After Lake Inno we went by bus to Mandalay. Mandalay is one of the largest cities in Myanmar, it is the main connection in the north of the country. The truth is that we did not do much tourism. You can visit the citadel, in the center of the city, the palace of Mandalay, the pagoda of Sandamuni, to the southwest of Mandalay.

The latter is a beautiful temple surrounded by more than 700 small white rooms, each of which contains two pages written in a stone book, impressive !!

In addition, we liked to have a good tour around the streets of the city, as we had done in Yangon, but Mandalay does not have the same beauty in the tumults, in the mixture of origins … We did not find it so attractive …

We stayed at the Tain Phyu Hotel (White Cloud) for 10 dollars. Not bad, in line with the standards of the country in terms of hygiene and details, with the possibility of being able to find the corpse of a living being from time to time. Watching a movie on television, we could see how the censorship of the country put a blur on the neckline of a woman in the American film series B that said on a local channel … certainly a good example of the evolution and the control of information in the country.

From Mandalay we took a bus to Swebo. The landscape of the trip as always in this country, was very picturesque, full of giant stupas on the horizon, abundant poverty, families living under a plastic sheet on the sidewalks, children running half naked … Also, as is customary in the bus trips in this country, there is always someone to release the last one, the sea of ​​breakfast, lunch or dinner … it seems to be an acceptable practice, and all drivers carry plastic bags prepared for the occasion …

At the station of Swebo, Martin came to look for us, the coordinator of a project in the village of Tee Gyi where we were going to collaborate, see the post where we explained it. Mayra went with Martin, and you got on your brother’s bike, which could not have a seat for a second person, but a platform to carry the load.

The motorcycle trip lasted more than 30 minutes, on the road of cars … never better said, since we were dodging them well … in the mud, that as long as we were stuck we had to push … can you imagine that she has my ass after such a trip …

When we arrived, a group of village women were waiting for us, curious about our arrival, they welcomed us happily. We started to “talk” … how funny they were … asking us about everything, they wanted to match me!

We were sleeping in Martin’s house, surrounded by goats, cows, pigs and chickens. We were in the middle of the field, between meadows, forests and farmland. Along the way passed the carts pulled by oxen, the ladies with their typical costumes with their heads, the young people taking the taxis to other pasts …

The house was a cabin, well managed but a cabin. Martin’s family slept on the dining room floor, he, his wife, his daughter and the grandmother … we slept in the kitchen.

During the dinner he had a scare of monumental, from our side appeared a centipede about 20 cm long 1.5 cm wide, a prehistoric monster that apparently is poisonous !!!

In the kitchen, we sleep under a mosquito net that can not be washed from the smallest insects … we are covered in bichillos, nothing dangerous, but we are people from the city … hehehe … and we are not used to having things that walk on us; Besides, that night the goat was in bad shape and did not stop.

The magic of the wine in the open window appeared some beautiful fireflies … that beautiful … a beautiful image in combination with the super starry sky … We do not sleep almost anything, we are not accustomed to country life, especially to share the space with so much life !!!

The next day we checked the village at the hand of some children. We went through the streets of mud, communicating huts with cows around, man working with wooden looms, kitchen utensils that are part of a museum … and many more animals of supply.

It was like being in another century … yes, surrounded by very friendly people, between smiles … What a most incredible place … see it to believe it …

And finally it was time to take the bus back to Mandalay, where we took a flight to Kolkata … We’re going to Nepal !!!!! It has been a pleasure Myanmar, perhaps the country that has surprised us the most and the one that has seen the most essence … This country is worth it !!!!

The bus we booked in Bagan turned out to be a van that we shared with an elderly lady and another woman with a small child. One of the seats was on a wooden super uncomfortable … So the thing went like this: if we were ready, we took the seats and left the old lady or the woman with a baby travel 11 hours on a wood .. That was not going to happen … So I did what nobody does for those lands: complain energetically !! …

We required the seat we had paid, and not a piece of wood that was going to leave my ass cracked. The driver solved it by saying that the old lady would sit there … with all her pachorra …

In the end, I had to give the solution, they practiced immobility, literally, they stood still with a face of astonishment … in the end it seemed they wanted to camouflage themselves with the landscape, like a statue. I asked them to order the trunk of the van and there I traveled, stretched out between suitcases … It was not bad, without being the best trip nor has it been the worst.

The advantage was that without asking, as compensation, the driver took us to the town of Inle Lake, Nyaungshwe, by a route that avoided the ticket that had to be paid to enter the area, 12 dollars per person, and that no one was going to ask the rest of the days there.

We stayed in a guest house that we saw recommended in a blog, the Gypsi Inn. The rooms were correct for the price, $ 10 a night with breakfast. And the owner let us in at 6 in the morning without charging us anything extra … yuhu !!! To sleep a little!

Super breakfast at the Gypsi Inn !!!

The next day we went for a walk. When we passed by the jetty, they already made us an offer to go around the lake rigorously. The price was not bad, 12,000 kyats (about 9 dollars), but it would be better if we found a couple with whom to share a boat and costs.

A few meters away we met Pedro, a calm and friendly Portuguese. We proposed to share the boat and accepted, although we all agreed to go to eat something before. In the end we boarded on the 13 h, a bit just to make the complete return.

The landscape on the lake is magnificent, the fish birds, the tomato plantings suspended in the lake, the fishermen paddling with their peculiar technique, standing at the point of their canoe and removing their paddle with the leg … a whole show !!!

Tomato plantations on the lake, Inle is famous for its tomatoes !!! Mmmm …. they have an exquisite taste !!!

The villages are really picturesque, the streets are the lake itself, on one side there is a house, on the other the grocery store, beyond offices, all delimited by water. It looked like a western town, all made of wood, but with water instead of sand and dust … A beautiful landscape …

During the tour, they take you from one store to another to buy, craft stores of silk, tobacco and others .. we told the boatman that we were not interested in buying anything, and that we preferred to navigate the villages … However curiosity we stopped to see the tobacco shop.

When we return, we find a typical fisherman, with his net in the shape of a basket making his positions as a tightrope walker for the tourist’s photo, we suppose paid by the guild of boatmen … although obviously prepared, a gift for the sight and as a souvenir for the camera.

Once on the mainland we took a tour of the interiors of the town, and found a street full of local food stalls: good, beautiful and cheap!

The next day we rented bikes for $ 2 each, and we did a tour that we had read was recommended: Mr. Tofu. A man who does a tour with explanation by the artisans of the area. We could see in action from tofu producers to freidurías, producers of peanuts, all very very picturesque and interesting.

On the way back he served us a delicious tofu dish and we paid him 1 dollar each. He also organized us to cross the lake in a boat with bikes and all for $ 4 … great!

The walk was spectacular, the calm of the lake, its fishermen, the birds fishing, and on the other side of the lake we went by the De Maing Thauk bridge, made of wood, surrounded by local people, in their boats, bringing the children of the school. .. super picturesque !!!!

With the bikes we toured the area near the lake on the way to Nyaungshwe. The landscape was quiet and very local, villages, and local businesses.

Once we arrived at the town, we looked for a place to have dinner. We found a small street full of local restaurants, the night market food stoll. The perfect place to end the day !!

We dined very well, some vegetable curries, san noodles and a little fried chicken, perfect after a long day of hiking! and all cheap …

Finally we returned to Mandalay; The Inle Lake is one of the most touristic places in Myanmar, but still keeps magic and a lot of beauty … not to mention that getting away from the town a little you can get lost among local people. Highly recommended !!!!

From Myitkyna we went by bus at night to Mandalay, a good 18 hours, traveling 550 km, long but quite comfortable. Of course, could not miss the usual stop of control of the military to check our passports, from all the bus only ours … with the same menacing and distrustful face, holding his eyes as if he expected us to fall apart and confess the crime we were plotting …

We arrived in Mandalay at 6 in the morning, and once there we went to the train station to continue our journey to Bagan. The station was an underworld in itself. It was already 7 in the morning and people were still sleeping on the platforms. Entire families stretched out on cardboard sleeping and snoring at the bottom. Some were already preparing and cleaning to start the day … A peculiar panorama, a normality that escapes our understanding. The cafes along the road began to fill with people who without taking our eyes off, savored a tea ready to prepare.

The train to Bagan was slow, very slow, lasted 13 hours … to travel 180 km !!!!! Hahahaha … spectacular … It stopped in all seasons, however it was very pleasant, one of the sweetest memories of freedom and calm traveler.

The train was almost empty, the doors were nonexistent, and all the way passed between villages and forests of palm trees with carts pulled by oxen. We spent the trip leaning out the door appreciating such beautiful landscape, pure calm and tranquility.

Once in Bagan, we started walking towards the New Bagan area, where other people had recommended decent hotels. The road was long, about 8 km, which we tried to hitchhike. A couple stopped us but alerted us that at one point of the road there was a police control where the entrance to the historical park of Bagan was paid … the cost was 25 dollars per person … Tired of the trip, we decided think calmly, so we refuse to accept the transport of the couple.

In some blog we had already read about this rate, and that the fate of that money was covered in a certain occultism … and that we wanted to believe to reinforce our idea of ​​sneaking unpaid … We stopped a taxi and bargained the price with the condition that gets us, that does not stop at the control and take us directly to the area of ​​the hotels. The taxi driver accepted and for the amount of 5 dollars he took us to the roundabout in question … great!

So we got into the taxi and at the moment of passing the control we bowed our heads … Is it criticizable? Yes, a lot, we know, but we apologize for the volunteer work we do, a free service during our entire education trip and clown performances. If you want to know more, look at our website: Clown Science Dreams, there we explain all the volunteers we did in Myanmar and in other countries as volunteers.

The chosen hotel was Hotel Royal Bagan, recommended by a friend, Florence. It was a very good hotel with a pool, giant bed and very clean !! for $ 20 a night … Something expensive, but we needed a little rest, comfort and cleanliness for a change. So we stayed there for 2 nights. The first day we did not leave the room, just to eat and to bathe in the pool. We needed to rest after so much work in Myitkyina and long hours of travel.

The second day we dedicate to visit the temples. A day to visit both temple is very very fair, although enough to make us an idea. We could only see the main thing and very much above. For this we rent a motorbike for $ 4, highly recommended to travel the long distances that separates each temple.

In the main monuments they ask you for a ticket, especially during the most tourist hours, at dawn and dusk. We, as we did not have a ticket, went to see them at intermediate hours and we had no problem … Legend has it that if they ask you for the ticket and you claim that you left it at the hotel, they accompany you to look for it … …

Bagan was the capital of several kingdoms of Burma, however now it is under the control of the military junta. They have been responsible for the reconstruction, quite partial, and not with too much atino. Apparently UNESCO has tried to proclaim it a World Heritage Site but the military has prevented it …

The families of the military have built hotels so close to the temples that sometimes mix the inhabited urban area with these almost millenary temples.

The temples we visited were:
– Dhammayangyi Temple
– Ananda Temple
– Shwezigon Temple
– Shwesandaw Temple
– Sulamani Temple
– Thatbyinnyu Temple
– Htilominlo Temple
– Payathonzu Temple

And many others that I could not recognize right now … Some temples allow you to climb to higher floors, where you can observe the beautiful landscape, and better at sunrise and sunset. Other temples are in conditions not too correct, but all share their beauty and their rich history and experience. You can see the passage of time, how they have witnessed centuries of history.

Leaving the Sulamani temple, we found a cabin where they were frying pasta and preparing tea with milk. They prepared it on a wood fire in a low kitchen prepared with clay, very picturesque, all natural and all built with their own hands. There was also a table of young locals enjoying the fried delights. We found it very picturesque and endearing, and we could not help but sit down to be part of it.

We tried everything! how good and how nice they were! We tried to chat, but it was not easy. so we used to say nonsense through gestures. In this way, we continue the visit of temples with a full and warm stomach.

At the end of the day, exhausted but happy, we picked up the luggage and went to the bus we had booked a few hours earlier towards Inle Lake. By the way, book it ahead of time so that you do not have availability problems … See you at Inle Lake !!!

Myitkyina is a city of 150,000 inhabitants north of Myanmar and is the capital of the Kachin state. This state has been banned from outsiders due to the concurrent conflicts, however it is now safe, although there are still several military checkpoints along the road that is threatening, distrustful and a parsimony typical of a control in the film Great Evasion They do passport control . Today, why there is no conflict, and the city of Myitkyina is not dangerous.

On long-haul buses, more than 18 hours, they give you a kind of Redbull.

Jaume, cute with his Mickey Mouse blanket !!!

The conflicts that live in the country are mainly provoked by the military power that most ethnic groups have erred (and Myanmar has more than 180 recognized ethnic groups) to ensure that the Burmese is the majority ethnic group. So even if it has been declared a democratic country in 2015, the military still has control of this country.

Jaume dressed in his Longi, typical attire of men in Myanmar.

Curiosities that we saw around the city, to drive the motorcycle in the rain and the sun … we love it !!!!!

The excuse is that the democratic government controls the country with the exception of the states in conflict. The military has thus engaged in migration, either in the cultivation of heroin (Myanmar is the second largest exporter of heroin in the world after Afghanistan) or in the extraction of precious minerals, and in this way its control is justified remnant, and the entrance of any annoying scout.

The excuse is that the democratic government controls the country with the exception of the states in conflict. The military has thus engaged in immigration, which is a harvest of precious minerals, and in this way its remaining control is justified, and they veto the entry of any annoying scout.

The state of Kachin has been at war for decades, the struggle involves the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the government, which seeks to expropriate the lands of the locals for various interests: the gold and Jade mines. The northern region is rich in these minerals.

The tactics employed by mine operators are very twisted and cruel, and involve the second interest: opium and heroin. The military battles this region with weapons and drugs, weakening them with their addiction.

For a time the owners of the mines gave the workers of the heroin mines, and after a season, with a high rate of addiction, they began to charge it. In this way they have workers who will never leave their jobs.

The salary they receive is their own heroine, so they are condemned to live at the mercy of unscrupulous people to survive imprisoned in such a hellish destiny. We have not seen it, but they have explained it to us.

Because they can not prick themselves out of fear, there are tents where tails are made, and they provide the intravenous dose with the same needle attached to a tube. An example is the mining town of Hpakan, neighboring Myitkyina, where the shadow of misfortune covers the place. To all this is added that the state borders China, where it has become the leisure and vice center of the neighboring country.

So Myitkyina is an important drug distribution center. Rita, our contact in Myitkyina explained to us that she wanted to be a social worker for a Bhamo, her home town about 100 km away, to work on the drug-addiction issue.

We call ourselves 80% of the families of Bhamo have a member addicted to heroin … What a panorama … of the saddest thing that you have heard on this trip … and everything allowed, or who knows if promoted, by the military that govern the country …

We took the train to Bago at 3:00 PM at Yangon Central Station. We chose low class, the trip was short, so we got into the most picturesque thing we could find.

The train was old, people looked at us with curiosity, the street vendors circulated up and down, they had a restaurant on their head: they sat in a seat, they lowered the tray of the head and they supported it on the skirt, put in a bag a bunch of noodles, put the sauce, the necessary spices, and with the hand I mixed it for a while … it is delivered to the customer, tray to the head and to continue … Clear example that who does not have a restaurant is because does not want …

Curious posters that you find on trains … Attention: Forbidden to Kiss! In addition to spitting, smoking and throwing papers …

The train arrived in Bago at about 4.45pm, and the last one towards Kyaiktiyo at 8pm, so we did not propose to do all the sightseeing that same afternoon and continue the trip. We walk 4 km to a temple where there is an immense python, 5 meters long which they say is 120 years old. They venerate her because they believe she is a reincarnation of Buddha … The truth is that she is immense !!!!! Awesome !!!! You have just eaten a chicken and you see the volume of the animal inside your body, while it digested motionless …

During the road we crossed the town. Near the station there were buildings, even a shopping center with multicine that was out of keeping with the rest of the building, and as we moved away we returned to the middle ages … mud, barracks and dirty children … yes, all smile and kindness !!!!

The truth is that it is immense !!!!! Awesome !!!! You have just eaten a chicken and you see the volume of the animal inside your body, while you digest it motionless … On the way we crossed the village. Near the station there were buildings, even a commercial center with multiplexes that were out of keeping with the rest of the building, and as we moved away we returned to the middle ages … mud, barracks and dirty children … yes, all smile and kindness !!!!

We also visited the Shwemawdaw temple and its huge chide of 114 meters high. Until a worker asked us if we had paid the entrance … 10,000 kyats ($ 8) per person! Yes, only the tourists … So after the warning we decided to leave, towards the train station. But before !! We had a typical Myanmar tea.

It’s an Indian chai type tea, with condensed milk and sugar … it can not be sweeter … but we love it, and more sucando the pastitas that always put you in the teahouses. Tea costs about 400-500 kyats ($ 0.3), and pasta costs about 200-400.

We took the train and arrived in Kyiahto in 3 hours. This train was an ordeal, it was full of bugs, the whole roof full of mosquitoes and mosquitoes, the rack hung from spiders, at a little distance from our heads … It was impossible to relax … And we arrived, late, at 11pm. A local boy started talking to us, he told us that we accompanied him and wanted to help us out of courtesy.

He took us to several guesthouse but I did not want to lose 18,000 kyats ($ 15) !!!! And it looked crazy … We went around, and in the end we got a double room for 15,000 kyats … very dirty, bursting sink, no hot water or internet … Only the reception desk, the first thing the client sees It was full of dead bugs … full !! Accumulated days … a misfortune … That’s just a sample of the state of the villages in that area … the dirt is plentiful and the conditions of the sites quite unhealthy …

Do not go to this guesthouse !!! Dirty? No. The following!

The next morning we started the road to Golden Rock. First up to Kinpun. The bus system was not too clear, so we decided to try hitchhiking … We walked to the outskirts of the city and 2 minutes we got a pick up, a very friendly man who did not speak any English …

Once in Kimpun, there are 12 km of ascent up the mountain. It can be done walking, although it is better to go with trucks with seats in the trailer that goes up by 2000 kyat ($ 1.5) per person. The trip is busy, the driver does not walk with squeamishness … it’s going to stop !!! And the slope brings them … The other tourists, almost all the locals, shouted as if it were a roller coaster …

Once up, the panorama is varied, you are from boys, you like hands, football, Buddhist monks asking, sellers of everything, restaurants, hotels …

Until you get to the entrance that costs 6000 kyats per person … To try to reduce costs, we tried to bargain … and it was easy … they quickly told us to pay only one ticket … great!

The Golden Rock is a rock supported on the rocky limit of the mountain. It is painted golden, hence its name …

The whole area is a complex of Buddhist temples and chapels where locals, or Buddhists from anywhere, go to pray.

It is a typical picture of Myanmar, and a mystical place. Also the views are beautiful, at least when the low clouds let see something … That day it rained, so for security do not let go to touch the rock.

Entry prohibited to women! That’s what the poster says; so respecting cultures but not sharing …

The return we decided to do it walking, a descent of 12 km … in flip flops !!!! The truth … it was not the best idea we had … The landscape is beautiful, among jungle, mixed with clouds, crossing villages in the mountains, with houses made of bamboo canes and plastic tarpaulin.

The floor was slippery, but not by water or mud, but by the water accumulated in the cement … it was like an ice rink … We loved each other like grandparents, taking very small steps …

I fell twice, I recorded it on video … and on the second I broke the glass of the Gopro camera … luckily I can replace it … I already ordered the piece …

All the way was between nature and villages, it was beautiful, you could see the houses of the people open, the road was part of them, so when you passed by you crossed them … It was like being in another century, bamboo huts , coal kitchens, all sitting or stretched on the floor … it is curious to see how the rest of the world composes your home …

From time to time it started to rain, we looked for shelter, an excessive amount of water fell for 15 minutes and it stopped … and we continued … until it was raining again …

In the end we did not stop, if it was raining we walked with the raincoat in the monsoon torrential rain … It took us 4 hours to make 12 km, and we ended up busted … with the cakes made of powder … in flip flops … small luminaries … Imagine walking between rocks with some Hawaiian … We were completely wet and wanting to get to the train to go back to Yangon.

Once we arrived at Kimpun we looked for a bus to get off a Kyaiktiyo, but it was late and they did not pass the local bus anymore … The taxis, scavengers as always, asked us for exaggerated amounts … So without thinking much, or nothing, we We launched to walk on the road, to our destination, to hitchhike … raining, wet …

We began to doubt the sanity of our decision … Until we saw a car picked up that came … and stopped! Hallelujah !!! He lowered the window and … it was the same one that had brought us! Hahahaha … but what filly we have … We were taken to the station and we said thank you 30 times …

In the station, when buying the tickets they tell us that the train to Yangon leaves at 23:30 h … uff … with the busts that we are … We give ourselves the dice that we can try with the bus and a man who I was there chafardeando offers to guide us to the station. Just when we get to the station, we see a bus that stays a few meters ahead … they indicate that it is the one that goes to Yangon!

We run, or rather, we limped towards him and we got it, ole ole ole! Thanks to the volunteer who has guided us! Without him we would have lost it for sure … The ticket costs us 4000 kyat each.

We arrived in Yangon at 9:30 p.m., but the bus left us 20 km from the center … it used to do with the stations where Jesus lost his sandal … We went to the train station, 3 km away from the bus station, but nothing, neither train nor bus. In total we had walked 17 km !! We had to take a taxi … against our principles … We asked for 8000 kyat but haggling it down to 6000 kyat, because in Myanmar taxis do not carry a meter.

And finally we arrived “healthy” and saved to Lotus B & B, great place, ready to sleep like dormice. Goodnight!!!!