The road to Mandalay

On the road to Mandalay. Literally. The bus is broken down at the moment, and as I write there are 3 men under the front of the bus trying to fix something while everyone on the bus is sitting, and waiting. Already the bus was 3 HOURS late leaving Kalaw this morning because of a flat tire I think but that was actually not bad because I sat in the guesthouse with Hadas and Mirit talking and hanging out passing the time. The bus finally came at 10:30am and now we?re only 2 hours into a 6-hour journey with a breakdown. Whoever said travelling was fun? Well I think I will be lucky if I get to Mandalay today.

Hadas, Mirit, and I finished our trekking yesterday after another really good day. We had great weather again which we couldn?t believe because a few times some dark clouds came through but they just passed and we had blue skies again.

We walked through the mountains stopping at several more villages on our way back to Kalaw. So pretty the scenery ? green fields all around, teak houses, monks walking about, children smiling, everyone friendly. Really an amazing place. Apparently there are over 350 villages in the mountains in this region so one could easily spend some time walking through here and taking it all in. Still we walked further than we expected yesterday and even though we left early to begin walking at 8:30am, we didn?t get back to Kalaw until after 6:30pm.

Everyone was feeling a bit tired by the end. Just as we were approaching Kalaw, a rainbow appeared in the sky. A perfect end to the trek.

Ok, we thought we had the bus fixed for the second time since we broke down but it appears that we are still stranded . At first they thought it was water so they filled the engine. Nothing. Then I think they thought it was the clutch so they were working on that. Still nothing. It?s not looking good.

Anyway, we got back to Kalaw and went back to the guesthouse hoping to take nice hot showers, but the transformer blew up last night and there was no electricity so we had to settle for the cold. Welcome to Myanmar, all part of the cultural experience.

Many hours later?.

Well you just never know what to expect in a day of travelling. I never thought I would have had the good fortune I had today. The bus was dead, actually I think it died about 20 years ago, but we were stuck on the road to Mandalay ? myself, the other Burmese passengers, and one guy from Ireland, Robbie. After an hour of tinkering with the engine, they finally told everyone to get their things and wait for another bus. Just then a car was coming up the road and I thought what the hell so I put out my thumb (actually the way to hitch-hike here is to put the arm out with palm facing down but you get the picture). It was just as a joke really, I didn?t think anyone in their right mind would stop for a bus load of stranded passengers.

I was wrong. They stopped.

The woman got out of the car, approached me, and said where are you going? I said Mandalay. Well, she said, we have room for 2, as she gestured to Robbie. I said oh, that?s great! And that was it.

Robbie and I threw our bags in the trunk and left the bus and road full of passengers behind. The rest of the 4.5-hour trip was a breeze ? riding in a nice car, ahhh, luxury.

The people who picked us up work for an NGO in Mandalay doing outreach on HIV/AIDS in Myanmar. They spoke perfect English. It was so nice of them to pick us up!

When we arrived in Mandalay they took us to their office and we met the Director and ate some fresh mango. They told us all about their program which helps distribute free condoms to high risk areas in the country. It was very interesting just to see the inside of such a program in Myanmar. After that they took us into town and dropped us off at a guesthouse.

It?s now 10pm and I?m lying in bed in an aircon room which I?m sharing with Robbie and I?m sure that if the NGO people hadn?t picked us up we?d still be trying to get to Mandalay at this very moment. It feels GREAT to be here!

The last stop for this bus

Attempt number two to revive the bus (no signs of life before or after)

Add comment July 18th, 2002