Picking up a local bus at 4pm from the centre of town, we made the hour long journey to the less tourist orientated town of Kyoukme, which has trekking as its one draw card for foreigners. After passing some modern decent looking hotels, we had to check in to A Yone OO, the only hotel in town licenced to host tourists. The $12 room I shared with Tom was a very basic coffin, no fan or electricity plugs and a mosquito net that was clearly not big enough by western standards. Even the terrible drop loo or bucket shower did not compare to the noisy Shan locals in the surrounding rooms who spent the entire night talking and listening to music, at 6am we had enough and gave them a dose of ACDC which worked perfectly.
The hotel admittedly had some 'nicer' more expensive rooms which we did not get to see as they were fully booked by locals, apparently only two other foreigners were straying in town whom we never saw. Before setting off for another 3 day unguided trek, we were put in touch with Joy who is a local English teacher and he was kind enough to give us a rough map (which at best provided some town names to get our bearings). We also caught wind that the Shan militia whom we had met two days prior, were in a skirmish with the Burmese Army yesterday and he did not recommend us taking motorbikes up the mountain roads where we might get stuck in the action. There would be a possibility that they might take us hostage if surrounded by the army, not that a few days sinking rice wine with the boys would put too much of a dampener on the trip.
A tuk tuk drove us out of the populated area to a small village inhabited by the Palaung people where our trek began through corn fields. We came a little more prepared this time with bananas and peanut wafer bars incase we had any trouble locating lunch, not that it would likely be an issue with the breakfast and dinner portions. Again the scenery was a breathtaking mix of Burmese farming land, mountains, jungle and forest. My blisters had subsided somewhat and the plan was to trek 6 - 7 hours each day, making sure we did not get too lost as I was keen to get the train part way back to Mandalay, followed by a bus to connect with my flight to Laos.
The guide had warned as that trekking alone was likely to lead us off the intended path and the smaller tracks which frequently led us to crossroads and junctions often made for some very optimistic judgement. At one point our small path ended and we attempted to bash through some thick overgrowth down the side of a mountain in search of a path below, our decision to turn back half way was rather beneficial as we later realised it was nothing but dense jungle in the valley below. With this sort of trekking it does not matter if you get lost as there will aways be a family in whatever village you stumble across, ready to give you accommodation and feed you two decent meals for around $5, well within a long term travellers budget. Apart from the nightly hosts, people will pop out from everywhere inviting you to sit down for a glass of locally grown tea, of which I consumed countless times each day. Our first nights bed was a simple straw mat laid out on the floor with the family's son sleeping between us, giving his best night long impression of a very annoying snorer.
For our final night we played it safe and wandered in to a village close to Kyoukme, so the last section would not risk missing the train if the rains picked up. Nobody seemed to know where we could spend the night until finally a family welcomed us in providing towels and a warm cup of tea, at least half the village must have been there to watch two foreigners bathing themselves in the spectacle that followed. Just as we were getting ready to settle in, a government representative in the town came by to inform us that we would need to go back to Kyoukme for the night as tourists are not allowed to home stay (which admittedly we did know). I tried calling the tour guide that I'd spoken to previously, but he back flipped and said that he advised not to stay in the village, obviously not wanting to get in any trouble. The generous family dropped us in town on motorbikes and refused to accept any payment for the trouble, another example of how genuinely kind the Burmese people are. As there was no bus or train to Mandalay that evening, it was off to our favourite hotel from hell.
After a few recovery bowls of Shan noodles (very cheap and tasty local dish), Tom and I to the scenic mountain town Pyin OO Lwyn in the morning, wanting to spend some time with the locals we booked in to ordinary class rather than the backpacker cluttered first class reclining comfy seat carriage (a decision we came to regret somewhat). Our carriage was mostly filled with Burmese soldiers, some exceptionally loud and difficult to understand, showing clear signs of serious alcohol abuse. They were however very friendly and I had a young lad heading back to his job as a Mango farmer who enjoyed spending the time giving his rough English a practise. The train was bouncing all over the place as we had been warned by previous travellers, their carriage had derailed on the journey up from Mandalay. At one point we stopped for half an hour while the locals got to work repairing a section of the dodgiest train track I have ever seen, swinging all sorts or tools about as they replaced a small section of sleepers. The journey passes over the famous Goteik Viaduct bridge, a 250m high structure completed in 1900. Tom and I parted ways at the next town (our numb asses relieved to be off the wooden seats after 6 hours) where he was going to spend the night and I took a share taxi to Mandalay, promising each other we would catch up one day soon for a fishing adventure back home.
Arriving at Mandalay just after 8pm there was not much time to see the city, which as per most of Myanmar, closes down around 10pm. The initial intention was to hit a local beer hall, but after sitting down at the Indian street side eatery (highly recommended by the staff at Royal Guesthouse), followed by a shake and ice cream sundae at Nylon Ice cream, my body decided it wanted to collapse in a state of gluttony. The final morning consisted of a quick feed at the hotels included breakfast and a short stroll to the Airasia free shuttle bus in downtown Myanmar, saving a 45km taxi trip to the airport. My time in Myanmar was thoroughly enjoyed, not just by the by the amazing scenery but also the people who are so genuinely welcoming and always wanting to know if you are happy being in their country. Make sure you add this destination to your travel list before tourism takes its toll.
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