Going Halfway to the Hills Again

Friday, Sept. 16, Bagan to Meiktila

Well, the book became far more interesting than my predictions. I was up until 10:30 reading. Today, I will finish the last 100 pages.

The constant drainage from my sinuses into my throat ended sometime in the night allowing me to breathe oday even as I adjusted my position. Today, there is still stuffiness, but without the runniness. And I have a big of a cough from the buildup that has occurred in my throat.

I have nothing special to do today. i will pick up my laundry, make arrangements for traveling to Inle Lake tomorrow, and read. I probably should have left today, but the bus leaves about 4 a.m., I think, and I just didn't want to have another long travel day yet.
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Well, I changed my mind. I did travel today. I was dreading the 10-hour trip tomorrow, so I decided to come half-way today (to Meiktila). I caught a truck out of Bagan at 11 a.m. and went to the next big city (Kyaukpadaung). From where the truck let me off, it was about a 1 miles (2 km) hike over streets covered in loose sand and with rain falling for me to get to where I could catch another truck to Meiktila. My rolling suitcase doesn't do well on loose sand.

It was an adventurous day. We were jammed into the first truck like sardines and more men were riding on top in the rain. People were on both benches and also on small stools in the aisle. I could not move my feet for two hours! I had two possible positions--leaning back with my arms crossed over my chest or leaning slightly forward with my left arm going over my leg with my hand clutching my ankle. I shifted between both, but even then I was pressed from all sides by arms, legs, and bodies.

On the second truck, I fell victum to a problem here in Myanmar--two pricing systems. Everything has a price for locals and one 3-4 times that price for tourists. But sometimes they get more greedy. I had paid 1000 kyat for the first 2 1/2 hour trip, and they wanted 3000 kyat for the next trip of about the same length. There's not much of a choice but to pay. The locals already in the truck did me a favor, however. Since I paid so much, they insisted that I be allowed to ride in the cab (which is always about 1 1/2 times as expensive as riding in the back).

The second ride proved to be a real adventure. First, there was no latch for the door. They had a string attached to the door fram which they looped over the headrest to hold the door shut. Second, we had two flats. When the first one occurred, I noticed that the replacement tire was smooth and wondered what would happen it it went flat, too. We were only about half-way through that trip. The driver was rushing like mad to make up time and hitting lots of potholes in the road. Sure enough, an hour later the driver stopped and I could hear, "Psssssss," again. How lucky we were that they had a second completely smoooth spare tire!

Sitting in the cab with the driver and me was a 38-year-old military man. He spoke some English, so we talked about families. Myanmar, where I had been, etc. He knew the hotel (Honey Hotel) here in Meiktila where I planned to stay, so he borrowed a motorcycle from a friend and gave me a ride to here from the bus station.

Meiktila isn't a tourist town, but it is interesting. First, it is centrally located in the country and has become the seat for lots of schools and military installations. Among the former are the Institute for Management Studies, the Meiktila College of Education, the Institute for Transporation and Communication, the Institute for Economics, the University of Meiktila, etc. Second, it's interesting this weekend becase they are having their pagoda festival. All the streets are lined with booths selling food , toys, etc. And there are ridese, sideshows, etc. People are everywhere. I quickly realized, however, that such festivals also draw lots of beggars. It wasn't fun to be so obviously an outsider.

I went to eat at a restaurant and stuffed myself again. I had a delicious bowl of soup, an onion=tomato salad with red chile sauce, and a huge plate of fried rice with pork. I added chiles to the fried rice. I felt overly full--as if I had eaten in the U.S.

My room is really a small cottage. It faces the local lake, and the full moon was rising out my window as I returned from dinner. It has a very efficient air conditioner and a clean bathroom. It is either newly built or newly remodeled. There are several of these bungalows clustered behind the older large hotel building. There's also a deck with tables to sit and watch the lake and the moonrise. By having a/c and being behind the hotel, maybe I'll be protected from the fireworks and the other noice of the festival.

I'm tired again. My cold is better, though. I've breathed well all day and have coughed up phlegm (sp?) several times. Obviously, each day will be better now.

Hotel (2 Nights) $14.00
Laundry 1300 kyat
Trucks (2) 4000
Dinner 1400
Total = $20.44