went on almost until daybreak at which point we pulled into a station and Brian, who was heading to Inle lake, got off to change trains.
After a failed attempt to get comfortable again I got up and met Pete on his bunk to share the beauty of the Burmese sunrise together!
All that shaking wreaks havoc on the bladder but one look at the train pottie (nothing more than a small broom closet with a hole in the floor), (you can actually see the tracks passing below) allows you the mental wearwithall of pushing the bladder to its limit.
We made a couple quick train yard stops and stretched our legs with the early rising locals.
We arrived Mandalay train station around 8 am and were quickly joined by a dozen taxi gentlemen (on the train platform before we even went topside) vying for our Kyat. We chose the one who knew the most english (like 3 choppy sentences here are suffice) and jumped into the back of his pickup on our way to the ferry station where we would purchase our boat ride to Bagan the following day.
After getting our ticket and then stopping for an awesome bowl of breakfast fish soup we were at the Nylon hotel (I found in LP).
We checked in, ran to the room to wash off the train grime. Because we only had one day in Mandalay we headed to the hotel front desk for guidance on transportation to our two choices, Mandalay Hill and the Teak Bridge. After securing our route and a price ($30) for a private taxi for the day we met a couple from Italy who I asked to join us (as they were also looking for a driver) and we split the cost of the cab in half (when possible always a wise financial decision and good way to meet fellow travelers). These guys were fun. They had been in town for the whole morning and saw the Palace and markets but since we were there so late (it was almost noon) we only had time to get a couple of sites in. The Bridge for both Cool Cuz and I was agreed upon immediately for the sunset but Mandalay Hill came as a choice after I read (in the train) that Buddha once stood on the peak of this highest point in the region and pointed down to the valley (current Mandalay) stating that a great city would someday exist here. Obviously, they built the city and it remained the capital city for many years. The Hill was built into a humongous pagoda with steps going straight up. The climb alone takes close to an hour.
My new Italian friend Daniela (please forgive me for butchering the spelling brother, let's call you "D") enjoyed beer (a lot) and before we got to the second tier of our climb he had a 'Mayanmar' beer for each of us in his hand. With Cool Cuz not drinkin (stomach issues) it was good to have a drinking buddy back. We all climbed & climbed with pit stops along the way to take pics
(Buddha pointing to future Mandalay)and kneel before the thousands of Buddha shrines we encountered. 
After a couple of hours and a quicker way down the stairs we reconnected with our driver and were on our way to the bridge.
Located outside of town we arrived an hour before sunset (perfect!). Street food kios littered the banks of the lake.
"D" grabbed us a few beers, I met a family selling this sticky rice, peanut & coconut in an olive oil base concoction and tried it (like I could walk away from a new street food), incredible!
We lost Cool so the three of us set out across the 1.2 km teak bridge without him.
There was as much trade going on during our walk across as we often notice on the busy streets. The bridge was only about 9' wide. Kids selling food, clothing, crabs and even an old woman with cages full of birds including a hawk which she will sell to a bleeding heart tourist for anywhere from a dollar to $50 for the hawk.
Fortunately I read about this scam but my friend "D" had not.
Against my suggestion otherwise he purchased a small bird with the intention to set it free.
What's the scam? The birds have all been domesticated and will fly away but always come back to the woman with the cage.
"D"'s girlfriend and I wasted 30 minutes watching the silly scene of this little bird flying 20 yards away and landing on the bridge while "D", in a rush to provide freedom to this poor animal, would run after it and try to chase it into the free world.
Ain't gonna happen and finally, I don't know if he began to believe my tale, was exhausted from his mini marathon or just plain thirsty as we were both outa beer now, gave up his humanitarian quest and rejoined us on our crossing.
We met Cool in the small town on the other shore walking with three monks he friended on his bridge walk. After saying hello/goodbye to his new friends we all found a shoreside restaurant at the base of the bridge, ordered a few beer and an amazing plate of fried lake crabs (specialty here) and sat to enjoy the Mandalay sunset.
After dark (remember dark is synonymous for sleep here) we headed back across the bridge in the moonlight to find our driver peacefully in the market waiting on the hood of his car.
Onward home to the Nylon where we will get a good night sleep before an early rise and taxi to the port on our way by river to Bagan.
No comments:
Post a Comment