Hpa-An & Into Thailand
After checking out the following morning, we got the bus from just around the
corner from our motel after our host wrote out directions and the place name of
Hpa-An in Burmese to help us out. It was an old local bus with no air-con, but
luckily the front door didn’t close and windows could open, plus we got seats
right at the front so the journey wasn’t too bad at all.
We arrived around 2 hours later in the town of Hpa-An which
is in the Kayin State, and after a 5-minute walk in the mid-day heat, we
reached the hotel for our last 3 nights here in Myanmar. The Galaxy Motel is
near the centre of town and a popular stop off for travellers both arriving and
departing due to its proximity of the border crossing of Myawaddy to/from Mae
Sot in Thailand. That was our plan, to stay a couple days here exploring the
area and then head over to Thailand before heading south.
The drive up here had amazing scenery with lush green hills
all around and lots of ridges with pagodas and temples on the summits, some of
which looked impossible to reach. The area is well known for its caves and
bats, and we couldn't wait to explore some of them during our time here.
That afternoon was spent looking at our next destination
Thailand, then in the evening we went out for a few beers at a restaurant
called Lucky 1 which is recommended by our hosts. Cheap beers are what they
advised us, and yes at 800 kyat a pint (43p), we had a few. However, we decided
to eat at another restaurant this evening though, so we went to a place called
Wadee which we had found on Tripadvisor.
We were hungry after travelling all day, so ordered a couple
of starters, a couple of mains with rice and a potato salad and of course a
couple of beers. Then we added on 1 dessert and another beer and when we got
the bill, it came to around £9 in total which is the cheapest meal we have had
in this country. Plus, the food was great, and so much so we headed back there
on the last night too.
We had arranged with the lovely Kim who runs the hotel to go
on an organised tour the following morning, so after breakfast around 8am we,
along with 3 French tourists got loaded into a tuk-tuk and we quickly headed
out of town to our first of 7 destinations that day. There was also another
tuk-tuk full of guests from the hotel, but we only seen them briefly at a
couple of the places. The French we were sharing with were a nice group and had
another 3 weeks here in Myanmar, so I assume they have not long arrived, but
have been here previously.
The day mostly consisted of being driven round some of the
main caves in the area, most incorporated temples and Buddha images, some
spectacular and some not so. We had a lunch stop where we managed to grab a
beer, but by mid afternoon we were both a bit hot, dusty and tired but the
highlight of the day was still to come. And around 6pm we went to what is known
in the area as Bat Cave. This place is home to an estimated 400,000 bats who
every evening at dusk all swarm out from inside the cave and head along the
river towards Mawlamyine. This is a spectacular experience as they all fly out
and lasts for over 20 minutes, and after that it was time to head back to the
hotel for a much-needed shower. That evening it was back to Lucky 1 for yet
more cheap beers, but this time we decided to eat here and had some amazing Chinese
food with a special mention to them deep fried chicken balls and fried pork
ribs.
Our last full day in Myanmar was a quiet one, quick trip to
the supermarket in the morning then an afternoon of checking out places to see
and stay at in Thailand. This is proving more difficult than we thought as
we hunted down what type of accommodation we could afford, in the locations we
wanted with the facilities we both wanted.
That evening we went back to Wadee for yet more amazing food, I had
Chicken Tomyam and Sadie had a delicious Thai Green curry plus we had a couple
of starters and seafood rice for another £7. Back to Lucky 1 for a few beers
then yet more hunting for somewhere to stay in Ko Tao. This was proving
difficult, so much so we have decided to check out another of the islands
instead.
The next morning, we had a shared taxi booked to take us the
4-hour journey to Myawaddy. It turned up just after 11am, a nice 7-seater A/C
people carrier. We were the first 2 in, but after another couple of pick ups,
it was soon full. Eventually we head out of Hpa-an around midday towards the
border. 90 minutes into the journey, there was a loud knocking noise coming
from the rear left wheel. The driver jumps out to inspect it, gets back in and
a few phone calls later we carry on slowly for another 20 minutes before
pulling into the side of the road which was a makeshift garage. We all get out
and a few people start working on the car. It turns out the shock absorber
snapped but after a makeshift weld repair, we get in and off we went again.
A couple of hours later, though a bit less than we thought
due to a new winding road that’s been built over the mountains, we arrived at
Myawaddy and got dropped off just near the immigration desks. We were quite excited about doing this crossing by land after reading about it and seeing pictures of this beautiful bridge. However it was all a bit dissapointing and after around 30
minutes, we had fully crossed over the ‘Friendship Bridge’, grabbed a well-deserved
beer and then got a taxi/bus to our hotel for the night.
For the night, we stayed at the Hop Inn, which is basically a Thai version of a Travelodge, but the bed was so comfy and we both slept well before our flight early the next morning. But not before we went to the restaurant next door for pizza and garlic bread with cheese, a western dish we hadn’t had since away back in Pokhara!
We have had some amazing dishes of food served to us during our 4 weeks in Myanmar, so we can’t complain at all, plus neither of us has had any dodgy guts or illness thankfully so long may that continue into Thailand.
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