Around Northern MYANMAR

From Inle Lake, I took a long 7 hour shared taxi ride up north to the town of Mandalay (second largest town in Myanmar). It was a very rough ride over the mountains and the driver had absolutely no sympathy for the old 1985 Toyota Corolla. Near the top of the mountain 3 of the 4 Burmese passengers in the back seat got sick so I stopped the driver and threatened to throw him off the cliffs if he doesn't slow down. We arrived safely in Manadalay. Spent a few days exploring the town, and nearby villages of Amarapura (for the world's longest teakwood bridge), Inwa (horse carted around many ruins and temples and countryside), and the town of Sagaing which is dotted with tens of impressive temples and stupas.

From Manadalay I took a 12 hour very bumpy train ride to the northern town of Naba. What an experience this was!! Every little village where we stopped, vendors lined up along the train selling their wares (mostly home made snacks). Many boarded the train and what a zoo it was! I arrived at 2:40 am in Naba and in the darkness found a very crowded chicken bus which after a 45 minute ride dropped me off at the small village of Katah. I checked in a guesthouse, slept for 3 hours, and then explored this little town along the mighty Irrawaddy river. As very few foreigners visit this village, I had celebrity status. People would run out of homes to take a look at me, and laughed at every gesture I made. Quite a weird feeling - It feels like I am either a smart monkey with people laughing at everything I do, or I just landed from outer space.

Late the same day I was lucky to board a big Chinese built ship for the 24 hour ride on the Irrawaddy river back to Mandalay. I booked into a first class cabin and luckily I had the cabin to myself. Had a good night sleep and the rest of the time I entertained some locals in my cabin. At times my cabin was filled with locals as I told them stories about life in the West. We all had a good time and finished off a bottle of local rum (which costs me less than US$1). Talking about the political situation in Mynamar is a no-no but I enjoyed criticizing the Military junta of Myanmar. Locals are NOT allowed to criticize the junta as this would land them in jail.

I arrived safely in Mandalay, stayed another day, and then boarded another ferry for a 12 hour ride to the town of Bagan. Here I stayed for 3 days to explore the 2500+ ancient (1000-year old) temples and stupas, visited Mnt. Popa (climbed to the top), and then flew back to Yangon for my connecting flight to Bangkok. From here I am flying to Chiang Rai in northern Thailand on Monday, August 7th.

I had a wonderful time in Myanmar! The people are incredibly friendly and the food is excellent!

Tata (Burmese for "bye-bye")