Tonight, which by the way is my last in this town, (I fly back to Yangon tomorrow) I went out in the twilight for dinner. I thought I'd try the other of the two restaurants my guide recommended. It was a place called Chillax. On the way, I walked past the other one, where I had a very good lunch the other day. A bit early, it was empty, so I continued on to check out the other place. There was nobody there either. However, it looked interesting enough. More of a bar than a restaurant. So I took up a prime post on the verandah, right in the corner, so I could watch the passing parade. It had been an interesting walk, a little later than usual, and all the kids were home from school, many were playing in the street (remember that?), guys had finished work, and were starting to filter into the local bars and cafes, mums were cooking dinner. Even the temples were dark and silent. I ordered a Mandalay beer for starters. Out came a big bottle. Bewdy! An intriguing taste, light but malty, with a slight hint of mosquito coil. Then I noticed the mosquito coil burning under the table. Totally unnecessary, I thought, since I was wearing nearly a whole can of Bushman after shave, but you can't be too careful. Chillax, I mused. It reminded me of the kind of quip my daughter Alice would make. Like, "Take a chill pill, Dad", just after she clumsily dragged her school satchel down the side of my car and left a 6 foot long scratch in the duco, followed by a "Whatever". Parenthood! But I digress.
The restaurant was on a four way intersection, and just about every kind of vehicle imaginable went through there at some stage. Not a single one actually stopped, and quite a few had no lights on at all. What gives with this country? How do they get away with that kind of recklessness? My thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of my meal. Then a few other people started to rock up. Within 15 minutes, it was a veritable UN. A couple of apologetic Poms, saying "We'll have whatever you bring out, we don't want to be any trouble". A German couple, who I suspect were saying "When we rise again, we will obliterate this country and enslave its population. Ja, und make them drive properly", and then a French couple, who may well have been saying "Never mind the food, lets go back to bed". There was even group of four Japanese, who I think mistook the place for the bus station, because they walked right out again.
I do enjoy the mind games of just being an observer. Earlier today, I had been watching groups of 4 or 5 young punks about 15-16 years old, with the latest sharp haircuts, smoking cigarettes and hanging out and ogling girls from across the street. While groups of girls sat at little tables looking at the guys and giggling, while looking at their phones and drinking Sprite. Some things are universal and unchanging, and life goes on!
By the way, I am finally getting used to the Burmese cuisine, but I do think my gut flora (ok, bacteria then) have been mugged by the local ones, because.. oh never mind, you know what I'm saying. Back to the story. After a darn good dinner, which I'm sure my gut flora will appreciate eventually, it was dark, and I headed back to my lodging. Hmmm, tricky. Very few street lights, no footpaths, potholes full of water, wandering animals, no chance of seeing what I was stepping on, vehicles with no lights etc etc. Lucky I took my head torch. Pity I forgot the map. Now this is not a hard town to navigate, but at night, I didn't recognise a single bloody landmark, and pretty soon I was bushed. Merde! Ok Mike, don't panic, you're a bushwalker, just go back the way you came until you see something you recognise.
I forgot to mention that I have been giving my knees a pretty good workout on this trip. Up and down a zillion stairs, and a lot of walking. Its gotten to the stage that my good knee, the new one, feels great while I'm walking but hurts when I stop. However, the other one hurts when I walk and feels good when I stop. This means permanent pain somewhere, and my knees didn't appreciate the detour. So here I am, 6 foot 2 in a land of pygmies, dressed funny, painfully hobbling around carrying an umbrella from the hotel, with a torch on my head, totally lost and trying not to look conspicuous. Then a bloody dog started to have a go at me. "Not now, Fido, I'm not in the mood, unless you want your teeth rearranged by an umbrella handle." I was just about to commit to the Andrew Symonds slog-sweep straight through its head, when somebody called it off. Lucky! For the dog, I mean. I reckon it would have gone straight over deep backward square. Finally, after nearly being hit from behind by several vehicles, and rolling my ankle in a pothole, I saw something familiar and got back on top of it all.
So, there it is. My last night in the fascinating Inle Lake region. I am very impressed with Myanmar. It is an absolutely beautiful country, intriguing and historic, full of wonderful, friendly, hospitable and happy people, based on what I saw. Sure, it has some political issues, some very serious political issues, and one way or another, those in power will be held to account for their actions. But Myanmar has indicated that it wants to rejoin the international community, and is changing accordingly. I hope it doesn't take any backward steps. Right now, it is probably about as close as you could get to a visit to another century. See it now folks. Before it becomes just like everywhere else.
The restaurant was on a four way intersection, and just about every kind of vehicle imaginable went through there at some stage. Not a single one actually stopped, and quite a few had no lights on at all. What gives with this country? How do they get away with that kind of recklessness? My thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of my meal. Then a few other people started to rock up. Within 15 minutes, it was a veritable UN. A couple of apologetic Poms, saying "We'll have whatever you bring out, we don't want to be any trouble". A German couple, who I suspect were saying "When we rise again, we will obliterate this country and enslave its population. Ja, und make them drive properly", and then a French couple, who may well have been saying "Never mind the food, lets go back to bed". There was even group of four Japanese, who I think mistook the place for the bus station, because they walked right out again.
I do enjoy the mind games of just being an observer. Earlier today, I had been watching groups of 4 or 5 young punks about 15-16 years old, with the latest sharp haircuts, smoking cigarettes and hanging out and ogling girls from across the street. While groups of girls sat at little tables looking at the guys and giggling, while looking at their phones and drinking Sprite. Some things are universal and unchanging, and life goes on!
By the way, I am finally getting used to the Burmese cuisine, but I do think my gut flora (ok, bacteria then) have been mugged by the local ones, because.. oh never mind, you know what I'm saying. Back to the story. After a darn good dinner, which I'm sure my gut flora will appreciate eventually, it was dark, and I headed back to my lodging. Hmmm, tricky. Very few street lights, no footpaths, potholes full of water, wandering animals, no chance of seeing what I was stepping on, vehicles with no lights etc etc. Lucky I took my head torch. Pity I forgot the map. Now this is not a hard town to navigate, but at night, I didn't recognise a single bloody landmark, and pretty soon I was bushed. Merde! Ok Mike, don't panic, you're a bushwalker, just go back the way you came until you see something you recognise.
I forgot to mention that I have been giving my knees a pretty good workout on this trip. Up and down a zillion stairs, and a lot of walking. Its gotten to the stage that my good knee, the new one, feels great while I'm walking but hurts when I stop. However, the other one hurts when I walk and feels good when I stop. This means permanent pain somewhere, and my knees didn't appreciate the detour. So here I am, 6 foot 2 in a land of pygmies, dressed funny, painfully hobbling around carrying an umbrella from the hotel, with a torch on my head, totally lost and trying not to look conspicuous. Then a bloody dog started to have a go at me. "Not now, Fido, I'm not in the mood, unless you want your teeth rearranged by an umbrella handle." I was just about to commit to the Andrew Symonds slog-sweep straight through its head, when somebody called it off. Lucky! For the dog, I mean. I reckon it would have gone straight over deep backward square. Finally, after nearly being hit from behind by several vehicles, and rolling my ankle in a pothole, I saw something familiar and got back on top of it all.
So, there it is. My last night in the fascinating Inle Lake region. I am very impressed with Myanmar. It is an absolutely beautiful country, intriguing and historic, full of wonderful, friendly, hospitable and happy people, based on what I saw. Sure, it has some political issues, some very serious political issues, and one way or another, those in power will be held to account for their actions. But Myanmar has indicated that it wants to rejoin the international community, and is changing accordingly. I hope it doesn't take any backward steps. Right now, it is probably about as close as you could get to a visit to another century. See it now folks. Before it becomes just like everywhere else.
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