Trip 2015-16. Day 317. Myanmar, Yangon - Naypyitaw - Meiktila - Taungdwingye

Our second day in Burma started with breakfast on the rooftop in our upmarket but cheap hotel. We said goodbye to U Linn Shwe's wife who came to check that we had a good plan to move on from Yagon. She was a little confused by our choice to walk to a main road and try to get a lift to the highway. There was an overwhelming number of taxis which repeatedly tried to “help” us. Eventually one agreed to take us for a reasonable price beyond the airport to the road leading to the highway. He dropped us off at a gas station and we asked the customers there for help (the gas station attendants didn't mind our attempts to engage their customers). Many people were interested but no-one seemed to be heading north until a woman, an executive assistant who worked at the local Coke factory, agreed to take us to the highway proper, she was on her way to work. She gave us insight into the yellow marking (“tanaka”) on many Burmese women's faces. She said women apply this as it softens the skin and makes it more beautiful. She took us to the toll at the start of the highway.

We decided upon a strategy of using the tollbooth as a way to find potential lifts – this worked really well! Two government civil engineers offered us a lift all the way to the capital city of Naypyitaw (300 km). On our way we passed a group of elephants walking along the highway and many ox and carts. We were invited for lunch with our hitch-hosts in a “rest-camp” in a buffet Chinese restaurant. They told us about their work involved in the building of affordable housing (49 buildings with 18 floors each in Yangon).

They dropped us off at the junction for Naypyitaw where an American guy and his Burmese “Mom” picked us up. He talked about the rapid changes in the country in the last two years like the liberalization of fuel sales, ending the roadside sale of petrol. He drove us north close to Meiktila and after some searching we found the quiet road west to Magway.

The hitching opportunities were scarce but we managed to get a lift with an extended family in a small pickup (around ten people all packed sitting in the flat rear but still able to kindly make room for us and our big bags). We turned off the main road onto a smaller country lane, driving pass farms and villages.

The vehicle brakes overheated and we stopped by a river and were transferred to a truck and we became unsure of our direction. Eventually he dropped us in a village which was also a transit point for long-distance buses. The buildings were simple with little light. We were offered ubiquitous plastic chairs to sit outside the local shop and wait for the bus.

We met a wonderful local English teacher (a 37 y.o. guy) who advised us on potential buses to Magway (apparently departing around 7:30 pm) and was keen to talk. He was very gentle and kind, took us to a local restaurant where the food was excellent and very cheap. We continued to wait but then he asked if we wouldn't mind reading to his students in a private school which happened to be just next door. We were surprised and delighted to find a big group of around forty 10 to 12 year old children quietly studying together in a very basic classroom. We read from an English textbook and then asked questions and the children were happy to participate.

We left the school around 10 pm and realized there was no bus but there was likely to be one even later. We asked our teacher-guide if we could stay overnight at his place. He said he would have to get permission from a village leader who was uncontactable so late at night. So we hitched a truck that we understood would take us to another town with a guesthouse. We journeyed for two hours along the rough and dark road with two young and friendly guys, one of whom showed us a Charlie Chaplin movie on his phone. They dropped us at a first guesthouse which was full, the second accepted us for $20 for a double room with a cold shower.
We were absolutely unaware of our place in the world...