SOUTH-EAST ASIA 2009-10
MYANMAR. BY BOAT FROM MANDALAY TO BAGAN
The boat left at 6am,
going downstream the Ayeyarwady River and passing Sagaing
We had a place to sit on
the floor among the locals
It was crowded and quite
cold in the morning. The locals were very well prepared for it
A girl from the boat
This monk was going back
to his village after 3 years of studying
The boat stopped in the
middle of nowhere for what we thought was a scheduled break
In fact, we had to wait
all day until new power lines are fitted above the river
After complaints from
tourists, our boat was allowed through but we lost a lot of time
The boat stopped in this
town for about 15 min of frantic loading and unloading
Loading continues
Next stop - vendors
selling food are already waiting
There was no time to walk
around the village
We couldn't even see
the village, but a group of people left the boat here
Sometimes I had the
impression of going back in time about 50 years
I wouldn't mind camping
out here, but foreigners must stay in licensed hotels
If traveling, we can sleep
on the bus, train or boat
After dark, with fewer
people on the boat, the atmosphere was very friendly
A woman working behind the
bar
Unbelievable amounts of
moths were drawn to the light
Because of earlier delay,
we had to sleep on the boat. Water level was too low for night sailing
Next morning we arrived
in Bagan