It’s a long way from anywhere as I feel uncomfortable in my narrow seat on the way to Inle Lake from Bago Myanmar. It’s three in the morning, I’m exhausted, my body aches, and I’ve been on a bus or waiting to board one for the last 19 hours. It is better that this lake is as “remarkably beautiful” as all the guides tell us, because it is the most difficult trip I have done in five months.
It is the time of the water festival, the hottest time of the year, and everyone in the country is taking the bus to visit family members and see the sights for themselves. We arrive in Bago, a city located 80 km northeast of Yangon via Kyiakito in the early afternoon to book our night bus to Inle Lake. The tour operator eagerly accepts our money, but does not let us know that it is almost impossible to secure a seat during this high season on such short notice. As the hours pass we eagerly wait for a spot to be available, our desperate owner called all the buses that were passing through this dusty city until finally a driver agreed to take us.
It was an embarrassing experience when we got on the bus. People were thrown out of their seats to make room for us. By not speaking their language, our protests fell on deaf ears. We didn’t want people to sit on the floor for us, but there was nothing we could do about it, and they took us to our designated spots.
The next 10 hours consisted of very loud “Laugh In” variety shows that I couldn’t understand a word about, a bus so full of luggage, I was forced to tuck my 70-liter backpack under my feet and temperatures so high that it was difficult to breathe. Just as I was drifting toward the glorious escape from sleep, we stopped at one in the morning for dinner. Who eats in the middle of the night? But, sure enough, they all disembarked and ordered full meals at the roadside concession stand. We ended up staying at this lively stop much longer than expected as our bus was under repair and it wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
However, I was able to witness the entire show.
It is very late at night and children are running around playing, music is blasting, various food stalls are busy preparing food, and there is an open market to sell vegetables and fruits. This place is thriving as it makes a living off the night buses that stop here full of people willing to spend money.
We were finally on our way, and once we settled into our seats, the variety show changed to “11” for everyone to enjoy. Somehow, I managed to fall asleep again, but at 5:00 am I was awakened by blaring prayers over the speaker. Nobody seemed to care, so I sat in my seat and looked at the scenery. We passed bullock carts full of produce for the market, horse carts taking people to town, water buffalo, and children walking to school until the driver stopped the bus to tell us that this was our stop.
We were dropped off to the side of the road and the rest of the bus headed for Mandalay. Negotiations were to begin again for a truck to the lake. We never found one, but managed to climb into an overloaded minivan where it would spend the next eight hours in 45-degree weather with no relief from the heat. 5000 Kyat ($ 6 US) bought me a seat in the motor with a thin straw pad to sit on. Four of us were crammed into the front of the truck. A driver who never quit smoking, a young monk crushed between the driver and me and my husband, who was trapped between me and the door.
31 hours after leaving our initial destination, we reached Inle Lake, where we took the first guesthouse we could find and quickly retired for the rest of the day.
I wouldn’t know if Inle Lake was as beautiful as the guides say, we were in Myanmar at the hottest and driest time of the year, but during our stay at the lake it was cold, raining and cloudy. We never experienced that breathtaking panoramic view. But like in all the places we visit in this country, the people made the experience. They were warm and friendly and even invited us to a private home for tea and conversation. At a temple on the lake called Jumping Cat Monastery, a group of people were so enthralled with us that the tables turned and we were the attraction. People took turns taking photos with us and we laughed as we raised our thumbs towards the camera. Monks dressed in sunglasses gave a peace sign and vacationers hugged us to pose for photos. When Dave showed people the photos from his digital camera, they all went crazy, wanting him to take more.
As for whether Inlay Lake was worth the bus ride from Hell? Of course it was. I experienced pure hospitality, I had the rare opportunity to see the Intha Leg Rowers, famous for their unique way of propelling their boat with one leg wrapped around their paddle. I visited a monastery full of cats that had been trained by monks to jump hoops and had the privilege of interacting with people who have been isolated from the outside world for so long.