Lat Pan - Min Hla - Magwe
Steve finally got a bit of a spring in his step, Bronwen not so much but OK. Rose still wondering what the fuss is about. This morning a short cruise to Minhla and then a bit of a wander off to the Italian (!) built fort of Minhla constructed to keep the British at bay from Royal Burma. This fort and a second one (Gwe Chaung) on the opposite side of the river were captured by the British in the 3rd Anglo-Burmese war in 1885. An interesting pile of bricks - sort of, and the 10-15 minutes we spent there was just fine. Then a wander around the village and village markets. Very sweet little village with the ever friendly Myanmar people wanting to take photos of the tourists with their iphones.
Another very pleasant day cruise up the river to Magwe city (yes - city, not village or town!). Magwe has a population of about 300,000 and actually has a number of universities including a university of medicine as well as a large hospital. We board our trishaws and proceed (embarrassingly and much to the amusement of the locals) in single file (about 40 of us - can you imagine?) along the riverside road to a pagoda that legend says was built with solid gold bricks. The trishaw ride gives us mixed emotions - a definite feeling of exploiting the locals, especially when they stop pedalling and get off the bike to push you up a hill! However, this is a very broadly used method of transport for all Myanmar people and is how these guys earn a living - whether it is hauling fat western tourists around or locals or bags of rice etc. The pagoda is on a hillside that overlooks the Ayeyarwaddy River and vast river plain, and with the sun setting in the distance, it is a very enjoyable visit.
Back on to our trishaws (just the 3 of us - everyone was departing independently or staying right through to sunset) and back to the boat. Steve takes a short stroll through town and Bronwen and Rose return to the boat. Bronwen has just about returned to normal and we sit down for dinner for the first time in a couple of days. Tiredness is still a factor so off to bed after dinner.
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| The little boat is Kalay Pandaw |
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