King of the Road, Inle Lake
Had two relaxing days in Inle lake, staying in my own stilt bungalow on a river. I loved sitting on my porch, watching the lazy river life. I hated being woken up at 5:30am when the first of the motorboats would roar past my window. A bungalow, with private bathroom, breakfast, and a wonderful 3-course home-cooked meal cost $5/night. Queen Inn was run by a cheerful, well.-fed woman who made sure each of her guests were comfortable and completely full after her meals.
Yesterday, I spent 12 hrs on a long-boat, going around the lake. We visited pagodas, floating markets, and a whole lot of workshops (with attached, overpriced stores to pry dollars from unsuspecting tourists). Visiting these workshops was like stepping back in time as we watched children weave silk and lotus longyis on 100-yr old looms. At another workship, 12 yr old girls rolled 500 cheroots a day. For this, they earned all of 50 cents. The proprietor assured us that the girls only worked on "school holidays," but they were way too adept to only do this job occasionally. Later in the day, we visited a monastery where the bored monks had trained cats to jump through hoops. Throughout the day, the local fishermen showed off their boating skills by rowing with one foot. Interesting, but slow work.
Today, I hired a bike and went out into the countryside. A month ago, Shazz had tried to convince me to get a bike in Kathmandu. I refused on the grounds of the crazy, frenetic traffic. "But we'll be King of the Road!" he exclaimed. "We'll have the wind in our hair and the run of the land!"
And so it was today, for the second time in Myanmar (I had also hired a bike in Bagan), that I was King of the Road. I rode past rice paddies, small villages and pagodas on the hill. I stopped and watched an old, grinning woman try to coax a stubborn water buffalo out of the mud. I raced a small boy who was on another Water Buffalo (he won). I strolled through villages while an army of small children ran alongside yelling "Bye Bye!" I rang my bicycle bell in greeting to local bikers and was rewarded with smiles and waves. And, on my way home, I was soaked by the afternoon thunderstorm. But, the Queen Inn Matriarch had a cold beer and a fresh plate of french fries waiting for me to enjoy on my porch.
Yesterday, I spent 12 hrs on a long-boat, going around the lake. We visited pagodas, floating markets, and a whole lot of workshops (with attached, overpriced stores to pry dollars from unsuspecting tourists). Visiting these workshops was like stepping back in time as we watched children weave silk and lotus longyis on 100-yr old looms. At another workship, 12 yr old girls rolled 500 cheroots a day. For this, they earned all of 50 cents. The proprietor assured us that the girls only worked on "school holidays," but they were way too adept to only do this job occasionally. Later in the day, we visited a monastery where the bored monks had trained cats to jump through hoops. Throughout the day, the local fishermen showed off their boating skills by rowing with one foot. Interesting, but slow work.
Today, I hired a bike and went out into the countryside. A month ago, Shazz had tried to convince me to get a bike in Kathmandu. I refused on the grounds of the crazy, frenetic traffic. "But we'll be King of the Road!" he exclaimed. "We'll have the wind in our hair and the run of the land!"
And so it was today, for the second time in Myanmar (I had also hired a bike in Bagan), that I was King of the Road. I rode past rice paddies, small villages and pagodas on the hill. I stopped and watched an old, grinning woman try to coax a stubborn water buffalo out of the mud. I raced a small boy who was on another Water Buffalo (he won). I strolled through villages while an army of small children ran alongside yelling "Bye Bye!" I rang my bicycle bell in greeting to local bikers and was rewarded with smiles and waves. And, on my way home, I was soaked by the afternoon thunderstorm. But, the Queen Inn Matriarch had a cold beer and a fresh plate of french fries waiting for me to enjoy on my porch.
posted by Ace at 3:33 AM
1 Comments:
You bastard. Dammit, I told you it would be fun! See, you're King Of The Road!
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