Back to Maymyo

Tuesday, Sept. 13, Hsipaw to Maymyo

I'm feeling better. I slept well all night even though I had napped during the day and went to bed early. I was able to fall back asleep following any noises that distrubed me. My stomach feels a little strange, but I think that's because it is empty. I had a normal bowel movement. I feel like my energy is back, and I don't sense that I have a fever. I guess something just affected me temporarily. I hope this will be a good day!
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I decided to take the train back to Maymyo, so after breakfast of an omelet, toast, butter, jam, and honeydew melon, I packed and left for the station. My plans were to take the train to Maymyo and switch to a bus or truck to Mandalay. The train was delayed, however, so I didn't get to Maymyo until 4:30 p.m. I decided to stay here where it is cool rather than continue to hot Mandalay.

Another reason to stop here is that I met a very nice German couple (Klaus who is 37 and Tatiana who is 33) on the train who were coming here. They were staying at the same guesthouse in Hsipaw, so we recognized each other from breakfast. We began talking and visited the whole way. Klaus is a handiman, and Tatiana is a kindergarten teacher. They work and save for four years, then they travel for a year. On this trip, they flew to Indonesia and will fly back from Mumbai on an open-jaws ticket. They are touring Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Nepal, and India.

We came to the Grace Hotel I where I stayed before. They were so glad to see me again and were so friendly when we arrived. They remembered my room (Number 111) and gave it back to me again.

Oh, on the train we had a very interesting conversation with a nice looking man who was traveling with his son. He overheard our conversation for 3 hours, so when he had a chance he joined us. He's 38 and works in a pharmacy, but it is only as a day laborer. He does not get paid for days he doesn't work, and he gets no benefits. (There is no official training to be a pharmacist. It's done like an apprenticeship. Although he has enough training to have his own shop now, he cannot open one because of the high cost and the the fact that you have to pay a government official to approve opening a business.) He spent 3 years working in Malaysia as a baker to make money to support his family, and he has applied for another 3-year contract in Dubai at a hotel. Even then, however, he said he must pay 10% of his wages to the Myanmar Embassy each month, will not be able to travel home during the period, and will have to use illegal channels to get his dollars to his family in Myanmar (since the official exchange rate for legal means is $1 = 7 kyat and the unofficial rate which requires illegal transfers is $1 = 1200 kyat). He was neatly dressed, professional looking and acting, and his 16-year-old son traveling with him was just as neat and attractive. It's sad that such talented people cannot get good work here.
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I went to dinner with Tatiana and Klaus at a Chinese restaurant. It was so nice to have something different. We shared a chicken and rice, a chicken and noodles, and a spicy sweet and sour dish as well as a large bowl of soup. Ummm!

We walked through town which is really rather lively after dark. I bought some Indian sweets for us to share at the hotel. By 9 p.m. we were tired and going to our rooms.

Train $4
Dinner 1900 kyats
Sweets 350
Water 200
Total = $ 6.35