I left Indawgyi Lake on the morning of the 28th, headed back to Katha on the Irrawaddy. I would have happily spent another day or two, or maybe more, at the lake if I were certain I could overstay my visa for several weeks. The lake is beautiful, and the people living around it very friendly. Plus, there was a good group of foreign tourists at the guesthouse.
One other tourist and I caught the overburdened pick-up truck that came by the guest house about 7:30. A friendly group of local folks was already on board, and the space below the seats was full of cargo. The trip to the railroad station at Hopin was much quicker than on my arrival, taking about two and a half hours. We made only one stop for more cargo, and the trip was much less dusty, with fewer big trucks stirring up dust along the way. The fog was starting to clear from the lake as we left, but it was denser in the southern part of the valley, into which we headed. From the hills between Hopin and the valley we had a great view of the fog filled valley. The trip was bumpy, with my left side constantly bumping into the hard rail to my left.
On the other side of the hills a light haze covered the long valley running south through which the railroad runs. I bought my train ticket for Naba, near Katha, for only 750 Kyat, about 75 cents, for an ordinary class seat, but a reserved one. I ate an early lunch and the train arrived right on time, 11:45. My seat was in the first coach behind the locomotive and a railroad employee, no doubt concerned I wound be able to find it on my own, led me to it. The seat was made of wooden slats, but I enjoyed the pretty journey south. The Burmese folks around me were friendly, the mother and daughter across from me eating sunflower seeds, very popular in Burma. The ride was very slow at times over rickety rails, but the scenery of hills on either side of the train route, rice fields, and lots of trees was enjoyable. I saw lots of bullock carts. We also passed through some jungle, in which I saw two very simple, palisaded army camps. In another spot I noticed soldiers with rifles patrolling. At another spot workers were working on the rails as we passed by very slowly.
It took about five hours to reach Naba, from where I took an open three wheeler on the terrible road through the hills to Katha, about an hour away. It was nice to be able to see those pretty hills in the twilight, unlike my first trip through them in the dark. Nearing Katha, we passed three working elephants, the first one with long tusks.
It was dark by the time we reached Katha. I checked into the same guest house I had stayed in before. After dinner, I walked along the waterfront as a quarter moon hovered over the Irrawaddy. I took a cold bucket bath and went to bed before 9.
I got up the next morning sometime after 4 and was on the express boat headed downriver before 5, when it was due to depart. It didn't leave until 5:30, which was fine with me, as it was still dark. The boat was long, with room for maybe a hundred passengers, but there were only about ten of us. The sky was just beginning to lighten in the east as we set off. It wasn't as cold as I expected on the river in the early morning. I did have on long trousers, a fleece, and a windbreaker.
The sun rose about 6:30, at first reflected as a streak on the water. The scenery was hilly along the river. The boat made several stops to pick up passengers from villages along the river. Other passengers showed up on motorized canoes, which pulled up to our boat as it slowed, tied up to it, and transferred their passengers.
About 7:30 our boat pulled up to the shore and tied up. For about half an hour a crew of about six women loaded big bags of something onto the boat, first bringing the bags on their heads down the riverbank. They seemed a cheerful bunch. Usually, it is men who load the cargo onto these boats. While they were doing so, fog had gathered on the river, and our boat spent another hour and a half tied up waiting for it to lift. It finally began to do so, and we set off again.
There was still some fog on the river, but soon it was gone. Sometime after 10 we pulled up to the riverside again for more passengers and cargo. A troop of women with plates of food boarded. I bought a styrofoam box of rice with vegetables, chicken, and fish.
We continued down the river, with hills on both sides. The scenery was much more pleasant than I had expected. In lower Burma, the land along the Irrawaddy is flat and fairly featureless. There were lots of boats on the river. Often our boat would weave across the wide river, avoiding sandbars.
About 2:45 we reached the town of Male, after which the river narrowed and deepened, with forested hills on either side. We passed more villages and simple settlements and after 5 I spotted the big new bridge downriver at Kyaukmyaung, the one I had walked back and forth across when I had visited the potters at Kyaukmyaung almost two weeks before.
The boat was continuing down to Mandalay, maybe three hours away, but I got off at Kyaukmyaung, as it was nearing dark. Those of us getting off had to board a smaller boat that pulled alongside to take us to the shore. We landed about a quarter after 5, just after the sun had set. I took a three wheeler on the hour ride to Shwebo, but the air felt warmer than it had the night before between Naba and Katha. On the trip south down the river we had passed the Tropic of Cancer, and I was back in the tropics. In Shwebo I checked into the same hotel where I had stayed before. I went to bed before 9 and slept ten hours.
One other tourist and I caught the overburdened pick-up truck that came by the guest house about 7:30. A friendly group of local folks was already on board, and the space below the seats was full of cargo. The trip to the railroad station at Hopin was much quicker than on my arrival, taking about two and a half hours. We made only one stop for more cargo, and the trip was much less dusty, with fewer big trucks stirring up dust along the way. The fog was starting to clear from the lake as we left, but it was denser in the southern part of the valley, into which we headed. From the hills between Hopin and the valley we had a great view of the fog filled valley. The trip was bumpy, with my left side constantly bumping into the hard rail to my left.
On the other side of the hills a light haze covered the long valley running south through which the railroad runs. I bought my train ticket for Naba, near Katha, for only 750 Kyat, about 75 cents, for an ordinary class seat, but a reserved one. I ate an early lunch and the train arrived right on time, 11:45. My seat was in the first coach behind the locomotive and a railroad employee, no doubt concerned I wound be able to find it on my own, led me to it. The seat was made of wooden slats, but I enjoyed the pretty journey south. The Burmese folks around me were friendly, the mother and daughter across from me eating sunflower seeds, very popular in Burma. The ride was very slow at times over rickety rails, but the scenery of hills on either side of the train route, rice fields, and lots of trees was enjoyable. I saw lots of bullock carts. We also passed through some jungle, in which I saw two very simple, palisaded army camps. In another spot I noticed soldiers with rifles patrolling. At another spot workers were working on the rails as we passed by very slowly.
It took about five hours to reach Naba, from where I took an open three wheeler on the terrible road through the hills to Katha, about an hour away. It was nice to be able to see those pretty hills in the twilight, unlike my first trip through them in the dark. Nearing Katha, we passed three working elephants, the first one with long tusks.
It was dark by the time we reached Katha. I checked into the same guest house I had stayed in before. After dinner, I walked along the waterfront as a quarter moon hovered over the Irrawaddy. I took a cold bucket bath and went to bed before 9.
I got up the next morning sometime after 4 and was on the express boat headed downriver before 5, when it was due to depart. It didn't leave until 5:30, which was fine with me, as it was still dark. The boat was long, with room for maybe a hundred passengers, but there were only about ten of us. The sky was just beginning to lighten in the east as we set off. It wasn't as cold as I expected on the river in the early morning. I did have on long trousers, a fleece, and a windbreaker.
The sun rose about 6:30, at first reflected as a streak on the water. The scenery was hilly along the river. The boat made several stops to pick up passengers from villages along the river. Other passengers showed up on motorized canoes, which pulled up to our boat as it slowed, tied up to it, and transferred their passengers.
About 7:30 our boat pulled up to the shore and tied up. For about half an hour a crew of about six women loaded big bags of something onto the boat, first bringing the bags on their heads down the riverbank. They seemed a cheerful bunch. Usually, it is men who load the cargo onto these boats. While they were doing so, fog had gathered on the river, and our boat spent another hour and a half tied up waiting for it to lift. It finally began to do so, and we set off again.
There was still some fog on the river, but soon it was gone. Sometime after 10 we pulled up to the riverside again for more passengers and cargo. A troop of women with plates of food boarded. I bought a styrofoam box of rice with vegetables, chicken, and fish.
We continued down the river, with hills on both sides. The scenery was much more pleasant than I had expected. In lower Burma, the land along the Irrawaddy is flat and fairly featureless. There were lots of boats on the river. Often our boat would weave across the wide river, avoiding sandbars.
About 2:45 we reached the town of Male, after which the river narrowed and deepened, with forested hills on either side. We passed more villages and simple settlements and after 5 I spotted the big new bridge downriver at Kyaukmyaung, the one I had walked back and forth across when I had visited the potters at Kyaukmyaung almost two weeks before.
The boat was continuing down to Mandalay, maybe three hours away, but I got off at Kyaukmyaung, as it was nearing dark. Those of us getting off had to board a smaller boat that pulled alongside to take us to the shore. We landed about a quarter after 5, just after the sun had set. I took a three wheeler on the hour ride to Shwebo, but the air felt warmer than it had the night before between Naba and Katha. On the trip south down the river we had passed the Tropic of Cancer, and I was back in the tropics. In Shwebo I checked into the same hotel where I had stayed before. I went to bed before 9 and slept ten hours.
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